Instant Pot Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian Herb Stew with Beef)

This Instant Pot Ghormeh Sabzi brings all the wonderful herb-packed flavor of the classic Persian stew in a fraction of the time. Prepared with herbs, dried limes, and all the classic ingredients that make this Persian stew so loved.

Ghormeh Sabzi is one of my favorite Persian stews. My family and I literally fight over the last bit of leftover stew and who is going to get it. So needless to say, I make ghormeh sabzi quite often.

Although it is not a complicated recipe to make, it isn’t for the faint of heart. If you do not have a food processor, you have to chop all the herbs by hand. And the stew has to simmer all day until it is ready. But by using the instant pot, you can make this delicious stew in a fraction of the time.

If there is one dish that is quintessential Persian, it is Khoreshteh Ghormeh Sabzi, an herb stew made with parsley, cilantro, green onions and fenugreek. You can make this stew with either beef or lamb.

As much as I love eating ghormeh sabzi, I won’t lie. This stew is a bit of work since there are so many herbs to wash and trim and chop. And of course, the longer it sits, the better it tastes.

So when I do make it, I make a massive amount of stew so we can enjoy it over and over again. What I love about this particular recipe, is that the instant pot saves me so much time and helps me get dinner on the table faster. What a win!

Ingredients you need

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• Fresh herbs: This magic concoction is different for different cooks. I use fresh parsley, cilantro and green onions
• Onion: Use a brown or white onion.
• Beef stew meat: You can use chunks of chuck roast, London broil or butcher cut stew meat.
• Seasonings: Salt, pepper and turmeric.
• Pantry staples: Olive oil, beef broth, canned red kidney beans and all purpose flour.
• Dried fenugreek: I normally cannot find fresh fenugreek so I always use dried fenugreek.
• Persian dried limes: Dried Persian limes offer tremendous flavor to this dish. Although you can use lemon juice instead, this stew is known for its use of limoo omani.
• Lemon juice (optional): I use a combination of dried Persian limes and lemon juice because my family likes this dish on the sour side. Adding the extra lemon juice is optional.
• Special equipment: I use my 6-quart Instant Pot for this recipe.

Step-by-step directions

1. Prep the meat. If using a chuck roast or London broil, cut into 1-inch cubes. Season the meat with salt, pepper and turmeric. Dust with flour until coated evenly. Set aside.
2. Chop the onions. Peel and chop the onions and clean the green onions and slice both the green and white parts.
3. Prep the herbs. Remove stems, especially the thick woody ones, from parsley and cilantro. Wash, drain and use a salad spinner to dry the herbs. Once dried, chop the herbs in batches using a food processor with a metal blade and set aside.

4. Brown the meat. Press the “Sauté” function key on your 6 or 8-quart Instant Pot. Select “More” temperature with the “Adjust” key. When Instant Pot displays “Hot” add olive oil. When oil is hot, add reserved stew meat and brown meat all over. When meat is browned, remove meat and reserve.
5. Sauté the onions. Add more oil to hot Instant Pot. Stir in chopped onions and sauté until onions start to soften. Add turmeric and cook until translucent and golden.
6. Add the herbs. Stir in the chopped green onions, parsley and cilantro and continue cooking until herbs wilt and start to darken. Stir in the dried fenugreek and continue to cook until incorporated.
7. Return the beef. Add beef back into the pot and mix it in with the herbs.
8. Add the dried limes. Carefully pierce dried limes with a sharp knife. If you like your stew more on the sour lemony side, add 6 dried limes. If you don’t know how you like it, start with two. You can add lemon juice later to adjust the flavor to your preference. Add dried limes, broth and lemon juice (optional) to stew.
9. Cook the stew. Place the lid on your instant pot, turn the vent to seal and set on meat/stew for 35 minutes. Once the timer goes off and the stew is cooked, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually. You can also let all the pressure release naturally if you have time.
10. Add the beans. Drain and rinse beans. Stir in kidney beans with the stew. Place the lid on your instant pot, turn the vent to seal and set on warm for 15-30 minutes.
11. Serve. The stew is now ready and you can serve with Persian rice. You can also let the stew cool and refrigerate it overnight. The stew tastes even better the next day .

Recipe tips and FAQs

Now true fans of this stew will argue that that ghormeh sabzi should not be served the day it was made. That it tastes infinitely better after a day or two. I do agree with this fact: ghormeh sabzi tastes even better the next day.

But once my kids walk in the door from school and smell that distinct smell of ghormeh sabzi, well, they won’t wait the next day. I can’t deny how easy it was to make this stew in the Instant Pot.

Now there’s the question of color of my ghormeh sabzi.

Just like in other cultures, there is much debate on the right way to sauté the herbs for this dish. Some like to cook the herbs in a lot of oil for a long period of time, until the color of the herbs turns into a very dark green, sometimes near black.

Others swear by using DRIED herbs for this dish, which I personally think is a travesty. I’m sorry, but fresh is best.

For this recipe, I brown the meat, onions and vegetables using the Instant Pot. Even on high heat, I found that I got better results with my stove and pan. The deep Instant Pot honestly steams your food in sauté mode, especially with these ingredients and amounts.

You can totally do all of this over the stove top to get a hotter pan, but quite honestly, this defeats the purpose of using just one pot to do it all. I loved that I only had one pot to clean afterwards.

If you like this recipe for instant pot ghormeh sabzi, then you have to try my instant pot ash reshteh recipe for Persian noodle soup with beans and herbs.

I created another classic Persian stew in the instant pot, my Khoresh Gheymeh (Persian Split Pea Stew) recipe.

So there you, my analysis of the Instant Pot and my recipe for Instant Pot Ghormeh Sabzi. For those of you looking to create this iconic dish faster, the Instant Pot is definitely for you. I have another recipe for Khoreshteh Ghormeh Sabzi on my blog, where I add kale to the mix. You can also try my traditional ghormeh sabzi, made on the stove top, too.

Instant Pot Gormeh Sabzi (Persian Herb Stew with Beef)

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

This Instant Pot Ghormeh Sabzi brings all the wonderful herb-packed flavor of the classic Persian stew in a fraction of the time. Prepared with herbs, dried limes, and all the classic ingredients that make this Persian stew so loved.

4.71 from 31 votes

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Recipes

Cuisine Persian

Servings 8

Calories 624 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 18 oz fresh parsley about 5 bundles
• 8 oz fresh cilantro about 5 bundles
• 2 bundles of green onions
• 1 brown onion
• 2 lb stew meat 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoon dried fenugreek
• 3-6 dried Persian limes
• 4 cups beef broth
• ¼ cup lemon juice optional
• 20 ounces canned red kidney beans

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Instructions

 

• Remove stems, especially the thick woody ones, from parsley and cilantro. Wash, drain and spin green vegetables dry. A salad spinner works great with this step. Once dried, chop vegetables in batches using a food processor with a metal blade and set aside.
• Peel and finely chop the onions and green onions.
• In a large bowl mix together meat, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon turmeric and flour until meat is coated evenly. Set aside.
• Press the “Sauté” function key on your 6 or 8-quart Instant Pot. Select "More" temperature with the “Adjust” key. When Instant Pot displays “Hot” add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
• When oil is hot, add reserved stew meat and brown meat all over. When meat is browned, remove meat and reserve.
• Add to hot Instant Pot 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Stir in chopped onions and sauté until onions start to soften.
• Stir in reserved white parts of the green onions and cook for another 2 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon turmeric and continue cooking until soften and translucent.
• Stir in chopped green onions, parsley and cilantro until well mixed.
• Stir in fenugreek and add beef back to the pot, mixing everything together.
• Carefully pierce dried limes with a sharp knife. If you like your stew more on the sour lemony side, add 6 dried limes. If you don't know how you like it, start with two. You can add lemon juice later to adjust the flavor to your preference.
• Add dried limes, broth and lemon juice (optional) to stew.
• Place the lid on your instant pot, turn the vent to seal and set on meat/stew for 35 minutes.
• Once the timer goes off and the stew is cooked, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually. You can also let all the pressure release naturally if you have time.
• Drain and rinse beans. Stir in kidney beans with the stew.
• Place the lid on your instant pot, turn the vent to seal and set on warm for 15-30 minutes.
• Open Instant Pot and serve with Persian basmati rice.

Video

Notes

The longer the stew sits, the better it tastes, so you can totally make this dish a day or two before you serve it.

Instead of kidney beans, you can also use pinto beans.

I also like to add chopped spinach or kale in with the herbs to sneak in more nutrition.

For meat, you can also use lamb shanks. You can cut your own stew meat from a chuck roast or London broil.

For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and baby portobello mushrooms instead of meat.

TO STORE: Store any leftover kabob in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1-2 cupsCalories: 624kcalCarbohydrates: 53.3gProtein: 56.5gFat: 20.6gSaturated Fat: 6.7gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 821mgFiber: 15gSugar: 4.3g

Keyword gormeh sabzi, instant pot gormeh sabzi, persian herb stew

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