Creamy Instant Pot Mushroom Stew With Garlic Crumbs

Get ready for a flavor explosion! This veggie-packed, creamy Instant Pot mushroom stew is the comfort food dreams are made of. Serve it solo or over rice, quinoa, or noodles for a satisfying meal. And don’t forget the crunchy garlic crumbs on top! Dinner just got a whole lot yummier. Let’s get cookin’.

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Get ready to savor the delicious flavors of this creamy Instant Pot Mushroom stew with garlic crumbs.

This vegetarian-friendly stew dish is the perfect comfort food that can be enjoyed on its own or served over a bed of rice, quinoa, or noodles. Made using an Instant Pot, this hearty stew is loaded with tender mushrooms, carrots, celery and potatoes and infused with the richness of cream. 

The savory garlic crumbs add an extra crunch and depth of flavor, making it a perfect meal for any night of the week. So, gather your ingredients and let’s get started!

Mushrooms – this stew features both fresh and dried mushrooms, which are rehydrated with some boiling water. You can use cremini or Swiss brown mushrooms, or sliced Portobellos; dried porcini or other forest mushrooms or dried shiitake mushrooms can all be used. 

Vegetable base – onion, celery, carrots, and garlic  – the flavor and aromatic base for any good soup.

Potatoes –  any white potatoes can be used in this stew.

For the sauce – Mushrooms themselves will lend a great main taste to this dish but we wanted to enhance the broth with savory, umami-rich ingredients so we’re using sun-dried tomatoes, soy sauce, herbs, and tomato paste to infuse it with flavor. You can use vegetable or chicken stock/broth as the base.

To finish – flour and water are used to make a little slurry that helps to thicken the stew and the cream is there to finish it and make it extra tasty and velvety.Garlic crumbs – guys, these are optional but we think they add lovely crunchy texture and extra flavor to this dish. You can use any bread crumbs like Panco and fresh garlic or garlic powder, as well as some butter to make these in a frying pan.

You will find the full recipe with ingredients and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below.

There are three stages to making this mushroom stew recipe in the pressure cooker. The first stage is to saute the mushrooms and the vegetables. The second stage is to pressure cook the stew with added potatoes. The third stage is to thicken the finished stew with flour slurry and cream and to add some of the pre-cooked mushrooms back in. 

Let’s break it down with step-by-step photos and video. You can use a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot.

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Step 1. In 1 cup of bowl of boiling hot water, soak the dried mushrooms for 10 minutes to rehydrate.

Step 2. Turn the Saute on High mode. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and once hot add the Swiss brown a few handfuls of sliced mushrooms. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until browned. Remove and repeat with extra oil and remaining mushrooms. It’s best to do this in two batches so that the mushrooms brown better. Keeping the heat on HIGH will also help them to brown better as they will at first get watery and soggy, but keep stirring until that liquid evaporates and the mushrooms get some color.

Step 3. While the mushrooms are cooking, take the rehydrated dried mushrooms out of the bowl but reserve the soaking liquid. Chop them roughly and set aside.

Step 4. Remove all mushrooms to a plate. Add another two tablespoons of oil to the pot and change the heat mode to Normal on Saute setting (press the Saute button until it cycles to Normal on display). Add onion, carrot, celery and salt and cook for 4-5 minutes to soften; stir frequently.

Step 5. Add garlic, potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes, followed by half of the pre-cooked mushrooms. Add the chopped rehydrated mushrooms, the soaking liquid (1 cup) and additional 2 cups of vegetable stock.  Add pepper, soy sauce, chili flakes and tomato paste. Stir everything really well.

Step 6. Secure and lock the lid. Set to Pressure Cook for 2 minutes on HIGH with quick release.

Step 7. Open the lid of the Instant pot and stir the stew. Pour in 1 cup of cream and stir in the other half of the pre-cooked mushrooms that we left out. Make a slurry by whisking 1 tablespoon of flour with 2-3 tablespoons of water until smooth. Stir this mixture into the hot stew to thicken it even more. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust seasoning as needed.

Make Garlic Bread Crumbs

While the mushroom stew is cooking, prepare garlic breadcrumbs. In a small frying pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and stir for a few minutes until they turn golden. Add the garlic and season with salt. Stir for an additional minute or two until garlic cooks through slightly but doesn’t burn. Remove and set aside.

Step 8. Top with fresh parsley and garlic breadcrumbs. Serve with a side of crusty bread or over rice, quinoa, mashed potatoes.

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Recipe Tips

Dried mushrooms such as porcini, shiitake or other forest mushrooms have a more saturated, distinct flavor so if you can, do use them. If you can’t get your hands on any dried mushrooms, they can be omitted. 

Pre-frying the mushrooms gives a more accurate volume of mushrooms to use as they shrink a lot during cooking. It also caramelizes them slightly, giving them more flavor. We like using half of the pre-sauteed mushroom in the stew while it’s cooking and adding the other half at the end.

This Instant Pot mushroom stew is vegetarian friendly and can be made vegan by swapping cream with a dairy-free, plant-based alternative. You could try coconut cream or pureed cashew nuts. 

What To Serve With Mushroom Stew

This mushroom stew is hearty and satiating and can be served solo with a side of crusty bread or dinner rolls. It can also be accompanied with rice, quinoa, cooked noodles or pasta. Cheese toasties would be delicious as a side.

For extra tang, you can add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt to the bowls. Grated cheese will make this even more comforting and delicious.

Storing The Stew

The stew will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. 

It can be frozen, too,  but we recommend leaving the cream out and adding it to the stew once it’s been defrosted and reheated.

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MORE MUSHROOM RECIPES

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MORE INSTANT POT STEW RECIPES

• Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli
• Instant Pot Vegetable Stew
• Instant Pot Braised Green Beans
• Best Vegetarian Stew Recipes