Instant Pot Short Ribs With Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

Short ribs are an underappreciated cut of meat. Slow cooking brings out their full potential, but the added time is worth the wait. Juicy, succulent and flavorful, short ribs can be paired with any number of vegetables for stews (often a more fork-tender choice than traditional stew meat) or served separately with salads or sides. We’ve got two recipes highlighting the versatility of short ribs. (Check back next week for the second….)

For this recipe, the ribs are paired with sweet potatoes and spinach for nutrient-rich one-pot meal. And we’ve sized the recipe for a double batch of short ribs with instructions for when and how to set them aside. The result? The ease of two delicious dinners with less time and prep.

Servings: 4 (plus extra 4 servings of ribs alone)

Time in the Kitchen: 35 minutes (plus 25 minutes cook time)

Ingredients:

3 pounds bone-in beef short ribs (about 2 inches thick) (1.5 kg)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (7.4 ml)
1 tablespoon Primal Kitchen® Avocado Oil (15 ml)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste (15 ml) (save the rest for recipe #3)
2 cups beef bone broth (475 ml)
8 ounces frozen spinach (230 g)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (2.5 cm)

Instructions:

Season ribs with salt.

Select the sauté setting on the Instant Pot. Add oil and sear the ribs for about 2 minutes per side, so they are lightly browned. This will have to be done in batches since all the ribs won’t fit in the pot at once.

In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste and bone broth.

Set all the browned short ribs aside on a plate and pour the bone broth and tomato paste into the pot. Add the garlic cloves. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any bits of meat that have stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Add the short ribs.

Secure the lid and make sure the pressure release valve is set to “sealing.” Select the “manual” setting and set the cooking time for 25 minutes on high pressure.

After 25 minutes, quick release by moving the pressure release valve to “venting” (watch out for the release of hot steam)

Remove half of the ribs and liquid from the pot. Put this half of the ribs and liquid in a food storage container. Store it in the refrigerator for another meal (check back next week for that recipe!).

Add the spinach and sweet potatoes to the Instant Pot with the remaining short ribs and liquid. Mix well so the meat, potatoes and spinach are mostly covered with liquid.

Secure the lid and make sure the pressure release valve is set to “sealing.” Select the “manual” setting and set the cooking time for 5 minutes on high pressure. After the cooking time, do a quick release by moving the pressure release valve to “venting.”