Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage will become your go to method to cook tender Beef for St. Patrick's Day! Pressure cook the traditional corned beef in less time than you would cook it on the stove. This hearty Irish meal was designed to be pressure cooked! Perfect with Apple Cider Hot Toddy.
Craving more Irish Recipes? Try Irish Mashed Potatoes and Irish Beef Guinness Stew as well.
In this Instant Pot Corned Beef recipe you've got a huge chunk of tasty meat in the fraction of time! With all the Instant Pot friendly vegetables in one pot. I'm talking potatoes, cabbage and carrots! Talk about comfort food such as this fork tender and fall apart beef!
If the pressure cooker was available to the Irish back in the day, it would be their preferred choice of making this signature dish! And without the use of a slow cooker. This braised corned beef is juicy, succulent tender and packed with flavor! So easy and delicious.
New to pressure cooking? Start with my Ultimate Guide to Instant Pot to get comfortable with the basics, then come back to nail this recipe.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage
- 70 minutes in the Instant Pot will produce a wonderful flavor and tender. Yet still firm in texture, which is ideal in my opinion. However, if you want corned beef to be even more tender, go up to 90 minutes, but not more than that. Curious about what that cooking time means for your food? Read my Core Instant Pot Cook Times to find out.
- Keep in mind that Instant Pot Corned Beef will shrink after pressure cooking! Therefore I suggest buying the largest available piece and squeezing it in. That's what I did with my corned beef brisket.
- It's also important to keep the beef warm while vegetables are cooking. I suggest placing it on the plate, covering with foil and keeping warm in the 200 degree oven.
- I cooked corned beef for 90 minutes. Next, I added vegetables for only 6 minutes. Once you finish corned beef, you will need to keep it warm until vegetables are done.
Can I cook vegetables without removing the corned beef from the Instant Pot?
If the size of your Instant Pot allows it, you can surely do it. Just make sure to not overload it. Simply add 1 additional cup of water to the pot in addition to the veggies.
Can I cook frozen corned beef in the instant pot?
If you bought frozen corned beef, add just a little bit of time. The rule of thumb is to cook frozen corned beef in the Instant Pot on manual high pressure for about 34 minutes a pound.
For example, if you have 3 pound corned beef, cook it for 102 minutes. If it's 4 pounds - 136 minutes.
Can I use broth instead of water?
Certainly, just make sure it's sodium free or low sodium broth. Otherwise you will end up with way too much salt in all the ingredients. As a result it won't taste good.
For more pressure‑cooking basics and troubleshooting, see my Instant Pot tips and tricks guide.
More St. Patrick's Day recipes
- Irish Mashed Potatoes with Bacon (Colcannon)
- Classic Irish Soda Bread with Whiskey Raisins
- Irish Pork Chops
- Guinness Beef Stew
Craving more beef recipes?
- Traditional Beef Burrito
- Italian Style Beef Liver with Marsala
- Homemade Cabbage and Beef Soup
- Cider Braised Pot Roast
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 4 cups water
- 4 lb. corned beef brisket (and spice packet)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 lbs red potatoes
- 1 lb baby carrots
- 1 head green cabbage quartered
Instructions
Preparing Corned Beef for the Instant Pot:
- Remove Corned Beef Brisket from the package, reserve the spice packet and rinse the meat thoroughly. Place the brisket in the Instant Pot on the lift-out rack (if there is a fattier side, put that side facing down).Sprinkle the seasonings evenly on top of the brisket. Add whole garlic cloves on top of the meat. Pour in water around the edges of the Instant Pot, making sure to keep the spices on top of the brisket in place.
Pressure Cooking Corned Beef Brisket:
- Secure lid and move steam vent to "Sealing"Select “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” and set time to "01:10" (70 minutes), select "High Pressure".
- The digital display will show "On". One thing to keep in mind that since the Instant Pot is cold and we just added 4 cups of water to it and a huge chunk of cold meat, it will take a long time for it to come to pressure, about 15 minutes. So when it stands there doing seemingly nothing for the first 5 minutes - don't panic - perfectly normal. After about 5-10 minutes, you will hear hissing and see steam coming out. Next the red pin will pop out and 2 minutes later you will hear one beep and "On" on the Digital Display will be replaced by the Countdown: "01:30". Pressure cooking has began!
- When done, use Quick Release Method to release pressure.
- Remove corned beef brisket from the pot and discard garlic (or keep it if desired). Put the brisket onto a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Keep the water inside the pot.
Pressure Cooking Vegetables:
- Make sure the rack is removed. Without discarding liquid, add salt, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage to the Instant Pot. Keep in mind that it'll be packed, but will shrink after cooking.
- Press "Pressure Cook" and set timer to 6 minutes. Because of so much stuff in the pot it will take a while (about 15 minutes) for the pressure to build up. Once you hear hissing and see steam coming out - you're getting close. Next you'll hear a beep and the countdown to 6 minutes will start.
- Once done, perform a quick pressure release before removing vegetables. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon or tongs.
- While the veggies are in the pot, slice the corned beef brisket against the grain. Make sure you use a sharp knife.
- Add the cabbage and veggies to the brisket dish and serve. Spoon the broth from the instant pot over the meat to keep it moist.
Kylie says
We love our corned beef and cabbage in December!!!!
Alli says
How long would you pressure cook the corned beef if it’s smaller - say 2.5 lbs?
Olga says
Same amount of time for 2.5 pounds.
Shirley says
How much time to add for a 3 to 3,5 pound frozen roast
Olga at Whatsinthepan says
If your corned beef is frozen, cook it in the Instant Pot on manual high pressure for about 34 minutes a pound, which is 102 minutes for 3 pounds and 119 minutes for 3.5 pounds
Judy says
OK, Girlie!! It’s St. Paddy’s Day and I am putting this in the pot! Wish me luck🍀
Olya at Whatsinthepan says
Judy, you won't be disappointed! I promise.
Leana says
Safe to assume the 4 cups of water can be replaced by beer? All the non IP recipes seem to always call for it, but I’m not seeing that with IP.
Olya at Whatsinthepan says
Yes, you can use beer instead. Just beware: some readers reported that vegetables tasted weird when they used beer instead of water.
Jackie Sueldo says
I have a 2.3 lb corned beef. Would I adjust the cooking time down from 1:30?
Olya at Whatsinthepan says
It's not necessary to adjust cooking time. You can go down to 70 minutes but not less than that.
Michelle says
Olya, I forgot to ask in my first comment to you a question I have about placing the brisket in the IP. You stated to, “Place the brisket in the Instant Pot on the lift-out rack (if there is a fattier side, put that side facing down). By stating to put the fattier side down, do you mean the fatty side at the bottom of the rack, or the top so that’s the flavor from the fatty side is able to flow through the entire brisket from top to bottom?
Thanks - Michelle
Olya at Whatsinthepan says
The reason for the fattier side is on the bottom is in order for the spices to flavor the meat and not the fat. And with the brisket cooking with the fattier side down, the beef turned out very tender and flavorful. I hope you enjoy it!
Michelle says
I am so excited to try this recipe and IP preparation for my Corned Beef Brisket tomorrow ! Thank you so much for writing and sharing this recipe and directions... I APPRECIATE it very much 😊 You’ve made the directions very clear and easy to follow.
Thank you - Michelle
Carol wallace says
I’m making corned beef, etc for 22 people. How would I make this in Instant Pot, keep everything warm?
Olya at Whatsinthepan says
Wow, that's a lot of people. I would wrap it in aluminum foil and keep it warm in the oven at 200 F.
Nancie Prevatt says
I love these recipes,but when I try to print them out I get 4 or 5 full page pictures. A waste of paper I only need one picture.
Olya at Whatsinthepan says
There's a Print button at the very top of the post (it's right under the title) and inside the recipe box itself. If you click on that button - it will print with only one picture.