I’m combining two of my favorite things today. My instant pot and Chinese food! This Whole30 instant pot beef and broccoli is about a million times healthier than the beef and broccoli you would normally get in your takeout order. It also happens to be a quicker option too, with only 30 minutes needed to put this on the dinner table! Got your attention now didn’t I? Thought so!
I remember when I first got my instant pot this summer and was terrified of it. I remember writing in the first recipe I posted here about how it looked like a spaceship (haha!) and that I was so nervous to use it. Compared to my slow cooker that has two buttons for low and high, this contraption felt like I needed an engineering degree to figure out. But, alas, I managed, and now I couldn’t imagine life without it. Bonus: my kitchen hasn’t exploded (yet).
If you’ve been hesitating on getting one for yourself, I’m here to tell you it’s worth it. Not only for easy 30 minute meals from start to finish, like this beef and broccoli or my chicken taco soup, but even for batch cooking! I love using it at the beginning of the week to cook a bunch of chicken breasts to dice or shred, pork, taco meat or roasts so I have a go-to protein for the week.
For this instant pot beef and broccoli, you can use flank steak or a beef chuck roast. If you use a chuck roast, make sure to trim any extra fat prior to cooking. Those cuts of beef typically are a bit fattier, but they’re also cheaper so it’s a good budget option!
Instead of a typical soy sauce (Paleo = no soy), I use coconut aminos. You can pretty much get coconut aminos anywhere nowadays. Target and Walmart even. My favorite brands are Big Tree Farms and just the Thrive Market brand because it’s way cheaper and I go through this stuff like water sometimes. I DID tell you I was a huge fan of Chinese food at the beginning of this, remember?
I did link to Big Tree Farms on Amazon, but just to show you what I’m yappin’ about. It’s way cheaper on Thrive Market per bottle (like half the price) so just a heads up there. Thrive Market gives you 20% off your first 3 orders as well, so you can maximize your savings there too.
The other ingredients used in this simple Whole30 instant pot beef and broccoli recipe are sesame oil, which is a staple for creating the well known Asian flavor in dishes. Along with using arrowroot flour as the thickener instead of cornstarch. Some other options for thickening sauces are tapioca starch, coconut flour or gelatin.
For my tips on cooking with gelatin, check out this post!
This Whole30 instant pot beef and broccoli is great served with cauliflower rice, broccoli rice or just on it’s own! You can make it for a quick weeknight dinner, or use it for your next meal prep. It makes plenty of servings to get you some delicious lunches for the week! Enjoy!
Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli Tutorial Video
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PrintInstant Pot Beef and Broccoli: Whole30, Paleo and 30 Minutes!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
- 2–3 crowns broccoli broken into florets
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (I use Primal Kitchen) or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour
- 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- Sesame seeds to garnish
- Chopped green onions to garnish
Instructions
- Turn instant pot onto “sauté” mode and add avocado or olive oil.
- Once oil is sizzling, sear sliced beef (about 30 seconds-1 minute on each side) in batches, ensuring not to overcrowd or over cook. Transfer to a plate once browned
- Once all beef is browned and on the plate, add minced garlic to the instant pot and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute
- Add in the beef broth, ginger, coconut aminos, sesame oil, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Add beef and juices from plate to the instant pot, close the lid, and set to “sealing”
- Select manual and set the time for 10 minutes
- While beef and sauce is cooking, place broccoli florets in a microwave safe dish filled 3/4th’s with water. Microwave for 3 minutes until lightly steamed for al dente broccoli. Drain water and set aside. Mix in with the beef after cooking. *See notes for additional way to cook the broccoli
- Once beef is done, do a quick release, and put the instant pot back into “sauté” mode
- Slowly add in arrowroot flour, using a fork to whisk into the liquid as you add it. Add in broccoli and continue stirring as the sauce thickens
- Remove beef and broccoli with a slotted spoon and arrange in a large serving dish or meal prep containers. Allow the remaining liquid to continue simmering and thickening
- Once it’s thick and bubbling, pour sauce over beef and broccoli
- Garnish with sesame seeds, green onions or additional red pepper flakes
Notes
Optional way to cook broccoli: Once done the beef is done, do a quick release, remove lid, place in broccoli. Close the lid again, set to 0:00 on manual, and set to “sealing” to steam broccoli. This will cook the broccoli more thoroughly as opposed to lightly steaming it for more fork tender broccoli. Then continue with step 7.
Nutrition Facts:
- Calories: 418
- Sugar: 5
- Fat: 23
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Protein: 38
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Almarie Wood says
I have a regular stove top pressure cooker. How do I adapt your cooking instructions for the broccoli? If I put the raw broccoli in after the beef is cooked, how long should it cook? I’m sure it’s a short time. I like my veggies crisp tender.
paleobailey says
Hi there! I’m unfamiliar with a stove top pressure cooker, so I’d have to just advise you to use your best guess there- I’m sorry! The other option of just steaming the broccoli separately so they’re just fork tender is also an option, and what I do even when using the counter instant pot 🙂
Anne says
Yum! My husband and I agreed this was better than takeout and pretty easy to make. The meat came out so tender. I steamed broccoli on stove and just threw it in and stirred. Will make again!
paleobailey says
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you, Anne!
marigold143 says
My first whole30 (and instant pot) Chinese dish and I can’t believe how delicious it was! Used flat iron steak instead of flank. Very tender! Can’t believe I didn’t miss the brown sugar. Will defo make again
paleobailey says
Ahh! I LOVE to hear that!! Thank you so much for letting me know – I’m so happy you liked it!
Sharon MacKinnon says
This recipe is so tasty. My husband and I love things a bit spicy so I doubled the garlic and chili peppers. I used stew meat and because my husband hates broccoli I used mushrooms, onions andd peppers and just added them at the end. I served his with rice and ate mine “as is” as I’m following a keto program. Super yummy, very filling and great for leftovers tomorrow
paleobailey says
Oh good!! I’m so so glad you enjoyed it!
Dani says
I was weary of this recipe being bland, but it was SO GOOD. My entire family (5 year old included, so I halved the amount of red pepper) loved it. I’ve been struggling to find good replacements for my dinner staples since becoming dairy-free and this is definitely going to be made frequently here!
paleobailey says
I’m so, so thrilled to hear this, Dani! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know!
Leah Evans says
Love this dish!!! I do struggle with the searing part though. I do it on sauté medium, but it takes 5 or more minutes before it unsticks and then it’s completely cooked through. Is my pan too hot, not hot enough, or do you just scrape it up after 1 minute or so, and not worry about it?
paleobailey says
I’m so glad you love it!! As for the searing, you can just scrape it up after a minute! The sauce will deglaze those browned bits on the bottom and add lots of flavor! Other things that may help could be either slicing the beef a tiny bit thicker, or adding a bit more oil during the searing 🙂
ash says
This came out pretty good, but completely lacking in Asian flavor. The sauce had more of a regular gravy taste to me. Would you recommend anything to enhance the flavor? Thanks.
paleobailey says
You can try adding 1/2 tbsp of fish sauce to the sauce, or additional black pepper, ginger, or red pepper flakes to taste!
Trish says
This is my favorite Whole30 recipe!!!
paleobailey says
Trilled to hear it! Thank you!
Stacy says
Wow this is insanely salty. Any suggestions?
paleobailey says
Hmm.. Did you use salted beef broth by chance? That’s the only thing I can think of being the recipe only calls for 1/4 teaspoon for 1.5 pounds of meat. But, if that’s too salty my suggestion would be to omit the salt or add 1/8 tsp instead!
Sarah Lagimodiere says
This was so tasty! BUT, the meat was still a little tough… should I have sliced it thinner? Let it naturally vent for longer? Will definitely make it again, the flavour was delicious! Especially with a spritz of srihacha at the end! yum.
paleobailey says
Hi there! So happy you loved it! As for the beef, it could be a number of reasons, so I can’t say for sure without seeing how thick it was cut :). It could depend on the what the thickness was like you mentioned, or if it was cooked a bit too long when seared which would leave it overcooked and tougher as the end result, or that the tenderness of steak simply varies by quality of the beef. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help there!!
jess says
My husband asks for this meal at least once a week! And when we first started dating he would complain when I put vegetables on his dinner plate….so thank you for working so hard to make and post these!!
paleobailey says
Ahh!! This is the best compliment! Thank you so much for letting me know <3 - B
Hannah says
If I only ever eat this again I’ll be happy
paleobailey says
Haha!! So happy you loved it!
Gina says
This is THEE best Whole30 instant pot recipe I’ve ever made… and.. i’ve made alot. THANK YOU!
paleobailey says
Woo! Huge compliment! Thank you!
Starla says
Made this and lived it. We all fought over the left overs!
paleobailey says
Thank you Starla!! I’m so glad to hear that! Hope no one got hurt 😉
Monica says
Made this tonight and it was so yummy!!! First time using my instant pot and this recipe made it feel so easy! My husband couldn’t stop eating it!
paleobailey says
Ahhh! That’s awesome! The instant pot can be really intimidating – I let mine sit in the box for a while before I tried it 😉 Thank you for comin’ back and letting me know!!
Susan Miller says
how many servings?
paleobailey says
Hi there! As noted on the recipe, it serves 4. You could do a 2lb flank steak to get a few additional servings if you’d like 🙂
Jordan says
Can you add how you would cook this in a crock pot?
paleobailey says
Hi there! I would have to test that method before adding instructions on it being it’s a different cooking method. The IP does the searing, pressure cooking and thickening the sauce in one. I don’t want to give you the wrong instructions on doing that in the slow cooker being it would require doing parts of the cooking on a stovetop as well 🙂 Hopefully one day I can test a slow cooker version and share exact cooking times!
Amy says
I loved this! I added ginger to the sauce, which was a nice addition. I also put the steamed broccoli in the pot and cooked it on high pressure for 00:00. Came out perfectly!
paleobailey says
That sounds great!! Thank you so much 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it, Amy!
Nikki says
I LOVE this recipe! So easy! I’m glad you include to steam the broccoli in the microwave so it doesn’t turn to mush in the ip. I steamed mine for a minute less because I didn’t use the full amount. Perfect!
paleobailey says
Thank you so much!! So happy to hear this! I like my broccoli more fork tender for Asian-inspired recipes and this is an easy way to do it! Thanks for stopping by to let me know how it turned out. It means so much to me!
Sonya says
This looks great and I plan to try it. I too was terrified of my Instant Pot at first. I am wondering though, with having to cook the broccoli separate and sear the meat, what is the benefit of using the Instant Pot over a pan for this one?
paleobailey says
Hi, Sonya! So sorry I’m just seeing this! You could cook the broccoli in the instant pot with it, I just prefer the broccoli to be a bit more fork tender with my Asian dishes, so I like to steam it separately 🙂