Instant Pot Korean Beef
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The best and easiest Korean beef you will ever make in the pressure cooker. 10 min prep or less! And the meat comes out amazingly flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth tender!
Featured Comment
why i love this recipe
- Quick prep. All you need is 10 min of prep time. There’s no searing, no sautéing, no nothing.
- Tender beef. Thanks to the Instant Pot®, the beef comes out so tender and juicy, simply melt-in-your-mouth perfection, infusing the meat with so much flavor (as if it’s been simmering for hours on end!).
- The sauce. The sauce is simply the best part about this recipe. Serve it over rice, serve it over noodles, serve it over all the things.
tips and tricks for success
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Add vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers or snow peas can be added for a more heartier meal.
- Add some heat. For a spicy kick, add gochujang (Korean red chili paste), contributing a slightly savory, spicy, sweet taste to the dish.
- Make a cornstarch slurry. Adding cornstarch directly into the pressure cooker can cause lumps. Always use a mixture of cornstarch and cold liquid (aka cornstarch slurry) to thicken the sauce, yielding a smoother, gravy-like consistency.
- More protein. In need of more protein? Top your Korean beef bowls with a fried egg.
- Serve with your favorite grains. White rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or farro are all great options.
- Freeze as needed. Korean beef freezes like a dream! Label, date and freeze up to 2 months, great for meal prep and making weeknight (and weekend) meals even easier and quicker.
freezing and storage
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Let the meat sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Reheat over low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.
Freeze after cooking
Let cool completely. Transfer the meat into individual servings in plastic freezer bags. Label, date and freeze up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.
more favorited korean recipes
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Korean Beef: Frequently Asked Questions
Black pepper can be substituted but because black pepper has a stronger, spicier flavor than white pepper, start with a smaller amount and adding more, to taste.
Gochujang is a red chili paste, a pantry staple in Korean cooking. It can be found in most grocery stores in a red, rectangular tub.
A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of cornstarch and cold liquid (such as water or stock) used as a thickening agent. To avoid over thickening, always add the cornstarch slurry towards the end of cooking time.
Korean beef can be served over a bed of white rice (or your favorite grains) with a side of kimchi, cucumbers, perilla leaves and ssamjang.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Yes! Let cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
100%! This is one of our favorite crockpot recipes, perfect for those chilly months.
Instant Pot Korean Beef
Ingredients
- ½ cup beef broth
- ⅓ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger, Sriracha, onion powder and white pepper.
- Place chuck roast into a 6-qt Instant Pot®. Stir in beef broth mixture until well combined.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 15 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water; set aside.
- Select high sauté setting. Stir in cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Video
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The cooking time is just wrong for this dish. I made it and the meat ended up being SO TOUGH. It ruined a perfectly good chuck roast. I made it again but this time, I cooked it for 45 minutes, and it came out perfectly. You should edit this. Did anybody else have this experience?
Wow, 45 minutes in the Instant Pot? That’s a very long time – almost as long as you would need for a pot roast! Did you cut the 3 pounds of boneless beef chuck roast into 1-inch cubes?
Nutrition information for your recipes would be extremely helpful!
Hi Denise! Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
I have made your recipe a number of times and it is always a hit and super easy. So many bloggers just don’t get their flavour profiles right but yours is bang on. Thanks!
Thank you for such a sweet compliment!
I made this dish a few weeks ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Definitely Damn Delicious!!! Making it again tonight and may add some sautéd onions and mushrooms at the end. I’ve also shared this recipe with friends. We all agree!! It’s soooooo good!!!!!! Thanks for bringing this deliciousness into our lives!!
Huge hit in the house tonight! Made this with beef for my husband and sons. Made it with veggie broth and tofu cubes for me! Everyone was happy!
Hi! Love your site. I was wondering if you know if I this would turn out if I used frozen meat? I often buy when it’s on sale and cube it and freeze it. Another question I gues would be if you think it would work to make this into a freezer meal by mixing everything and freezing it in a ziplock and tossing it in the pot??
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I really love this recipe because it quick and delicious. I did make some adjustments to make it a bit lighter. I use about 2lbs beef and add 2lbs frozen stir fry veggies (thawed) after adding the cornstarch flurry. I always serve it with plain white rice and it’s fantastic. My husband can’t get enough. I highly recommend you try it!
I doubled the recipe, used stew meat so it was already chopped, used the same times as the recipe calls for and it was AMAZING!!!!
Simple to make yet so delicious. Thank you for this recipe!!
I just found this but I have been using your stovetop beef bowl recipe on cubed beef in IP and it’s a favorite. Just doubling the sauce!! Thanks for recipes that don’t disappoint.
Made this for the first time last night. It was good. Based on other reviews, I pressure cooked for 20 minutes and did a natural release, not manual. This increased the cook time by 15-20 minutes. The beef was very tender, but my family thought the sauce tasted too much like beef broth and not enough other flavors. If I make this again, I’ll up the spices.
What should the recipe measurements be for a 8 qt instant pot?
When using an 8qt Instant Pot, the measurements will stay the same and the timing should stay relatively the same. It would just take a little longer for it to come to pressure. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
This is a really delicious recipe! I made this as per directions, but with more liquid as my multi cooker requires a minimum of 1.5 C. for pressure cooking. I used 3/4 C. of broth, 1/3 C. of soy sauce, and made up the rest with water. When the cooking was done, I let the liquid simmer for a couple of minutes to reduce it a bit, then used an extra Tbl. of cornstarch. It came out perfectly. Of course there was more sauce, but it’s so tasty it’s great with to have alone with just rice. Like another commenter, I might add some green veg during the sauté stage the next time.
No review, but a question. Been debating whether to get and instant pot. Your opinion — is it worth it?
I absolutely love mine and totally recommend getting one. Meals come together so fast and easy!
So delicious!!!! Made recipe to spec the first time, added mushrooms the second time during the sauté and considering adding broccoli as well next time. My 10 yr old asks for it almost every week now!
We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe! Have served with steamed broccoli and matchstick cut steamed carrots. Great combination & the colors are very appealing. I definitely recommend the broccoli 🙂
I made some adaptations, and overall it came out good. (I will also add that I have tried the slow cooker version, but this is MUCH better!)
Instead of chuck, I used 1 lb stew meat but kept the same cook time.
I added extra ginger.
Instead of sriracha, I used a sprinkling of red chili powder.
Came out nicely! This is a great baseline recipe from which you can adapt to your tastes.
Newbie here. Do you cut up the chuck roast before putting it in the instant pot? Or you put it in whole?
Erin, the recipe calls for 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes. 🙂
This was good, but I thought the sauce needed a bit more flavor. Think I will increase the seasonings and brown sugar. Also for me, 15 mins was not quite enough. Think I will try 20. My husband did love it though. Served over rice
We LOVE this recipe! Love. It. Made it exactly as written, which I never do. But this time, I happen to have a beautiful 3 lb. sirloin tip roast … can I substitute it?
Sure! 🙂
I never thought that my husband loved it much. Thanks for your recipe. I would try this for my friends to taste and give reviews.