This simple, beer-infused Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe is the perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and just as delicious any other day! It’s easy and convenient to cook a tender corned beef dinner in less time with our Instant Pot pressure cooker.
But don’t worry, we’ll show you how to make it happen even if you don’t have one.
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Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
My family is not Irish, although we do have a few roots that make their way to the island. Given that our family heritage is truly a melting-pot, we like to dabble in and enjoy traditional dishes from all different cultures.
For us, St. Patricks Day is a great time to explore those Irish traditions, but I have to say, this traditional corned beef and cabbage dish is so tender and flavorful, that you don’t have to wait for a holiday to make it. Made in the Instant Pot, it’s even easier than ever to put together and get on the table in less time!
Corned beef is not considered an Irish national dish, and the connection with Saint Patrick’s Day specifically originates as part of Irish-American culture.
AP NEWS
PS. I HAVE AND USE.
If you’re here JUST for the BEST Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage recipe, go ahead and scroll to the end for a simple, printable version. Or you can read through for tips, photos, and alterations to our traditional corned beef in Guinness recipe.
Cooking Options to Make Corned Beef
There are plenty of cooking options, from a Dutch Oven to Crockpot, and while all of these can produce deliciously tender meat, the Instant Pot gives the quickest results… and is my cooking method of choice!
If you don’t have access to an Instant Pot, you can substitute with a crockpot, just add all ingredients (and increase liquids by about 50%), and let cook for 8 hours on high.
If cooking in a dutch oven, season and cover corned beef brisket with spices and liquid. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Then add potatoes and carrots and return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook covered for about 30 minutes. Add onions and cabbage to the pot and return to a boil before simmering for about 15 minutes, or until onions and cabbage are tender. Remove from heat and serve warm.
If the meat you choose doesn’t come with the spice packet, or you’re having trouble finding pickling spices, here is a great corned beef spice recipe.
Corned beef hash is a mixture of corned beef, potatoes, and onions all chopped up together and cooked on the stove. It is often served for breakfast with eggs.
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Liquid Variations for Instant Pot Corned Beef
You have a choice of liquids for any method you use to cook corned beef. You can use water, beef broth or beer, or any mixture of the three. To keep it simple, I just pour in a bottle of beer and that’s all that’s needed for our Instant Pot.
If you can remember ahead of time, open the beer and let it flatten before you use it, although there is NO harm in opening straight from the refrigerator and using it.
Since the beer (when it’s not flat) can foam up in the pressure cooker during the corned beef cooking process, you might find that the initial force of manually releasing the steam (after the 20-minute natural release) causes some liquid to spray out of the valve. This is fine, although most often, it doesn’t happen.
How long does it take to cook corned beef in an Instant Pot?
Between the actual cooking time of the corned beef in the pressure cooker, the time it takes to pressurize and cooking the vegetables afterward, it takes about 2 hours (or less). Though it can be a time-consuming process, you don’t have to do much and have that time while the corned beef is cooking for whatever you’d like.
Keep in mind, cooking on the stove is a more labor-intensive process, and cooking in a crockpot is an all-day cook.
Vegetables for an Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner
It is so simple to get those traditional potatoes, carrots, onion, and cabbage into your corned beef dinner when cooking with an Instant Pot, and in fact, the potatoes are some of the best I’ve had when cooked this way!
I like to get a bag of red-skinned potatoes and use them in the bottom of the Instant Pot AS a trivet (so you can remove the metal trivet that comes in the Instant Pot). Doing this allows the potatoes to keep the meat raised and also soaks in such incredible flavor from the beer, seasonings, and the meat as it cooks.
Once the corned beef is cooked and we remove it from the pressure cooker, I like to leave the vegetables and liquids in the pot before adding carrots and cabbage and cook high pressure for 3-4 minutes, with a manual release.
The flavor of the vegetables is SO rich with the beer-infused liquids and we didn’t need to add any other seasonings to the dish.
Fun fact: Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural dinner was corned beef and cabbage.
MOBILE CUISINE
Are there nutritional benefits of a Corned Beef and Cabbage meal?
I’m always looking for ways to infuse our dishes with more nutrients, especially since eating a delicious meal is more fun than taking a vitamin pill. One way I do this is to add color to our plate.
This recipe calls for simple, healthy ingredients; corned beef, potatoes, onion, garlic, cabbage, and carrots. Using more colorful options, like red potatoes and rainbow carrots is a simple way to boost the nutrition content and add in a larger variety of health benefits.
THIS INSTANT POT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE RECIPE WITH GUINNESS WILL BE A FAVORITE IN OUR FAMILY, AND NOT JUST IN MARCH!
My parents were even in town recently when I shot the photos for this post, and my mom said it needs to be a staple every time they’re in town!
I’m just starting to share our favorite Instant Pot recipes, so if you have any that are YOUR favorites, we’d love to try it! Leave a note in the comments. If you want to see more of our family favorite recipes, click here!
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound corned beef brisket rinsed
- 1 large onion sliced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and lightly smashed with the back of a knife
- 2 tablespoons pickling spice
- 12 ounces lager-style or Guinness beer
- 1 pound tiny potatoes or red-skinned potatoes cut into 1-1/2 inch wedges, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter
- 1 head cabbage cut into 8 wedges
- 1 pound carrots
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (optional)
- whole grain mustard for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and place potatoes at bottom of your Instant Pot or pressure cooker to create a trivet that the brisket will cook on. Add onion and garlic. Place the corned beef brisket, fat side up, on top of the potatoes. Pour beer over the brisket. Top with pickling spice (or spices that came with the corned beef).
- Seal lid and set the unit to HIGH pressure for 85 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for 20 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.* Remove corned beef and place on a dish or a cutting board, spooning a bit of the cooking liquid over the top. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add carrots and cabbage wedges. Seal lid and set the unit to HIGH pressure for 3-4 minutes, depending on how soft you like your vegetables. Quick release pressure.
- Slice corned beef against the grain. If needed, spoon a little more of the cooking liquid over the corned beef slices on your platter. Sprinkle parsley over the vegetables, and if desired, drizzle with melted butter. Serve corned beef with mustard.
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