Instant Pot Southwestern Beef Stew (Video)
You’ll love Instant Pot Southwestern Beef Stew and this low-carb stew can also be made in the slow cooker if you prefer that method! This recipe has tomatoes, olives, and chiles and a touch of lime, and we used a little cauliflower rice to thicken the stew.
PIN Southwestern Beef Stew to try it later!
When it’s cold outside and you just want something that’s warm and comforting this Instant Pot Southwestern Beef Stew is going to be so delicious for an easy dinner! And this stew is loaded with Southwestern flavors, but it’s still only slightly spicy so this is a recipe the whole family can enjoy.
This Southwestern Beef Stew was a slow cooker recipe on my site for years, and recently I worked with Kara to create an Instant Pot version of this popular stew. We were worried there would be too much liquid in the finished stew, so we cooked a little cauliflower rice with the stew to thicken it, and that worked so perfectly! You can’t taste the cauliflower but it adds a nice texture, and we ate the stew with some chopped avocado and a squeeze of extra lime added at the table. We absolutely loved the updated version of this stew, and I savored it again when I took a bowl out of the freezer and heated it up for a quick dinner. And now you can make it in the Instant Pot or the Slow Cooker, whichever you prefer.
Those authentically Mexican salt and paper shakers in the photo are from Gorky Pottery in Guanajuato, Mexico and I had fun visiting their factory and seeing how the Mexican pottery is made when I traveled to Mexico recently. Watch for more fun Gorky Pottery pieces to show up in food photos, mostly salad bowls. And if you ever make it to Guanajuato, I highly recommend a tour of the factory!
Use Low-Carb and Keto Stew Recipes to find more recipes like this one, or if you like using the Instant Pot check out My Favorite Low-Carb and Keto Instant Pot Dinners for more great recipes.
Instant Pot or Slow Cooker?
I use 6 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) for all my Instant Pot Recipes. Check out my growing collection of Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot Recipes! I used my Crock-Pot 3-1/2-Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for making this recipe in the slow cooker. If you’re a slow cooker fan you might want to check out Low-Carb and Keto Slow Cooker Recipes with Beef to find more recipes like this one.
How to Make Instant Pot Southwestern Beef Stew:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe with nutritional information; complete recipe also includes slow cooker instructions if you prefer that method.)
- Cut beef into bite-sized cubes. Heat a little olive oil in a big frying pan and brown the beef well, seasoning with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- While beef browns chop up onion and Poblano chile, and measure out minced garlic.
- Heat 2 tsp. oil in the Instant Pot and set to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT. Add the chopped onion and poblano and cook 3 minutes. Then add garlic and cook one minute more.
- Drain olives and cut in half and measure out cauliflower rice.
- When beef is well-browned, add to the Instant Pot on top of the onion mixture, and add the olives and cauliflower rice.
- Put beef broth, salsa, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, and crushed tomatoes into the pan where you cooked the beef. Simmer about 5 minutes, scraping off any browned bits. Then add that to the Instant Pot.
- Set Instant Pot on MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 25 minutes. When cooking time ends, let it natural release for at least 10 minutes; then release the rest of the pressure.
- Stir in lime juice, and taste to see if you want more salt.
- Serve with chopped avocado and fresh limes to add at the table if desired. This is good with Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) for those who want a little more heat.
More Beef in the Slow Cooker or Instant Pot:
- Beef Recipes Index Page
- Spicy Shredded Beef Street Tacos
- Slow Cooker Hungarian Pot Roast
- Green Chile Shredded Beef Cabbage Bowl
- Instant Pot Taco Meat
Instant Pot Southwestern Beef Stew
You'll love this Instant Pot (or Slow Cooker) Southwestern Beef Stew with tomatoes, olives, and chiles and a touch of lime!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. bite-sized beef cubes, preferably chuck roast (see notes)
- 4 tsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped small
- 1 medium Poblano chile pepper, chopped small (see notes)
- 1 T crushed or minced garlic
- 2 cans black olives, drained well and cut in half lengthwise
- 1 cup frozen cauliflower rice
- 1 14 oz. can beef broth
- 1 cup salsa (see notes)
- 1 T ground cumin
- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
- 1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 T lime juice (see notes)
- chopped avocado, Green Tobasco Sauce, and fresh lime slices to add at the table, optional
Instructions
- Cut beef into bite-sized cubes. Heat a little olive oil in a big frying pan and brown the beef cubes well, seasoning with a little salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- While beef browns chop up a medium onion, a medium poblano chile, and measure out minced garlic.
- Heat 2 tsp. oil in the Instant Pot and set to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT. Add the chopped onion and poblano and cook 3 minutes. Then add garlic and cook one minute more.
- Drain olives and cut in half and measure out cauliflower rice.
- When beef is well-browned, add it to the Instant Pot with the onion mixture, and add the olives and cauliflower rice.
- Put beef broth, salsa, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, and crushed tomatoes into the pan you cooked the beef in. Simmer that mixture together about 5 minutes, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom. Then add that mixture to the Instant Pot.
- Set Instant Pot on MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 25 minutes. When cooking time ends, let it natural release for at least 10 minutes; then release the rest of the pressure.
- Stir in lime juice, and taste to see if you want more salt.
- Serve with chopped avocado and fresh limes to add at the table if desired. This is good with Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) for those who want a little more heat.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Put the 14 oz. of beef broth into a small saucepan on the stove and simmer to reduce to 3/4 cup.
- Chop up onions, poblano chile, and prepare garlic. Heat 2 tsp. oil in the frying pan and saute onions and poblanos about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more, then add those ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Follow instructions above for preparing and browning beef and add it to the slow cooker.
- After you brown the beef add the reduced amount of beef stock (3/4 cup) to the frying pan with the salsa, spices, and crushed tomatoes and simmer as above. Add that mixture to the slow cooker with the drained and sliced olives and cauliflower rice.
- Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours (or a little longer won't hurt.) You could probably cook on high for 3-4 hours but I prefer low heat for beef in the slow cooker if you have time.
- Stir in the lime juice and serve as above.
Notes
I started with a 3 pound beef chuck roast, which was just over two pounds after I trimmed away all the fatty parts.
Poblano chiles are sometimes called Pasilla Chiles in U.S. grocery stores. Be sure to choose a salsa without added sugar. I use Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) which has only 16 carbs in one cup. I used my fresh-frozen lime juice.
Optional avocado, extra lime juice, and Green Tabasco Sauce are not included in nutritional information.
Recipe originally created for the slow cooker by Kalyn and adapted for the Instant Pot with help from Kara.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 468Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 10gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 628mgCarbohydrates: 9.6gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 36g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This recipe would be a good choice for low-carb diets and for all phases of the South Beach Diet or any other type of low-glycemic eating plan.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Pressure Cooker Recipes for more ideas like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there. Click for Slow Cooker / Pressure Cooker Recipes on my other site!
27 Comments on “Instant Pot Southwestern Beef Stew (Video)”
Hi, Kalyn! Big fan of your recipes and I point people to your site quite often. So this recipe really calls for two of the *big* cans of black olives? Seems like a lot, but I’ll do it if you say so. 🙂 Thanks.
Hi Cynthia; glad you are enjoying the recipes! We did use that much olives but it was for people who are big olive fans! If you’re not as excited about olives you can definitely get away with one can.
This was DELICIOUS, Kalyn! Just made some for my family. Your blog has easily been one of THE most impactful parts of my weight loss journey with keto. I read it on the regs and recommend it to everyone I know who is beginning the journey :). Thank you so much!
Made this today, so good! Used salsa Verde instead of red salsa. Also added in a couple of cubed sweet potatoes. Yum!
So glad you enjoyed it; love the sound of the changes you made.
Not sure what you mean, there is really no fat to drain off from the meat.
I can't really give a recipe for stovetop cooking just off the cuff, since I've never made it that way. But in general you would use more liquid for cooking on the stove, and cook at the lowest simmer. I'd love to know what works if you try adapting it.
How would I cook this on the stove and not in a crock pot?
Tony, the Pace Picante Sauce I used has 16 carbs in the one cup of salsa. For a recipes that makes 4-6 servings, that doesn't seem extremely high in carbs for me since there is nothing else in the dish with any significant carbs, but of course you are welcome to use any ingredients you prefer.
I religiously follow a low carb diet. The salsa is something I would stay away from in this recipe. 1 cup would amount to 16 – 20 carbs alone depending on the brand. I think you can accomplish the same flavor result by using a can of Rotel diced tomato w/chili's. That would cut the carbs in half compared to salsa. Otherwise it sounds very good.
Doren, so glad you enjoyed it!
I am so glad I told my good friend about your blog. We cook together often and both enjoy your food. She made this for my birthday last night and it was just delicious! I need to thank you as well as her. Happy New Year.
Crystal that will work just fine for this recipe; hope you enjoy!
I want to use my crockpot more but just don't have the time in the morning to prepare things the way they should. Can I do the browning and prep the night before and just pop it in and start cooking it the next morning?
So glad you loved it as much as I did!
Hi Kalyn, this recipe worked like a dream. My husband loved it , I served with the fresh squeezed lime, sour cream on top and warm sour dough bread. I will not change a thing…it had wonderful, full favors.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Nicole, so glad you like the Paleo ideas.
Katie, so glad you like it.
I had a wonderful no-bean chili a few weeks ago and I was so inspired. This looks even better, with the big chunks of meat. I love Pace picante too. One of the best on the shelf imo.
Thanks Jeanette. I have to confess I'm kind of a freak for olives. I could eat them in everything, but they really did complement the other flavors in this!
Kalyn – this looks like such a wonderfully hearty stew for the winter – I've never used black olives in stew, but sounds like a great idea.
Why not!
Sounds wonderful. I'm going to make this on a day when we can watch football all day and eat this for both lunch and dinner.
Thanks Jan, hope you enjoy it!
This sounds right up my alley. I love southwestern flavors.
Lydia, it could be as spicy as you like! Great idea to cook overnight too.
What's not to love about this dish? I might even cook the beef overnight on a Friday or Saturday night, then finish the stew in the morning for lunch or dinner that day. And I might add a wee bit more hot chili — but that's just for me! Thanks for linking to one of my recipes, too.