Balsamic Braised Beef (Stove Top, Instant Pot and Slow Cooker) (2024)

Nov 30, 2018 · 26 Comments

This delicious bowl of Balsamic Braised Beef is pure comfort food. Tender chunks of beef in a tangy rich tomato sauce.

Balsamic Beef Stew

This is one of my favourite meals to make in the colder months. Totally effortless, it can be cookedon the stove, in a slow cooker or even an Instant Pot.

Simple ingredients that don't compromise on flavour. It's a perfect meal for the whole family to dig in and enjoy.

Best Cut of Beef for Stews/Casseroles

For this you can either use lean stewing beef (diced beef) or buy a larger piece of beef like chuck or brisket works well. Any cut that is great for slow cooking, stews etc as you want the meet to be melt in the mouth tender.

Slow Cooker Versus Pressure Cooking

Pretty much any recipe you cook in a slow cooker can also be cooked in a pressure cooker. It's usually the same measurement of ingredients the only difference being the cooking time. Slow cookers involved cooking for several hours usually until the meats is incredibly tender and melts in your mouth, A pressure cooker achieves the same, but cuts the cooking time down incredibly.

The beauty of a slow cooker is that you can add all the ingredients at the start of the day and then come dinner time it's cooked and ready - yummy!!

Perfect dish for a busy day as you can prep it all in the morning.

Never heard of a Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)?- you are seriously missing out. It is the best kitchen gadget I have purchased. I love this thing so much, that I almost use it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

A 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, sautes, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).

Manual high pressure is my choice of setting the majority of the time, picking my own timings depending on what it is I am making.

Best Balsamic Vinegar for cooking

You want to use a good quality balsamic vinegar for this recipe, otherwise the taste will very overpowering. One that has been aged for several years and has Aceto BalsamicoTradizionale di Modena printed on the label.

Also when added the brown sugar, ensure you are using accurate measuring spoons. Sugar should always be measured loose not packed and as a level tablespoon not heaped otherwise this may end up too sweet. The sugar just helps to balance the flavours and give a beautifully glossy sauce.

Sides for Stews or Casseroles

My favourite things to serve this with are some roasted Yukon Gold potatoes. These type of potatoes have an amazing buttery flavour and are perfect roasted like this Crushed Roasted Potatoes or if mash is more your thing, you might like one of these options:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Mash
• Sour Cream Spring Onion Cauliflower Mash

or some other potato options:

• Garlic and Herb Potatoes
• Roasted Potatoes
• Hasselback Potatoes
• Garlic Herb Potato Wedges

Vegetable Sides for Stews and Casseroles

Want to include additional vegetables to this casserole, there are so many different options. Some of my favourites are:

• Cabbage
• Sauteed Garlic Shredded Brussel Sprouts
• Broccoli
• Roasted French Beans
• Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussel Sprouts

Can this Balsamic Braised Beef be frozen?

This is one of my go to dishes for batch cooking and is the perfect dish for freezing.

I always tub up in handy portions, then just take one out as needed, defrost in the fridge and then reheat in a pan or micrwave and serve up with some sides of my choice.

More Beef Recipes

Looking for some other beef recipes? Check out these:

• Beef and Sweet Potato Tikka Masala
• Beef and Barley Stew
• Rich Beef and Prune Stew (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
• Epic Steak and Vegetable Pie with Filo Pastry
• Tuscan Beef Casserole (Stove Top or Instant Pot)
• Oxtail Stew (Instant Pot and Slow Cooker)
• One Pot Beef Stroganoff Pasta
• Braised Beef

or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to theFULL RECIPE INDEXwhere you will find over 900 delicious recipes all with estimated caloriesand you can search by ingredients, course, diet and more..

All with estimated calories and Slimming friendly

LET'S CONNECT!!

Recipe Card

Balsamic Braised Beef (Stove Top, Slow Cooker and Instant Pot)

Yield: SERVES 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes

This delicious bowl of Balsamic Braised Beef is pure comfort food. Tender chunks of beef in a tangy rich tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• 800g (28oz) of lean stewing beef (diced beef), raw
• 1 onion, quartered and sliced
• 3 medium sized carrots, cut in batons
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup (60ml) of good quality balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 cup (240ml) of beef stock
• 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
• pinch of dried thyme
• pinch of dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or tapioca or arrowroot)
• chopped fresh parsley to serve
• salt and black pepper to season
• cooking oil spray

See Also

The Best Beef Barley Soup

Instructions

Stove Top:

1. Spray a large casserole dish over a medium heat with some cooking oil
2. Add the beef and lightly brown. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the onions, garlic and carrots and continue to fry for a few minutes, add in a little water to deglaze pan if they stick.
4. Add the remaining ingredients (including the browned beef and all juices), bring to a boil and cover and simmer for approx 1.5 hours.
5. Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir until thickened.
6. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley
7. Serve with your choice of sides.

Slow Cooker:

1. Follow the first couple of steps for browning the beef, and veg
2. Then add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
3. Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir into slow cooker.
4. Slightly ajar lid for last 30 mins to thickensauce.
5. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley
6. Serve with your choice of sides.

Instant Pot

1. Set Instant Pot to saute mode, spray with some cooking oil spray, once it displays hot,addthe beef to brown. Remove and set aside
2. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and fry for a few mins, add in a little water to prevent sticking and to deglaze the pan.
3. Add all ingredients into the instant pot, add lid and close valve (if not self-sealing), set to manual high pressure for 20 mins, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
4. Set instant pot back to saute mode, Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir until thickened.
5. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
6. Serve with your choice of sides.

Notes

Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:

• Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
• WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.

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Nutrition Information

Yield 4Serving Size 1 SERVING
Amount Per ServingCalories 372Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 3.1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 19mgSodium 316mgCarbohydrates 26.4gFiber 5gSugar 21.4gProtein 43.8g

Nutritional information, points etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.

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