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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Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour Chicken
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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Maggie says
love love this recipe! It was quiet at dinner because the kids were too busy licking their plates clean for once to bicker! Yes! haha!
AHB says
Love this recipe because it’s so easy and very flavorful with just the right amount of spice. I put this over asian sweet potato noodles and everyone loves it. I’m making it again today. I think I’ll double the sauce ingredients.
Callie says
This recipe is EXCELLENT! We love it and make it monthly so wanted to finally tell you how great it is!
paleobailey says
Thank you SO much, Callie!! I’m thrilled to hear it!
Jenny says
This was amazing! It has a wonderful flavor without anything being too overpowering. The fresh ginger was my favorite part to add because I love the smell. 🙂 I was worried the meat was going to be tough but it turned out very tender, so I must have sautéed it in the IP the right amount of time! (I tend to over-cook things in general. lol) Thanks for sharing this and it definitely is added to our rotation!
paleobailey says
Hi Jenny!! So sorry for the late reply here! Somehow your comment got missed, I apologize! But I’m so happy to hear this and I really appreciate you taking the time to come back and giving me your feedback! Thank you! <3 - B
Vanessa says
Made this last night for dinner. This is fantastic! Hubby said it was better than take out which is a huge compliment!
paleobailey says
LOVE to hear this!! Thank you so, so much for letting me know! <3 - B
Lana says
This was a hit for everyone in our family and we are mood eaters…I didn’t have to beg them to try it because the house smelled so delicious that they were ready to dig in. All the flavors with a bit of heat was a wonderful (less than 45 min start to finish) meal!
Thank you for this recipe and I’m positive Beef Brocolli will be requested by my family very soon!
IP Asian Fans,
Mom, Dad, Teen and 8 yr old
paleobailey says
Oh this is so wonderful to hear. Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know. It’s so appreciated! <3 - B
Mich says
Simply delish!!
paleobailey says
SO happy you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Dani says
Hi, I am meal prepping and wanted to make 2x the servings for this. Do you think making the 8 servings at once is okay? Or should I do it twice? Thank you!
paleobailey says
I’d probably add about 5 minutes to the cook time 🙂
Lori Dunlap says
I should have read thru. I was frustrated with my instapot. By the time I got to the end, I pulled the meal without reducing the sauce as instructed. I do think the instapot could be more user friendly imho.
Diana says
I made this for a second time this evening and my family couldn’t get enough of it! It was super delicious! I ran out of broth this time so I just added water and was still delicious. I sauté my broccoli with fresh garlic for about 1 minute then add approximately 2 tbs of water, cover the pan and simmer it for about 5 minutes on low heat. I served it with cauliflower rice. Super yummy!!!
paleobailey says
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you so much for letting me know, I really appreciate the feedback! <3 - B
Sarah says
Seriously- my FAVORITE whole 30 meal so far!! Thank you so much for sharing this! My husband and I were fighting over the leftovers… keep the fabulous recipes coming! People like you make the journey to healthy eating fun and oh-so tasty 🙂
paleobailey says
I LOVE this!! It made my day! Thank you so much for sharing, and you are so welcome <3 - B
Arelis says
The flavors were delicious and the ginger was a great touch and so were the green onions. The only issue I had was my meat was a little tough don’t know if my meat slices were to thick or I browned them too long. I didn’t find any compliant beef broth so I used chicken broth. It was still very delicious. Also my grocery store didn’t have any arrowroot so I used almond flour, the sauce thickened up a little. I want to make it again but maybe with a more tender meat. I served it on baby kale and baby spinach. Delish! Thank you
paleobailey says
Love this! Thanks so much for the feedback – it’s so appreciated!!
Kelsey says
I started following the recipe, but to me the whole point of an instapot is just to throw it all in. After trying to sear the meat, it taking forever, then trying to sear it on a pan, I just said screw it and put all the ingredients in the instapot and let it go. It turned out DELICIOUSLY! Super easy!
paleobailey says
I’m SO glad to hear this, Kelsey!! And thank you for the feedback! I’ll give it a try with this method and add a note to the recipe after I give it a go. Super appreciate you coming back and letting me know how it turned out! <3 - B
Nancy says
We are newcomers to both the paleo diet AND Instant Pot, and we have found we love both! This receipt looked so good, so we tried it tonight. It was DELICIOUS! Much better than takeout, and I’m not exaggerating. I’ve never liked the beef that comes with Chinese takeout–it’s chewy and I just don’t like it. The broccoli is always too raw for me. This recipe has the seasonings balanced so well. It was fun to make on a hot evening when I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen. I did cook the broccoli separately to get the dinner done faster but cooked it a bit too long–my fault. The only thing that we didn’t like was also my fault. I couldn’t find coconut aminos at the local grocery so went ahead and used regular soy sauce. The dish turned out too salty, even without adding the additional salt as recommended. I’m sure it will turn out perfect the next time with the coconut aminos. One recommendation: On a lot of these paleo sites (yours is the best so far), ingredients are listed out of order of using them. I have to constantly check to make sure I have not accidentally skipped a step. Other than that, you are a big help to those of use trying to lose weight (we’re in our middle 60’s). My husband has already lost 17 lbs. in the first month without exercising. Thank you for your excellent, tasty, well-made recipes!
paleobailey says
This is so great to hear!! Thank you so much for the feedback and kind comment, Nancy!
Douglas DePaul says
I understand completely what you meant with the Broccoli. After it was done cooking the Broccoli (which I put on top of everything else) was fine. When I stirred it the Broccoli melted. Lol. Great recipe with a wonderful taste. Thank you!
paleobailey says
Haha! Glad you enjoyed it though, thanks for coming back and letting me know!!
NicholeJo says
I made this on the stovetop in a dutch oven. Wowza! This was 1,000 times better than any other beef and broccoli I’ve ever had. I did add onion and shredded carrot to up my veggie factor, but yummo!
Thanks for this!!
paleobailey says
So glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you so much!
Ashley says
We love this! Super easy and delicious!
paleobailey says
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you, Ashley!!
Amanda says
EVERY dish I’ve made from your blog has been a hit. This was delicious! And easy. Thank you!
paleobailey says
Thank you so much, Amanda! I’m so, so happy to hear that!! Thank you for letting me know :))
Cortney Selander says
Just made this for the first time and OMG!! SO GOOD!! One of my favorites of yours, Bailey! 🙂
paleobailey says
Woo!! I’m so glad you loved it!! It’s one of my favorites too 🙂 Thanks, Cortney! <3 - B
Meg Terry says
This was the first “real” instapot recipe I made (other than hard boiled eggs and shredded chicken) and it was AH-MAZ-ING; I’ve made it at least a half-dozen times since then! I tried steaming the broccoli in the instapot, but I prefer your outlined method of steaming in the micro (or stovetop) and then adding in. I like my broccoli really crunchy – haha! 🙂
paleobailey says
I’m always do it in the microwave too 😉 But thank you so much for your comment and I’m so happy you enjoy it! It’s a favorite here too! I appreciate you, Meg <3 - B