Corned Beef in the Instant Pot

Instant Pot corned beef sliced and served with cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

This Instant Pot corned beef is pressure cooked until tender, then served with potatoes, cabbage and carrots in a garlic butter sauce. An straightforward one pot meal that’s great for St. Patrick’s Day or any other day of the year!

When March rolls around, I always celebrate by making St. Patrick’s Day recipes such as colcannon, Irish soda bread, an Irish mule and this super straightforward and tasty pressure cooker corned beef.

You can never go wrong with a succulent and savory corned beef, but let’s be real, this cut of meat takes a long time to cook. My quick and straightforward recipe for Instant Pot corned beef solves this problem and drastically reduces the cooking time to just 90 minutes. The end result is a perfectly tasty dish that is sure to get rave reviews. It is one of my go-to Instant Pot recipes!

Instant Pot Corned Beef Ingredients

When you make your Instant Pot corned beef you will need corned beef brisket, onion, garlic, carrots, small yellow potatoes, green cabbage, butter, garlic, parsley, salt and black pepper. See the recipe card below for amounts and details.

Corned Beef: Pick corned beef that is the right size to lay flat in your Instant Pot. I usually get corned beef that is around 3-5 pounds. Look for a package with a seasoning packet.
Green Cabbage: Look for a medium sized green cabbage. You want a firm cabbage with vibrant green leaves. Avoid cabbages with loose leaves, bruising, soft spots or brown spots.
Yellow Potatoes: Select small yellow potatoes like Yukon Gold potatoes. You will find them in the produce section of your grocery store. They may be in a refrigerated case.
Carrots: You want thick carrots that you can peel and cut into large chunks for cooking.

How Do You Make Instant Pot Corned Beef?

Start your Instant Pot corned beef by placing onions and garlic in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the corned beef on top and sprinkle seasonings over the meat. If your meat doesn’t come with a seasoning packet, it’s fine to just cook it without the seasoning. The corned beef in these photos came pre-seasoned. Add water to the pot, then cook on high pressure until the meat is tender.

Release the pressure carefully. Remove the meat from the cooking liquid in the pot, and cover it in foil to keep warm. Add carrots, potatoes and cabbage wedges to the pot, then cook until the veggies are tender. Remove the vegetables from the liquid in the pot, and arrange on the plate with the brisket. Drizzle garlic butter over the vegetables, then slice the meat and serve.

Tips For The Reliable Dish

Most packaged corned beef contains a packet of spices to sprinkle over the meat when it cooks. If your meat does not come with a spice packet, you can use 1-2 teaspoons of pickling spice instead, or simply omit the extra spices.
If you want a milder cabbage flavor, choose a larger head of cabbage and cut it into wedges that fit in your Instant Pot.
Cut your cabbage into wedges with the core attached so that it doesn’t fall apart as it cooks.
I serve this dish with a side of grainy mustard which pairs perfectly with the savory beef.
Be sure to slice your meat against the grainfor the most tender slices.
This dish stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze cooked corned beef for up to two months. I don’t recommend freezing the vegetables as they can become soft and watery when thawed. Save some of your leftovers to make corned beef hash the next day!

Quick Tip

Cut your carrots and potatoes into similar size pieces so that they cook at the same rate.

Potatoes, sliced carrots and vegetables in an Instant Pot.

Recipe FAQs

What is corned beef made of?

Corned beef is a beef brisket that soaks in brine and then cures with salt and seasonings. This meat gets its distinctive pink color from sodium nitrate which is an ingredient in the curing process. It is a tough cut of meat, so cook corned beef for a long period of time until tender. Typical cooking methods include boiling, slow cooking or oven roasting the meat, as well as using an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.

How do you buy corned beef?

Most stores sell cured and seasoned corned beef, especially in March. There are a few different cuts of corned beef to chose from including corned beef round roast, flat cut brisket, and point cut brisket. The round roast tends to have the least fat, but is also much more prone to drying out for that same reason.

Flat cut brisket and point cut brisket tend to be the better corned beef options because they stay juicy when cooked. I used a flat cut brisket for these photos, as you can see by the uniform size and shape of the slices. Point cut brisket is the fattiest cut, but can also sometimes be the most tender. You will want to choose a piece of meat that fits inside your pressure cooker. It’s really up to you which cut you use!

What happens if you don’t rinse corned beef before cooking?

You should rinse corned beef in cold water before cooking it to remove excess salt. The meat will taste better if excess salt is removed before it is cooked.

What is the finest method for cooking corned beef?

There are a lot of great methods for cooking corned beef. You can cook it on the stovetop or in the oven. I have an memorable slow cooker corned beef recipe. However, if time is a factor, you can save time and keep all of the flavor with an Instant Pot.

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A plate of sliced Instant Pot corned beef with cabbage wedges, carrots and baby potatoes.

Instant Pot Corned Beef Flavor Variations

This dish is tasty as-is, but you can absolutely add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.

Liquid: Instead of water, feel free to use a light colored beer such as a lager. I have heard of people using Guinness, though it’s flavor is a little strong for me. You can use low sodium beef broth or low sodium chicken broth. It’s important to use low sodium broth or the finished dish could be overly salty.
Potatoes: I typically use baby Yukon gold potatoes, but baby red potatoes also work. You can also use regular sized potatoes of any variety cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Keep the pieces similar in size and shape so that they cook at the same rate.
Vegetables: Try Savoy cabbage instead of traditional green cabbage. You can also add other types of root vegetables to the mix such as parsnips, turnips and rutabagas.
Seasonings: You can try some other flavors by adding a few bay leaves or coriander seeds to the Instant Pot.
Sandwich: I love to keep leftover corned beef for sandwiches the next day. Corned beef goes great on rye bread with mustard or you can make a Rueben sandwich with sauerkraut, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese.

You’ll be amazed at how straightforward it is to use your Instant Pot to turn a unfussy meal into something extraordinary. You will get tender, juicy corned beef with perfectly cooked veggies. Save time and make a St. Patrick’s Day feast with your Instant Pot.

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Add as Google preferred source Authorthe Makdob kitchen Instant Pot corned beef sliced and served with cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

This Instant Pot corned beef is pressure cooked until tender, then served with potatoes, cabbage and carrots in a garlic butter sauce. An straightforward one pot meal that's great for St. Patrick's Day or any other day of the year! Time Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time2 hours

Course Main Course
Cuisine Irish
Serves 6

Ingredients

1 corned beef brisket 3-5 lbs, look for a size that will fit in your pot
1 onion peeled and cut into wedges
4 whole garlic cloves lightly smashed
4 carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
1 pound small yellow potatoes whole or halved, your choice
1/2 head green cabbage cut into 6 wedges
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic minced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
grainy mustard for serving optional

Instructions

Remove the corned beef from the package. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
Place the onions and garlic cloves at the bottom of an Instant Pot. Set the corned beef on top of the onions. Add the seasoning packet on top of the meat if your corned beef came with a packet. If there's no packet, you can skip this step.
Pour 4 cups of water into the pot.
Seal the lid, then set the Instant Pot to manual pressure cook on high for 90 minutes.
Carefully release the pressure using the quick release method as described in the Instant Pot owners manual.
Remove the corned beef, onions and garlic from the pot. Discard the onions and garlic, and place the meat on a plate. Cover to keep warm.
Place the carrots, potatoes and cabbage into the liquid in the pot. Seal the pot, then cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Carefully quick release the pressure.
Place the butter, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments or until melted.
Remove the vegetables and potatoes from the pot. Arrange around the corned beef. Drizzle the garlic butter over the potatoes and vegetables.
Slice the meat against the grain, then serve with mustard if desired.

Notes

Most packaged corned beef contains a packet of spices to sprinkle over the meat when it cooks. If your meat does not come with a packet, you can use 1-2 teaspoons of pickling spice instead, or simply omit the extra spices.
This dish stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze cooked corned beef for up to two months. I don’t recommend freezing the vegetables as they can become soft and watery when thawed.
Cut your cabbage into wedges with the core attached so that it doesn’t fall apart as it cooks.