This easy Instant Pot Venison Stew is the perfect comforting dinner that requires minimal effort. This rich venison backstrap recipe can also be made with tenderloin or stew meat and has amazing depth of flavor from a few special ingredients that make all the difference!
Instant Pot Venison Stew
I grew up in a hunting family. Our freezer was mostly filled from year to year with a new buck and venison graced our dinner table more nights than not. We ate it many different ways, the smoked venison sausage I use in this Tandoori Fried Rice was a definite favorite and so were dishes like Classic Venison Stew. I’ve turned this venison stew into something really special. A few key ingredients take it from ordinary to extraordinary all in the ease of the Instant Pot and there isn’t a hint of gameness to be found.
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Key Ingredients for this Venison Backstrap Recipe
- avocado oil
- venison backstrap or tenderloin
- yellow potatoes
- carrots
- celery
- yellow onion
- garlic
- diced tomatoes
- beef bone broth
- coconut aminos
- unrefined sea salt
- dried thyme
- dried rosemary
- dried basil
- apple cider vinegar
- blackstrap molasses
- black pepper
- ground cinnamon
How to make Venison Stew Instant Pot
The Instant Pot truly makes this stew recipe a breeze. It’s one of the easiest venison backstrap recipes and comes out tender, flavorful and delicious every time!
First, turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and add the avocado oil, venison and a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté to brown the meat for 5 minutes. Now add in the onions and garlic and sauté for another 3-5 minutes until the onions begin to become translucent.
We want to scrap up any bits stuck onto the bottom of the pot so we don’t get the burn notice while pressure cooking so deglaze the pot with the beef broth and use a wooden spoon to scrap the bottom of the pot. After deglazing, add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, lock, set the steamer valve to sealing and select high pressure or manual (depending on which model you have) and select 30 minutes.
Once the cooking time has finished, allow the Instant Pot to naturally decompress for 10 minutes before quick releasing any remaining pressure. After all the pressure has released, remove the lid, stir and taste. Add more salt if desired then serve and enjoy!
Substitutions for this Instant Pot Venison Stew Recipe
- Avocado oil – Any high heat oil will work here such as grapeseed.
- Venison Backstrap – You can also use venison tenderloin or venison stew meat in this recipe.
- Coconut aminos – There really is no true substitute for coconut aminos. This is one of my favorite ingredients that adds depth of flavor and some sweetness to this dish that balances out the acid of the tomatoes. In some recipes soy sauce or tamari are suitable substitutions for coconut aminos but not in this recipe so if you really need a substitution you can either omit the ingredient all together or substitute 1 Tablespoon sugar or honey in it’s place.
- Apple cider vinegar – Red wine vinegar would work here as well.
- Molasses – Molasses helps us build the depth of flavor for this recipe however if you don’t have it you can omit it.
- Cinnamon – You likely have cinnamon on hand and if you due you’re just going to have to trust me on this one. It might seem like an odd stew ingredient but it’s truly the magic maker!
Can you freeze Venison Stew
Venison Stew can be stored in airtight containers by leaving at least a half inch of air space to accommodate for expansion during freezing. Stew can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. See below for more details on thawing.
How to thaw Stew
Once you remove your container from the fridge allow them to sit overnight in the fridge. If you are short on time you can run your container under cool water to speed up the thawing process.
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes:
- Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Split Pea and Ham Soup
- Lentil Soup with Smoked Sausage
- Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Healthy Chicken Potato Soup
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Instant Pot Venison Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Lunch & Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Description
This easy Instant Pot Venison Stew is the perfect comforting dinner that requires minimal effort. This rich venison backstrap recipe can also be made with tenderloin or stew meat and has amazing depth of flavor from a few special ingredients that make all the difference!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 – 1 1/2 lbs venison backstrap or tenderloin, cut into bite sized pieces (about 1 inch) with all sinew removed
- 4 cups yellow potatoes, washed and *cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 large carrots, *cut into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces
- 2 celery stalks, *cut into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 – 15oz can of diced tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium beef bone broth (or 3 cups of broth + 1 cup of water)
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 2 teaspoons unrefined sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses (omit if using this recipe on a round of Whole30)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (trust me!)
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to Saute mode and add the avocado oil, venison and a pinch of salt and pepper and saute to brown the meat for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes add in the onions and garlic and saute for another 3-5 minutes until the onions begin to become translucent.
- Deglaze the pot with the bone broth and scrap up any bits stuck onto the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the steamer valve to sealing and select high pressure / manual for 30 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has finished, allow the Instant Pot to naturally decompress for 10 minutes before quick releasing any remaining pressure.
- Once all the pressure has released, remove the lid, stir and taste. Add more salt if desired then serve and enjoy!
Notes
*The smaller your vegetables are cut the soften they will become in the cooking process. If you like firmer but fully cooked pieces opt to cut on the larger 1 inch size.
*Leftovers can be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
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