A Beef Youvetsi (Greek-style Beef and Orzo Stew) in under an hour with the Instant Pot!
Watch the Video
The Instant Pot helps make this Beef Youvetsi, aka Greek-Style Beef and Orzo Stew, into a quick, easy weeknight meal. It’s a delicious beef stew with orzo mixed in at the end, and it’s ready in less than an hour! You can make it with chicken, beef, or lamb, and all of the directions will be the same. I used beef because I had fresh beef from my brother-in-law’s farm, and it’s so delicious.
Should you get an Instant Pot?
I’m not a big fan of ginormous kitchen gadgets, but you guys convinced me. And it took me a while to get to know my Instant Pot, but I’m so glad we became friends! I bought it in November because I wanted to make a series of videos cooking my more time-consuming recipes. However, I wouldn’t say I like to read instructions, so it was intimidating and took a while to figure it all out. I went with the 8-quart Instant Pot because we’re a family of 7, and I cook large batches. Here’s that link (affiliate) if you’d like to read more about the one I have.
So, the answer to the question is… yes! An instant pot is definitely worth having because otherwise, this stew would take you up to three hours!
This stew with orzo will become a family favorite
- Juicy fall apart beef
- Soft al dente orzo
- Creamy, tangy, melting feta
- Saucy Comforting stew!
What makes this stew so delicious
- Beef shank –shoulder cut into cubes
- Onion –finely chopped
- Olive oil
- Grated garlic –minced garlic would be good if you can’t grate it
- Crushed tomatoes
- Salt
- Sweet paprika –not the smoky paprika
- Cracked black pepper to taste
- Bay leaves
- Dried oregano
- Orzo pasta
- Fresh parsley –finely chopped
- Feta cheese for serving
- Crushed red pepper flakes –we like a little heat with this stew, but omit if you don’t
- Cinnamon –a traditional Greek stew seasoning, but my kids won’t eat it. Try one cinnamon stick or ¼ – ½ teaspoon ground.
How to make Instant Pot Beef Youvetsi
- Add the onion and olive oil to the Instant pot and press the sauté button. Season the onions lightly with a pinch of salt, and cook until soft –about 12-14 minutes. Add the garlic and warm through for a few seconds.
- Next, add the meat, tomatoes, salt, and all of the seasonings except the oregano. Pour a cup of water into the pot and stir everything together.
- Pressure cook the stew for 25 minutes.
- Release the pressure and check the seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Transfer the stew to a large roasting pan. A lasagna pan is perfect. Add the orzo pasta, the oregano, and a teaspoon of salt. Then, add 3-4 cups of water or beef broth.
- Bake (uncovered) in a preheated 400 °F (200 °C)oven for approximately 20 minutes.
- Carefully take the pan out of the oven and stir everything together. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Make the entire meal in the Instant Pot!
You don’t have to use the oven. It tastes better in the oven but if you’d like to make the entire meal in one pot, add the orzo to the Instant Pot after the meat is ready. Then, add the oregano, salt, and about two cups of water. Use the sauté option and cook for about 15 minutes or until the orzo is al dente.
Serving
If you’d like more sauce than your dish has when it’s finished cooking, add some warm brother or salted water. We like it medium saucy. Ha! Since your meat, veggies, and pasta are all in one stew, you don’t need much else. However, garnish the stew with parsley, top with feta cheese, and serve it with a nice green salad. You’ll have a delicious beef and orzo stew in under an hour!
Kali Orexi!
Beef Youvetsi in the Instant Pot (Ready in under 60 mins!)
Ingredients
- 3 and 1/2 -4 pounds of beef shank or shoulder cut into cubes
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic (5-6 cloves of garlic)
- 1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste (plus more for the orzo pasta)
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 pound uncooked orzo pasta
- 1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- feta cheese for serving
Instructions
Add the onion and olive oil to the Instant pot and press the saute button. Season the onions lightly with a pinch of salt. Cook until soft and golden 12-14 minutes. Add the garlic and warm through for a few seconds.
Add the meat, tomatoes, salt, and all of the seasonings except the oregano. Pour a cup of water into the pot and mix everything together.
Pressure cook the stew for 25 minutes. Release the pressure and check the seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
Transfer the stew to a large roasting pan. A lasagna pan is perfect. Add the orzo pasta, the oregano, and a teaspoon of salt. Add 3-4 cups of water or beef broth.
Bake (uncovered) in a preheated 400 °F (200 °C) oven for approximately 20 minutes.
Carefully take the pan out of the oven and stir everything together. Taste and add more salt if needed. Garnish with parsley and serve with feta cheese and a nice green salad.
Kali Orexi!
Notes
The orzo can also be added to the pressure cooker instead of cooking it in the oven. It tastes better in the oven but if you'd like to make the entire meal in one pot, add the orzo to the Instantpot after the meat is ready. Add the oregano, salt, and water. Use the sautee option and cook for about 15 minutes or until the orzo is al dente.
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Yes…please do more instant pot recipes. Most people are using the 6 qt. pot. Avgolemono soup and dolmades are delish in the instant pot also lentil soup.
Your recipes are always a hit and I would love to make this beef with orzo. However, I do not have an Instant Pot. Can you let me k ow how to do thia coconut on the stove top?
Thank you! Yes, you can cook this on the stovetop. Just cook the onions until soft and then, add the garlic, beef and remaining stew ingredients. Cook over medium-low until the meat is soft. This takes approximately 1 and 1/2 hours. Then you can add the orzo to the pot or cook it in the oven just like I did. Hope this helps 🙂 Enjoy
In your video and in your instructions, you said 25 minutes pressure cook. But in the video you show 20 minutes on the instant pot. Which is it?
It’s 25 minutes 🙂
I for one would love it if you did more instant pot recipes. I absolutely love my instant pot and dimitra’s dishes & the incredible recipes. I can’t wait to make this dish and look forward to more !
I did 25 minutes and the lamb wasn’t even close to being done. Are you sure 25 min is enough?
Yes, I’ve tested it over and over in my Instant Pot but if the animal is an older animal, it will take longer. Hope this helps! By the way are you pressure cooking it because if not, it takes an hour and a half on the stovetop 🙂
I’ve made this and we absolutely love it! I do, however, have a question. Do we need to cook this at HIGH pressure or LOW pressure in the Instant Pot?
High pressure 🙂
Hi, how would I adapt this recipe to make it in the slow cooker rather than instant pot?
Love the recipe, Made mine in a Ninja Foodi,
I think the “add some warm brother” was one of the funniest typos I’ve ever seen in a recipe!
oops! lol. Is that typo still there? I can’t find it.
Hello! I’ve been subbing to your YT channel for a while and it was nice to see that you’re the first hit when Googling for youvetsi in an instant pot.
It’s rather hot today so I had to skip the oven and used your suggestion to just put the orzo in the IP for a little while longer after the beef is done.
A couple of tips that I have learned (sorry, you probably hate this kind of thing) but I obsoletely love cumin and cinnamon in this and I find that adding a couple of sticks and removing before serving adds just the right hint of it. I also have found that frying the dry orzo in some olive oil improves the texture of the final dish immensely! Especially when finishing the orzo in the IP instead of in the oven.
Hi! First of all, thank you very much for your support. I love this kind of feedback and I agree that adding the cumin and cinnamon makes the dish aromatic and better. I love the tip about frying the orzo. I’ll try it next time. Glad you liked the recipe 🙂
I doubled the sauce (but not the water, adding 1/2 c red wine), upped the spices (and added rosemary) and halved the broth at the end. Yummy!