This delicious bowl of Balsamic Braised Beef is pure comfort food. Tender chunks of beef in a tangy rich tomato sauce.
This yummy recipe that was previously published on Slimming Eats has been improved and updated
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.
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 I have done to accompany this recipe or mashed for an amazing Syn Free Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Yukon potatoes are super easy to make, bring to a boil in a saucepan of water, then turn off the heat leave them for a couple of mins, before you transfer to a baking tray.
All that is needed then is to spray over the top with cooking oil spray, add a pinch a salt and viola, about 40 mins later they are done. (Don't forget to turn them over half way through that cooking time, to evenly roast golden of course.)
Add all the ingredients for this to my slow cooker 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.
Balsamic Braised Beef, of course, can also be cooked at a fraction of the time in a pressure cooker, like an Instant Pot.
Never heard of anInstant 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.
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How can I add a ⅓ speed foods to this Balsamic Braised Beef?
There are plenty of vegetables in this dish, such as carrots, onion and red pepper, but you can always increase the speed foods on your plate, by serving with some additional vegetables of your choice.
These Sauteed Shredded Garlic Brussel Sprouts go perfectly with this dish and are one of my favourite sides to pair up with the Balsamic Braised Beef.
Following a Slimming World SP day? try serving this alongside one of these SP friendly sides.
What Kitchen Items do I need to make this balsamic braised beef?
- Measuring Scales
- Chopping Board
- Measuring Jug
- Santoku Knife
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Slow Cooker or Instant Pot or Dutch oven pot
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Balsamic Braised Beef (Stove Top, Slow Cooker and Instant Pot)
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, raw
- 1 onion, quartered and sliced
- 3 carrots, cut in batons
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- ¼ cup (60ml) of good quality balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbs of brown sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) of beef stock
- 3 tbs of tomato paste
- pinch of dried thyme
- pinch of dried parsley
- 1 tbs cornstarch (or tapioca or arrowroot)
- chopped fresh parsley to serve
- salt and black pepper to season
- cooking oil spray
Instructions
Stove Top:
- Spray a large casserole dish over a medium heat with some cooking oil
- Add the beef and lightly brown. Remove and set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic and carrots and continue to fry for a few minutes, add in a little way to deglaze pan if they stick.
- Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and cover and simmer for approx 1.5 hours.
- Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir until thickened.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley
- Serve with your choice of sides.
Slow Cooker:
- Follow the first couple of steps for browning the beef, and veg
- Then add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
- Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir into slow cooker.
- Slightly ajar lid for last 30 mins to thicken sauce.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley
- Serve with your choice of sides.
Instant Pot
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Set instant pot back to saute mode, Mix starch with a little water to make slurry and stir until thickened.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve with your choice of sides.
Notes
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, paleo, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly
- Extra Easy - 1.5 Syns per serving
- Original/SP - 1.5 Syns per serving (serve with veggies)
- WW Smart Points - 6
*suitable for freezing
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 327Total Fat 9.3gSaturated Fat 3.9gCholesterol 128mgSodium 418mgCarbohydrates 18.6gFiber 2.6gSugar 9.7gProtein 45.3g
really lovely change from ordinary beef casserole
Absolutely lovely ! My hubby was skeptical because of the balsamic vinegar, but he loved it !
made this for tea tonight in mynew Instant pot and it was definitely a big hit
Hi, can u use sweetner instead of the brown sugar?
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.
Hi I see in comments you wrote about passata but it's not in the ingredients. Is it no longer in the dish? Thankyou
That’s correct, it’s no longer used in thi recipe.
hi could i use lamb instead of beef siobhan.by the way your recipes are very tasteful .
Deliciously flavourful.....long slow cook intensifies balsamic sauce....will definitely cook again!
you sure can. Any meat that will remain tender through slow cooking is fine. Beef is the best however for the flavours.
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?
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.
That was very tasty! Went down well with all the family! Definitely a keeper.
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.
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
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!!
Really tasty will be making this again thank you for such delicious recipes
Hi could I use sukrin gold instead of brown sugar please
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!
Hi how many people is this supposed to fed?
Made it today was delicious!!
Many thanks
Hi Katie - all the recipes state the yield (servings) in the recipe box 🙂
Absolutely delicious
Made this for the first time tonight, in my slow cooker...it was lush, certainly a new favourite