This Instant Pot Venison Stew combines venison and veggies for a hearty, one-dish meal. Prep time is only 15 minutes, and the Instant Pot does all the work! This delicious stew is the perfect comfort food for a cold day.
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With my husband and daughter as avid hunters, I cook venison several nights a week. And this venison stew recipe in instant pot is one of our favorites.
For more venison recipes, check out Venison Meatballs With Sweet and Sour Sauce and Smoked Venison Roast, and 31 Ground Venison Recipes (an excellent roundup of great recipes that contain instant pot venison chili, venison crockpot stew, and other venison instant pot recipes).
Recipe Features
- EASY: This easy, delicious recipe is ready in under 1 hour.
- COOKS FAST: Pressure cooking helps the venison to cook quicker, so it doesn't take much time to prepare. The cooking time is only 35 minutes!
- TENDER VENISON: The pressure cooker is the key to making venison tender.
- GLUTEN-FREE: This stew is naturally gluten-free!
Ingredients
- Venison stew meat (or other wild game meat), cut into bite-sized pieces. Cut into ½-inch to 1-inch cubes. I like to use deer meat, elk meat, moose meat, or even ground venison. You can also use leftover cooked meat.
- Olive oil: Olive oil prevents the venison from sticking to the bottom of the pressure cooker while sauteing. You could also substitute avocado oil as well.
- Beef broth (or water). You can also use vegetable broth or chicken broth.
- Potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks. I used red potatoes, but feel free to use any potato, even sweet potatoes!
- Onions, peeled and chopped. I used a red onion, but you could also use a yellow onion or a sweet onion.
- Garlic cloves peeled and chopped, or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Squash, cut into 1-inch chunks. I used buttercup squash as that is the kind I grew in the garden this year (my favorite), but you could also use butternut squash or acorn squash. If you like buttercup squash, try Roasted Buttercup Squash Soup.
- Paprika. You could also use smoked paprika if you have it.
- Red wine vinegar. If you do not have red wine vinegar, you can substitute white wine vinegar or red wine.
- Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire is perfect for tenderizing meat, as well as adding deep flavor to the stew.
See the printable recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Instant Pot Venison Stew
First, brown the meat to add some flavor. Add olive oil to the instant pot and turn on the saute function. When the oil starts to sizzle, add the cubed venison. After 5 minutes, add chopped onions and garlic and cook with the meat. Stir often and saute until the cycle ends or until the meat is brown on all sides.
Add the beef broth to the instant pot and use a spoon to scrape any brown bits on the bottom of the pressure cooker. Next, add potatoes, carrots, squash, paprika, sea salt, pepper, Italiano seasoning, red wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Give it a final stir to mix all the ingredients well.
Secure the lid and set it to "sealing" or the "stew" setting. Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, then let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.
Remove the lid and stir the elk stew well. If you want your stew thicker, mix two tablespoons of cornstarch and two tablespoons of cold water and pour it immediately into the stew. Stir until thickened.
Pour into serving bowls and enjoy!
Variations
Modify the ingredients for specific tastes by adding different vegetables, herbs, or spices.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes or red pepper flakes.
- Deluxe - add celery, fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, or diced tomatoes.
- Kid friendly - add crushed tortilla chips on top
Storage
Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely. Place cooled venison stew in a refrigerator container or freezer-friendly bag with all air removed.
FRIDGE: Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
FREEZER: Freeze for up to 2 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. To reheat, remove from the freezer and thaw overnight before reheating on the stove top or microwave until hot throughout.
Expert Tips
- Use leftover meat. Leftover meat cooked in the instant pot is extra tender and falls apart with your fork. If using leftover cooked meat, skip the saute step.
- Sear the meat first. This provides a much more flavorful stew, trust me! However, do not overcook the meat in this step.
Recipe FAQs
Venison is the term for the meat of a deer (whitetail or mule deer), antelope, moose, or elk. Venison is low in fat and calories, high in protein, and extremely lean. However, as it's leaner than other meats, it can be dry and tough if cooked incorrectly.
Venison meat tastes very similar to beef, but it has a much lower fat content and is drier than beef. If the animal has been eating a lot of sage, the meat may have a flavor of sage to it. Where we live, the deer graze on grass, clover, and timothy hay, so the venison has a very mild taste to it.
The shoulder, rump, and hindquarters are all great meat for stew recipes. For extremely tender venison, use a backstrap in this stew.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this venison stew in Instant Pot with Smoked Foil-Wrapped Corn on the Cob on the side or a garden salad.
I also like to use Fluffy Air Buns, No Milk Biscuits, Irish Soda Bread, Focaccia bread, or garlic bread to soak up the broth.
More Instant Pot Recipes You'll Love
If you like this Instant Pot Venison Stew recipe, please take a moment to rate the recipe 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 and leave a comment below with your thoughts!
Recipe
Instant Pot Venison Stew
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound venison, cubed with all sinew removed, or ground venison
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- 4 cups beef broth
- 5-6 potatoes, diced about 4 cups
- 5-6 carrots, diced about 2 cups
- 1 buttercup squash, diced
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon Italiano seasoning
- ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch optional
- 2 tablespoon cold water optional
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute function for 10 minutes. Add the olive oil to the bottom of the Instant Pot and add the cubed venison. After 5 minutes, add chopped garlic and diced onion. Saute until the cycle ends.
- Add the beef broth to the Instant Pot and use a spoon to scrape any brown bits on the bottom of the pressure cooker. Next, add potatoes, carrots, squash, paprika, sea salt, pepper, Italiano seasoning, red wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Give it a final stir to mix all the ingredients well.
- Secure the lid, set it to "sealing" or "stew" setting, and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. Then, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
- Remove the lid and give the venison stew a good stir. If you want your stew to be thicker, mix two tablespoons of cornstarch and two tablespoons of cold water and pour it immediately into the stew. Stir until thickened.
- Pour into serving bowls and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- If using leftover cooked meat, skip the saute step.
- Do not overcook the meat when searing - just brown the outside.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Scott V
I've changed the cooking times on my version. My wife does not like over cooked veggies. So I seared and then cooked the venison and onion first, first sauteed the venison, browning all sides, then I threw in the onion and cooked it for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I then pressured cooked on high for 20 minutes, slow released for 10, then released. I then put in the rest of the potatoes and veggies and pressure cooked them for 12 minutes, with a slow release for 10.
Added some corn starch and everything was great. Not too mushy.
Dennis
It's definitely stew weather and my family loved your delicious venison stew!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This dish looks so deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right this minute!
Jeri
Thank you, it is the perfect fall dish! 🙂
serena
We love venison at our house! So delish!
Toni
This was a huge hit at my house! So comforting and delish!
Krisitna
Venison is such a great meat when made into a stew. I love the idea of adding butternut squash, especially during the fall and winter. Thanks for the recipe and the easy to read and follow tips.
Jeri
Thank you, Kristina. I'm glad you liked it! 🙂
Addie
We love venison here in Maine! This total comfort food was so warm and hearty.
Oscar
My dad gave me some venison he had from a neighbour and so I used this recipe to make a stew in the instant pot. The meat turned out super tender and I loved how quick it was to make in the instant pot. Great recipe Jeri.
Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
YUM! We recently got a half deer and have been using it in all sorts of recipes. Will definitely be making this again soon!
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/
I am dreaming of a steamy bowl of game soup! Even more when I know I can make it so quickly!