This paper proposes the innovative methodologies for the robust and stable design of optimal stable digital infinite impulse response (IIR) filters using different mutation variants of hybrid differential evolution (HDE). A multivariable optimization is employed as the design criterion to obtain the optimal stable IIR filter that satisfies the different performance requirements like minimizing the magnitude approximation error and minimizing the ripple magnitude. HDE method is undertaken as a global search technique and exploratory search is exploited as a local search technique. The proposed different mutation variants of HDE method enhance the capability to explore and exploit the search space locally as well globally to obtain the optimal filter design parameters. The chance of starting with better solution is improved by comparing the opposite solution. Here HDE has been effectively applied for the design of higher order optimal stable band-pass, and band-stop digital IIR filters. The experimental results depict that proposed HDE methods are superior or at least comparable to other algorithms and can be efficiently applied for higher order IIR filter design.