Plantain Beef Stew (AIP/Paleo/Sugar-Free)

This recipe involves two things that I am kind of  absolutely obsessed over: Plantains and the Instant Pot. I know I pronounced my love for plantains in my Chewy Plantain Cookie post, and my Instant Pot love in my Rosemary Curried Lamb Rib Stew post, so I won’t get all giddy again here for them. I’ll just say they are both aweeeesome and make my life so much easier!

It finally looks like winter is here, which is such an odd thing to say mid December living in Northern Ontario, Canada. Such weird weather lately. But now that it is completely white out there and we have had not one, but TWO snow days, I would say it’s pretty safe for Christmas to arrive now. I was getting a little worried we were going to have a green Christmas.  Not sure why I was so worried, it never happens here, but you never know! There’s a first for everything.

Speaking of firsts, this is the first time I’ve put plantain in stew.  Oh my, I can’t believe I’ve been living my life without plantains until this year.  I was missing out! Plantains are so versatile, and this stew just proves it. This is an easy recipe.  You probably noticed by now that I love simple recipes. This Mama does not have time for a million ingredient recipes. It’s a breeze to throw together and, like magic, it’s ready in under an hour! Serve with AIP Biscuits and you’ll forget you’re even on a restricted diet!

Plantain Beef Stew (AIP/Paleo/Sugar-Free)

Yield: 6-8 servings

Plantain Beef Stew (AIP/Paleo/Sugar-Free)

Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
45 minutes
Total Time:
55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs stewing beef
  • 4 tbsp arrowroot starch
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 5 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 6 celery stalks (approx 1.5 cups chopped)
  • 6-8 carrots (approx 2 cups chopped)
  • 2 green plantains, chopped
  • 4 cups of baby spinach
  • Parsley for garnish

For the Sauce

  • 1.5 cups pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups bone broth
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 4 garlic cloves

Instructions

    1. Mix together arrowroot and salt, add in beef and mix to coat. I like to shake it up in a ziploc bag.
    2. Add sauce ingredients to blender and purée until smooth.
    3. Turn Instant Pot on Sauté feature. Add 4 tbsp of avocado oil and sauté beef till browned on all sides.
    4. Remove beef and set aside.
    5. Add another tbsp of avocado oil and sauté onion and celery until softened.
    6. Mix in beef, carrots, and plantains.
    7. Pour sauce over top and mix.
    8. Cook on meat/stew option for 35 minutes.
    9. Once pressure has been released (naturally or through valve), mix in spinach and wait 5-10
      minutes.
    10. Serve garnished with parsley.
    11. Enjoy!

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9 Comments

  1. This stew looks so amazingly warming…perfect for any cold winter day! Thanks so much for stopping by to share it this week..I am going to feature your recipe on the next Allergy Free Wednesday!

  2. Tessa l keep seeing PLANTAINS in recipes but in South Australia we do not see.them in the shops. So l need to know what plantains are.
    I thought they wéře bananas but read recenrly that is not the case.
    Please explain what they are &what they look like. Nutrional values would also be appreciated. Thankyou.

    • Hi Sandra!
      You can usually find plantains in Asian grocers. They look like large bananas. They are quite starchy. Green plantains taste more like a potato and yellow to brown plantains are more ripe and taste sweeter like a banana. If you can’t get your hands on plantains you can sub sweet potato in this recipe, it turns out lovely!

    • Here’s a great article all about plantains! Also includes nutritional info: http://paleoleap.com/eat-plantains/
      Hope this helps!

  3. can you do this recipe in a slow cooker?

  4. Burned mess on the bottom of my instant pot from the arrow root after sauteing beef….what am i doing wrong.

    • oh no! You may need to add a bit more oil. I find with sautéing in the instant pot, the oil gravitates towards the sides of the pot so just be conscious of that. Also only add the beef that was dusted in the arrowroot and discard the rest. Hope this helps!

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