While researching and writing our second cookbook, From Freezer to Cooker, we honed in on the perfect cook time for beef stew in the Instant Pot. We found--whether your meal is fresh or frozen--it needs to cook for 30 minutes at high pressure with a 10 minute natural release. After that, quick release the rest of the pressure. This is long enough to cook the meat until tender and make sure your sauce melds together. Be sure to also account for the time it will take for the Instant Pot to come to pressure before the cook time officially starts. For a fresh meal, this will take about 15 minutes. For a frozen meal, it can take 20-25+ minutes.