This Instant Pot Mexican Ropa Vieja makes an almost effortless low carb mix of meat and vegetables in your pressure cooker or instant pot. It's just as delicious as it is easy to make!
Mexican Ropa Vieja | Pressure Cooker Recipe
A colorful feast for the eyes as well as your tastebuds, make this dish with less than 10 minutes of prep time. This Ropa Vieja makes a lovely sauce to pour over rice, or to have with a side salad to serve a tasty, low-carb meal.
IS THIS MEXICAN OR IS THIS CUBAN?
The debate on this continues, but I think there is now a general consensus from the members of my Facebook Group today (Jan 15, 2018), that Mexican Ropa Vieja, especially from the Veracruz region does indeed use both paprika and ancho chile. So I initially had it listed as Cuban, but I'm changing it be Mexican, as that is more authentic for this flavor profile.
WHAT IS MEXICAN ROPA VIEJA?
Ropa Vieja means old clothes, and the name telegraphs the final appearance of the dish which, with its long shreds of meat and vegetables, can be likened to a pile of old rags. Thankfully it doesn't taste anything like that, so go ahead and make it!
I tried to make this dish with spices you'd be extremely likely to have at home. This is also why I chose a chuck steak rather than a long piece of flank steak, which is traditional with this dish. I could only find really big pieces of flank steak, and I didn't really want to make 2-3 lbs of meat this weekend. But if you intend to double the recipe, and prefer to use flank steak, that will also work well, but it will be a little less tender and less fatty.
Looking for more awesome Mexican food dishes? Check out my Mexican Corn Eloté! This sweet and savory dish is real easy to make in your air fryer!
Another tasty Mexican food recipe you should check out is my Mexican Rice Recipe! This delicious and authentic Mexican rice recipe is a breeze to make in your instant pot.
THE STEPS FOR THIS INSTANT POT MEXICAN ROPA VIEJA ARE:
- Pour meat, vegetables, and spices into your pressure cooker
- Cook for 30 mins HP, 10 mins NPR
- Shred meat, add olives and serve
Want More Instant Pot Recipes?
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken is an easy 30-minute dinner and you can make rice on top of it, as the video shows.
- Pressure Cooker Rice and Dal is a great vegetarian rice dinner.
- This Lebanese Lentil and Rice dish is another great Vegetarian Instant Pot recipe.
- Instant Pot Indian Khichadi is comfort food in a bowl!
- Instant Pot Risotto with Shrimp is another one-pot comfort meal.
- Buffalo chicken casserole for the days you want low carb recipes
- You might also like low carb Chicken Biryani that uses riced cauliflower.
- Chicken and Mushrooms are a great combo.
- My kids love Instant Pot Pork Chops with Rice and Vegetables
- Zucchini Lasagna- You won't even miss the pasta.
- Haluski Recipe - A wonderful cabbage and noodles recipe.
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Ingredients
- 1.5 cups (240 g) Sliced Onions
- 1 cup (149 g) Sliced Sweet Peppers
- 6 cloves (6 cloves) Garlic
- 2 cups (520 g) Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 1 pound (453.59 g) chuck steak
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Ancho Chile Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Dried Oregano
To Garnish
- 1/2 cup (67.5 g) sliced pimento-stuffed olives
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into the inner liner of your Instant Pot or pressure cooke and press the MEAT button and set to 30 minutes at high pressure.
- Once it is done cooking, allow it to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, and then release all remaining pressure.
- Turn your Instant Pot on to Sauté and allow the sauce to start boiling so it stays hot.
- Meanwhile, remove the chuck steak carefully and cut or shred into long slices, and add back to the sauce.
- Add in the sliced olives and serve with rice or a side salad.
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Nutrition
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Stephanie
This isn’t a mexican dish. It’s Cuban.
URVASHI PITRE
There is so much back and forth on this issue in the comments that I don’t even know what to say. All I know is, it’s tasty and it’s easy. So I hope you enjoy it
rani
can we add some meat ?