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The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew

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The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef StewPin itFollow us 148.4k

Deliciously tender beef cooked in a pressure cooker with low-carb vegetables, in super creamy grain-free tomato sauce. This is comfort cooking at its best.

What I love most about it is that you can make the whole meal in the Instant Pot! In just 90 minutes you've got a tasty keto dish with fall-apart meat and juicy vegetables cooked to perfection.

The only extra work is thickening the sauce but it's totally worth it. Since there is no flour allowed on a keto diet, most low-carb stews are thin and runny. That's not the case with this recipe.

Egg yolks are a fantastic alternative to flour resulting in super creamy sauce without the extra carbs. I've been using egg yolks to thicken sauces, gravies and even soups, including those in my Keto Slow Cooker & One-Pot Meals Book, always with success!

Tips & Substitutions

  • If you can't eat eggs, you can use a few tablespoons of cream cheese to thicken the sauce as needed. If you can't eat dairy, use a fine mesh sieve to sprinkle 1/2 teaspooon of xanthan gum, or 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder in the saucepan with the meat juices while stirring constantly.
  • If you neew to freeze this meal, here's a great tip from Liz, one of my followers on Facebook: "I live alone, so I needed to freeze the portions. I made it up to the point just before adding the eggs. I then portioned the stew for the freezer. I do the thickening part with the yoke portion by portion, as needed.
  • Not sure what to do with the leftover egg whites? Try one of the options listed in my Keto Lemon Curd recipe!
  • What to use instead of kohlrabi and/or rutabaga (swede): turnips, radishes, mooli (daikon radish), zucchini or eggplant (aubergine).
  • If you don't have an Instant Pot, try some of the following alternatives:

Oven Baking

Preheat the oven to 150 °C/ 300 °F. Place all ingredients in a large baking dish (optionally you can brown the onion, garlic and meat). Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 4 hours.

Add some water if needed (check half way through to ensure the haven't dried out). After 4 hours, remove the foil and increase the temperature to 200 °C/ 400 °F. Cook for another 15-20 minutes. Then, follow the instructions from step 8.

Dutch Oven

Grease a large Dutch oven (6 -quart/L or more) with ghee. Add chopped onion and cook over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for a minute. Add the chopped rutabaga, kohlrabi, celery, salt, pepper, paprika, allspice and tomatoes. Add 1-2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over a high heat and then turn down to low.

Cook for 4 hours, checking every hour to ensure there is enough juices. If needed, add a cup or two more water. When done, take off the heat. Optionally, crisp up in the oven preheated to 200 °C/ 400 °F for 15-20 minutes. Then, follow the instructions from step 8.

Slow Cooker

Optionally, you can brown the onion, garlic and meat before adding into the slow cooker. Place all ingredients in the slow cooker (6 -quart/L or more).

Cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Optionally, crisp up in the oven preheated to 200 °C/ 400 °F for 15-20 minutes. Then, follow the instructions from step 8.

Hands-on Overall

Serving size about 2 cups

Allergy information for The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Nut free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free

Nutritional values (per serving, about 2 cups)

Net carbs8.2 grams
Protein34.3 grams
Fat35.7 grams
Calories514 kcal
Calories from carbs 7%, protein 28%, fat 65%
Total carbs14 gramsFiber5.8 gramsSugars6.8 gramsSaturated fat14.8 gramsSodium437 mg(19% RDA)Magnesium65 mg(16% RDA)Potassium1,074 mg(54% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 8 servings)

  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (110 g/ 3.9 oz)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1.2 kg boneless beef such as brisket or stewing steak (2.65 lb)
  • 1 rutabaga (swede), peeled and diced (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
  • 3 kohlrabi or turnips, peeled and diced (600 g/ 1.3 lb)
  • 4 celery stalks, chopped (160 g/ 5.6 oz)
  • 2 tbsp ghee or duck fat (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
  • 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 can unsweetened tomatoes or chopped fresh tomatoes (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
  • 1/2 cup water (120 ml/ 4 fl oz)
  • 8 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Peel and dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cut the beef into large 2-inch (5 cm) pieces. Set aside. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  2. Peel the rutabaga and kohlrabi (or use turnips instead of kohlrabi). Cut them into about 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. Chop the celery stalks. Set all the vegetables aside.
  3. Set your Instant Pot to Sauté and grease with ghee (use 6 or 8-quart/L Instant Pot). Add the onion and cook for just 3 minutes, until fragrant and then add the minced garlic. Cook for another 30 seconds. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  4. Add the beef chunks and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until browned from all sides while stirring to prevent burning. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  5. Add the paprika, allspice, chopped rutabaga, kohlrabi and chopped celery stalks. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  6. Mix until combined and add the canned tomatoes. Turn the Sauté off. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  7. Cover with a lid and set to Manual. Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. When the program has finished, let the steam release naturally for 15-20 minutes, and then turn the valve to venting to release the remaining steam. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  8. To make the creamy sauce, whisk the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of water. Keep the egg whites for another recipe (see suggestions listed in my Keto Lemon Curd). The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  9. Strain the meat juices from the Instant Pot (the red sauce) into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Temper the red sauce into the egg yolk mixture while whisking. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  10. When you add about half of the red sauce, return everything into the saucepan with the remaining red sauce. Cook while stirring for 4-6 minutes, until thick and creamy.
  11. If the sauce is not smooth or has curdled, use an immersion blender and process until smooth and creamy (be careful not to get burnt!).
  12. Pour the creamy sauce back into the pot with the cooked meat & vegetables. Stir to combine. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew
  13. Serve immediately (about 2 cups per serving) with freshly chopped parsley. To store, let it cool down and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To store for longer, freeze for up to 3 months. The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, about 2 cups)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Onion, brown (yellow), raw
0.9 g0.1 g0 g5 kcal
Garlic, fresh
0.2 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Beef (for slow cooking), grass-fed
0 g28.8 g27 g366 kcal
Rutabagas, raw
3.2 g0.5 g0.1 g19 kcal
Kohlrabi, fresh
2 g1.3 g0.1 g20 kcal
Celery stalk, fresh
0.3 g0.1 g0 g3 kcal
Ghee
0 g0 g3.8 g34 kcal
Salt, sea salt
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Pepper, black, spices
0.1 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Paprika, spices
0.2 g0.1 g0.1 g2 kcal
Allspice, dried, spices
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Tomatoes, canned (unsweetened)
0.8 g0.4 g0.1 g8 kcal
Water, still
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Egg yolk, fresh
0.6 g2.7 g4.5 g55 kcal
Parsley, fresh (spices)
0.1 g0.1 g0 g1 kcal
Total per serving, about 2 cups
8.2 g34.3 g35.7 g514 kcal

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

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Comments (12)

We all Loved this recipe. Easy to make.  Thank you.

Thank you Kerry!

This recipe is still not right about where the red sauce comes from.

I believe it's clear from the step by step photos but I will add more information to clarify. It says: "Strain the juices (the red sauce) into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer." I'll change it to "Strain the meat juices from the instant pot (the red sauce) into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer."

This beef stew hit the mark!  Thank you!  It’s absolutely yummy!

What is the ghee for?

Thank you for spotting that - it was meant to be mentioned in step 3 (I fixed it) 😊

I don’t see the directions on what the “red sauce“ is. I’ve re-read this three times and still I’m confused. Any help would be appreciated.

The red sauce refers to the red juices (step 9) - I added some clarification 😊

Sorry my mistake, you say 34 grams of protein! So again per pot or 1 serving. Sorry for confusion.

Hello Sandra, I think I already answered this on the Keto Lemon Cheesecake Jars but just in case you miss this:
Are you following the keto diet for therapeutic purposes (eg epilepsy)? If not, you can have a lot more protein than that 😊 In fact, you can have even 40 g of protein if you practice intermittent fasting. Otherwise 20-30 grams of protein per meal is ideal for most people. Here's how you can find your "ideal" protein intake on a ketogenic diet: KetoDiet Buddy - Easy Macro Calculator for the Ketogenic Diet

Are these nutritional values for the whole stew or per serving? Again 11 grams of protein is too high for my keto plan, unless it's 11 grams for the whole pot. Please clarify. Thanks a lot.