Instant Pot Paleo Mongolian Beef - Dump and Go Dinner
Whether you are short on time, patience or both, this Instant Pot Paleo Mongolian Beef makes for a quick, stress-free dinner. Tender strips of flank steak are marinated in an umami-rich honeyed coconut amino sauce to yield a decadently savory paleo dish that is simple to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds slice Flank Steak
- ¼ cups Arrowroot
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- ½ teaspoons peel and mince Ginger, Fresh
- ¾ cups Coconut Aminos
- ¾ cups Honey
- ½ cups grate Carrot
- ⅓ cups dice Green Onion (Scallion)
- ¾ cups Water
Containers
Supplies
Cooking Instructions
Freeze For Later Cooking Day Directions
These directions help you cook or prepare this meal PRIOR to being frozen for serving later (see Serving Day Directions when you are ready to prepare it to eat).
Why would I want to freeze this?
- Coat steak with arrowroot powder.
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Make From Frozen Serving Day Directions
These directions help you cook or reheat this meal AFTER it's been frozen for when you are ready to eat it.
- Prep from frozen
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Make It Now Cooking Directions
These directions are for cooking this recipe to serve immediately and NOT to freeze for later.
- **Due to the nature of pressure cooking there is always room for inconsistency. The times given here are based on 4 servings fresh. If you are using more servings you may need to increase your cooking time.**
- Coat flank steak with arrowroot powder.
- Combine remaining ingredients and add to the inner pot.
- Place flank steak in inner pot.
- Lock cover into place and seal steam nozzle.
- Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
- Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes and quick release remaining pressure.
Nutrition Facts
- Servings Per Recipe
- 4 Servings
- Serving Size
- about 6 ounces Amount Per Serving
- Calories
- 598
- Total Fat
- 19g
- Saturated Fat
- 6g
- Trans Fat
- 0g
- Cholesterol
- 111mg
- Sodium
- 873mg
- Total Carbohydrates
- 69g
- Fiber
- 1g
- Sugar
- 58g
- Protein
- 37g
- WW Freestyle
- 23
64 Comments
Join the discussionIf I don’t have a flank steak, what would be another good beef cut to use?
I’ve personally subbed strip steak in for flank steak when prices at the store were better. I think beef short ribs cut into smaller strips would also be tasty!
I don’t know if this is uncouth or not, but could one use ground beef?
I don’t think it would be uncouth at all. It could possibly change the texture enough to make it feel more like a chili, less like an asian-inspired dish, but that’s the beauty of cooking- It’s personal to your preferences! Let us know if you give it whirl!
I am going to try it with chicken just for the price point because I have to use grass fed beef… which was delicious, but expensive.
The chicken wasn’t nearly as good, but definitely more economical.
My pressure cooker has high and low pressure settings… when manually setting for 35 min would it be high pressure?
Hi Heather. We would suggest that the default is always high pressure. Let us know how it turns out for you! Enjoy!
Hi- bought the ingredients to make this tonight. Do we add any liquid to the IP before closing it?
If you’re cooking to serve, you’ll follow the first set of directions that says “Directions,” and use the liquids/ingredients listed. To make this recipe to freeze so you can cook from frozen, you’ll want to follow the “Freezing Directions.” If you’re cooking from frozen (which it doesn’t sound like you are) you’ll want to follow the “Serving Day Directions,” and if that is the case you do not need to add any water so long as you sautĂ© first like the instructions say. Enjoy!
any alternative for the coconut liquid please cant seam to get this in uk
Coconut aminos are a paleo-friendly substitute for soy sauce. If you don’t need to avoid soy, you can use soy sauce or Bragg’s aminos.
The coconut amino’s are to make this recipe Paleo. You can use soy sauce instead but then it won’t be a Paleo recipe. I hope this helps!
Made this tonight (without freezing) and sprayed sauce all over the kitchen! The sauce was very watery, and I ended up thickening with more arrowroot (on saute mode). Perhaps reduce the water to 1/4 cup?
Jennifer, oh no!! Sorry to hear your kitchen got sprayed! ? Thank you so much for the feedback!! Hope it still turned out delicious! ?
I would like to make this but would want to cut way back on honey. Has anyone tried this with much less honey? Would 1/4 cup work?
Hey, Kandy! We’re happy to help! Are you not a fan of honey or prefer less sugar or is there another reason you’d like to cut down on the honey? This will help us make the best possible suggestion!
Hi, I am just now seeing your response to my question. There are so many carbs in this recipe that for a diabetic it would be totally disastrous. Every recipe I have found for this is either loaded with honey or sugar. I am not sure there is a fix if it is meant to be that sweet. I also see Beef and Broccoli recipes loaded with sugar and where I get it, it is never sweet. Very savory and delicious. A diabetic is normally allowed to have 45 gms of carbs for a whole meal and are encouraged to actually have less. Also anything with over 5 grams of sugar is “not allowed” but there can be exceptions to some food items. This would definitely not be one.
You could just cut back on the amount of honey that’s in the recipe. Please let us know how it turns out! Enjoy!
I saw a Mongolian bbq for whole 30. it didnt have sugar or honey at all… maybe try that??
Is there anything else you can substitute for honey? I’m doing a whole 30 so no sweeteners except fruit juice. Maybe pineapple juice?
My initial recommendations for a honey substitute are all syrups which likely aren’t Whole30 friendly. It certainly doesn’t hurt to try pineapple juice – we’d love to hear how it turns out! Enjoy!
My husband has to watch his sugar levels – I’m also curious in cutting the sugar down. Any suggestions?
Since this is a paleo recipe, it doesn’t contain much sugar (from the honey possibly, but you could definitely cut that down according to your taste and dietary restrictions!).
Hi, I made this tonight and served over Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower with collard greens on the side. (I used 1/2 cup honey and dried ginger). It was simple and delicious, a perfect paleo meal!! Thank you!
I want to share this with a friend who had a serving and loved it, but, she has a crock pot. Any idea how long (after sauteing) to cook it in a crock pot?
Michelle, we’re glad your friend loved it! Here is a link to the slow cooker directions for this meal: https://onceamonthmeals.com/recipes/paleo-crockpot-mongolian-beef/
I made this a few days ago. FYI it is extremely sweet. I cut the amount of honey a good bit, but my wife and I were both turned off by how incredibly sweet. I’ll try something else next time.
Thanks for your feedback!
What’s the cooking time supposed to be if it’s not frozen? I made this tonight according to the directions at the meat/stew setting at it was so tough.
You would want to follow Step 6 and Step 7 in the first set of directions under “Make it Now”.
#6 Set on meat/stew setting or set manually for 35 minutes.
#7 Naturally release pressure for 5 minutes and quick release remaining pressure.
You might also enjoy this helpful blog post.
I hope this helps!
I’ve made this twice now. The first time as written and found it was quite sweet and runny, The second time I cut the honey in half and kept the water the same I believe. Still runny and very little flavor. So the next time (there will be a next time because even though it was a tad too sweet it was DELICIOUS) there will have to be a happy medium somewhere. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Wonderful! Glad you were able to make it work for you! ?
Doing Whole30 and can’t have honey….is it okay without it?
It doesn’t hurt to try! Would love to hear how this turns out.
For the freezing method, do you coat the beef in arrowroot and then dump the other ingredients on top? Or do you put the beef in a second container? When it says sauté for 5 mins is that only the frozen beef or the entire contents?
Sorry for so many questions! Thanks!!
Coat steak and freeze separately from other ingredients. Saute entire contents. We’re always happy to answer your questions! Enjoy!
hmm…. this was not clear at all. the steak was to be frozen separately from the other ingredients? mine is all in one freezer bag. hope it turns out ok tonight…
Hopefully it does! Let us know once it is cooked!
The Facebook video says to add water when cooking from frozen, but the instructions don’t have that. I made this last week without adding the water, and when it finished cooking, half of the meat was stuck together in the middle of the pot and not cooked through. I did sautĂ© it for 5 minutes before cooking, but maybe it needed 6 minutes, or more liquid. What is it supposed to look like after the sautĂ© time? Still frozen, half frozen, meat frozen but separated? Sorry for all the questions, but I’m new to the Instant Pot and trying to figure things out. By the way, I cooked it for 5 more minutes and it was perfectly cooked, and delicious!
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We apologize for any frustration – you do need the water. This recipe has been updated.
I am making this now. But I saw the “add this after if the meal has been frozen” too late. It wasn’t clear to me and I thought I was looking for the little blue “i” to be next to something that I was supposed to add when reheating. So I added the 3/4 cup water to everything. I hope it doesn’t turn out too watery.
How did it turn out?
Trying this recipe tonight. Followed directions. Put IP on Meat/Stew (35 min). Before the pot even got to pressure, I received the “burning at the bottom” warning. Opened pot and sure enough, getting burned on the bottom. Stirred and put the pot on slow cook for 4 hours. We’ll see how it turns out but pressure sure isn’t working.
I am sorry that it did not work well. Was it good once it slow cooked?
Thank you. I joined today and I made this tonight. It was delicious. I used a third of the honey and half of the amino’s it called for. I also cut up half my meat into smaller pieces. I think I prefer the smaller pieces for serving.
Next time, I am going to toss it over steamed broccoli and serve it.
Awesome! We love when customers make our recipes their own with adjustments. That’s half of the fun of cooking: experimenting! 🙂
Made his but cut to 1/3 of recipe. I put meat in a bowl added tbs of water and 1/8 tsp bicarbonate, let sit for five mins after mixing. Apparently this makes the meat tender as it breaks down the surface tension and cooks better in the pressure cooker. Great recipe, no time I would add a bit of garlic .
Hi Laurelle — Thanks for the bicarbonate tip! I wouldn’t have thought to do that. So glad this recipe turned out for you. Happy Cooking! ~ OAMM
I don’t have arrowroot. Can I use cornstarch instead? If not, what can replace the arrowroot?
Hi Patricia — You can use cornstarch as a substitute for arrowroot (one to one). Some dishes work better than others. Tapioca powder is also a substitute for arrow root. I hope this helps! ~ OAMM
I’m wondering how many 1-cup servings this recipe makes. Trying to track my macros.
All serving sizes are approximate, but this recipe should make about four 1 cup servings (or 6 ounces beef with one quarter of the prepared sauce).
I made this recipe last night! It was my first time using my Instant Pot and it came out great. I did add a few minutes to the pressure cooking time and it was very good. I linked your recipe on my blog also! http://www.getskinnywiththeglitterqueen.com
thank you!
Hi, I tried this today. The concept was great, but 35 minutes on the original Instant Pot was excessive and left my meat tough. I followed the recipe to a “T” and it failed. I bought super expensive highly quality grass fed pasture raised flank, only to have it taste no better than fast food junk. I’m surprised I’m the only one to report overcooked beef.
As you noted, others don’t typically have that experience, and neither did our test cooks, but we are so very sorry it didn’t turn out well for you! If you’d like further assistance troubleshooting, please feel free to hop over to chat with us live on our site any time (click the little orange chat icon in the bottom right).
I’ve gotten “burn” on the screen all three times I’ve ever tried to make this one… always have to do it slow cooker style after that. No amount of stirring helps. And I don’t want to water it down anymore.
Hi Steve, I’m so sorry you have issues making this in your Instant Pot. Do you mind telling me what size Instant Pot you are using?
Why use DISPOSABLE 64 oz. container for storage?
Hi Vickie! You are welcome to reuse this container that is recommended (many of us do!) We also have this great blog post just for containers you can read here: https://onceamonthmeals.com/blog/series/get-started/freezing-containers/
We hope this helps & happy cooking!
I have made this a few times and it overcooks. could this be my instapot? also, sprays honey/water mixture out when I quick release. can anyone explain why it would do this? i slow release for the time it indicates ..
How many servings are you cooking for?
I tried cooking from frozen and followed all instructions above.
Dumped in instapot with 3/4 water and it burned each time.
What am I doing wrong?
Hi Ashley! I’m sorry to hear that you’re having problems with this recipe. Sometimes when a particular recipe is giving us problems we never know the exact cause, as there are so many factors to consider when it comes to pressure cooking. I can cook a recipe the exact same way and yield different results simply due to the way the ingredients have been layered in the container at times! My advice would be to try to use the trivet to keep the frozen ingredients off the insert. Sometimes that helps. The technology of the newer Instant Pots is so sensitive that the burn notice comes on pretty quickly! I hope this is helpful!!