Instant Pot Magic Short Ribs (Whole30, Gluten Free)

If you can’t find short ribs, you can definitely make this stew with cubed chuck roast. Decrease the cooking time to 35 minutes under high pressure and make sure the beef cubes are about 1½ inches across.

Yes! I recommend using boneless and skinless chicken thighs and decreasing the cooking time to 10 minutes under high pressure.

My Magic Mushroom Powder (MMP) is an umami-packed seasoning salt that replaces Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you don’t have any MMP, you can use Diamond Crystal kosher salt instead in a 1:1 ratio. Diamond Crystal kosher salt has a different structure than Morton’s kosher salt, so if you’re using Morton’s or a fine grain salt, cut the amount of salt in half. Whenever you’re unsure of the amount of salt, err on the side of caution—after all, you can always add more later to taste.

If you’re not using MMP  but want to add some instant umami, toss in a few dried mushrooms into the stew!

Nope! I’ve tried it both ways (seared and non-seared), and the non-seared way tastes just as good. Also, it requires less hands-on time! Don’t believe me? Read this article in the New York Times that explains why no browning is necessary.

Short ribs are naturally a fattier cut of beef—that’s why it’s so tasty and tender when you cook it low and slow or quickly under high pressure. But that means the resulting sauce is fattier, too. My kids don’t love fatty-tasting sauces, so I normally make this stew ahead of time and chill it in the fridge overnight. When I’m ready to reheat it, I just remove and discard the hardened fat cap, which naturally de-fats the sauce!

For sure! Because this dish takes about 90 minutes to cook from start to finish, I highly recommend making this dish ahead and reheating it to serve later. On the other hand, this dish requires so little prep time that you can just throw the ingredients into an Instant Pot any time you have about 10 minutes to spare. Sometimes, I do it in the morning before I leave for the day. Other times, I program the stew before I go to bed. That way, when I get home or wake up, the stew is depressurized and ready to eat or store!

You can store the short ribs in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. The easiest way to reheat any stew is in an Instant Pot. After I remove the hardened fat cap, I plop everything into the Instant Pot and cook it for 3 minutes under high pressure. You can even reheat the stew from frozen using the same instructions—it’ll just take longer to reach high pressure before the 3 minute countdown starts.

I love serving Instant Pot Magic Short Ribs over Simple Cauliflower Rice or Garlic Cauliflower Mashed “Potatoes.” If you want to eat this with spiralized zucchini noodles, just toss the raw zoodles into the hot stewing liquid to get them perfectly al dente.

Crock-Pot/Slow Cooker:
Sauté the shallots and garlic in a large skillet and transfer them to a slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Cook on low in a slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours

Oven:
Sauté the shallots and garlic in a 6-quart Dutch oven. Increase the amount of marinara sauce to 2 cups and add the rest of the ingredients. Transfer the covered pot to a 300°F oven and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until tender.