Garlic herb beef shanks are an easy & comforting meal. Make this low-carb, paleo, and whole30 version in your slow cooker or electric slow cooker (Instant Pot).

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Updated with video 2020
Beef shanks are a cut of beef that I love but don’t cook often. This is only the 2nd beef shank recipe here on the blog with the other being my osso buco with zoodles. There will definitely be more in the future because this was a hit in my household.
Slow Cooker Garlic Herb Beef Shanks VIDEO:
What Are Beef Shanks?
Beef shanks are cuts of beef from the leg bone & its surrounds meat. The meat is one of the tougher cuts of beef but that’s okay because tough cuts of beef are perfect for the low & slow cooking method of the slow cooker (or electric pressure cooker). When cooked properly, beef shank meat is falling apart succulent meat that’s full of flavor.

before (slow cooker)
What Type Of Herbs To Use
I purposely left the herb ingredients generic with by only saying 2 tablespoons dried herbs. I used dried rosemary but as always, I encourage you to use your preferred ingredients. Don’t like rosemary? Use thyme. Or basil, or parsley, or oregano, etc. Same concept goes with the garlic. I went fairly conservative with 3 cloves of garlic. You can make this as garlicky as you like. The title of this recipe is garlic herb.

after (slow cooker)
Other beef recipes you might enjoy:
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Osso Buco (Low-Carb, Paleo, Whole30)
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Korean Beef Short Ribs (Low-Carb, Paleo, Whole30)
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Steak & Potatoes (Paleo, Whole30)
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage (Low-Carb, Paleo, Whole30)
Searing The Meat Beforehand
For the electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot), searing the meat is listed as an instructions. If you’re using a slow cooker, browning or searing the meat before adding it to the slow cooker is an optional step. Don’t ever let someone say that you have to do this. The point is, I seared my meat before adding it to the slow cooker but you do not have to. If you have the stove-top browning slow cooker which allows you to brown/sear directly in the slow cooker base, it makes this step easy & convenient (not sponsored).
Beef shanks are a tough cut of meat so be sure to cook your beef until it shreds easily with a fork. If your beef shank isn’t tender to that point, keep cooking it. Make this recipe more keto friendly by adding butter or ghee on top of the beef shanks before they cook.
I used a 6-quart slow cooker (or Instant Pot).

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I served this with mashed cauliflower and a simple salad.
Print
{VIDEO} Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Garlic Herb Beef Shanks (Low-Carb, Paleo,Whole30)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef shanks
- 2 cups low-sodium beef bone broth
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons dried herb
- 2 teaspoons salt (or more)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil (for IP)
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Season beef shanks with dried herbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder & onion powder. Add to the slow cooker. Pour broth & garlic on top.
- Cook high 4-5 hours or low 8-10.
Instant Pot
- Season beef shanks with salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic powder & onion powder.
- Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot add oil to the pot. Add the beef and sear until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. You might have to do this in batches. Remove the beef from the pressure cooker and set aside.
- Add the garlic and broth and de-glaze the bottom of the pressure cooker by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon. Add the beef shanks back into the pressure cooker.
- Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 35 minutes. Natural release pressure for 15 minutes then manually the remaining pressure.

{VIDEO} Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Garlic Herb Beef Shanks (Low-Carb, Paleo,Whole30)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef shanks
- 2 cups low-sodium beef bone broth
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons dried herb
- 2 teaspoons salt (or more)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil (for IP)
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Season beef shanks with dried herbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder & onion powder. Add to the slow cooker. Pour broth & garlic on top.
- Cook high 4-5 hours or low 8-10.
Instant Pot
- Season beef shanks with salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic powder & onion powder.
- Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot add oil to the pot. Add the beef and sear until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. You might have to do this in batches. Remove the beef from the pressure cooker and set aside.
- Add the garlic and broth and de-glaze the bottom of the pressure cooker by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon. Add the beef shanks back into the pressure cooker.
- Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 35 minutes. Natural release pressure for 15 minutes then manually the remaining pressure.
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I am using the slow cooker feature on my instant pot. Valve open and normal or medium heat for 6 hours. Do you see any problem with that? Thanks
Yes I think the meat will be under-cooked. The slow cooker method on the IP heats completely differently than a normal slow cooker. IP slow cooker medium heat is equivalent to low heat in a normal slow cooker so you will need to cook it for 8-10 hours rather than 6. If you use the high heat setting you still still need to add an additional 20 minutes of cook time for every hour.
Ive always been slightly intimidated by this cut, but your recipe makes this look pretty easy- cant wait to try this! Thanks FSCQ!
★★★★★
I went the instant pot route and can’t tell you how flavorful it was after such a short time under pressure. Thank you! I’ll make this again and again.