In our book, no St. Patrick’s Day spread is complete without corned beef and cabbage. If you don’t have the time (or patience) to create this classic comfort food dish, no stress—this Instant Pot recipe is for you. We often turn to our Instant Pot when we’re short on time and need a hearty meal in a pinch, and this recipe is one of our favorite ways to speed up the process. Traditional corned beef can take days to make! For this recipe, simply place your brisket and sides (potatoes, cabbage, and carrots) in your trusty gadget, and in a few hours, you’ll have a deliciously tender corned beef brisket (complete with sides!) ready to devour for your holiday meal or cozy weeknight dinner.
What People Are Saying:
“Hands down the best corned beef I have ever made. Fabulous. Easy. Delish!” – PurpleSnow
“Excellent! I used a 4.5 lb cut and just let it do a natural release instead. Subbed a dark Pilsner and beef broth mix for the chicken broth. Even the kids loved it!” – OliveHelmet
How To Make Instant Pot Corned Beef
INGREDIENTS
- Onion: Make sure to find a large yellow onion that you can cut into even wedges, and the juices from the brisket will make the wedges nice and tender.
- Brisket: Two pounds of brisket should be enough for 6 servings, so adjust as needed. For ease, I recommend using the seasoning packet that comes with your corned beef, but if you’re looking for a truly unbeatable seasoning blend, refer to our corned beef brisket recipe.
- Chicken Broth: I found that chicken, instead of beef, actually provided a more mellow, complex flavor. Just be sure to get low-sodium so you can adjust the seasonings yourself.
- Cabbage: To ensure that the cabbage gets to the proper texture in the Instant Pot, try not to get a head that’s too large. Small wedges will be more than enough to cook through and will be easy to present and serve.
- Potatoes: Baby potatoes are my go-to here, as larger pieces will be too tough with the fast cooking time. Feel free to use your favorite small potato here.
- Carrots: I think slicing on the bias makes for a pretty platter, but you can just cut into pieces if desired. The best part is everything cooks at once, so be sure to find carrots that are a similar size.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Minus some chopping and waiting, this recipe seriously couldn’t get any easier. Arrange the onion wedges in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place the brisket on top and sprinkle with the seasoning packet. Pour in some broth, seal the lid, and pressure cook for 90 minutes.
Quick release, then transfer the corned beef and onions to a cutting board or large bowl or plate. Cover the beef to keep warm.
To the liquid remaining in the Instant Pot, add the cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and oil. Season everything well with salt and pepper, then seal the lid again. You only need to cook this for 4 minutes.
Quick release again, then uncover the Instant Pot. Make sure the veggies are fork-tender (or to your liking).
Arrange everything on a platter and serve!
The full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.
Recipe Tips
- How long does it take to cook corned beef in the Instant Pot? Like most Instant Pot recipes, that depends on the size of your meat. For this recipe, our 2 lb. corned beef brisket required around 90 minutes on high (plus an extra 4 minutes to cook our veggies) to get perfectly tender. If you’ve got a bigger brisket, you might need more time—just keep an eye on it!
- Can I make this in the slow cooker? Absolutely! If you’ve got time to spare, make our slow-cooker corned beef to set it and forget it.
Serving Ideas
One of our favorite things about this dish? Complete with baby potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, it’s dinner + sides all in one. If you do decide to amp up your spread, beer bread, colcannon, or roasted parsnips would all be great additions to this classic meal.
Storage
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Looking for leftover ideas? You can’t go wrong with the classic Reuben sandwich, but we’ve got plenty of ideas here to use up that leftover corned beef, from our corned beef and cabbage cheese quesadillas to Reuben bowls to Irish nachos.
