Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage transform traditional ingredients into a tender, flavorful pressure cooker meal. The brisket is glazed with a Dijon mustard and brown sugar crust, ensuring not a single piece is leftover!
Table of Contents
Each year, corned beef and cabbage is the highly anticipated meal to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially if you’re Irish like my husband. The combination of salty beef brisket, hearty potatoes, carrots, and cabbage makes for a complete feast.
I usually cook this meal using either my slow cooker corned beef or baked corned beef method, but this time I was anxious to see what results I could get from the Instant Pot. To my surprise, using an electric pressure cooker yields exceptionally tender meat; now I have another go-to method in my repertoire.
Purchasing corn beef
Look for a brisket that’s flat cut or point cut on the packaging with minimal fat cap. Some come pre-trimmed. I bought a 3 ½-pound brisket that came with a seasoning packet, but once I cut away the extra fat, it hit 2 pounds on my kitchen scale.
Therefore, if the only choices you have at the market are fatty, buy a more substantial weight and plan for it to get smaller after trimming. The thickest part of the meat was 1 ½ inches, so if your cut of beef is thicker, add about 5 more minutes of cooking for every additional ½ inch.
How to cook corned beef in the Instant Pot
The beef and vegetables pressure cook in two phases. First, the cured beef brisket cooks on high pressure in the Instant Pot for about an hour with pickling spice packet, onions, minced garlic cloves, bay leaf, beef broth, and Guinness draught beer.
Then remove the corned beef and add in the carrots, red potatoes, and cabbage wedges straight into the cooking liquid. All the meat, aromatics, and beer flavors transfer to the vegetables. It takes about 3 minutes of high-pressure cooking to soften.
If desired, add a glaze and broil
At this point, you can serve the meal straight from the Instant Pot or add a two-ingredient glaze and quickly broil it to take the flavor to the next level. I recommend using coarse ground Dijon mustard and a sprinkle of brown sugar on top.
Broil in the oven until the mustard is warm and the sugar caramelizes to create a delicious crust on top. The little mustard seeds pop with each bite to add a slight tang to the sweet crust.
Serve this with
Recipe Science
How does this cook so quickly in a pressure cooker?
Corned beef contains connective tissue that benefits from moist heat cooking by transforming tough collagen into soft gelatin. The Instant Pot uses high-temperature steam around 229 to 250° F (109 to 121°C) depending on the setting. The pressure inside cooks the brisket in about ⅓ of the time, compared to over 3 hours on the stovetop or in a slow cooker at atmospheric pressure.
Corned Beef and Cabbage (Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds corned beef brisket, 1 ½" thick
- pickling spices, from corned beef package
- 1 yellow onion, medium-sized, peeled and quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 cup guinness stout beer
- 1 ½ pounds red potatoes, quartered
- 5 carrots, cut into 2" pieces
- 1 head cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
- 3 tablespoons coarse ground dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Prepare the Meat – Trim any excess fat from the brisket. Rinse under cold water and dry with paper towels. Transfer the meat to the Instant Pot.
- Add Seasonings and Cover – Add pickling spices, yellow onions, garlic, bay leaves, beef stock, and beer. Make sure the release valve is in the "Sealing" position. Place the lid on, turn and lock.
- Pressure Cook the Meat – Press the "Manual" button on the Instant Pot on high pressure, and then set the timer to 70 minutes using the "+" or "-" buttons. It will take about 10 minutes for the pot to heat up and build pressure. You will see some steam release from the lid, and then the time will start on the display.
- Release Pressure – Once cook time is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes.
- Open Lid – Use an oven mitt or towel to slowly and carefully twist the steam release handle on the lid to the "Venting" position. The initial release will spray some moisture around the pot so be careful. Remove the lid, opening the top away from you as steam will be released.
- Transfer the Beef – Line a sheet pan with foil and place the corned beef on top.
- Pressure Cook the Vegetables – Add the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage to the Instant Pot. The pot will be nearly full. Place the lid on and lock it. Make sure the steam release handle is in the "Sealing" position.Press the "Manual" button on high pressure, and then set the timer to 3 minutes. Use an oven mitt or towel to twist the steam release handle on the lid to the "Venting" position. Transfer the vegetables to a platter.
- Glaze the Beef – Evenly spread mustard on top and sides of the corned beef with a spoon. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly on top and sides.Optional: For a nice browned crust. Broil the beef in the oven on high, about 12 inches from the top heating element until a golden brown crust forms, about 5 to 8 minutes. Make sure to check every few minutes as oven temperatures vary.
- To Serve – Slice the meat against the grain and serve with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Garnish with parsley.
Notes
- Buying Weight: Purchase a 3 to 3 ½-pound brisket as the excess fat will be trimmed off giving about a 2-pound yield.
- Meat Thickness: This recipe is for a 1 ½-inch thick corned beef brisket once the fat has been trimmed. Add an extra 5 minutes of cook time for every additional ½-inch thickness.
- Beer Substitute: Guinness beer can be substituted with 1 cup of beef stock.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Soren says
Ok. Wow! This came out amazing! Finishing in the broiler with the simple glaze was a magnificent touch! By far the best corned beef I’ve cooked or eaten! I will be repeating this one. 😍
Charles Franks says
Thank you for a great recipe. Just finished a great meal. When removing the Corn Beef from the pot, the meat was so tender it fell apart. Had to be very gentle, was still able to spread the mustard glaze. Melted in your mouth. When I made the gravy adding cornstarch, water, and a couple drops of liquid smoke. Awesome!!!
Now I have some great broth for bean soup. Great flavor.
Jessica Gavin says
I love that you added some liquid smoke to the gravy, yum! Great idea to use the broth for bean soup!
Chloe says
This was really good! I used a 4 pounder and added more onions and garlic (you can never have enough) It was my first ever time cooking corned beef but oh my it was so good. I’ll be using this recipe again
Jessica Gavin says
Great job, Chloe! I love garlic and onion too.
Robin says
I don’t have beef broth can I use onion soup mix instead? Or chicken soup mix?
Jessica Gavin says
You can use rehydrated onion soup or chicken soup mix. It may be a little saltier.
Zane says
Just made this recipe and corned beef came out great. I made just the corned beef because I’m using it for corned beef hash. I made it without the Guinness and used the extra cup of broth instead. I relized that the leftover broth and onions is basically French onion soup. So I’m going to separate the fat from it and make French onion soup.
Jessica Gavin says
Wow, what a great double use for the broth, I have to try making soup out if it too!
Marissa says
Love this idea too!!
Jessica Gavin says
Let me know if you give it a try!
Ernest Contreras says
Excellent, a recipe I will do this Saturday and let you know how it was I am sure it will be great I admire your skills.
Thanks, Ernest
Judy says
Hi Jessica,
I just printed the recipe and I am buying the ingredients today. Love corned beef and love cabbage. Read the recipe to my husband and he said oh yes!
Hugs and thanks,
Judy
Jami says
This was very tasty. Next time I will use less mustard than recommended. The mustard was a little overpowering. Overall we really enjoyed this.
Shannon H says
This recipe changed my husband’s mind about corned beef (for good)!! The glaze is literally the icing that tops it off!
Modifications I made: almost 5lbs of meat (Wegmans uncured brisket) in 8qt IP without beer (Celiac’s) and did not double liquid amount. 75 mins cook time ,high pressure. Had a couple scorch spots after broiling with glaze in my oven (hot spots I think). Next time I will probably crack the door and keep a closer eye on it!
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks for sharing your modifications Shannon, so helpful!
Gigi says
Will this reheat the next day, or is it best first day?
Loved your photos!
Jessica Gavin says
Usually the best the first day but we always have leftovers for lunch and the reheat up well.
Bobbie says
Just made this for St Pats and it was delicious! Made Irish soda bread to go with it. Using thee Instantpot made it so easy.
Anne Sutherland says
The glaze on this is amazing! My husband is still talking about it. Thanks for the Instant Pot recipe. Would love to see more of these.
Your recipe’s are consistently good. Love receiving them.
Jessica Gavin says
I love the glaze too Anne! There is definitely going to be more instant pot recipes in the future. Thank you for following along!
kristi caston says
OMG!!!
This was the best ever!!!
Jessica Gavin says
Whoo hoo! Thank you for the feedback Kristi 🙂
Sharik says
Thanks, ga er zo gelijk achteraan!
Jessica Gavin says
You are awesome!
Mel says
I can’t wait to try this!
Nancy Kinass says
Hi Jessica,
How much fat do you remove? Do you just remove the exterior fat or do you also remove the fat that is normally in the center of two layers of meat? Also, what cut of corned beef did you use? I think I usually get the ‘flat’ cut, is that the best one to use? Thanks, Nancy
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Nancy- I remove most of the fat that is on top of the corned beef. If there is a lot of fat on the edges, I’ll trim that, but do not remove the fat in the center. Yes, the flat cut is the brisket cut which I use as well.
Judy says
Hi Jessica, Beautiful looking meal. My husband wanted corn beef for his birthday March 1st, he turned 74. I wish I had your recipe then. We just finished the last of it and was it ever good. I will have to buy another and try this out. I know coming from you it will be wonderful. Judy
Jessica Gavin says
I hope you give this pressure cooker version a try Judy! I know the family with love it 🙂
Diana says
Hands down, the best corned beef recipe ever! I prepared the carrots and potatoes as directed in the instantpot, but tried a new recipe for roasted cabbage, as my husband is not a fan of cabbage. Absolutely the best St. Patty’s Day meal ever ? Thanks for sharing!
Lisa Dickey says
This was by far THE BEST corned beef and cabbage I have ever made!! The glaze is definitely necessary! So good, and thank you!!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you Lisa!