This Korean Beef is the perfect hearty meat dish with lots of fresh ginger and garlic for a healthy and comforting slightly sweet dish without any added sugar! I can’t get enough!
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Instant Pot Korean Beef
I can’t get enough of asian flavors! This Korean Beef is where it’s at! I attribute this flavor obsession in part to two things. The first is that when I was growing up my siblings and I were always sent the crunchy glazed rice snacks wrapped in seaweed from family we have in Hawaii. I’m pretty sure I monopolized them EVERYtime they arrived! The second is that my first job was in a Chinese restaurant. And while they served really yummy American Chinese food during the day; fried shrimp, golden fried pork and the BEST sweet and sour spare ribs around. Each night the cooks made the kitchen an authentic dinner – whole fish, bok choy, garlicy greens over white steamed rice….. it was amazing. My first experience into these umami flavors and I was forever hooked!
And while I know that Chinese and Korean foods are not the same, I attribute my initial experience with true Chinese foods to opening up my eyes (and palate) and beginning my love of flavors that I’d later find in Japanese, Thai and Korean cuisines.
Kalbi Korean Beef
I also used to eat a lot of asian takeout before the combination of learning about MSG and discovering a soy allergy took place. Since then I’ve vowed not to go without these beloved favors and I have set up camp in the kitchen working out healthy homemade fake-out takeout dishes with all the same flavors, like this amazingly tender and easy Korean Beef recipe!
Serve This Keto Korean Beef
To keep this Korean Beef recipe keto you’ll want to serve it over my roasted asparagus, cauliflower rice, broccoli, brussels sprouts or green beans.
Serve This Paleo And Whole30 Korean Beef
To keep this Korean Beef recipe Paleo and Whole30 you’ll want to serve it over my spaghetti squash, roasted asparagus, cauliflower rice, broccoli, brussels sprouts or green beans.
More Asian Inspired Recipes
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
- Asian Stir Fry
- Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Whole30 Asian Inspired Meatloaf
- Chinese Egg Roll Meatloaf
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Korean Beef {Whole30, Paleo, Grain Free}
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Lunch & Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
This Korean Beef is the perfect hearty meat dish with lots of fresh ginger and garlic for a healthy and comforting slightly sweet dish without any added sugar! I can’t get enough!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef flat iron steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder (omit for Keto)
- 2 Tablespoon avocado oil
- 3/4 cup coconut aminos
- 3/4 cup water
- 8 garlic cloves, minced (or 1.5 tsp garlic powder)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this amount doesn’t result in a spicy dish but more can be added if desired)
- Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds
Instructions
- (For Keto skip to step 2 since you won’t use arrowroot.) Add the cut beef to a gallon sized zip lock bag with 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder, close the bag and shake until all the beef is coated.
- In a mixing bowl or large measuring cup stir together the coconut aminos, water, minced garlic, grated ginger, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper flakes.
- Turn on the instant pot to the saute setting and add the avocado oil allowing it to heat up for 1-2 minutes.
- Once the oil is hot, add the beef pieces and cook for 2 minutes then turn over the pieces using tongs and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Pour the sauce mixture over the beef to deglaze the pot and scrape off any bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Secure the instant pot lid, set the valve to sealing and cook on high pressure/manual for 10 minutes.
- Once the cooking has completed allow the instant pot to depressurize for 10 minutes before quick releasing any remaining pressure and removing the lid.
- Serve immediately over spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice, green beans, brussels sprouts, asparagus or broccoli. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
- Eat and enjoy!
Keywords: instant pot korean beef, korean beef, whole30 recipes,
Stephanie says
This looks yummy! If I can’t find flat iron steak at the grocery store, can you recommend a different cut?
Nicole says
Hi Stephanie! Thank you! And yes, I tested out this recipe with beef stew meat as well, it’s an easier to find/cheaper cut of meat that is fattier but works well. I’d just recommend cutting off as much extra fat as possible and probably buying a bit more in weight from the store to compensate for the fat you’ll be removing (so you still end up with a nice amount of meat). Let me know how it turns out!
TK Frost says
Hi,
Is anything included in the carb count other than the Korean Beef, such as any of the things listed in step 8, or is the carb count for the beef alone? Thanks!
Nicole says
Hi! Great question, the recipe card is just for the korean beef alone since you’ll choose what you’ll serve it over. Depending on your choice it would greatly effect the carb count. Thanks for asking!
Cherl says
If I wanted this to be saucy – should I double the sauce ingredients?
Nicole says
Hi Cherl, I haven’t tried doubling the sauce before but I believe it should work to double the liquid and spices and then either reduce the sauce to thicken or add more arrowroot to thicken it up.
Cherl says
I made this for my family last night. Since we aren’t keto, I subbed cornstarch for the arrowroot. I sliced my beef thin and otherwise followed the directions exactly as written. It didn’t have enough flavor for us and the meat was more like roast beef in texture. I think I you could cut back the pressure time and maybe get a better texture. I would also suggest doubling the garlic and ginger. And maybe add some sambal or gochujang. I would also up the cornstarch (if using). The amount I used did not create a thick sauce. It was like broth. I sautéed on high a couple minutes which didn’t change the thickness of the sauce but did succeed in causing the beef to fall apart into a stringy texture. I added green onions, sambal, sesame oil, and additional coconut aminos at the end to up the flavor. My kids added stir fry noodles and my husband put it over rice. I added broccoli. Overall a good starting point for a recipe.
Nicole says
Thank you for your feedback Cherl. Yes the texture does change significantly when you slice your beef differently. Thinly sliced beef would require less cooking time than the one inch pieces of beef my recipe calls for. Thinly sliced beef also won’t absorb as much flavor during the cooking process. Since you used cornstarch it’s important to note that arrowroot thickens more effectively than cornstarch does so you aren’t able to trade the two equally, you would need at least 3 Tbsp of cornstarch for the 2 Tbsp of arrowroot called for in the recipe. You could also choose to reduce the sauce further using the sauté function on the Instant Pot but you would want to remove your beef prior to doing so otherwise it would fall apart (especially if thinly sliced). I find that an extra 10 minutes on sauté mode significantly thickens a sauce. I hope that helps!
Lori says
Craving a new meaty recipe for the New Year!! Will have to try this one out!
★★★★★
Nicole says
Happy New Year! That’s great, enjoy!
Rebekka says
This looks delish! I don’t have an instant pot so would you recommend I just slow cook it to make it tender? Thanks in advance
Nicole says
Hi Rebekka! Thank you for your kind words. I’m honestly not sure how this would turn out in a slow cooker since I haven’t tried it but if you do let me know how it turns out!
Stephanie says
Hi Nicole, I made an adaptation of this for dinner last night and it was great!
I used a slow cooker and 500g of beef goulash and 500g of pork goulash.
I also added two carrots, a beet root, a fennel bulb and about five sticks of celery.
The remainder of the ingredients was the same.
I cooked it on high for 7.5 hours and it was absolutely delicious. Everyone loved it!
Nicole says
Thank you so much for sharing Stephanie! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’m happy to hear this worked well in the slow cooker.
Rachael Fearn says
Hi, I want to make this tonight, I’m Keto but my hubby isn’t but this looks like a recipe he would love. Could I coat the meat in almond flour instead of arrowroot? I’m going to try this in a slow cooker so I’ll let you know how it turns out 😊
Nicole says
Hi Rachael! I haven’t tried almond flour so I’m not sure how that would work. I’d recommend just leaving out the arrowroot instead of replacing it and reducing the sauce at the end if desired. I haven’t tried this recipe in the slow cooker but yes please let me know how it comes out.
★★★★★
Sara says
This recipe is so good! I make it with stew beef.
★★★★★
Nicole says
Hi Sara, so glad you enjoy this recipe!
★★★★★