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A great source of calcium and absent of dietary toxins, this Beef Posole Stew is a wonderful comfort food main dish that’s also anti-inflammatory: low nickel, low copper, low in vitamin A, high in protein and zinc and easy to digest. Also called hominy, posole is a soaked dried corn that’s very easy to digest (unlike corn) — more nutritious and much gentler.
Beef Stew with Posole is a pressure cooker recipe. Ask in the Comments below if you need the stove top version.
Jump to Recipe
This simple beef stew is more health and comfort food than it is gourmet. If you’re someone who loves herbs and spices, then you might choose to embellish your soup with some of the variations listed here. Otherwise, for the best anti-inflammatory stew that’s low in vitamin A, copper, nickel and most dietary toxins, but high in calcium, zinc and protein, I hope you’ll enjoy simple, quality, healing food as much as I do. The broth is flavorful, but not spiced.
Ingredients in Beef Stew with Posole
- dried posole (link in recipe), soaked overnight in room temp water, to cover by 2″
- baking soda
- water
- quality salt
- beef stew meat, cubed
- optional herb or spices: dried ginger powder, dill weed, onion powder
Hominy comes dried (or canned). It needs to be both soaked overnight, and cooked, before eating.
What is hominy or posole
Hominy and posole are the exact same ingredient: dried corn kernels that have been treated in an alkaline solution (a process called nixtamalization), making them easier to digest and more nutritious.
In culinary terms, the words refer to either the corn itself or a hearty Mexican/Southwestern soup or stew made with it. Posole is usually made with pork or chicken, but I love what it adds to beef stew.
Additional ingredients
Optional vegetables or carbs
- carrots, zucchini, potatoes (all peeled, white carrots for Low vA/anti-inflammatory/low nickel)
- pasta or rice
Optional thickener for a thick stew base that’s less brothy:
- water or broth + masa/rice flour (and/OR cornstarch)
Variations for more flavors
Feel free to add in:
- onions, diced and sautéed for the most flavor
- cumin and/or oregano
- pan drippings from roasted chicken
- white pepper or freshly ground black pepper
How to make hominy beef stew
Although this recipe requires no active cooking at all, the dried posole does need to soak overnight. So plan ahead:
- The day or night before you plan to serve, place posole in a glass bowl; cover by 2″ with clean water. Set aside overnight to soak and soften.
This recipe is a “dump and go” savory treat! With no prep at all, it takes less than 10 minutes to throw everything in the pot and begin the no work cooking process:
- Strain soaked posole. Add to pressure cooker insert: posole, stew meat, water, baking soda, quality salt and optional herbs/spices.
- Set timer for 45 minutes. When timer sounds, allow a natural pressure release, then remove lid.
- Optional to thicken broth base: On Instant Pot (depending on model) press “Sauté” button to bring broth to a brief simmer. In small bowl or measuring cup with pour spout, stir together your choice of thickener (see recipe below) with water or broth. Stir in slurry of thickener and water, and stir the stew briefly until it simmers and thickens. Press Cancel button, then Keep Warm button to cease simmer.
- While stew comes to a simmer and cools from the simmer, use a ladle to scoop up pieces of stew meat, and cut each piece of beef roughly in half. (I use food scissors! This is fast, effective and creates more tender meat.)
- Stir in any additional optional ingredients, such as cooked rice or pasta. Serve!
Leftovers keep great in the fridge for a few days. Reheat in IP with Sauté button (or gently with the Keep Warm button over the course of a few hours), over the stove top in a smaller pot, or in a microwave. Stew freezes great for up to 3 months.
What makes the stew meat tender
Two steps make the stew meat extra tender, moist and flavorful in this recipe:
- The small amount of baking soda both tenderizes and moistens the meat (by raising its pH, making it more alkaline).
- After cooking, the cutting of the meat into smaller cubes further tenderizes each bite.
Do include these two steps, as they really make a difference — for a great beef stew.
Beef Posole Stew with Hominy (Gluten-free)
Equipment
- Instant Pot or other pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried posole (also called hominy), soaked overnight in room temp water, to cover by 2"
- 1 to 2 pounds beef stew meat cubed
- 6 cups water
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons quality salt
- herb or spice options: 2 teaspoons dried ginger , dill weed (both low nickel) and/or onion powder (all optional, also fine to omit)
- Optional vegetables or carbs: 2 carrots , 2 zucchini and/or 2 potatoes (all peeled, white carrots for Low vA/anti-inflammatory/low nickel)
- Optional carbs: 4 to 6 ounces (uncooked) pasta or rice (fully cook, and stir into the stew before serving)
- Optional thickener for a thicker stew base that's less brothy: ¼ cup water or broth + ½ cup white masa/rice flour -- and/OR -- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Although this recipe requires no active cooking at all, the dried posole does need to soak overnight. So plan ahead: The day or night before you plan to serve, place posole in a glass bowl; cover by 2" with clean water. Set aside overnight to soak and soften.
- Strain posole. Add to pressure cooker insert: posole, stew meat, water, baking soda, quality salt and optional herbs/spices. (For optional carrots, zucchini and potatoes, you have two options: add to pressure cooker now, and they end up very soft, or cook them separately to less soft, and stir them in at the end before serving.)
- Seal lid. Set timer for 45 minutes. When timer sounds, allow a natural pressure release. Remove lid.
- Optional to thicken broth base: On Instant Pot (depending on model) press "Sauté" button to bring broth to a brief simmer. In small bowl or measuring cup with pour spout, stir together your choice of thickener with water or broth. Stir slurry of thickener and water into pot, and stir the stew briefly until it simmers and thickens slightly. Press Cancel button, then Keep Warm button to cease simmer. If using masa, allow 15 minutes for stew to thicken additionally as the masa absorbs liquid. While stew comes to a simmer and/or cools from the simmer, use a ladle to scoop up pieces of stew meat, and cut each piece of beef roughly in half. (I use food scissors! This is fast, effective and creates more tender meat.)Stir in any additional optional ingredients, such as cooked rice or pasta. Serve!
- Leftovers keep great in the fridge for a few days. Reheat in IP with Sauté button (or gently with the Keep Warm button over the course of a few hours), over the stove top in a smaller pot, or in a microwave. Stew freezes great for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Pin Beef Stew with Posole here:
April says
You’re not worried about the nickel leaching from the IP pot? Do you still use your IP a lot while eating low nickel?
Megan says
Hi April, good question. Straight from Dr. Smith, he says go ahead, just don’t store leftovers in the IP insert, and nothing acidic in the recipe. In this stew, I even add baking soda, making it more alkaline. Any leftovers get stored in glass, and then reheated in a nickel free pot. 🙂 Yes, I still use my IP somewhat regularly, but always under these specs, and all my other pots and pans are nickel-free. I use it less than I used to, but we have beef stew once every week or two. That’s my favorite use for it.
April says
This is great info. Thank you so much, Megan!
Megan says
My pleasure, April; I’m so glad it’s helpful! 🙂
Kay says
I need the stove top version please. 🙂
Megan says
Hi Kay, sure:
1. The day or night before serving, place posole in a glass bowl and cover by 2″ with clean water. Set aside overnight to soak and soften.
2. Strain posole. Add to a large pot with stew meat, water, baking soda, quality salt and optional herbs/spices. Cover, bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cook gently for about 2 hours, or until beef and posole are tender (up to 3 hours). (For optional carrots, zucchini and potatoes, add during the last 30 to 45 minutes of cooking, depending on how soft you like them.)
3. Optional to thicken broth base: Stir together your choice of thickener with water or broth. Bring stew to a simmer, stir in slurry and cook briefly until thickened slightly. If using masa, allow 15 minutes for stew to thicken additionally as the masa absorbs liquid.
4. Use a ladle to scoop up pieces of stew meat, and cut each piece roughly in half. (I use food scissors! This is fast, effective and creates more tender meat.)
5. Stir in any additional optional ingredients, such as cooked rice or pasta. Serve!
Sally says
Stew looks great – can’t wait to try it! Would you mind kindly updating your Instant Pot link (the one you recommend)? Mine broke some time ago, and I’ve been wanting to invest in another one. Thank you!
Megan says
Hi Sally, thanks, so glad it looks good. The link in my recipe card still works, but the machine has indeed changed from the one I linked to formerly, which was stainless on the outside (that are not available right now on Amazon). The ones linked to are now black and white. Here‘s an 8 quart stainless if you by chance want the bigger model. Otherwise, you could look at other vendors who sell IPs.