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 This Recipe Works
- 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:
- 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
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.
Tracey K Hempel says
I put approx 7.5 lbs of corned beef in there and put it for 1 hr 45 cook time. Could have stayed with the 90 minutes as it was too tender to slice. I otherwise doubled the rest of the recipe. However, it was super yummy. I did add extra pickling spices (your recipe) and mustard powder (family tradition.) I used a combo of my my homemade chicken stock and water with 2 Modelo beers (because I had it on hand.) The meat was very flavorful and moist. My boys enjoyed it so much that I have almost no leftovers! Thanks for the recipe--I will use it again.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Tracey,
Thank you for providing the specifics, I'm sure they will help others who have a larger brisket to prepare. I'm glad you had success with the recipe and that it was enjoyed by the family. Take care!
Sherry says
absolutely PERFECT!! I was cooking the corned beef for sandwiches and has so I was not in a hurry for it, so I let the pressure release 100% naturally. I don't know if this changes anything but we loved the corned beef. I was almost fall apart tender but still held together enough to slice for sandwiches. I used the recommended extra seasoning and have no regrets.
Jenny Hardin says
I am cooking a 1 1/2 lb corned beef. Should I cut the cooking time by half?
Thank you,
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Jenny,
Try cooking it for approximately 20 to 22 minutes per pound. In this case, somewhere between 30 to 45 minutes should work. Let me know how it goes!
Kate says
This was super easy to follow and the final product was excellent! So tasty! Thank you!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Kate,
Thank you so much for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Samantha says
Trying this recipe right now! Can’t wait!
Hilda Sterner says
Come back and let me know how it goes!
Joe Tinker says
When cooking a brisket on the stovetop or in a slow cooker, I cover with a few inches of liquid. beyond the 2c of water & 12ozs of beer, do I need to add more liquid to cover before pressure cooking?
Thank-you!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Joe, No you don't need to add more liquid than the recipe suggests. Good luck!☘️
Renee says
Do you cook in the instant pot on high pressure?
Thank you. The homemade spice mixture smells absolutely heavenly.
Also, do you have a beer recommendation to use over the brisket? I tried Guiness- hope it tastes good!
Hilda Sterner says
Yes, you do cook it on high pressure.To tell you the truth, I usually use whatever beer I have in the fridge, but it's usually a good quality beer since I don't like cheaper beers. Let me know how the Guiness goes!
Michelle says
I’m doing 2 4 -5 lbs beefs. Should I adjust the cooking time?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Michelle, I'm assuming you have an 8 quart and can fit two in there? Mine is a 6 quart so I can only do one at a time. However, you should be able to do two in there for the same time, maybe add an additional 1/2 cup of water. Good luck, I'd love to hear how it turns out!
Melanie says
Hi, Hilda! I'm going to try this recipe but can I use the round brisket instead of a flat cut? I already bought it!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Melanie,
I actually used a round brisket today and it worked beautifully! I'll update my post to reflect that. 🙂
Mike W. says
Followed your Instant Pot recipe as presented. The corned beef came out great! Your recipe is a keeper!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Mike,
Thank you so much for the review, I really appreciate it. Enjoy! ☘️