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Balsamic Braised Beef (Stove Top, Slow Cooker and Instant Pot)

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This delicious bowl of Balsamic Braised Beef is pure comfort food. Tender chunks of beef in a tangy rich tomato sauce.

balsamic braised beef in a casserole pan with wooden spoon

Balsamic Beef Stew

This is one of my favourite meals to make in the colder months. Totally effortless, it can be cooked on the stove, in a slow cooker or even an Instant Pot.

Simple ingredients that don't compromise on flavour. It's a perfect meal for the whole family to dig in and enjoy. 

Best Cut of Beef for Stews/Casseroles

For this you can either use lean stewing beef (diced beef) or buy a larger piece of beef like chuck or brisket works well. Any cut that is great for slow cooking, stews etc as you want the meet to be melt in the mouth tender.

close up of balsamic braised beef with wooden spoon

Slow Cooker Versus Pressure Cooking

Pretty much any recipe you cook in a slow cooker can also be cooked in a pressure cooker. It's usually the same measurement of ingredients the only difference being the cooking time. Slow cookers involved cooking for several hours usually until the meats is incredibly tender and melts in your mouth, A pressure cooker achieves the same, but cuts the cooking time down incredibly.

The beauty of a slow cooker is that you can add all the ingredients at the start of the day and then come dinner time it's cooked and ready - yummy!!

Perfect dish for a busy day as you can prep it all in the morning.

Never heard of a Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)? - you are seriously missing out. It is the best kitchen gadget I have purchased. I love this thing so much, that I almost use it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

A 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, sautes, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).

Manual high pressure is my choice of setting the majority of the time, picking my own timings depending on what it is I am making.

close up of balsamic braised beef in casserole dish with wooden spoon.

Best Balsamic Vinegar for cooking

You want to use a good quality balsamic vinegar for this recipe, otherwise the taste will very overpowering. One that has been aged for several years and has Aceto BalsamicoTradizionale di Modena printed on the label.

Also when added the brown sugar, ensure you are using accurate measuring spoons. Sugar should always be measured loose not packed and as a level tablespoon not heaped otherwise this may end up too sweet. The sugar just helps to balance the flavours and give a beautifully glossy sauce.

Sides for Stews or Casseroles

My favourite things to serve this with are some roasted Yukon Gold potatoes. These type of potatoes have an amazing buttery flavour and are perfect roasted like this Crushed Roasted Potatoes or if mash is more your thing, you might like one of these options:

or some other potato options:

Vegetable Sides for Stews and Casseroles

Want to include additional vegetables to this casserole, there are so many different options. Some of my favourites are:

grey bowl of balsamic braised beef with roasted Yukon gold potatoes on a patterned placemat

Can this Balsamic Braised Beef be frozen?

This is one of my go to dishes for batch cooking and is the perfect dish for freezing.

I always tub up in handy portions, then just take one out as needed, defrost in the fridge and then reheat in a pan or micrwave and serve up with some sides of my choice.

More Beef Recipes

Looking for some other beef recipes? Check out these:

or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes all with estimated calories and you can search by ingredients, course, diet and more..

All with estimated calories and Slimming friendly

close up of grey bowl of balsamic braised beef with fork place to side

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Balsamic Braised Beef (Stove Top, Slow Cooker and Instant Pot)

Balsamic Braised Beef (Stove Top, Slow Cooker and Instant Pot)

Yield: SERVES 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes

This delicious bowl of Balsamic Braised Beef is pure comfort food. Tender chunks of beef in a tangy rich tomato sauce.

Ingredients

  • 800g (28oz) of lean stewing beef (diced beef), raw
  • 1 onion, quartered and sliced
  • 3 medium sized carrots, cut in batons
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • ¼ cup (60ml) of good quality balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 1 cup (240ml) of beef stock
  • 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • pinch of dried thyme
  • pinch of dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or tapioca or arrowroot)
  • chopped fresh parsley to serve
  • salt and black pepper to season
  • cooking oil spray

Instructions

Stove Top:

  1. Spray a large casserole dish over a medium heat with some cooking oil
  2. Add the beef and lightly brown. Remove and set aside.
  3. Add the onions, garlic and carrots and continue to fry for a few minutes, add in a little water to deglaze pan if they stick.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients (including the browned beef and all juices), bring to a boil and cover and simmer for approx 1.5 hours.
  5. Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir until thickened.
  6. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley
  7. Serve with your choice of sides.

Slow Cooker:

  1. Follow the first couple of steps for browning the beef, and veg
  2. Then add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
  3. Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir into slow cooker.
  4. Slightly ajar lid for last 30 mins to thicken sauce.
  5. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley
  6. Serve with your choice of sides.

Instant Pot

  1. Set Instant Pot to saute mode, spray with some cooking oil spray, once it displays hot, add the beef to brown. Remove and set aside
  2. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and fry for a few mins, add in a little water to prevent sticking and to deglaze the pan.
  3. Add all ingredients into the instant pot, add lid and close valve (if not self-sealing), set to manual high pressure for 20 mins, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
  4. Set instant pot back to saute mode, Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir until thickened.
  5. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
  6. Serve with your choice of sides.

Notes

Please see below for recipe values:

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free friendly (see notes)

  • Slimming World - 1.5 Syns per serving
  • WW Personal Points - 7+ per serving (add ingredients to your WW diary for points value - as this may vary depending on your personal points zero foods)
  • Gluten Free - use gluten free stock

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Nutritional information, Slimming World syn values and WW points etc are an estimate and are to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary in values from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate values yourself by the ingredients you use and the tools provided to you as a member of the programme you are following.

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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 SERVING
Amount Per Serving Calories 372Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 3.1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 19mgSodium 316mgCarbohydrates 26.4gFiber 5gSugar 21.4gProtein 43.8g

Nutritional information, syn values, points etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.

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© Siobhan (Slimming Eats)
Cuisine: American / Category: Main

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenny Robinson says

    really lovely change from ordinary beef casserole

  2. Caz says

    Absolutely lovely ! My hubby was skeptical because of the balsamic vinegar, but he loved it !

  3. Liz says

    made this for tea tonight in mynew Instant pot and it was definitely a big hit

  4. vanessa says

    Hi, can u use sweetner instead of the brown sugar?

  5. Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

    If you prefer yes. The sugar balances out the tang of the vinegar. It might not work as well with sweetener so it’s something to bare in mind.

  6. Rachael says

    Hi I see in comments you wrote about passata but it's not in the ingredients. Is it no longer in the dish? Thankyou

  7. Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

    That’s correct, it’s no longer used in thi recipe.

  8. roseleen says

    hi could i use lamb instead of beef siobhan.by the way your recipes are very tasteful .

  9. Wendy Lathwood says

    Deliciously flavourful.....long slow cook intensifies balsamic sauce....will definitely cook again!

  10. Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

    you sure can. Any meat that will remain tender through slow cooking is fine. Beef is the best however for the flavours.

  11. Debbie says

    Hi, when you say beef stock with this recipe or stock with any of your recipes, do you use an oxo cube and how many?

  12. Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

    I personally don’t use oxo. But whatever stock you chose to use it should tell you on the box or packaging how much to use for how many mls. I buy fat free stock in cartons, or make me own.

  13. Bev says

    That was very tasty! Went down well with all the family! Definitely a keeper.

  14. LESLEY POWELL says

    MADE THIS A WHILE AGO AND FROZE IT IN PORTIONS. HAD IT FOR DINNER TONIGHT, ABSOLUTELY LOVELY. PROBABLY COULD HAVE GOT AWAY WITH LESS SUGAR - I'VE NOT GOT A SWEET TOOTH SO FOUND IT ALMOST TOO SWEET - VERY MOOR IISH HOWEVER. AND LOVELY TASTE. GREAT RECEIPE THANK YOU.

  15. Robyn says

    When cooking in the slow cooker, the 240ml of stock doesn't look like it covers enough, I'm worried it will reduce down to nothing over 8 hours. Do you think adding a tin of chopped tomatoes as well could work? Thank you in advance 🙂 x

  16. Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

    No you do not need to add a tin of tomatoes it will completely ruin the taste of this. Remember liquid doesn't reduce down in the slow cooker and nest also releases its own juices. The ingredients are measured accurately for this recipe. Enjoy!!

  17. Patricia says

    Really tasty will be making this again thank you for such delicious recipes

  18. Shirley says

    Hi could I use sukrin gold instead of brown sugar please

  19. Sky says

    I made this a couple day’s ago and it was incredible! It was so delicious, my fiancé could not believe I was capable of this . I made only one change since I did not have thyme, I substituted rosemary. So so tasty! This will definitely become a regular at our house. Thank you!

  20. Katie says

    Hi how many people is this supposed to fed?

    Made it today was delicious!!

    Many thanks

  21. Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

    Hi Katie - all the recipes state the yield (servings) in the recipe box 🙂

  22. Alison says

    Absolutely delicious

  23. Carole Ashfield says

    Made this for the first time tonight, in my slow cooker...it was lush, certainly a new favourite

  24. Alison says

    This is absolutely delicious I did exactly as recipe but used Vension and cooked in the slow cooker. So tasty
    Thank you

  25. Amanda says

    My husband and I absolutely loved this. Delicious and will definitely be having it again.

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