Savory Instant Pot Beef Stew

Savory Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe

This savory instant pot beef stew recipe is super easy and also provides nourishment for both mom and baby before, during, and after pregnancy. And, the instant pot is easy to use once you get the hang of it.

I know the pressure cooker has been around forever, but I’m a big fan of the latest instant pot trend. It provides the convenience of a one-pot slow cooker meal with a reduced cooking time. Altogether, this sound like a win-win! And stews, pot roast, and soups are fabulous dishes to whip up in the instant pot. These are overall great meal options for pregnancy.

Additionally, using the instant pot we are able to make an easy nutrient-dense meal for pregnancy that creates minimal dishes and perfectly juicy meat. Yes, please! Next, we will review a few of the nutritional benefits of this delicious instant pot recipe.

Featured Superstar Ingredients for Pregnancy:

This warm comfort food recipe is chock full of nutrients that are important during pregnancy for both mom and baby. Hence why I’m excited to share this recipe with you today. Our instant pot beef stew for pregnancy recipe packs in vitamins A & C, protein, fiber, fluids, iron, vitamin B12, folate, and more. An altogether nutrient packed dish!

Before we get to the recipe let’s take a closer look at a few of these nutrient packed featured ingredients in today’s beef stew recipe. In the following paragraphs we will review four of the featured foods in this recipe.

Stew Meat

Stew meat is rich in protein and other nutrients that are essential for pregnancy. Iron and vitamin B12 are two of these key nutrients found in stew meat. The daily recommended amount of iron jumps from 18 mg per day to 27 mg per day. And beef stew meat provides a good boost of highly bioavailable iron to your pregnancy diet.

Acorn Squash

Secondly, acorn squash is a great carb choice for pregnancy. Like other vegetable choices, acorn squash is a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Did you know, one cup of cooked acorn squash provides about 9 grams of dietary fiber? Obviously it really is a great source of fiber!

In addition to fiber, acorn squash packs in vitamins A & C, B vitamins, non-heme iron, magnesium, potassium, and more. It truly is a nutrient-dense carb choice for pregnancy.

Carrots

Next up are carrots. They are a good source of beta carotene, fiber, antioxidants, potassium, and vitamin K. Antioxidants are substances found in some foods that offer health benefits and can help prevent, slow, or reverse damage to our cells.

Did you know carrots come in many colors? It’s true! Yellow, white, orange, and purple are among some of the carrot colors available. Feel free to try a colorful bag of baby carrots in this beef stew recipe.

Bonus: Bone Broth

Finally, let’s talk about bone broth. Utilizing a regular vegetable, chicken, or beef stock or broth is totally fine in this recipe. However, if you have access to bone broth that’s a nutritional bonus! Bone broth is a clear, savory, broth made from animal bones with some meat and connective tissues.

This type of broth is a good source of protein, specifically the amino acid glycine. During pregnancy glycine becomes a “conditionally essential” nutrient. This means we must get it from our pregnancy diet. Glycine needs increase throughout pregnancy too.

Whew, that’s a lot of great foods for pregnancy!

As mentioned previously, this recipe is full of nutrient-packed foods for pregnancy. Now, let’s get to the good stuff. The recipe details for this delicious and nutritious comfort food recipe are below. Dinner is served.

Savory Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe:

Total time: 60 minutes

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Servings: ~ 8 (depends on serving size)

Ingredients:

1- 1.5 lbs stew meat
1 bag Trader Joe’s tiny white potatoes
1 bag of baby carrots
½ Acorn Squash
2 shallots
32 oz. broth (veggie, beef, or chicken)
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp flour (any kind including almond meal, coconut flour, whole wheat)
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
1 bay leaf

Directions:

Wash carrots, potatoes, & acorn squash. Cut ½ of the acorn squash into cubes and then dice the shallots.
Drizzle a little EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) in the bottom of the pot and then use the saute feature to cook the stew meat. Add shallots and salt/pepper.
Once the meat has browned, add potatoes, carrots, and acorn squash.
Add broth, tomato paste, and then additional seasoning.
Change setting to stew. Put the lid on and seal. Set it to normal pressure and then cook for 30 minutes.
Once the stew is done, release the steam. After the steam has been released, open the lid. Switch to saute feature again.
Take ¼ of the liquid out and mix it in a separate bowl with 2 tbsp flour. Stir until completely mixed together.
Put gravy mixture back in the pot and stir until stew becomes thicker.
Lastly, let cool a bit and serve!

Will you give this recipe for pregnancy a try?

We love a tasty, easy, and nutrient-dense recipes for pregnancy at The Prenatal Nutritionist. And this recipe was honestly that easy!

This recipe fed my husband and I all week and then afterwards we made it the next week, too. I added acorn squash because that is what I had, but you could easily add any other kind of squash, peas, spinach, onions, or other vegetables to this dish too. Basically any vegetables you have on hand will make a great addition.

If figuring out what to eat or planning meals has been stressing you out, we understand and are here to support you, mama!⁣

Inside the annual membership to The Prenatal Nutrition Library there are five 30-day expert-crafted menus, that are easy, yummy, and nutrient-dense for you and your baby!⁣ Including meal plans for,
⁣
Preconception⁣
1st trimester⁣
2nd trimester ⁣
3rd trimester⁣
and gestational diabetes
⁣
Meal plans so you are set for every stage of your journey from preconception through pregnancy. Check out The Prenatal Nutrition Library and join us today. Until next time, wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancyw