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Here on the homestead, dusty, hot summer turned quite suddenly to rainy autumn. And around here, with overcast skies and yellowing leaves comes the desire for comfort food, like stew. Years ago, I posted my favorite beef stew recipe, but these days, in order to combat my diabetes and autoimmune disorder, I eat keto. (Learn more about how I reversed my blood sugar to normal, here.) Potato-heavy stew is a no-go nowadays.

But that's okay. Because ever since I learned I could make an ordinary radish seem like a potato, I haven't missed potatoes in my beef stew...at all! Even my carb-loving family thinks this low carb version of beef stew leaves nothing to be desired. Trust me. Radishes are the secret ingredient here and they do not taste at all like radishes when the stew is done cooking! They look like a small red potato, have the texture of a potato cooked in stew, and have a very mild flavor. Don't be chicken; give them a try!

That said, if you're a carbivore, you can easily substitute the radishes in this recipe for chopped potatoes, and add a few carrots or other veggies into the mix, too.

I prefer to make this hearty meal in my Instant Pot, but if you don't have one, you can just as easily cook it the old fashioned way, in the oven, using a Dutch oven or even a skillet and a roasting pan. I've given oven instructions at the very end of the recipe. With either method, the meat comes out super tender, moist, and delicious!

Keto Beef Stew in the Instant Pot
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2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced
14.5 oz, diced tomatoes in liquid
14.5 oz. beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 lb. whole radishes, roots and leaves trimmed off
1 cup sliced celery

1. Season the top of the meat cubes with salt and lots of pepper.

2. Pour oil or bacon drippings into the Instant Pot and turn the machine to saute. Once the oil is hot, add the meat, seasoned side down. Season the side of the meat now facing up with salt and pepper.

3. Brown the meat on every side. There should be no trace of pink and the meat should appear cooked and darkly browned. (This step is important to achieving beautifully tender but not dry meat.) Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside. (See *Note below.)
 

The secret to tender, moist meat is to brown it until it looks cooked.

4. Pour the onion and garlic into the Instant Pot and saute until the onion is translucent.

5. Add the tomatoes, broth, and bay leaves, along with a little more salt and pepper. Deglaze by scraping the bottom of the pot with a large spoon to remove any sticking brown bits. Simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Add the meat to the Instant Pot, put the lid on, and cook on Manual for 20 minutes. Release the steam manually.

Almost time for this beef stew's secret ingredient!

7.  Add the radishes to the stew, along with the celery. Replace the lid and cook on Manual for 10 minutes. Release the steam naturally.
 

The secret ingredient!

They don't taste like radishes when the stew is done cooking.

Delicious and healthy!

Oven Method: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Cook the seasoned meat in a Dutch oven placed on a stovetop burner. Transfer the darkly-browned meat to a bowl and set aside. Add onion and garlic to the pot and saute until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, broth, and bay leaves, and season with more salt and pepper, deglazing by scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pot using a large spoon. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the burner, add the meat, cover with a lid, and place the Dutch oven in the preheated oven. Bake, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and add the radishes (or other veggies) and celery. Bake, covered, another 60 minutes.

*Note: You may notice I don't recommend flouring the meat before browning it. This is because I've discovered it's totally unnecessary! No one who has eaten my stew can tell the flour is missing, so I see no need to add it - especially if you're low carb or have any sensititivies to wheat.


Makes about 10 servings.

Nutritional Information: It's always smart to calculate your own nutritional information using the exact products you cook with. However, the approximate nutrition per serving for this dish is, according to LoseIt!: Calories 292,  Fat 7.6 g, Carbohydrates 10.8 g, Fiber 2.7 g, Protein 29.2 g