Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli is made with tender beef that melts in your mouth, in the most amazing Asian sauce. A weeknight staple that is made in a fraction of the time in the pressure cooker.
Cooking instant pot meals is fun and easy, also it saves you time and the best part is that you can use fresh or frozen meat. This makes dinner planning stress-free! Cooking the beef in the instant pot makes it incredibly juicy, just check our other insanely popular Asian recipe for Instant Pot Mongolian Beef. However, if you do not own a pressure cooker, try our Sticky Honey Garlic Beef, you will lick your fingers clean.
Best Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
This easy instant pot beef and broccoli stir fry is made with simple ingredients, perfect for busy weeknights, and better than Chinese takeout. You know that I love a good easy meal, that I can make during the week with minimum effort.
This is that type of recipe after you saute the beef, you add the rest of the ingredients to the instant pot and basically, dinner is ready for you. You don’t have to clean multiple pots, which is always a win-win for me. You can serve this homemade dish over some white rice, or as my son always asks for it, over thick noodles.
The sauce is full of Asian flavors and it perfectly complements the tender beef. Serve this delicious instant pot beef main dish with a side of white rice, brown rice, or noodles. For a low-carb option, serve it with cauliflower rice. This popular recipe will be a hit with the whole family!
Make sure to check our other popular recipes: Orange Chicken, General Tso, and Mongolian Chicken.
Ingredients Needed:
For the Beef and Veggies:
- Vegetable oil: Olive oil or canola oil.
- Flank steak: Make sure to slice it across the grain. As an alternative, use thin slices of skirt steak, sirloin steak, flat iron steak or beef chuck roast.
- Bag of broccoli florets: We like to steam them instead of pressure cooking.
For the Sauce:
- Minced garlic: It can be replaced with garlic powder.
- Fresh minced ginger: Also, if you don’t have fresh on your hands, use ginger powder.
- Red pepper flakes
- Soy sauce: We prefer to use lite soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce. Regular soy sauce may be too salty.
- Sesame oil
- Beef broth: Also, beef stock, chicken broth, or chicken stock work well.
- Brown sugar: As an alternative, use honey or maple syrup.
For the Cornstarch slurry:
- Corn starch: Arrowroot powder works as well.
- Water
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How to make Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli Beef Recipe:
- Prepare the sauce: First, in a medium bowl mix all the savory sauce ingredients and set it aside.
- Saute: Next, click on Saute, add the oil and add the meat strips into one layer on the bottom of the pot. Cook in batches until nicely browned. After that, set it aside on a dish.
- Deglaze: When done searing the meat, add 1/4 cup of water to the pot and using a wooden spoon scrape any brown bits that stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Combine: Next, add the seared meat and the sauce to the pot.
- Pressure Cook: Finally, close with the lid and Pressure Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Once done cooking, release pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Quick-release the remaining pressure.
- Thicken the sauce: Afterward, click again on saute, make the cornstarch slurry, and add it to the sauce. Stir and cook until it thickens.
- Cook the broccoli: Steam the bag of broccoli in the microwave. And add the steamed broccoli to the pot, stir and combine.
- Serve: Serve the dish with rice and top with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
Recipe Variations:
- Meat: Make this instant pot recipe with chicken or pork instead.
- Sauce: Add the oyster sauce into the stir fry sauce, also make it spicier by using more red pepper flakes.
- Veggies: As an alternative, use other veggies like cauliflower, Chinese corn, or a Chinese veggie mix.
- Gluten-free: Another option is to make it gluten-free by using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
- Stovetop version: Don’t worry if you don’t have a pressure cooker, make this Teriyaki Beef and Broccoli on the stove.
Slow Cooker Version:
The dish can also be made in your Crockpot or in the IP using the Slow Cooker function.
First, brown the meat and after that add it to the crockpot with the sauce ingredients. Stir and cook it on High for 4 hours or on Low for 7 hours.
Add the broccoli at the last hour if using fresh broccoli. Or just mix in steamed broccoli before serving.
How to store:
- Cool: First, let the remaining leftovers cool to room temperature first.
- Refrigerate: After that, add them to an air-tight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: First, let the meal cool. Next, transfer it into freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags. Make sure the sauce covers at least partially the beef, so it won’t dry out. Label with the date, and freeze for up to 3-4 months, or longer if you use a deep freezer.
- Thaw: Transfer the frozen meal to your refrigerator the night before you wish to use it to allow it to thaw.
- Reheat: Add the leftovers to a saucepan and reheat to at least 165 F before you consume. Another alternative, it to microwave it or heat it, or put it in a hot oven until it warms up.
What is a 10 Minutes Natural Pressure Release?
A Natural Pressure Release means that the pressure is released gradually. After pressure cooking, you click on Keep Warm or just let the IP stand, and wait 10 minutes, after which you open the valve and let any leftover pressure release.
More Instant Pot Recipes:
Cooking tips:
- To avoid mushy broccoli, either add frozen broccoli when pressure cooking, but keep in mind that they will add extra water to the sauce.
- As an alternative, we also recommend cooking the broccoli separately, just quickly steam in the microwave and stir with the rest of the ingredients.
- If you are using flank steak, I personally prefer to cut about 1 inch wide slices, this way the beef holds together better when cooked under pressure. Don’t forget to slice it against the grain.
- Cornstarch is a key ingredient here, do not try to replace it with flour, the results will not be the same.
- Using fresh ginger and garlic will add amazing flavor to the sauce, so don’t skip these two.
- Serve it with a nice fruity red wine such as Zinfandel or Syrah will pair nicely with the flavors in this beef dish.
- If you’re looking for a white option, Riesling or Pinot Grigio are always great matches for bold, somewhat spicy dishes.
Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 lbs flank steak sliced across the grain
- 1/4 cup water
- 12 oz frozen broccoli bag steamed
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 cup beef broth low sodium
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or 1/2 cup for a sweeter version
Cornstarch Slurry:
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
Garnish:
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
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FollowInstructions
- In a medium bowl whisk together all the ingredients listed in the Sauce compartment. Set aside.
- Press Sauté on the Instant Pot-> wait for the Instant Pot indicator to read HOT.
- Add vegetable oil, once the oil is hot, add the beef in one layer (in batches), do not move or turn the beef for about 2 minutes to make sure it gets a nice sear on one side (this is important). Stir the beef and sauté for 2 minutes on the other side. Remove, set aside on a plate covered in foil and brown another batch of beef, and set aside.
- Once done with browning the beef, add 1/4 cup of water to the pot to deglaze it. Using a wooden spoon, try to get any bits and pieces that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beef back to the pot, pour the sauce mixture on top. Stir to combine.
- Close lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes + 10 minutes Natural Release. After 10 minutes of NPR, turn off the Instant Pot. Release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.
Cornstarch Slurry:
- Make the cornstarch slurry: In a small bowl mix cornstarch with water until fully combined. With the IP on the Sauté function, add the slurry to the pot, stir to combine, and cook for 2-3 minutes on Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. If needed add more slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water) until desired thickness is achieved. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken more once it cools.
- Stir in the steamed broccoli.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and serve over rice or noodles. Garnish with fresh chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition Facts
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