The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew

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.

Step-by-step

1. Peel and dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cut the beef into large 2-inch (5 cm) pieces. Set aside.

   

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.

   

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.

   

5. Add the paprika, allspice, chopped rutabaga, kohlrabi and chopped celery stalks.

   

6. Mix until combined and add the canned tomatoes. Turn the Sauté off.

   

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.

   

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).

   

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.

   

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.

    

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.

    

Recipe

The Best Low-Carb Instant Pot Beef Stew

★★★★★4.8 (410 ratings)

Deliciously tender beef cooked in a pressure cooker with low-carb vegetables, in super creamy grain-free ...

Hands on

30m

Overall

1h 30m

Servings

8

8.2 g

Net carbs

34.3 g

Protein

35.7 g

Fat

514

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings16 servings24 servings32 servings

US + metricMetricUS

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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.

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.

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.

5. Add the paprika, allspice, chopped rutabaga, kohlrabi and chopped celery stalks.

6. Mix until combined and add the canned tomatoes. Turn the Sauté off.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Nutrition per serving, about 2 cups

Carbs 7%Protein 28%Fat 65% of calories

Net carbs

8.2 g

Total carbs

14 g

Fiber

5.8 g

Sugars

6.8 g

Protein

34.3 g

Fat

35.7 g

Saturated fat

14.8 g

Calories

514 kcal

Sodium

437 mg · 19% RDA

Magnesium

65 mg · 16.3% RDA

Potassium

1,074 mg · 53.7% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per about 2 cups	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Onion, brown (yellow), raw	0.9 g	0.1 g	0 g	5
Garlic, fresh	0.2 g	0 g	0 g	1
Beef (for slow cooking), grass-fed	0 g	28.8 g	27 g	366
Rutabagas, raw	3.2 g	0.5 g	0.1 g	19
Kohlrabi, fresh	2 g	1.3 g	0.1 g	20
Celery stalk, fresh	0.3 g	0.1 g	0 g	3
Ghee	0 g	0 g	3.8 g	34
Salt, sea salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Pepper, black, spices	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	0
Paprika, spices	0.2 g	0.1 g	0.1 g	2
Allspice, dried, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Tomatoes, canned (unsweetened)	0.8 g	0.4 g	0.1 g	8
Water, still	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Egg yolk, fresh	0.6 g	2.7 g	4.5 g	55
Parsley, fresh (spices)	0.1 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Total	8.2 g	34.3 g	35.7 g	514

Serving size about 2 cups

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