Put your instant pot to good use with this extra saucy carne desmechada recipe! Make tender, shredded beef cooked in a savory tomato sauce with simple ingredients and minimal effort. | Gluten Free + Paleo Friendly

a serving bowl full of extra Saucy Carne Desmechada topped with chopped cilantro and fresh black pepper on a serving board with lime wedges and arepas on the sides

What is Carne Desmechada?

It’s pulled beef!

Carne Desmechada (also known as carne mechada, carne deshebrada, carne deshilachada, or carne esmechada) is a classic beef dish popular throughout Spain and Latin America.

While each country and culture has their own way of making and enjoy carne desmechada depending on local ingredients and preferred cooking methods, the core elements usually remain somewhat similar: beef, onions, bell peppers, and cumin in a flavorful tomato sauce.

It’s often serve with rice, beans, fried plantains or stuffed in arepas, empanadas or sandwiches.

a bowl full of extra Saucy Carne Desmechada topped with chopped cilantro and fresh black pepper and serving spoon on side

⭐Recipe Highlights⭐

What’s great about this instant pot carne desmechada recipe:

Fast & Easy: Traditional carne desmechada normally takes hours of prep as it needs plenty of time to cook until tender and shredded. This one comes together much faster with less hands on prep needed.
Extra Saucy: Extra sauce = extra flavor!
Versatile & Great for Meal Prep: Make and freeze for later use. There are so many different ways to enjoy this beef – add to burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas, arepas and more!

a serving spoon full of extra saucy carne desmechada made in the instant pot

Recipe Steps

Sear the beef: Use the sauté function to brown the outside of the beef. Work in batches to avoid crowding the pan if needed.
Sauté the aromatics: Gently fry the onion, garlic and bell pepper for a few minutes until they start to soften.
Fry the spices: Add the tomato paste and spices and fry for 1-2 minutes to give the tomato paste a chance to caramelise for a richer flavor.
Combine & Cook: Return the browned beef back to the pot along with the beef stock, passata and Worcestershire sauce. Mix together, then cover and cook on high pressure until complete.

instant pot carne desmechada collage prep in the instant pot

Optional Step* – Thicken the Sauce

After cooking and shredding the beef, you can leave it here and serve as is.

However, for a thicker sauce I recommend you set the instant pot to ‘sauté’ or whatever function you need to bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Stir and let the pot cook, uncovered for about 10-15 minutes.

As it cooks, some of the extra water will evaporate leaving you with a sauce that’s not only thicker, but more flavorful.

instant pot carne desmechada in instant pot before and after thickening sauce

Serving Suggestions

Make your own homemade corn tortillas (no tortilla press needed!) and make tacos, burritos and quesadillas.
Stuff insides arepas and empanadas.
Make Pabellon Criollo – a traditional Venezuelan dish made up of stewed beans, rice and carne mechada.
Serve with adobo black beans for an extra spicy kick and then cool things down with homemade guacamole.

arepas stuffed with carne desmechada, salsa and cheese

Freeze for Later

After cooking, allow the beef to cool down then divide up into 1/2 – 1 cup sized portions.

Use freezer bags or airtight freezer safe containers and freeze up to 6 months.

Let thaw in the fridge over night and reheat until piping hot (internal temp 165°F or 74°C).

More Instant Pot Recipes

a serving bowl full of extra Saucy Carne Desmechada topped with chopped cilantro and fresh black pepper on a serving board with lime wedges on the sides

Enjoy!

Let me know if you try this Instant Pot Carne Desmechada recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Instant Pot Carne Desmechada

Name: Instant Pot Carne Desmechada
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil (30 ml); 2.2 lbs beef (1kg) - see notes for type; 1 large white onion, diced; 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed & diced; 3 large garlic cloves, minced; 1 tbsp oregano; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 2 bay leaves; 3 tbsp tomato paste; 1 cup beef broth (240ml); 1 cup passata (250g); 1 tbsp gluten free Worcestershire Sauce

Yield: 4-5 servings Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Rate

Tender, pulled beef in a rich and savory tomato sauce - serve stuffed in arepas, empanadas, quesadillas, tacos and more!

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil (30 ml)
2.2 lbs beef (1kg) - see notes for type
1 large white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed & diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup beef broth (240ml)
1 cup passata (250g)
1 tbsp gluten free Worcestershire Sauce

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

Add oil to the Instant Pot and press the "Sauté" button. Once the oil is warm, add the beef to the pot and cook 5-10 minutes until the outsides are browned. Once browned, remove the beef from the pot and set aside on a plate for a moment. If needed, do this in batches.
Add onion, bell pepper and garlic to the pot. Sauté about 5 minutes to soften. Add oregano, cumin, black pepper, and tomato paste to the pot. Cook another 2 minutes.
Stir in the beef broth, passata and Worcestershire sauce. Add the beef back to the instant pot - push the beef down so it's almost entirely covered in the liquid. Press the "Keep Warm/Cancel" button to stop the sauté function. Secure the lid and make sure the steam valve is set to closed. Press 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cook' and set the timer to 50 minutes.
After the time is up the Instant Pot will automatically switch the keep warm. Let it keep warm for 10-15 minutes before setting the steam valve to natural release.
Once the steam has been fully released remove the lid of the instant pot. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef from the pot and transfer to a large bowl to shred into smaller pieces
With the beef removed, press the "Sauté" button and bring the pot to a simmer. This will help reduce the liquids down to make for a thicker sauce. Simmer about 10 minutes to boil off some of the excess liquid then stir the shredded beef back into the remaining sauce.
Serve with rice and beans or stuffed inside arepas, in burritos, tacos, sandwiches, etc. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days or in the freezer for 6 months.

Notes

Beef: Carne mechada is often made with flank steak or skirt steak because of how tender and flavorful it is. I recommend going for a less expensive stewing steak option (chuck roast, casserole steak etc) because the instant pot will have no problem shredding and tenderizing the beef as it cooks. It's up to you! No need to cut or dice the beef before cooking if it comes in steak form. It will be easier to brown if it's in a large piece.
Paleo/Whole30: Use a whole30 or paleo compliant Worcestershire sauce.
Beef Broth/Stock: You can swap out the stock for water, but you will need to increase the taste and season the beef with additional salt at the end.
What is Passata (US Readers)? Passata is puréed (typically uncooked) tomatoes. It's usually sold in a glass jar or carton - easily found in Europe. Ingredients should include tomatoes and salt - nothing else. You may be able to find it in US stores, but it can be tricky to find.
Passata Substitute: Use whole, peeled canned tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped. Any tomato variety will work.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

Course: Mains