Instant Pot Corned Beef is not only easy to prepare but you are guaranteed a fork-tender, delicious brisket every single time! Use my corned beef seasoning to season the roast, then use the corned beef leftovers to make corned beef Irish tacos!
Well, it's March, and almost time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. What better way to celebrate this day than with this Instant Pot Corned Beef recipe?
I'm finally getting more comfortable with my Instant Pot. I find myself using it more and more. So it's no surprise that I decided to cook my corned beef using my Instant Pot this year. Now that I have, it's my favorite way to prepare corned beef.
Cooking corned beef in an Instant Pot is not only easy, but the results are tender, fall-apart corned beef that you and your family will love!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This is a fool-proof recipe that anyone can pull off. Let your Instapot or pressure cooker do all the work, while you sit back and enjoy a green beer!
- You can prepare the brisket with the traditional fixings including carrots, potatoes and cabbage by adding a few extra minutes at the end.
- Corned beef leftovers can be used for sandwiches, tacos, nachos, and more!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredient & Substitutions
- Corned Beef: You'll need a 4-pound corned beef brisket. If the corned beef is smaller or larger the cooking time will need to be slightly reduced.
- Corned Beef Spice: Sometimes the corned beef is missing its spice pack or comes without one. In that case, you can make your own corned beef spices.
- Beer: I prefer Guinness or Shock top, however, you can also use non-alcoholic beer, low-sodium chicken/beef broth, or apple cider.
🥩 Instant Pot Corned Beef Directions
Step 1: Remove the corned beef from the packaging, and rinse off the salty brine. Rub spice pack contents all over the roast.
Pro Tip: I know, there's never enough corned beef spices to cover the entire roast, am I right? That's why I recommend using my corned beef spices to make more! It has amazing flavor and the perfect amount of mustard seeds, red pepper, bay leaf, etc!
Step 2: Add 1-½ cups of water or other cooking liquid to the Instant Pot. Place the rack back inside. Add corned beef (fat-side up) and top with sliced onions and garlic cloves.
Step 3: Pour one 12-ounce bottle of Guinness beer or over the brisket and sprinkle with more corned beef spices, if desired. Lock lid in place and turn vent to seal position.
Step 4: Pressure cook the roast for 90 minutes, then do a natural release for an additional 10 minutes, followed by a quick release.
Pro Tip: If your corned beef brisket is smaller or bigger, a good rule of thumb is to cook it for approximately 22 minutes per pound.
Instant Pot Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots, and Potatoes
If you would like to make the traditional fixings with your corned beef, i's easy to do! Just follow these simple steps below:
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- Once the cooking time is up, remove brisket and cover with foil. Strain cooking liquid and add 2 cups worth back into your Instant pot.
- Add quartered potatoes, cabbage, and carrots. Lock lid into place and set the lever to seal. Cook on high pressure for an additional four minutes.
Stove-Top Corned Beef and Cabbage Instructions
I understand that not everyone owns an Instant Pot or wants to make pressure cooker corned beef. If this is the case with you, let's just follow the instructions below:
- Begin by rinsing, then generously seasoning the brisket using my corned beef spice mix.
- Place seasoned brisket in a Dutch oven and cover with water, broth, beer, or a combination of the three. The liquid should cover that brisket by approximately four inches.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover and cook until the brisket is tender (2 to 2-½ hours).
- Add quartered potatoes, baby carrots, and cabbage, and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked to your preference. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables, then arrange on a serving platter with the sliced corned beef brisket.
🌮 What to Make with Corned Beef Leftovers
Corned Beef and Cabbage Dolma
So, once you've enjoyed the Insta Pot Corned Beef, either the traditional way (with cabbage wedges and potatoes) or by itself, what do you do with the leftovers? Why not try serving the leftover corned beef with some cabbage rolls or Cabbage Dolma? They go together so well!
Irish Tacos
Another great use for leftover Instant Pot corned beef brisket is to make some corned beef tacos, also known as Irish Tacos. Shred or slice the corned beef and serve it in charred corn tortillas, along with sour cream, your favorite cheese, and shredded cabbage or coleslaw.
I recently purchased these great taco holders which are not only affordable and super convenient, but fun to use!
Reuben Sandwiches
Another great way to use Insta Pot Corned Beef leftovers is in Reuben Sandwiches. I know they're usually prepared with rye bread, but you haven't lived until you've had a Sourdough Reuben Sandwich!
Corned Beef Irish Nachos
Another great way to use up corned beef leftovers is to make Corned Beef Irish Nachos. Instead of using tortilla chips, the nachos are made with thinly-sliced potatoes and loaded with cheese, Sriracha Aioli, and Pico de Gallo!
For other St. Patrick's Day menu ideas, check out 20 Tasty St. Patrick's Day recipes.
🤷🏻♀️ FAQs
The reason you want to rinse the brine before cooking corned beef is to remove the excess salt. Otherwise, you will end up with a very salty corned beef brisket, and who wants that?
There are several reasons why corned beef can turn out tough when cooked in an Instant Pot. One reason could be that it wasn't cooked long enough. Another possible reason is that you didn't add enough liquid. The cut of meat used can also make a difference. A point cut is marbled with fat and more tender than flat cut, which is far more lean.
Trimming the fat off of corned beef before cooking it is not necessary. The fat adds a ton of flavor and can easily be removed once the corned beef is cooked.
The liquid you use to cook your brisket is totally up to you! Feel free to choose from broth, beer, water, or even apple juice! You can also do a combination of these liquids.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Choose your favorite beer, but an Irish beer, for example, Guinness is always a great option.
- The onions and garlic can also be added to the liquid before adding the brisket into the pot.
- This method can be used with an Instant Pot as well as a Ninja Foodi with the same excellent results.
- The brisket can also be placed directly inside the pot instead of on the rack.
- You can also use pickling spices if you don't want to make your own corned beef spice mix.
🍖 Related Recipes
If you enjoyed this Instant pot corned beef brisket recipe, be sure to check out these other related recipes.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Corned Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pound Corned Beef Brisket (Flat or Round)
- 1½ cups water
- 1 medium onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 12 ounce beer
Instructions
- Remove the corned beef from the packaging, rinse off the salty brine. Rub spice pack contents all over the roast. Use my Corned Beef Spice Packet Recipe to make more!
- Add 1½ cups of water to the Instant Pot and place the rack inside. Add corned beef and top with sliced onions and garlic cloves.
- Pour a 12-ounce bottle of beer over the brisket and sprinkle with more corned beef spices, if desired. Lock lid in place and seal.
- Pressure cook for 90 minutes, then do a natural release for 10 minutes, followed by a quick release.
Notes
- Choose your favorite beer, but an Irish beer, for example, Guinness is always a great option.
- The onions and garlic can also be added to the liquid before adding the brisket into the pot.
- This method can be used with an Instant Pot as well as a Ninja Foodi with the same excellent results.
- The brisket can also be placed directly inside the pot instead of on the rack.
- Leftovers can be used to make Irish nachos, Irish tacos, and reuben sandwiches!
- You can also use pickling spices if you don't want to make your own corned beef spice mix.
Anna says
this turned out great! I used a 3.5lb corned beef instead of a 4lb but it turned out marvelous all the same. Just follow the recipe!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Anna, glad you liked it!
jeannette says
By far, the best corned beef I’ve ever made!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you so much, Jeanette! I really appreciate you taking the time to review the recipe!
Chris says
I reduced the cook time by 1/4 (68mins instead of 90) to cook a 3lb brisket, and reduced all the other ingredients accordingly, but the meat turned out tough, so I cooked it for another 30mins and it was better but still not tender, then another 10mins and it was tender, but not as tender as when I usually slow cook it in my Crock Pot. Still delicious, though!
Very odd that it needed so much extra time for less meat than the recipe calls for, but oh well, this was just practice for St. Patrick's Day dinner. I'll cook it longer from the start next week.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Chris, Thanks for the review. It's hard to predict what went wrong because of all the changes you made, including reducing the liquid. When I make this recipe, the corned beef practically falls apart when being sliced so I'm not sure what happened either. What cut did you use? A flat is not as tender as a point cut. That may have been another issue. A point cut is more tender because it's more fatty. Either way, good luck on your next try!
Vitgie says
Turned out good,I had to cook an additional 30 min. wasn't as tener on 90 min. but turned out delish!!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Vitgie,
I'm surprised that it needed more cooking. If I add any more time it basically falls apart. I'm glad you were able to figure out how to adjust it to your liking though. Thank you!
Stephanie says
Can the corned beef be frozen going into the instant pot or does it need to be thawed?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Stephanie, I prefer to thaw it out first and try to rinse the salty brine off of it. If you skip that step, it may come out too salty. Soaking it in water for a while, if you have the time, is even better. If, however, you are in a hurry and don't want to defrost it. You can cook it on high pressure for 2 hours and then do a 30 min natural release. I hope that helps!
Kate says
I have two 4lb ones to cook, how long?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Kate,
I've never cooked more than one at a time. If you can fit them both, I would try 1 hour and 45 minutes and then do 15 minutes natural release. Please come back and let me know how it goes! You can always add more time if it needs it, but if you overcook it, it's hard to come back from that. I don't think you need to increase the liquid.
Lisa Peac says
I made 7 pounds, 20 extra minutes was all it took.
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you so much for letting us know! I hope it helps someone else who wants to make more than what the recipe calls for!
David C Paton says
Easy to make, Instant spice recipe was delicious. Best Corned beef I ever mad (and I am 63.)
Hilda Sterner says
Hi David,
Thank you so much, I'm happy to help! Also, thanks for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it!
Marcia says
This came out so good! I let it sit in the instant pot, on the keep warm setting, for about 1.5 hours after the pressure cooking was done, just because that was convenient, then I let it rest on the counter for 15 or 20 minutes before slicing it. It sliced beautifully and was just perfect. Delicious!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Marcia! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping back and leaving a review!