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This hearty Instant Pot Beef Pot Pie is filled with savory beef, potatoes, carrots, and peas in a rich gravy, then baked under a golden, flaky crust. Pure comfort food!
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Wow! This was delicious! I made it just as written except browned the meat/onion mixture on the stove so it wouldn’t take as long. I was a bit worried that it might be bland without anything but salt, pepper, and thyme, but it wasn’t at all. My husband has requested homemade beef pot pie for years, but I could never find a recipe that tasted like “store-bought” but BETTER. This is MUCH better! One happy husband tonight!” – Nichole
“Wow! I never thought to make pot pie in my IP! This is an awesome recipe!” – Lauren
An Easier Way to Make Homemade Pot Pie
Growing up, pot pies were absolutely one of my favorite hearty comfort food meals. I loved getting my own cute little dinner pie all to myself. It just made me feel special. Once I got older I realized how time-intensive homemade pot pies are and I started looking for shortcuts.
Making pot pies with a puff pastry crust is a game changer. That right there makes it 20 times easier. Then making the beef and veggies filling in the Instant Pot adds an entirely new level of simplicity. You can do it all in one pot in less than an hour! And actually have tender beef! If you love pot pie as much as I do, you’ve got to try some of our other variations like our delicious Easy Turkey Pot Pie or this super easy Chicken Pot Pie Crumble that is more like a casserole with a savory crumble over the top instead of a crust (so good)!
🩷 Erica
Key Ingredients
Puff pastry sheets – You can find puff pastry sheets in the frozen section at most grocery stores. This is a simple hack to get the perfect puffed top without putting in extra work. You can also use a homemade pie crust if you prefer. See notes below on how to do this.
Filling – The hearty filling is made with tender beef, potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, and celery all simmered together in a rich beef gravy. You can add any other veggies you like to the mix, like corn or green beans, to make it your own.
Seasoning – Thyme, bay leaves, garlic, salt, and black pepper bring out the savory flavor of the beef and vegetables. To add even more flavor you can add some beef bouillon or “browning” sauce. Taste as you go to flavor the gravy exactly how you like it.
How to Make Instant Pot Beef Pot Pie
- Remove puff pastry from the freezer and let it thaw slightly while you prepare the filling.
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Melt butter, then cook the onion, celery, garlic, and beef cubes until the meat is browned.
- Add 2 cups beef broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Seal the pot and cook on Manual High Pressure for 30 minutes, then quick release.
- Stir in potatoes, carrots, and peas. Seal again and cook on Manual High Pressure for 3 minutes, then quick release. Discard bay leaves and transfer meat and vegetables to a large bowl.
- Add enough beef broth to the Instant Pot to equal 4 cups. Whisk cornstarch with milk to make a slurry, then slowly stir it in. Cook on Sauté until thickened, 3–5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the gravy over the meat and veggies, stir to coat, and let cool slightly. If the filling is too hot it can cause the crust to get soggy before baking.
- Spray six 12-ounce ramekins with cooking spray. Fill with beef mixture, top with puff pastry squares, and cut small slits in the pastry.
- Whisk egg whites with water, brush over pastry tops, and bake at 400°F for 20–25 minutes until golden and puffed. Serve hot.
Pro Tips for Making Pot Pies
Cut veggies evenly – Dice potatoes and carrots into small, uniform pieces so they cook through at the same time.
Make a full pie – I like making individual pot pies because, in my opinion, it’s just more fun to have your own little pot pie! However, you can absolutely make it into one big pot pie if you prefer. Put all the ingredients in a deep pie dish or pie pan and place an entire puff pastry over the top. If you do this, you may want to increase your baking time by 5 minutes or so.
Using a homemade pie crust – You can also make this pot pie with our Homemade Pie Crust instead of puff pastry. You can use ramekins but with homemade crust it might be easier to make it all in one large dish. Line a deep-dish pie plate with crust, add the cooled filling, top with another crust, cut slits for steam, and bake at 400°F for 35–40 minutes, until golden and flaky.
Troubleshooting sauce thickness – I like the sauce to be the consistency of a nice, thick gravy. Add the cornstarch mixture in the recipe a little at a time until you get the consistency you are looking for. You may not need all of it, or you may need to make a little more to thicken. The key here is adding it slowly and whisking constantly while you add.
Make ahead option – Prepare the filling up to a day in advance and refrigerate. Assemble with pastry just before baking.
How to Freeze Instant Pot Beef Pot Pies
There are actually several different ways you can freeze pot pies. You can prep now, freeze and assemble later. Prepare the filling completely then freeze in freezer-safe bags. When you’re ready, just thaw and assemble with the crusts and bake as directed in the recipe card below. Or you can prepare the pot pies completely, bake, then freeze. If doing it this way, just be sure the pot pie is completely cooled before freezing. When ready to freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and also place in a freezer-safe bag. When ready to re-heat just heat the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes. Watch it closely and add foil over the top if the crust starts getting too brown. I like this way because it is just easier to pull one out at a time for a quick meal for one. Both ways work great, so just go with what works best for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! You can simmer the beef, broth, and seasonings on the stovetop in a Dutch oven until tender (about 1½–2 hours), then continue with the recipe as written.
Definitely! A deep-dish pie plate works perfectly. Just adjust bake time to 35–40 minutes so the crust cooks through.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Love dinners in the Instant Pot? Try a few of our very favorites:
Read Next: 27 BEST Instant Pot Recipes
Have you tried these Instant Pot Beef Pot Pies? I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment below and tell me how you made it your own. And don’t forget to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @favoritefamilyrecipes! 📸🥧
Instant Pot Beef Pot Pie Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 box puff pastry sheets
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds beef sirloin cubed (or beef stew meat)
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups potatoes diced into 1/2″ dices
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups beef broth (or to taste)
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup milk
- Kosher salt & black pepper to taste
- beef bouillon (optional, to taste for additional seasoning)
- 2 egg whites
- 2 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Remove puff pastry sheets from freezer to thaw. You still want it to be cold, just thawed enough that you can unfold it. If it gets too warm, pop it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
- On Instant Pot, press "Saute" button and add butter.When butter has melted, add onion, celery, garlic, and beef sirloin cubes. Saute until beef becomes browned.
- Add beef broth, bay leaves, and thyme and place lid on Instant Pot and set tab to "sealing". Press "manual" and set time to "30" on high pressure.
- When time is up, do a quick release. Add potatoes, carrots, and peas and place lid back on Instant Pot. Press "manual" and set time to 3 minutes on high pressure.
- Do a quick release once more and remove meat and vegetables with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl. Remove bay leaves and discard.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press "saute" and add more beef broth (about 2 cups, depending on how much broth remains )in the Instant Pot) to make 4 c. beef broth total.
- Combine cornstarch and milk to make a slurry. Slowly add to the Instant Pot whisking constantly until you reach a gravy-like consistency. Allow to simmer about 3-5 minutes, adding more milk or beef broth to thin if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. For a more "beefy" flavor you can also add some beef bouillon a little at a time until you get the right flavor. Taste as you go.
- Turn off Instant pot. Carefully pour gravy over the beef and vegetables and stir to combine. Set aside and allow to cool while preparing the next steps.
- Prepare 6 oven-proof baking dishes/ramekins (about 12 oz. size works great) by spraying each with cooking spray. Unfold pastry sheets and cut squares to fit over each baking dish.
- Divide pot pie filling equally between each baking dish.
- Place a pastry square over each ramekin. Cut a few small slits on the top of the pie crust.
- Whisk together egg whites and water until foamy. Using a pastry brush, brush egg whites over each pastry square.
- Bake until pastry is puffy and golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).
Notes
- Instant Pot Note: We use a 6-quart Instant Pot brand pressure cooker that we bought in 2016. Different or newer versions may be more sensitive to the “BURN” notice. If you are concerned about the burn notice, please refer to this article: “What Does ‘Burn’ Mean on My Instant Pot?”
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- You can thicken the pot pie sauce either by using cornstarch or mixing a roux with butter and flour. Just make sure to remove the broth from the pressure cooker and place in a glass measuring cup.That way you can create the roux in the Instant Pot and add the broth to thin.
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- Try our delicious Easy Turkey Pot Pie or this super easy and yummy Chicken Pot Pie Crumble recipes if you love a good pot pie!
Hi, first time trying this recipe and so far going well. I am going to try making a homemade pastry for it because I don’t have puff pastry on hand. But it smells great and I have a good feeling about the finished product. I love cooking with my pressure cooker and I am always looking for recipes. Thanks so much.
Yes you can totally use a homemade pie crust, I am sure it tasted amazing! How did you like it?
Wow! This was delicious! I made it just as written except browned the meat/onion mixture on the stove so it wouldn’t take as long. I also used Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts and made a traditional pie with the filling. (425 degrees for 30-35 minutes) I was a bit worried that it might be bland without anything but salt, pepper, and thyme, but it wasn’t at all. My husband has requested homemade beef pot pie for years, but I could never find a recipe that tasted like “store-bought” but BETTER. This is MUCH better! One happy husband tonight!
Wow, what a nice comment! Thank you! I am so glad that this turned out so well for you and that it got “husband approval”. I know that’s not easy to do! Thanks again for the kind comment and the 5-stars!
Can I use a slow cooker? If so how long do I cook it?
We haven’t made this in the Crock Pot before but if I were to guess, I would say 6-8 hours on low. Hope this helps!
Hearty & so delicious!! Love the idea of beef..it’s a nice change from chicken! My hubby would eat this in minutes!!
This was a winner! I found it a little lacking in flavor, and that’s after adding some red wine and Worcester sauce. I think next time I’ll do oregano in addition to thyme and more red wine. Despite my criticism, my guests absolutely loved it and everyone went back for seconds so it still gets 5 stars – I’m just hard to impress c:
We have been doing challenges to see how much we can make in our instant pot and this was a hit! Thank you for a great recipe!
So glad you liked it! I would love to hear all the other fun recipes you made for your challenge!
Wow! I never thought to make pot pie in my IP! This is an awesome recipe!
This was really amazing! Such an amazing pot pie recipe!
So incredibly delicious and still so mind blowing you can make pot pie in an instant pot!