Hearty Instant Pot Beef Stew

Hearty Beef Stew

I adapted this recipe from Primal Gourmet - one of my FAVORITE paleo-friendly cooks. If you’re not already following him on Instagram, check him out. His content is delightful and his recipes are solid! This makes a BIG BATCH because I love leftovers - especially when it’s stew. It gets better over time! Feel free to cut this in half if you’re looking for a more modest size meal with 6-8 servings.

Makes: 12-15 servings

Ingredients:

Avocado oil (for cooking)
3lbs pasture-raised (grass-fed and finished) chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
8oz button or cremini mushrooms, quartered
7 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
6 cups beef broth (I like Kettle & Fire)
1lb baby potatoes, quartered
2 tbsp coconut aminos (you can also use tamari if you eat soy)
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Italian parsley, chopped (garnish)

Method:

1. Pat dry the beef, and season with salt and pepper. Turn your Instant Pot on sauté, pour in a splash of avocado oil (about 1 tbsp per batch of meat) and brown the beef in batches, making sure you leave space between each cube. (If you crowd the pot, the beef will release a lot of steam and you won’t get the nice golden brown caramelization).

2. Next you’re going to sauté and soften the vegetables. Depending on your beef, you might have some fat on the bottom of the pot. if you’re using pasture-raised beef, you can use the fat from the beef to sauté the veggies in (great flavor!) if you’re using regular factory-farmed beef, you’ll want to discard that fat as toxins are stored in animal fat. Make sure you have a thin layer of fat on the bottom - if not from the beef, splash a little more avocado oil in. Sauté the carrots, onions, celery, and parsnips for 5-8 minutes, until softened. I like to add a little salt to help dehydrate the veggies and get more caramelization going. The veggies will release some moisture and you can use this to scrape up some of the browned bits on the bottom of the pot.

3. Once veggies are softened, you can add in the mushrooms. Cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Next, add the garlic, paprika, and smoked paprika. Sauté for about 1 minute, until the garlic is fragrant.

5. Add in a splash of beef broth and make sure you get the remaining brown bits off the bottom of the pan by scraping with your spoon. Add the rest of the broth, the browned beef, the baby potatoes, and coconut aminos. Stir until well incorporated.

6. Add the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf into the broth. If you have an herb packet, you can use that. Otherwise you can tie the herbs together or just toss them in on the top, making sure they are immersed in liquid but will be easy to retrieve after cooking is complete.

7. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is switched over to pressure.

8. Hit the pressure cooker button, and set to 30 minutes. Your Instant Pot will now start pressurizing. Once it is fully pressurized, it will start the 30 minute timer.

9. After 30 minutes, release the valve / pressure manually. There may be a thin layer of fat on the top - you can skim this off, especially if you didn’t use pasture-raised beef. Test the stew - season to taste. If you’d like to thicken the sauce, you can continue cooking with the lid off or you can add a rue made from arrowroot starch and ghee.

10. Serve in bowls - one serving is about 12-13oz of stew with 312 calories, 18g fat, 13g carbs (2.5g fiber), and 25g protein. Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley for an extra boost of nutrients, flavor, and zest! Enjoy!