A classic and super easy recipe for corned beef and cabbage (and taters, too!) cooked up in the Instant Pot in half the time as regular corned beef and cabbage. No brine, no watching the stove, it's easy!
Why Corned Beef Loves the Instant Pot
The Instant Pot is perfect for corned beef and cabbage because the high pressure cooking breaks down the tough parts of the meat so that it melts in your mouth.
The traditional method of cooking corned beef is to boil it. Boiling generally takes 50 to 60 minutes per pound. Using the boiling method, a 3 lb corned beef brisket can take 3 hours of cooking.
The amazing Instant Pot (or any other electric pressure cooker) only requires 90 minutes for that same sized corned beef brisket. The Instant Pot cuts the time in half, which is perfect for people like me who don't always plan ahead.
Then, when you're slicing the corned beef, you put the cabbage, potatoes and carrots in the pot and they only take two minutes. Perfectly cooked without the hassle.
What's in that Spice Packet, Anyway?
A corned beef brisket has been cured in a salt brine with pickling spices. That's what sets a regular beef brisket apart from a corned beef brisket.
The "corn" in corned beef is a reference to that salt brine. Large rock salt is used and is referred to as "corns" of salt.
The corned beef briskets you buy at the store come with an additional packet of the pickling spices which can include peppercorn, bay leaves, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, mustard seed, coriander, cloves, and nutmeg.
If you want to be wild and corn your own beef, this recipe for Homemade Corned Beef is great. Though it is labor intensive compared to picking up a pre-corned brisket at the store.
Corned Beef vs Pastrami
While we're on the topic of beef definitions, you know the difference between corned beef and pastrami, right? They're both salt cured in the same way, but when it comes to cooking, corned beef is boiled (or in this case pressure cooked) and pastrami is smoked.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef Recipe
Don't have a pressure cooker or Instant Pot? Yes, you can do this in the slow cooker. Instead of following the directions below on timing, set it for 4 to 6 hours on high until it's fork tender.
Instant Pot Corned Beef AND Cabbage
Don't forget the cabbage part of the corned beef and cabbage. Once you've taken the corned beef out of the pot, put your veggies into it, keeping the reserved juices. Then set the pot to high for 2 minutes and then do a quick release. In the time it takes to slice and plate the beef, your cabbage and potatoes will be done.
In the end, you'll have a tender, meaty, flavorful corned beef to help you celebrate all that Irish heritage you may or may not have.
Then, if you have leftovers the next day, you can make these Corned Beef and Cabbage Hand Pies!
Happy St Patty's to you!
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Instant Pot Corned Beef
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 90 mins
- Total Time: 115 mins
- Yield: 6-8
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
An easy recipe for corned beef and cabbage cooked in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 3 lb. corned beef brisket
- 1 - 12 oz light beer
- 1 cup beef broth
- ½ head of cabbage quartered
- 1 cup baby carrots
- 6 red potatoes quartered
Instructions
- Place corned beef in the pressure cooker with the spices it comes with.
- Pour the beer and the beef broth over it.
- Set timer for 90 minutes on high. Once the time expires, allow for 15 minute natural pressure release before releasing remaining pressure and removing the lid from the pot.
- Remove corned beef and put it in a shallow cook dish. Pour a cup of the hot broth over it, cover it with foil, stick it in an oven to keep warm until ready to serve. Or just serve it straight from the Instant Pot if you're ready to eat.
- To cook veggies, after the beef is removed from the pot, put cabbage, carrots and potatoes in the pot and cook them on high for 2 minutes then do a quick release and serve.
Notes
If you don't drink, you can easily sub broth.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 611
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 2912.9 mg
- Fat: 34.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.1 g
- Protein: 37.5 g
- Cholesterol: 122.9 mg
Benny says
I stinkin' love corned beef and this recipe totally reminded me that ST. Patty's is coming up and I need a dish! Thank you!
Bonnie Pavkov says
Do u put the cabbage, carrots potatoes in crock pot at some time during cooking the beef or cook in separate pot on stove?
Connie says
Remove corn beef cover in a dish with some of the liquid from instant pot add carrots, potato slices and wedges off cabbage put on manual for 5 minutes
Steve says
Thank you - most of the Instapot corned beef recipes I have seen say to set timer for 90 mins? Is 55 mins cooking enough time or does the lower time have something to do with using beer vs water?
thank you
Steve
I thought t said 90 minutes?? Where did 55 min come from?? says
I thought it said 90 minutes. Where did 55 minutes come from?
Joanie Simon says
Thanks so much!!!
Joanie Simon says
Hi Bonnie! Sorry I missed your comment! I assume the time has past, but Connie's totally right 🙂
Tori says
Would it work to put small red potatoes in with the corned beef to cook? Then cook the softer vegetables like cabbage and carrots as directed afterwards?
Joanie Simon says
Hi Tori! I would save the small red potatoes until the end. If you slice them in halves, they should cook at about the same timing as the other vegetables.
Julie says
I put 1/2 cup maple syrup on brisket and bake on 300 for time it takes to cook vegetables. It adds a level of sweet / Spicey. Taken from another recipe in cooking light. Love my corned beef.
J. Beatty says
my corn beef is only 2 pounds how long should I cook?
Joanie Simon says
Sorry for the delay! Around 85 minutes should work great.
Betty Leslie says
How long do I cook a one pound beef brisket in an instapot?
Mary says
Hi Joanie, looking to make this on NYD (our annual tradition) in my new 6qt IP. Can you please confirm how much of each liquid since my pot is smaller? Thanks so much!
Joanie Simon says
Hi Mary! What fun! As long as you have a cup and a half of liquid in the pot, it should be enough. Happy NEW YEAR!!
Ellen says
My corned beef is 4 lbs. How long should I cook it?
Joanie Simon says
Sorry for the delay! 105 minutes should work for 4lbs.
Maire says
For those who do not have an Instant Pot -
WRONG -- The traditional method of cooking corned beef is to boil it.
I'm Irish and my mum never ever boiled corned beef.
YOU NEVER, EVER BOIL CORNED BEEF. IF YOU DO ON TOP OF THE STOVE - SIMMER ONLY ---1 HOUR PER POUND AND IT WILL BE PERFECT.
Cassie Allen says
This recipe is very good! The meat was tender and delicious! I will make this again sometime.
Joanie Simon says
So glad!!
Linnea says
this is probably a dumb question... but i'm new to the instant pot world. do you leave the cooking liquid in the pot when you cook the veggies?
Joanie Simon says
Great question! Yep! Leave the liquid <3 Hope you enjoy!
Linnea says
made this tonight and the family loved it! i’f use low sodium beef broth in the future, but it was delicious. thanks!
Daurice Ulicki says
My corned beef is just short of 5 lbs. Do you have a "minutes per lb" general rule of thumb? THANKS!
Kate says
She cooked 3 lbs for 90 minutes, so for this recipe, it's 30 minutes per pound.
Joanie Simon says
<3 Yep, just what Kate said. General rule is 20 - 30 min per pound of beef brikset in its whole form.
Daurice Ulicki says
Ah, of course. Silly me! I should have noticed that. And to think I was a math teacher for 40 years!
Mary V says
How large of a brisket can I cook in my 8 quart Instant Pot?
Joanie Simon says
Approximately 5 lbs is about as large as you'll want to do in the 8Qt
Mike says
Curious. I’m new to my Instant-Pot. It seems the longest I can set my Instant-Pot for is 4 minutes. Do I let the 4 minutes run and just leave it in there for 90 minutes prior to releasing the pressure? Thank you
Steveo says
No Mike! Your pot should have a "manual" setting button and then you should be able to hold down the "+" button to increase the time until the time goes to 90 min. Good Luck!
Mike says
I figured it out. As crazy as this may sound, I was reading the timer like a clock. Little did I know that 1:30 is actually 90 minutes, not a minute and thirty seconds... Corned beef, cabbage and potatoes came out excellent!
Joanie Simon says
Did you figure out how to set it for 90 minutes with Steveo's instructions? Hope you can get it to go past 4 minutes!
Robert Arnold Lanane says
Too many side adds popped-up.
Gerry says
Hi Joanie. I'm a newbie to the IP and only my second time using it. Do you put the meat on the rack or just let in sit in the bottom of pot? I'm not sure when to use the rack and when not to.
Joanie Simon says
Hi Gerry! I leave out the rack for this one. I generally only use the rack when I'm doing things I want to steam, like eggs or cheesecakes, or other things I don't want to submerge in the liquid. Happy Instant Potting!
emily says
Hi, You might want to update the recipe to say place meat directly in pot - don't use the trivet.
I started cooking and thought about it and just before it got to pressure I decided to stroll through the comments.
Everyone is so used to putting everything on the trivet, especially people like me, that I didn't even think about it going in without a trivet - I'm still a newbie and still literal about everything because I get scared =-)
Thanks for a great recipe it smells delicious and I can't wait to eat it!
Joanie Simon says
Great point! Will do!
Danny says
Why are you putting everything on the trivet? Your default when reading IP recipes online should be to NOT use it, and only use it when specifically noted.
Joanie Simon says
Hi Anne! I might take it a bit longer than the 90 minutes just to accommodate for the extra pound. 100 minutes with 15 min npr would probably do great.
Joanie Simon says
Hi Anne! I might take it a bit longer than the 90 minutes just to accommodate for the extra pound. 100 minutes with 15 min npr would probably do great.
Jennifer Shelton says
Fat side up or down? Does it matter?
Joanie says
I usually do it fat side up to let the fat cook down into the beef.
doris says
My pot has a meat/stew setting, not high or low, is that what I should pick?
James M. says
So for a 3.97LB brisket, is it 100 mins on settings and after that 15 mins npr, or is it total of 100 mins (including the 15 mins npr) which would be 85 mins on settings?
Megan says
Followed this recipe exactly and it was fantastic! I have never loved corned beef until today. Thank you!!
Deanna Crask says
I made this today and hated it! Such a waste of good meat.
Chip says
I used this recipe for my St Patrick's Day dinner with one substitution. I used hard apple cider instead of beer. The corned beef was perfectly cooked and tender!
Thanks Joanie!
DAWNE L ALMAZAN says
I was out of town so I am cooking my corned beef today! Busy so I was wondering if I could use the instapot. Its a biggie 5 lbs. Should I squeeze it in whole or cut in a few pieces? How long should I set it for?
Joanie Simon says
I've done a 5lb before. I would put the whole thing in as one piece, but then adjust the time to 105 mins to accommodate for the bigger cut. Then still do 15 minutes natural release.
Dawne Almazan says
Thank you ! Started now, although my pot only lets me set up to 99 mins . I will let you know how it turns out!
Donna Johnson says
I just set it up with your recipe and so far it smells delicious. I got the IP to time it at 90 minutes. Then I realized that my little piece of meat is not even 2 lbs. How do I stop the process and restart for a lesser time of perhaps 1 hr?
Joanie Simon says
Sorry I missed this comment until just now. If you ever need to stop the cook process just hit the "warm" button and that will stop the pressure and then let it natural release pressure. Hope it all turned out okay!
Kathleen Conlon says
I concur - this IS the best corned beef recipe ever! I made it for St Patrick's Day - and I've already made it again because it was SO yummy.
Joanie Simon says
Hooray!!! So glad!
Larry says
Hi Guys,
Not wanting to be a party pooper but as a paid up member of The Hibernian Race we call the day St Paddy's Day.
Joanie Simon says
Sorry about that! For a 3 pound corned beef, set it for 90 minutes on manual and then let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. This recipe has morphed over time a bit, but based on several re-tests I did this past March, 90 minutes on manual and then 15 minute NR and you're good to go. I'll be sure to update the comments section. Thanks for the heads up! <3
Alja says
Came out perfect: tender, flavorful and moist. Thanks!
Stephanie R Gibson says
I have no beer... any great substitute?
Joanie Simon says
Vegetable or beef broth will work great to substitute.
Ana says
This morning I made an instant pot corned beef. It's so perfect and wonderful taste! One thing I made a mistake was tooo early to cook. Can I keep them in the pot warm until late evening? Or do I have to take out and set in the fridge and re-heat later? Thank you.
Ana
Joanie Simon says
Sorry I didn't catch this comment quicker. Hope all turned out! It should be fine to keep warm for a few hours (perhaps up to 4 or 5, though much longer and it might start to overcook it and make it mushy). In which case, if longer than 5 hours, then I'd chill it then reheat it later.
Dream Calendars says
I stinkin’ love corned beef and this recipe totally reminded me that ST. Patty’s is coming up and I need a dish! Thank you!
Joanie Simon says
Right?!? It snuck up on us this year!
Tam Dykes says
I made this to use for sandwiches and hash. It came out perfectly.
Suzanne says
Can I cook it from frozen and how much longer per pound?
Joanie Simon says
In theory, yes, but I've never attempted it from that method so I'm not sure how that would change the recipe and timing.
Shari Easton says
Yes, it can be cooked frozen. I did this today, using this website as my first attempt of cooking corned beef in my pressure cooker. I had to drive out of town for work today, so I put the 1.6 Lb corned beef in with water to cover it, set it to cook for an hour and left for the afternoon. After arriving back home about 5 hrs later, I checked on it (it stayed on warm after cooking all those hours). It was quite tough still. I re-set the cooker for another 50 mins, went to Wal Mart for the cabbage and other veggies and by the time I got back it was tender. I left it in the water, added a cabbage, carrots and parsnips and re-set for 10 mins. About to pull the yumminess out right now and enjoy my delicious dinner! Oh, I also added beef Better Than Boullion to the water with the veggies. YUM!! IT WORKS FROZEN!!!
Joanie Simon says
Such great news!! I'm definitely going to have to give this a try. Thanks for reporting back and sharing with us!
Peri says
This looks so good! We don’t drink/cook with beer. Should I increase the beef broth or just use 12 oz. water?
Mateo Pedersen says
THANK YOU! You saved my dinner party. I was about to make all the same mistakes as you listed. What a gift you have given us. Blessings on you in return.
Joanie Simon says
So glad! Happy St Patty's!
Debbie says
Just finished. Will be cooking the one we froze in a day or so. This one was so good it disappeared fast. No beer but the best broth worked well. Thank you for your recipe
Amy says
The corned beef I have says it’s already fully cooked so how long do I cook it for in instapot?
Patty says
I am a single person household and have a brand new 3 qt. IP. Can I cook corned beef in it? If so, do I need to make any changes? I am completely a beginner so any help will be appreciated.
Joanie Simon says
The recipe should work exactly the same in the IP. If you're interested in cutting the recipe in half, then I would reduce the cook time about 20 minutes less.
Sharon Gore says
Love my corned beef. Thank you!
vic says
Wow! Now that's something I was looking for. Thanks for Sharing, Joanie. I shall try this for sure.
birthday wishes to husband says
Great article! Keep up the good work!
Vic says
Hey Joanie!
The recipe is looking delicious. Definitely I am gonna try this for sure. Thank you so much for sharing!
myhappybirthdays.com says
I loved your blog and bookmarked now!
funnywifinameszone.website says
Very delicious I loved it!
Diane says
Always been a pastrami fan, but gave this a try and really liked it. Thanks for broadening our horizons!
Joanie Simon says
So glad! I do love a good pastrami, though 🙂
Katrnia Hendricks says
Hey Joanie!
The recipe is looking delicious. I am going to try it out and I am sure my kids will love it. Keep sharing and Thanks again!!
Samina Jackson says
Very delicious I loved it!
Thank You
Katie says
Very delicious I loved it!
Joanie Simon says
Woot woot! Thanks for the review!
Mateo Pedersen says
Great article! Keep up the good work!
betina jessen says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It was absolutely delicious! During these tough times it was a welcome relief to have such a delicious easy meal to eat. I have cooked it twice now in the past three weeks. Once on St. Paddy’s Day and again last night. I’m loving the leftovers! Thanks again for such a wonderful idea!
Joanie Simon says
Hooray! So glad! Have a happy St. Paddy's this week!
Quotes Brown says
The chicken breast stays tender, the pork is juicy, and the chuck roast made the most incredible pot roast I've ever had. I'm typically not a huge fan of chuck because of how fatty it is, but my butcher box chuck roasts
Euromillon says
Gracias por la información. Saludos desde nuestra página web del Euromillon con resultados cada sorteo del martes y viernes.
Angela Bordio says
Thank you Joanie for these amazing recipes! I am sure my husband will totally love them. I will try all of them, for sure.
sohbet says
Thanks for the recipe. thank you for your effor..
Kelly Harper says
Thank you so much for these amazing recipes. Love it.