Cola Braised Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
8
servings10
minutes1
hour582
kcal5
grams4
grams45
grams40
gramsThis is a keto-fied version of a recipe I used to regularly make in my pre-keto days. Before keto, I found this recipe worked equally well with either Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper.
For this recipe, I’m using Dr. Zevia, which I found tasted a bit sweeter than the Zevia cola. If you can’t get Zevia soda where you live, you’ll have to decide which sugar free soda to use. From a flavor standpoint, Coke Zero would probably be the best, if you’re not opposed to Aspartame.
By using the pressure cooker function of the Instant Pot, we can speed up the braising process considerably. You’ll still be looking at over an hour of total cooking time between browning short ribs, sauteing the aromatics, the pressure cook, and the natural release — but most of that time is “inactive”.
In the video, I use 2.5 lbs of meat, but there’s enough spice rub and sauce to do 4 lbs, and though this dish has yellow onion (kind of carby), the net carbs per 1/2 lb serving of meat is only 4g.
Ingredients
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 TB coarse ground black pepper
1/2 TB cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 lbs boneless beef short ribs
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 cups non-sugar soda (cola or Dr Pepper)
2 TB coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Directions
- Mix the salt, paprika, pepper, cayenne and cumin in a bowl.
- Cut the boneless short ribs into 4″ to 6″ pieces and coat with the spice rub from step one.
- Add 2 TB of olive oil to your Instant Pot and set it to “high” or “more” saute.
- When the display reads “HOT”, brown the ribs in batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pot. It should take about 2 minutes per side to get a nice sear on the meat.
- Remove the meat from the Instant Pot and add the garlic and onions. Saute until soft — about 4 minutes.
- Add the soda, coconut aminos and Worcestershire sauce to the Instant Pot, and using a spoon or rubber tongs, scrape the brown crusty fond off the bottom of the pot so that it dissolves into your sauce.
- Add the beef to sauce, turning to coat each piece. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, and set to pressure cook for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes is up, allow the Instant Pot to do a “natural release” for 15 minutes.
- Remove the beef from the Instant Pot and using an immersion blender, blend in the xanthan gum until the sauce is smooth and there are no clumps.
- Return the meat to the sauce, and using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite sized chunks.
- Serve over mashed cauliflower.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Nutritional info is based on a serving size of 1/2 lb of meat.
Can’t wait to try this one. Thanks for all your efforts!!!
Very good! Great recipie with easy to follow instructions. I enjoy your YouTube videos. Keep up the good work.
This really turned out great. The flavor is so unique. It was the best gravy too. Thank you so much.
Glad you liked it. What flavor soda did you use?
This was easy to follow and the seasoning flavor was great! I used Dr zevia, wish I didn’t. The stevia taste is hard to get past for me and my husband but we liked the flavor otherwise. Next time I’m going to try using a black cherry sparkling water and sweeten it with my own sweetener. I’ll probably use sukrin gold, maybe even a little lakanto maple. If you’re making this again soon, try this ahead of me and let me know how it turns out!
This was absolutely delish. Easy to make. So full of flavor. Thanks for sharing.
This is a Fantastic meal!!! Your recipe is delicious and super simple, thank you!!
I used Pork short ribs, 1 can of Zevia Cherry Cola, and added a few Tbsp of Heavy Whipping Cream to thicken the sauce. Will make again for sure!
Hello! I have been watching way tooooo many if your videos since I found you great site last week! I don’t have an instant pot -yet- What temp would you suggest ai use in a little convection oven? I’m sure it’ll be fine without the pot, and I have been filling my tiny kitchen with appliances for my keto lifestyle and can’t justify another this month:) And btw- tonight is second time I have made your chaffles -yum-and am so excited to try your pumpkin pie chaffles soon -and to use your hints about storing extras in tablespoon amounts for future use! Happy 🙂
I don’t know that you’d be able to do this in a little convection oven. If you have a Crock Pot, you could let these go for 5-6 hours to get them fork tender.
Sorry about the typos! Haha but, I stand by my kudos!
Hi! We live on a farm and raise dry-aged beef. We have a lot of bone-in short ribs but no boneless short ribs. Do you think they would work with this recipe? Thanks!
Absolutely! They’d probably be even more tender and rich.
We really enjoyed all the flavors. Made it in the crockpot with boneless and bone-in meat.
The word cola in this recipe made me wonder if coke zero is truly keto friendly