Instant Pot Oxtail Stew is one of my favorite comfort meals any time of year. It’s a cinch to throw together in a pressure cooker and this Whole30-friendly ragu tastes amazing on zoodles, cauliflower rice, or paired with a green salad.
Instant Pot Oxtail Stew is one of my favorite comfort meals any time of year. I make it whenever I can snag oxtails from the butcher ’cause it’s a cinch to throw this dish together in a pressure cooker. Plus, my Whole30-friendly oxtail ragu tastes amazing on zoodles, cauliflower rice, or just paired with a ginormous green salad. (And yes, you can even eat it on rice or pasta if you’re only part-time Paleo.)
Growing up in a Chinese-American household, I’ve never been fazed by weird chewy bits of meat at the dinner table. Seeing the heads on cooked whole fish or chicken was a regular occurrence in my house. In fact, these foods—while “gross” to some—are what I consider comfort food. In particular, I have a preference for oxtails because the meat is meltingly tender. It takes a little persistence and patience to get to all the goodness tucked in the nooks and crannies—and to me, that’s a good thing. If you’re a little squeamish about eating nose-to-tail, you may not be ready for this jelly. But as I do with my own kids, I encourage you to be brave in all things, and grab some oxtails the next time you spy them in the butcher case!
Time to make Instant Pot Oxtail Stew!
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 5 pounds oxtails, cut crosswise into 3-inch segments
- Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ghee, olive oil, avocado oil, or fat of choice
- 1 pound yellow onions, finely sliced
- 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1½ cups marinara sauce (I like Rao’s brand)
- 1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup minced Italian parsley
Cooking Equipment:
- Large bowl
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- Tongs
- Silicone spatula
- Instant Pot or other pressure cooker
Method:
Turn on the broiler and set the oven rack 6 inches from the heating element. Place oxtails in a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
Toss well and and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Pop the oxtails under the broiler.
Broil for about 5 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Alternatively, you can brown the meat in batches in the Instant Pot on the “Sauté” function, but it’ll be tedious and messy.
While the oxtails are browning under the broiler, grab your Instant Pot and turn on the “Sauté” function. When the metal insert is hot, add the ghee or fat of choice. Toss in the sliced onions and carrots…
…and cook until the onions are softened.
Sprinkle on some additional Magic Mushroom Powder or kosher salt. Toss in the smashed garlic, and stir for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Grab the browned oxtails off the pan…
…and nestle them into the vegetables. Pour in any accumulated juices from the pan.
Remember not to fill your pressure cooker more than 2/3rds full!
Pour the marinara sauce, fish sauce, and aged balsamic vinegar onto the meat. Stir well, making sure the liquid reaches the bottom of the pot.
Lock on the lid and program the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 45 minutes.
When the oxtails are done cooking, let the pressure release naturally. If you’re impatient, you can release the pressure manually after 30 minutes has elapsed.
The meat should be tender and falling off the bone. Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, Magic Mushroom Powder, and/or balsamic vinegar if needed.
I love serving the oxtails directly on raw spiralized zucchini (a.k.a. zoodles) because the hot sauce cooks the zucchini without making them super watery and soft.
Voilà!
Love to meal prep? Good, ’cause this stew freezes and reheats well.
You can eat the oxtail stew right away, but I like to store the oxtails in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to meld. If desired, you can easily remove the layer of fat on top once the stew’s chilled. Simply reheat the stew in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes under high pressure, and release the pressure manually. Give it a stir, and plate it up!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot Oxtail Stew
Ingredients
- 5 pounds oxtails cut crosswise into 3-inch segments
- Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ghee olive oil, avocado oil, or fat of choice
- 1 pound yellow onions finely sliced
- 3 medium carrots roughly chopped
- 8 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 1½ cups marinara sauce I like Rao’s brand
- 1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup minced Italian parsley
Instructions
- Turn on the broiler and set the oven rack 6 inches from the heating element. Place oxtails in a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Toss well and and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Pop the oxtails under the broiler. Broil for about 5 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Alternatively, you can brown the meat in batches in the Instant Pot on the “Sauté” function, but it’ll be tedious and messy.
- While the oxtails are browning under the broiler, grab your Instant Pot and turn on the “Sauté” function. When the metal insert is hot, add the ghee or fat of choice. Toss in the sliced onions and carrots and cook until the onions are softened.
- Sprinkle on some additional Magic Mushroom Powder or kosher salt. Toss in the smashed garlic, and stir for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Grab the browned oxtails off the pan, and nestle them into the vegetables. Pour in any accumulated juices from the pan. Remember not to fill your pressure cooker more than 2/3rds full!
- Pour the marinara sauce, fish sauce, and aged balsamic vinegar onto the meat. Stir well, making sure the liquid reaches the bottom of the pot.
- Lock on the lid and program the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 45 minutes.
- When the oxtails are done cooking, let the pressure release naturally. If you’re impatient, you can release the pressure manually after 30 minutes has elapsed.
- The meat should be tender and falling off the bone. Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, Magic Mushroom Powder, and/or balsamic vinegar if needed.
- I love serving the oxtails directly on raw spiralized zucchini (a.k.a. zoodles) because the hot sauce cooks the zucchini without making them super watery and soft.
Notes
- Love to meal prep? Good, ’cause this stew freezes and reheats well. You can eat the oxtail stew right away, but I like to store the oxtails in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to meld. If desired, you can easily remove the layer of fat on top once the stew’s chilled. Simply reheat the stew in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes under high pressure, and release the pressure manually. Give it a stir, and plate it up!
- Wanna make this dish is a slow cooker? Broil the oxtails as directed and sauté the onions, carrots, and garlic in a skillet. Once oxtails are browned and the veggies are softened, add everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What size pressure cooker works for this much meat?
This recipe is soooo incredibly good, even without the magic mushroom powder. However, I struggle with getting my instapot to not give me a burn message when I make it. Help! This is my 2nd time trying recipe and I don’t know what to do…
The tomato is normally what can trigger the burn message so I don’t mix it in. Also, you can stir in about 1/4 cup of or broth or water to the bottom of the pot to try to prevent the burn message.
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe…my children and I devoured every piece of it!
how many hours should I set it for if I use the slow cooker function?
8-10 hours on low
This was melt in your mouth delicious! A keeper recipe for sure.
This is the easiest oxtail recipe I’ve come across. And the flavors are sooo good!! I’ll definitely be adding this into our rotation of meals we constantly make.