Instant Pot carne guisada recipe makes tender beef in a flavorful spiced sauce. This easy recipe makes a delicious meal!
Instant Pot carne guisada makes delicious, tender stewed meat. Like so many other dishes, every recipe for carne guisada is a bit different.
This recipe is packed with flavor but isn’t too spicy. However, if you love heat, feel free to change it up!
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Stew meat: Or cubed chuck roast.
- Onion: Yellow onion also works well.
- Garlic: Feel free to add more to taste.
- Jalapeno: Be careful when handling the jalapeno. Remove the seed and membrane for a milder sauce.
- Bay leaf
- Cumin
- Chili powder: Add more or less to taste. More will give you a spicier sauce.
- Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
- Oregano
- Beef broth: Or beef stock.
- Tomato sauce
- Ro-Tel: Or a similar diced tomato and green chile blend.
- Cornmeal: I use finely ground yellow cornmeal.
How to make Instant Pot carne guisada
Step 1: Press sauté on the Instant Pot. Once it reads hot, add the oil and then the stew meat to the inner pot.
Step 2: Sear the meat.
Step 3: Once the meat has seared, remove the meat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring the entire time.
Step 4: Press cancel.
Step 5: Add the beef broth, and stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot.
Step 6: Add the tomato sauce, RoTel, bay leaf, spices, and beef. Don’t stir.
Step 7: Close and lock the lid. Make sure the pressure release valve is set to sealing. Press manual high pressure and adjust the time to 35 minutes.
Step 8: Let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes. Turn the pressure release valve to venting to release any remaining pressure.
Step 9: Unlock and remove the lid; remove the bay leaf. Give everything a good stir.
Step 10: Stir in the cornmeal. Press sauté and cook, stirring regularly, until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Cornmeal makes a great thickener, it’s gluten-free (double check the label if this is a concern), and it doesn’t change the taste.
You can! Cook as-directed. Let it cool to room temperature before placing it in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 6 months.
No, you can cube chuck roast or a similar cut of meat.
Serving suggestions
Carne guisada goes well with flour tortillas, rice, and beans. Or skip the tortillas and serve it with just rice and beans.
Storage
Store any leftover carne guisada in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored in the fridge.
Instant Pot Carne Guisada
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds beef stew meat
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Jalapeño pepper minced
- 1 cup beef broth
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 10 ounce can rotel
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
Instructions
- Press sauté on the Instant Pot.
- Once it reads hot, add the oil and then the stew meat to the inner pot.
- Sear the meat.
- Once the meat has seared, remove the meat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring the entire time.
- Press cancel.
- Add the beef broth, and stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot.
- Add the seared beef, tomato sauce, RoTel, bay leaf, and spices. Don’t stir.
- Close and lock the lid. Make sure the pressure release valve is set to sealing.
- Press manual high pressure and adjust the time to 35 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes.
- Turn the pressure release valve to venting to release any remaining pressure.
- Unlock and remove the lid; remove the bay leaf. Give everything a good stir.
- Stir in the cornmeal.
- Press sauté and cook, stirring regularly, until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
Sharing this recipe with a link is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.
Did You Make This?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!
How come you say don’t stir before pressure cooking? Seems like we’d miss out on serious flavor by not stirring before cooking.
Instant Pot cooking is a bit different this way. For a lot of recipes, like this one, you layer but don’t stir until the end. This helps to avoid a burn warning because certain foods, like tomatoes, will scorch.
I use yuca instead of cornmeal to thicken the sauce, it gives a great flavor. A little of red wine it’s also great.
Thanks for sharing your tips!
I meant this cooking method is quicker.
I am a lazy cook, so I used frozen seasoning blend and jar minced garlic! I also seasoned and coated my beef with before searing.
Hi! I’m glad it worked out well!
I had a package of stew meat but not sure what to make besides traditional stew. I hadn’t found a carne guisada recipe that tasted authentic enough or that didn’t rely on various traditional chili peppers as family does not like spicy.
The search is over – I made this recipe for my family last night, and received rave reviews! I cut back the jalapeno by 1/3 for their palate. My sister said it was “one of the best meals ever” that I’ve made! Thank you for the excellent recipe Kate!
Yay!! Thank you! I’m so glad that it was a hit!
I’m allergic to corn. Is there an alternative for the corn meal? It looks delicious!
The cornmeal thickens the sauce, so you could use a different thickener if you prefer. You could also turn the pot to saute and let it cook down a little to thicken it up. Hope that helps!
You left out obvious. Putting the meat back in before 35 min pressure cook
Fixed. Thanks for catching that!
If I add potatoes to this do I put them in from the beginning or add later
You can add them in before pressure cooking. I would go with larger chunks of potato to help them withstand the cooking and pressure release time without breaking down too much. I would worry that the potatoes wouldn’t cook enough if you added them in at the end. I hope that helps!
I’ve always made this in an electric skillet. It makes it easier and quicker. The ingredients are totally different. Mine, you don’t put tomato sauce. It’s a tad to tomato tasting for me. I will omit tomato sauce next time. I had about 4 lbs of beef, so i doulbed the ingredients. I also cooked it for 40 mon. That was to long. I’ll cut the time down to 30 min next time. All in all, it was good.
Glad it was faster for you and that you were able to adjust it to your tastes.