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What Does an Instant Pot Do?
When people first started asking me about the Instant Pot I initially thought they were talking about a slow cooker. Then I thought it was a pressure cooker. Then I realized I had NO clue what it was. But gosh, it sure seems like it does just about EVERYTHING! The functions include pressure, slow cooker, rice cooker, egg cooker, sauté mode, steamer, yogurt maker and more. You can even bake in it! Once you see what it can do, all the hype starts to make a bit more sense.Is the Instant Pot “Clean”/ Healthy?
Yes. The Instant Pot’s inner pot is made from 18/8 stainless steel (food grade 304) and the lid is also made from 18/8 stainless steel. The surface of stainless steel does not flake, so pieces of the material do not break off and contaminate your food like with most non-stick cookware. If you read my blog post a while back about the importance of using healthy cookware, you know I am big on using green pans for cooking. With the exception of my new copper pan (which I only use to cook omelettes and crepes because they just come out absolutely perfect), I avoid all non-stick cookware. When I initially started looking into buying an express cooker I had read another blogger’s post about how much she loved the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker, which is definitely less pricey than the Instant Pot. But when I learned Crock-Pot used a non-stick inner pot I decided to go with the cleaner Instant Pot brand instead.Is the Instant Pot Easy to Use?
Yes. But before I say how easy it is, let me just say I was a bit intimidated by the whole thing when the box first arrived. I usually like cooking gadgets that have “on” and “off” only switches, but the front of the Instant Pot had LOTS of buttons. And then of course there was the manual. I hate reading instructions for how to use kitchen appliances (or anything else!) Luckily it was a Sunday evening and my tech-savvy husband and son (in the photo below) were home so I had them read the instruction manual for me. Besides, somebody had to chop the vegetables (wink).
Buy an Instant Pot from Amazon HERE
But in all seriousness, using the Instant Pot could not have been easier. And I actually think the two entrees I have made in it so far, both the Chicken and Vegetable Red Curry and the Instant Pot Stroganoff below turned out better than the slow cooker versions I have made of both.
Instant Pot Starter Guide
I need to get to how to make the Instant Pot Stroganoff, I know. But just in case you do not yet have an Instant Pot or just in case you still have yours sitting in an unopened box, I thought I would share a few helpful links with you….- The Instant Pot Starter Guide from Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks is a great all-purpose guide. She also includes a few delicious-sounding links to other healthy Instant Pot recipes.
- How to Convert Slow Cooker Recipes to an Instant Pot from Your Homebased Mom is an excellent overview.
- Instant Pot Tips & Tricks from Once a Month Meals is also very helpful!
How to Make a Clean (& Dairy Free!) Instant Pot Stroganoff Recipe
I always assumed the Beef Stroganoff recipe my mom made when I was growing up was a classic American dish. Turns out, the dish was born in Russia (but don’t worry, I won’t talk politics here!) The dish has been around for several centuries, but it wasn’t until the fifties that it became all the rage in the United States.
Of course the classic version is made with lots of butter, lots of cream and even more sour cream. The conventional version does not call for superfood shitake mushrooms (it uses button mushrooms instead) and certainly doesn’t use a nut-based sour cream (my Dairy Free Sour Cream Recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make and you can use it on everything!)
I also use whole grain brown rice pasta instead of the conventional buttered egg noodles. And I add in extra vegetables with more onions than your conventional recipe. I even sneak in some peas!
But don’t worry! Even with all of the many swaps, this is one dish I guarantee everyone will love. It’s just too delicious not to. If you’ve got meat-loving family members who insist they don’t want to try anything Clean Cuisine, this is the dish to make.
For those of you with food allergies and food sensitivities, it’s helpful to know this Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe meets the following dietary restrictions:
Paleo Friendly (substitute zucchini noodles for grain pasta) / Egg Free/ Bean Free / Grain Free (substitute zucchini noodles for grain pasta / Dairy Free/ Gluten Free (substitute zucchini noodles for grain pasta)
Kitchen Favorites
Instant Pot Stroganoff Recipe (Dairy Free!)
If you’ve got meat-loving friends or family members who are not excited about the idea of eating “clean cuisine”, this dairy free Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff Recipe is a dish that will surely win them over. I promise nobody will believe it is dairy free!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cassava flour, divided (Note: If NOT gluten-free sprouted spelt flour can be substituted)
- 2 teaspoons Himalayan pink salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 pounds organic, pasture-raised beef top sirloin steak, cut crosswise into strips about ½ inch wide
- 1 ½ yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 cups organic beef broth
- 1 ¼ cups Clean Cuisine Sour Cream recipe
- 1 tablespoon sherry
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 cups shitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced into thin strips
- 8 cups cooked whole grain penne pasta or fettucine (see notes below)
- 2 cups frozen petite peas, thawed
- ½ cup fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a bowl, stir together the cassava flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roll the beef strips in the seasoned flour and set aside.
- Set the Instant Pot setting to “SAUTE” and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the beef strips and cook, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove beef from the pot and transfer to a large bowl.
- Keeping the Instant Pot setting on “SAUTE”, add 3 tablespoons of the oil to the pot. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Season the onions with ½ teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the wine and broth, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits on the pan with a wooden spoon.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the Clean Cuisine sour cream, sherry, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Add the sauce to the pot and stir all of the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Add the beef strips back to the pot. Add the thyme. Set Instant Pot setting to “PRESSURE COOK” and adjust the “+” or + “-” to 15 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, you can perform a quick release by moving the Pressure Release to “VENTING”, or you can let the pressure release naturally and leave the Beef Stroganoff on the “KEEP WARM” setting for up to 6 hours.
- Just before serving, transfer the beef-cream mixture to a large pot. Set the Instant Pot setting to “SAUTE” and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot. Add the shitake mushrooms and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Transfer the beef-cream mixture back to the pot with the mushrooms and heat over “SAUTE” until warm.
- Serve over pasta and peas. Garnish with fresh parsley.
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Notes
Traditionally, Beef Stroganoff is served over buttered egg noodles. However, since I have yet to find a clean egg noodle brand I usually serve my Beef Stroganoff over brown rice penne pasta. If you have a grain or gluten intolerance, you can always substitute lightly cooked zucchini noodles.
Brown Rice Penne Pasta Recommendation: I like Lundberg brand organic brown rice penne pasta.
Jennifer
Sunday 18th of November 2018
Does the beef go back in with the cream mixture to cook for 15 minutes? It is not clear in the recipe. Help!
Ivy Larson
Monday 19th of November 2018
Hi Jennifer! Yes, the beef goes back in with the cream. I just fixed the recipe to make that clear. So sorry for the confusion!!