Instant Pot Beef And Broccoli- Easy Healthy Recipe

Instant pot beef and broccoli is made with delicious tender beef in a sweet and salty sauce flavored with a hint of orange. Top this recipe over rice or cauliflower rice for a veggie packed healthy meal. Just 15 minutes of prep and 12 minutes in the instant pot (total 40 minutes) and you will have healthy family dinner ready.

Y’all, I love my Instant Pot. I use it at least once a week. I make a whole chicken and chicken broth every week, and then use that chicken for soup, lunches, tacos, and much much more.

When using this sacred machine, so many recipes call for browning the meat a little at a time. This is so time consuming and when I want a delicious and healthy meal quickly I don’t want to be sitting there browning the dang meat.

So I created this recipe to make the prep time faster, while still being packed full of flavor.

You just start browning the meat while you chop the onions and while making the sauce. No time wasted flipping and doing batches of meat.

My family absolutely loved it and gobbled it down. The rice and broccoli are cooked separately to give it the best texture.

My Speedy Secret

To speed up the process I have a hidden dark secret. We use frozen rice and fresh broccoli. 

Frozen rice has become a big staple in our gluten free cooking. Because rice takes a long time and usually dinner is fly by the seat of your pants kind of meal.

So instead of having to sit in the house while the rice takes forever to cook, I just use frozen rice and it takes like 5 minutes to heat up.

This recipe also helped make broccoli one of my one year old’s favorite foods. Like you put it in front of his face and look away. The next second it will all be gone before anything else. Parenting win.

I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as we do.

Tips for making Instant Pot Beef And Broccoli:

• Use frozen rice for easier prep. I just throw it on a pan with a few tablespoons of oil and cook. Less than 5 minutes it’s done.
• Use orange juice or throw a peeled orange (or tangerine) in a blender and strain out the pulp.
• I like to throw fresh cut up broccoli on the skillet to cook for a few minutes before adding the rice to reduce dishes.
• Use coconut aminos or gluten free soy sauce to make this recipe gluten free.
• DON’T cook the rice or the broccoli in the Instant Pot with the meat. You will get a soggy mess. Guaranteed.

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Tools you may need to make this recipe:

• Instant Pot
• Blender – not necessary but I like to throw the sauce ingredients in it.
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Micro-plane (like this one) is handy to grate ginger.

What if I don’t have an instant pot?

One of the great things about this meal is that it is so easily adaptable. If you don’t have an instant pot, that’s okay! This meal can be made in your crockpot either on the high setting for 4 hours or on the low setting for 7 hours.

If you prefer fresh broccoli, add that in toward the end of the last hour so you avoid broccoli mush. Add in your frozen rice once it’s done for a one stop shop meal!

What are the best meats to use for beef and broccoli?

Since we are using the Instant Pot you can get away with using slightly tougher meats like stew meat. The pressure cooker helps make this cut super moist. Flank steak, flat iron, chuck roast, or sirloin cut into thinner pieces would also work well in this recipe.

If you don’t want to slice the meat yourself, ask the butcher to do it for you!

If you are cutting the beef yourself, make sure to cut it against the grain. To make it even easier to cut, you could stick it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make the meat slightly firmer and easier to cut.

Can I freeze this meal?

Yes, you can easily make this ahead of time and store it in your freezer for a quick weeknight pre-made meal. Make sure you let the sauce cool completely before transferring into freezer-safe containers or storage bags. This meal will freeze for up to 3-4 months.

What makes this recipe healthy?

• Beef is full of nutrients like b vitamins, minerals (potassium, magnesium, zinc, etc), fatty acids, amino acids, and iron (the iron our bodies absorb the best). Grass-fed beef is always a healthier choice and I try my best to purchase grass-fed beef from a local farmer when I can.
• Broccoli is full of vitamin c (which also helps increase iron absorption), vitamin k, fiber, folate and antioxidants. One cup of broccoli provides 135% RDI of vitamin C, 116% RDI vitamin K, 11% RDI vitamin A, and 14% RDI folate. (source)
• Is is sweetened with honey – a natural unrefined sugar.
• This recipe is made without soy sauce and utilizes coconut aminos for those who avoid soy or have an allergy. You can replace the coconut aminos with soy sauce if you prefer.

What’s the difference between soy sauce and coconut aminos?

Soy sauce is a classic when it comes to asian-inspired meals, but coconut aminos has been growing in popularity especially in the gluten free community.

While they both have similar tastes and textures, the biggest difference between the two is that coconut aminos do not contain wheat or soy which makes it gluten-free, non-GMO and low-sodium.

Coconut aminos come from the sap from coconut blossoms which is then fermented to make a salty, delicious, umami sauce.

Another added benefit is that it provides 17 of the 20 key amino acids that we need. Our bodies only naturally produce about 1/2 of those key amino acids so the rest we need to consume through our diet.

This is a great substitute if your family is gluten free, or you’re looking to reduce your or watch your sodium intake or you choose to avoid soy products. And it’s delicious over rice… trust me!

How To Make Beef And Broccoli In The Instant Pot

1. Turn Instant Pot onto the Saute setting and allow to get hot. Add 1 Tbs of oil and add beef.
2. Slice onions thinly and add to pot. Stir.
3. Mix together sauce in a bowl or blender. Pour sauce over beef and onions,
4. Close lid making sure it is on non-venting. Set instant pot to 12 minutes. *For thinly cut beef, set to 10 minutes.
5. When the instant pot has 2 minutes left start to cook rice and broccoli. I chop up fresh broccoli and stir fry it in a pan with a little oil. Once it has cooked for a few minutes I add frozen rice and allow it to heat.
6. When the timer goes off, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, and then flip it to venting.
7. Turn the Instant Pot to Saute again. Create cornstarch slurry and add to bubbling beef and sauce. Stir until it begins to thicken (about 2 minutes).
8. Place rice and broccoli into a bowl and top with beef and sauce.
9. If you like a little heat, you can add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, or sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy.

Like this easy dinner recipe? Check out some of our favorites!

• Gluten Free Chicken And Dumplings
• Italian Rice With Sausage And Veggies
• Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
• Chicken Lentil Soup
• Beef Broth Bowls

If you try this recipe and love it, please come back and give it 5 stars. Please and thank you!

What is your favorite Asian-inspired dish?