Rich Beef and Prune Stew (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

Beef and Prune Stew - tender delicious fall apart chunks of stewing beef in a rich flavoursome gravy naturally sweetened with dried prunes.

Rich Beef and Prune Stew

A recipe of simple ingredients that you can throw in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker for a delicious hearty meal that the whole family will enjoy.

The only hard part is deciding what to serve it with. 

Don't let the prune part put you off, I know they are not for everyone, but they do something magical to the rich gravy of this stew by adding a delicious natural sweetness, not to mention they are a great source of fibre and of course we all need fibre in our diets. 

Instant Pot Beef Stew

You may be wondering, What is an Instant Pot? An Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) is a  7in1 cooker, that slow cooks, pressure cooks, sautes and has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge etc. It will literally cook these meatballs in minutes, so perfect for when you need a meal on the table quickly. 

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Since buying my Instant Pot, I use it on a regular basis, it’s not one of those gadgets that sit in my cupboard forgotten. In fact, it never goes away. 

Instant Pot is a brand of an electric pressure cooker, but there are various other brands and options out there. 

Making Beef and Prune Stew

Regardless of whether you are cooking this in an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker the only vital step in this recipe, is ensuring you brown the meat to seal in the flavour and fry and soften your onion. All these steps add flavour to the dish. So you don't want to skip that part out. 

Remember when browning the beef, do it in batches, if you cram it all in at once, it will just steam and won't sear the meat. 

Once that part has been done, it really is just a case of adding in the rest of the ingredients and let the slow cooker or pressure cooker do its job, resulting in a delicious comforting bowl of beef stew.

Sides For Beef and Prune Stew

Wondering what to serve this with? There really is no right or wrong choices.

I like to serve with this Mashed Potato and then some kale that I just sauteed with a little garlic in some spray oil and then add in a little stock (about ⅓ cup) and reduce down until the kale is cooked. Finishing off with some black pepper. 

Some other great choices for sides are:

• GARLIC AND HERB ROAST POTATOES
• RUSTIC GARLIC AND PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES
• ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH PAPRIKA
• ROSEMARY ROASTED POTATOES, PARSNIPS, CARROTS AND ONION
• SAUTÉED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
• SCALLOPED POTATOES
• SWEET POTATO MASH
• SAUTEED SHREDDED GARLIC BRUSSEL SPROUTS
• SOUR CREAM AND SPRING ONION CAULIFLOWER MASH

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 900 delicious Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers friendly recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients etc.

More Stew Recipes

Fancy some other stew recipes? Check out these:

• BEEF AND SWEET POTATO STEW
• OXTAIL STEW (INSTANT POT AND SLOW COOKER)
• BEEF CELERY ORZO STEW
• ONE POT CAMPFIRE STEW
• SLOW COOKER IRISH BEEF STEW
• TUSCAN BEEF CASSEROLE (STOVE TOP OR INSTANT POT)

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Recipe Card

Rich Beef and Prune Stew (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

Yield: SERVES 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Beef and Prune Stew - tender delicious fall apart chunks of stewing beef in a rich flavoursome gravy naturally sweetened with dried prunes.

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Ingredients

• 800g (28oz) of stewing beef, raw (trimmed of visible fat)
• 2 medium red onions, halved and sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
• ½ tbs of paprika
• 2 tbs of tomato paste (puree)
• 80g (2.83oz) of chopped pitted dried prunes
• 1 cup (240ml) of beef stock
• salt and black pepper
• Cooking oil spray (I use avocado)
• Fresh chopped parsely (optional)

Instructions

Instant Pot

1. Set instant pot to saute mode.
2. Once it displays hot, spray with some cooking oil spray. Add the beef in two batches and sear until browned all over. Season each batch with salt and black pepper as you brown.
3. Transfer each batch to a plate and set aside.
4. Spray again with some more cooking oil spray.
5. Add the onion and then a little splash of the stock to deglaze the pan (ensuring your scrape up all the flavour from the meat stuck to the bottom of the pan) continue to fry the onions for a few minutes to soften.
6. Add in the garlic, balsamic vinegar, paprika, tomato paste, prunes and stock. Mix until all combined.
7. Add back in the beef and stir.
8. Add lid and close valve (if not self sealing).
9. Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook on high for 30 minutes.
10. Once cooking time is complete, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then you can release any remaining pressure.
11. Taste and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
12. Add in the chopped parsley.
13. If you like a thicker gravy, you can mix 1 tbs of cornstarch with a little water to make a slurry and stir this in while gently heating until gravy is thicker. I find it perfect just as it is.
14. Enjoy!!

Slow Cooker

1. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat (if you have a slow cooker that sears you can use the inner pan instead). Spray with some cooking oil spray. Add the beef in two batches and sear until browned all over. Season each batch with salt and black pepper as you brown.Transfer each batch to a plate and set aside.
2. Spray again with some more cooking oil spray. Add the onion and then a little splash of the stock to deglaze the pan (ensuring your scrape up all the flavour from the meat stuck to the bottom of the pan) continue to fry the onions for a few minutes to soften.
3. Add the onions to the slow cooker with the garlic, balsamic vinegar, paprika, tomato paste, prunes and stock. Mix until all combined. Add back in the beef and stir.
4. Slow cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
5. Check liquid for last 2 hours and add in a little more stock if needed.
6. Taste and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
7. Add in the chopped parsley.
8. If you like a thicker gravy, you can mix 1 tbs of cornstarch with a little water to make a slurry and stir this in while gently heating until gravy is thicker. I find it perfect just as it is.
9. Enjoy!!

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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Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1 SERVING
Amount Per Serving Calories 354Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 125mgSodium 313mgCarbohydrates 20.9gFiber 3.5gSugar 8.5gProtein 46.1g

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