This recipe for luau stew is made quick and easy in the Instant pot. Say what? What used to take hours to make can now be made in just about 45 minutes.
Juicy, tender beef chunks with vibrant green luau or kalo (taro) leaves pressure cooked in a beef broth come together in this classic Hawaiian dish. Growing up in Hawai’i meant always having this yummy meal at family gatherings.
Looking for other Instant Pot recipes? Check these out
What are luau leaves?
Luau leaves come from the kalo (taro) plant and are used in various Hawaiian dishes. Luau leaves contain calcium oxalate crystals which can cause throat and mouth itching if not cooked down thoroughly. This is why stove top cooking usually takes 2-3 hours to get the leaves to an edible state. Not to fear though, this recipe uses the Instant Pot and speeds up the whole process.
Where can I find luau leaves?
Here in Hawai’i they can be found in the produce section of your local grocery stores. If you are in the mainland it may be a little harder to do so. Leave it to good old Amazon to find just about anything you could ever need, including luau leaves. I’ve found other sites online that also ship luau leaves.
If you can not find luau leaves you can try spinach or collard greens.
How to clean luau leaves?
Remove the stems from the leaves and any thickened raised veins. Rinse leaves in cool running water and dry before use.
Are luau or taro leaves healthy?
Yes. Luau leaves are rich in vitamin A and C
What type of meat is used in luau stew?
I like to use beef stew chunks.
Let’s talk about what goes well with luau stew
- laulau
- luau stew
- kalua pig
- chicken long rice
- pohole salad
- lomi salmon
- poi
- sticky white rice
How to store luau stew?
Once cooled, place in a airtight container and store in the fridge for a few days.
Can you freeze luau stew?
Yes. Make a big batch and freeze the extras for another night. It will keep for a few months.
How to make luau stew?
Set Instant Pot to saute mode. Trim off stems and thick veins from luau (taro) leaves. Rinse leaves well. Roll up leaves and cut into strips. To the Instant Pot add beef, ginger, Hawaiian salt, beef paste, and water. Then add luau leaves. Place lid on Instant Pot and set valve to sealing. Cook on manual high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then quick release the remainder of the pressure.
Instant Pot Luau Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pound luau taro leaves
- 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
- 4 slices ginger
- Hawaiian salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to saute mode.
- Trim off stems and thick veins from luau (taro) leaves. Rinse leaves well. Roll up leaves and cut into strips.
- To the Instant Pot add beef, ginger, Hawaiian salt, Better Than Bouillon Beef Base, and water. Then add luau leaves. Place lid on Instant Pot and set valve to sealing. Turn off saute mode. Cook on manual high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then quick release the remainder of the pressure.
Notes
Nutrition
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Thank you!
I do not have an Insta Pot. I made this receipe in my crockpot! Talk about Onolucious! I made them with Collard Greens since I could not find Lua leaves 😉
Aloha Coral. Mahalo for sharing. Have a great day.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for not ruining your stew luau with coconut milk! Maybe squid luau, but NOT beef (or chicken). This recipe is simple and basic…the way it’s supposed to be. Mmm…YUMMY!!!
You’re too kind. I like my lu’au stew without the coconut milk. I don’t mind it in squid lu’au though. Enjoy!
Can you cook it In a crock pot?
Hi. Great question. You sure can. Low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Happy New Year!
Mmmm…. gonna try in the crock pot!
Hi Hoku. You can totally make this in the Crock Pot too. I have a Crock Pot laulau recipe here https://keepingitrelle.com/crock-pot-laulau/. If you want lu’au stew in the Crock Pot I would recommend whisking the Better Than Beef Bouillon (or regular beef bouillon in the water first, then adding to the pot, and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Thank you!
Mahalo. This is fantastic!
Hi Gary. Thank you for your kind words! Have a wonderful day.
I cannot get luau leaves where I am. Has anyone tried it with the spinach or collard greens? Which is most like the luau stew?
Hi Steph. You definitely can use spinach or collard greens. It will change the taste of the recipe. Do you live in the mainland? There is an online company that will ship lu’au leaves out.
What is the online company? I live in WA and I’ve found one market that has fresh taro leaves but it’s kind of far from me. Thanks!
Order Hawaiian Food. I’ve never used them, but they do ship lu’au leaves.
Aloha Relle! I 💙 cooking w/ a passion! Can I have the website to order luau leaves also? Mahalo plenty! I do live in the 9 th island but don’t have a Kawika! Will though when I move to my new country! Aotearoa when I turn 69! So… that’s 2 yrs away. Thanks again.
I’ve never ordered online. I don’t want to recommend something I haven’t tried before. If you Google it there are a few sites that do.
Can’t wait to try this!!
Hi Leslie. I can’t wait to see what you make. Share a photo if you get a chance. Have a great day!
I was only able to find Frozen Taro leaves. How can those be incorporated into the recipe. Should I even try to attempt with that? It’s say the leaves can’t be thawed before cooking so I’m worried it’s gonna have a ton of liquid. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I’ve never used frozen leaves, but I think I’d be ok. Let me know if you try it.
This was delicious!! And so easy!!
Hi. Thank you so much for your kind words. Have an amazing day!
Love it! It’s easy and ono! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
This is so good and easy to make! Thank you for sharing your recipe! Love it!♥️
Hi Diana. Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m glad you liked the recipe. Have a wonderful day!
Would it still work to double the luau leaves? I love more greens to meat ratio! Thanks!
Hi Dawn. Great question. Yes you can, however I have a 6qt Instant Pot and it’s pretty filled to the max with the 1lb of leaves as you can see in the video. If you have the 8qt you could definitely fit more in there. Have a great day!
For those on a sodium restricted diet, might want to lessen the Hawaiian salt to maybe 1 teaspoon.
Hi Char. Yes you definitely can adjust the salt to your liking.
Hi Char. I also meant to add that a tablespoon of Hawaiian salt by volume generally has less sodium than a tablespoon of regular table salt. This is mainly due to the fact that the Hawaiian salt crystals are larger than that of table salt and therefore less crystals will fit in to the measuring device. But again adjust accordingly.
This recipie is easy and delicious! I tweeked it a little, I just leave out the hawaiian salt, that beef bullion takes care of the flavor! My new go to for something fast and comforting! My family loves this dish and it has been requested on the regular.
Hi Marcy. Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it. I’m glad your family loves it. Have a great day!
I can only find dried luau leaves on the east coast. Do you know how long cooking time would be and would I follow the same recipe?
Hi Victoria. Unfortunately I have never tried cooking it with dried leaves. I’d say try it with the same recipe and see if it works out. Thanks for stopping by.
I was wondering the same thing. Were you able to try it? There is a Filipino dish that uses the dried taro leaves. We have to let it simmer on top of the liquids in a pot without stirring for an hour, allowing the leaves to steep and soak up the liquids all in their own and once it’s rehydrated completely soaked up the cooking liquid then we stir it. Really wondering how to use the dried leaves for her recipe.
Hi Michelle. If the leaves were cooked then dried down then they would just have to be hydrated. If still raw it would have to go through the same cooking process so that the calcium oxalate crystals can be broken down and no longer cause the mouth/throat itch.
yay. I finally found an ideal Youtube recipe channel. You only give pertinent info, and no more pointless yakking. For details, we can look in the description box or go to this website. What a perfect combo! thank you.
Hi Jackie. Thank you for your kind words. Have a great day.
Made this today and love how easy it was. I had a little trouble with the salt though. Do you have a measurement for how much Hawaiian salt you initially put in the pot? At first it wasn’t salty enough, so I added more salt when it was pau and then it was too salty 😭.
Hi Christy. I generally use about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of Hawaiian salt. Thank you for trying my recipes.
Loved this! Super quick and easy. Great to feed the masses too!
Perfect recipe! Simple and delicious! Ono no!
Luau leaves straight from my garden into my ‘opu!
Mahalo for this recipe!
I wish I could post a picture here.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing!
How many cubes of beef bouillion would you use instead of the paste?
Great question. 1tsp paste to 1 cube bouillon. Have a great day.
Could you approximate how may leaves equal 1 lb of leaves?
It really depends on the size of the leaves. Smaller leaves would require more and larger ones may use less. It does not need to be exactly 1 pound. Some people prefer more or less lu’au leaves.
I don’t have an Instant Pot. I only have a stove top pressure cooker. Can I stIll use it for this recipe? Thanks.
I’d think you can, however I have not tried it. I’m not sure that the cook time will be the same.
I LOVE luau stew. Unfortunately I’m actually allergic to the leaf no matter how long it’s cooked. So I can eat a couple bites, but much more than that, I have a reaction. Thankfully we started making it with collared greens and while it’s not the same, it’s close enough for me! Excited to try this instant pot recipe!
Awesome. The cook time will likely be less with collard greens. Enjoy!
Mahalo Relle! Luau stew was ono and I like my instantpot again. So easy and fast. I liked the way you cut the luau leaves. Will be doing it this way from now on.
Soooo good! Instead of beef broth I threw in some oxtail and bone marrow bones. Love the simplicity of this. Bowl of rice and all good 🤙🏼
Aloha Jenn. Ooh sounds ‘ono. Thanks for stopping by and sharing. Have a great day.
Please share a squid lūʻau recipe with coconut milk too! Mahalo! 😊
Aloha Nanea,
Sure can https://keepingitrelle.com/instant-pot-squid-luau/
Hope you enjoy!
Aloha
I want to make it more soupy like my Mom use to make it, How can I do it without making it too watery or lose flavor?
Mahalo Nui Loa
Jeff
Aloha Jeff. You can add beef broth if you’d like it more soupy.
Great recipe! Super quick dinner and easy to follow directions. The whole family enjoyed this dish!
Aloha Jaimee. So awesome to hear. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day.
Awesome recipe Relle, Mahalo for sharing and for putting so much heart in all you do! Aloha!
Mahalo for you kind words. Happy to hear you enjoyed it. Have a great day.
If im trippling up the recipe (3x the amount), how long more do I leave it in the instant pot? Is it still 25 minutes?
Aloha Melody. No change in cook time in the pressure cooker if you adjust the recipe amount.