So you got an Instant-pot . . . . Maybe it was a gift from your mother-in-law to be at your wedding shower (a hint that you need to improve your cooking skills), or you felt it was a good ‘adult’ purchase, because its a ‘multi-use’ appliance and apparently cooking is cheaper than ordering seamless every night, or maybe you actually like to cook and know how awesome this appliance actually is (it does everything)!
Now, what to cook first? Stew, beef stew, or at least that’s what I cooked first in my instant-pot. Now this does come with a backstory. A few years ago I had a VERY ambitious moment where I wanted to make beef bourguignon from scratch. I’d seen Julie & Julia, the movie about famous TV chef Julia Child and recently had the dish at a French restaurant. I found a recipe, bought all the ingredients; red wine, pearl onions, thick cut bacon, mushrooms . . . and spent two nights making the dish. Yes, two nights. It turned out amazing, but I will never do it again, I’ll let my favorite French restaurant do the hard work. Unfortunately, my boyfriend at the time (now husband) fell in love with the dish and started requesting I make it. In comes the Instant-pot for the rescue! Fortunately, I actually did get the Instant-pot as a wedding-shower gift (from my cousin rather than my mother-in-law though). I’d heard you could make a speedy version of beef bourguignon in a pressure cooker and quickly googled some ideas for the Instant-pot. However, to complicate things my husband also decided he wanted a keto-friendly version of beef bourguignon. So this isn’t exactly beef bourguignon and it isn’t 100% keto, but it is a really tasty, very easy, quick beef stew that you can make in your Instant-pot in about 45 minutes from grocery bag to bowl.
Instant-Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 - 1 ½ Pound Trimmed Chuck Roast cubed (1 - inch)
- 4 oz Mushrooms (one package) (I used a mix of baby bella, shitake and oyster)
- 1 Large Yellow Onion
- 2 Medium Turnips (about 1 to ½ cups)
- 1 Medium Parsnip (about 1 cup)
- 1 Head Celery (trimmed) (about 2 cups)
- 1 Large Carrot ( about 1 cup)
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 2 TBSP Olive oil or butter or bacon grease (I used all 3)
- 4 Cups Beef broth (I use bullion cubes)
- 1 large Bay leaf
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
- 2 TBSP soy sauce
- Sprinkle of adobo optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut all of the vegetables aiming for 1 - ½ inch cubes and mince the garlic. The mushrooms may or may not need to be cut, if they are on the small side leave them, if they are closer to 2 inches in diameter quarter them and remove stems if they are still on.
- Put the olive oil, butter or bacon grease into the Instant-Pot with the garlic and turn on the saute button. I used a little of all three to give it some extra flavor. If your machine doesn’t have this function you can also do it on the stove.
- Once the oil or butter is hot and the garlic has been sauteed a bit put in your chuck roast and brown it
- While your meat is browning dissolve two bullion cubes in 4 cups of boiling water, or have 4 cups of beef broth ready to go
- Just before its finished browning sprinkle in some adobo spice and continue to brown a few minutes. This adds a bit of extra flavor to the meat. If you don’t have this it isn’t necessary. Adobo seasoning is just a mix of garlic and other spices used to season meat and other dishes in Latin American, Caribbean, and Filipino cuisines. I just like the flavor and tend to add it to a lot of my cooking.
- Add in the soy sauce, worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf and vegetables to your Instant-pot, pour the beef broth over the top, salt and pepper to taste and then give everything a good mix.
- Put the lid on and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Now you can either use the manual function and set the time for 35 minutes, or just select the ‘’meat/stew” button which should default to 35 minutes.
- Wait for your stew to finish
- After it beeps carefully release the valve to ‘venting’ and let it depressurize. When its finished twist off the top and you’re ready to serve!
- (Optional - if you’re not carb conscious) Serve with crusty bread or roasted potatoes and a nice glass of red wine.
Notes
- Parsnips/turnips
- You can substitute potatoes and or green beans. I chose parsnips and turnips as they are more ‘keto-friendly’ than potatoes, but I’ve used green beans before and they make a great addition as well
- Red Pepper Flakes
- If you like things spicy feel free to add some red pepper flakes to spice it up
