Low Calorie Beef Instant Pot Recipes

This healthy instant pot mongolian beef and broccoli recipe is such an easy, healthy weeknight meal idea! This recipe can be made in under 30 minutes and it's tasty, healthy and kids will love it.

Jump to:

• How to cook the beef from frozen
• Health benefits of beef
• How is this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef recipe healthier?
• How to Make Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
• Recipe

With back to school here, this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef recipe will be a life saver! I know schedules get crazy and kids come home hungry so having an easy recipe they will love is key.

This school year, thousands of families across Ohio (I live in Columbus!) will buy beef. I was amazed when I found out that Ohioans spend $4.1 billion each year on beef to use in healthy meals. You know I'm one of them!?? Because I'll be making this instant pot mongolian beef recipe on repeat.

I even made a double batch of this recipe and meal prepped it for a few weeks. You can freeze it and defrost it to have a week or so later.

How to cook the beef from frozen

You can even make this recipe directly from frozen beef. It will take a few extra minutes to come to pressure. I love that about an instant pot! You can safely cook frozen beef in an Instant Pot without thawing which makes weeknight dinners so easy. Anyone else forget to defrost meat in the morning!?

The other recipe I love about this is it's so healthy. I don't know about you, but I don't like as much brown sugar in my dinner as in an entire cookie recipe, so I stuck to a healthy ingredients for this Mongolian beef.

And everything in this recipe is healthy too!

Health benefits of beef

Beef is definitely a healthy part of a balanced diet and I love eating it a couple of times a week. It's such a good source of protein too!

A 3-ounce serving of beef (about the size of an iPhone) provides more than 10 essential nutrients and 25 grams of protein for less than 150 calories. Not to mention, eating protein helps your kiddos stay focused during the school day and the B vitamins in beef provide them with energy too.

I was a student athlete all through middle school and high school and I know that if your kids are active, eating beef is a great source of protein and energy! My husband (who's a health coach!) always says we need to be eating more protein to help build muscle and strong bodies.

How is this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef recipe healthier?

• No refined sugar: I used a little honey to sweeten it instead of brown sugar.
• Gluten free: I also opted to use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Coconut aminos tastes just like soy sauce but doesn't have any soy in it! If you don't mind having soy in your diet you can definitely use soy sauce, but I love the coconut aminos! You can get it at any grocery store
• Greens: The broccoli in this recipe also makes it healthy and balanced. Broccoli is a really good source of vitamins K and C and it's a great source of folate and provides potassium and fiber. Add that to the protein from the beef and you've got yourself a balanced meal!

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How to Make Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

1. Slice the steak: Start by slicing the flank steak against the grain. You'll notice there are small fibers going across the beef. You'll want to cut the steak in small thin pieces across those. This makes the beef really tender and not chewy!
2. Sear the steak: Work in batches to sear both sides of the flank steak for 1-2 minutes.
3. Pressure cook: add the liquids, garlic and ginger and pressure cook for 8 minutes then quick release.
4. Thicken the sauce: add the cornstarch and water mixture, honey and broccoli to the Instant Pot and turn the saute function back on. Mix everything together until the sauce gets thick!
5. Serve: with brown rice, white, cauliflower rice or quinoa!

Thank you to The Ohio Beef Council for sponsoring this recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I'm so thankful to brands like them who support my mission of providing easy, healthy meals so I can continue to provide you with free recipes!

If you love this recipe, don't forget to tag me on Instagram with @what_mollymade or #WhatMollyMade so I can see it and feature you!

Recipe

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• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
• 1/3 cup coconut aminos (or soy sauce if you aren't gluten free)
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root grated
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or cornstarch
• 2 cups broccoli florerts chopped small
• 4 stalks green onion (scallions)
• sesame seeds to top optional
• Quinoa, white rice, cauliflower rice or brown rice for serving

• Cook the brown rice or quinoa according to the package instructions and set aside.

• Thinly slice the flank steak against the grain and set it aside. Turn on the Instant Pot and press the "Saute" button.  Allow it to heat up then, working in 2-3 batches, sear the steak and sear quickly on each side, 1-2 minutes. Overcrowding the Instant Pot will result in the steak steaming rather than searing.

• While the steak is searing, whisk together the coconut aminos or soy sauce  with the minced garlic, minced ginger, and water.

• When the steak is browned, cancel the saute feature on the Instant Pot and pour the liquid mixture over the browned steak. Lock on the lid and push the manual (or pressure cook) button on the Instant Pot and adjust the time to 8 minutes.

• While the beef is cooking, whisk together the corn starch or tapioca starch and 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small dish.

• When the time is up, quick release release the vent by turning the seal and allowing the steam to escape. You can put a dish towel over the steam to limit noise and protect your cabinets.

• Remove the lid then dd the cornstarch mixture, honey and broccoli. Push the saute button again and stir frequently until the sauce thickens. You can close the lid of the instant pot for a few minutes to allow the broccoli to steam, 4-6 minutes total. It will be done when the broccoli is cooked and the sauce is thickened. If you want the sauce thicker, add mix another tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch together then add it to the Instant Pot and saute for a minute to thicken.

• Serve over brown rice, white rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa and top with chopped scallions and sesame seeds.

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 244 kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.4 g | Protein: 25.7 g | Fat: 8.5 g | Cholesterol: 68 mg | Sodium: 74 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 12.5 g

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Source: https://whatmollymade.com/healthy-instant-pot-mongolian-beef/

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