Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage is made easy with comfort and tradition in mind in your pressure cooker! Seasoned brisket, tender carrots and potatoes, and crunchy cabbage make this a delicious St Patrick’s Day meal!
For this occasion, you can also try cabbage stir fry, shepherd’s pie with cauliflower or even cabbage rolls casserole.
Table of contents
Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage gets you low and slow results in a fraction of the time. Tender, juicy, fall apart corned beef brisket, crunchy cooked cabbage, carrots, and potatoes cooked in its own flavorful juices.
This one pot reminds me Instant Pot pot roast and Instant Pot cabbage roll casserole. Both recipes are one pot meals, contain beef, cabbage or veggies. My kind of dinner! St. Patrick’s Day, a potluck, or a healthy dinner for your family on any weeknight!
Corned beef and cabbage in Instant Pot definitely not a long 8 hour process and still leaves you enough time to set it and walk away.
What Is Corned Beef?
Corned beef is brisket that has been salted and cured which gives it that distinct pink colour. It’s not exactly the world’s healthiest choice as there is some debate about the nitrites and nitrates used. But neither is too much red meat anyway. So this is definitely OK to enjoy every now and then!
It was originally created to make meat last longer during times of war. Since then it still is considered cheaper than the original brisket because it contains a lot more fat.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Corned Beef and Brisket
- Corned beef brisket: Readily available year-round at your local grocery store, but definitely in abundance around St Patrick’s day. You will probably find it vacuum-sealed in the meat section, otherwise ask the butcher.
- Garlic & Onion: An aromatic pairing that adds plenty of flavor to the entire dish.
- Bay leaves: Not meant to be eaten, but used as a way to infuse that signature herbed aroma into the ingredients.
- Whole peppercorns: Also used for flavor, and will be discarded.
- Water: Needed for the Instant Pot to cook the brisket. Once the flavors of the brisket, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage infuse the water, it becomes a very flavorful broth.
- Veggies: Carrot slices, baby potatoes, and cabbage. If you have leftover cabbage
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Instant Pot
- Add brisket and aromatics: To your 6 or 8 quart pressure cooker add beef, garlic, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and water. Manual or Pressure cook on High for 90 minutes.
- Natural release: When the cooking time is up, allow it to naturally release for 20 minutes. Then, turn the valve to Venting and release the remaining pressure. You can also let it continue to naturally release on its own as it won’t be much longer.
- Add remaining ingredients: Open the lid. Depending on the size of your Instant Pot and how much you have going on in there, you may need to remove the brisket to make room and add it later to warm through. Otherwise, you may be only able to fit half the cabbage. In an 8 quart you should be safe to add it all. You just want to make sure you have enough space to allow the pressure to build up. You can make dill coleslaw or mango slaw with remainder of the cabbage.
- Finish cooking and serve: Close back up the lid and press Manual or Pressure Cook on High again, this time for 3 minutes. Do a quick release when the time is up. Remove brisket, slice against the grain and serve with veggies.
Tips for Getting Tender Meat
- Method of cooking: Because brisket is pretty tough, the low and slow effect is what is needed to tenderize the meat. Thank goodness for the Instant Pot being able to do this in such a short amount of time.
- Cut against the grain: This is an important step with any fibrous cut of meat. Cutting against all of those strands is what helps keep it from being chewy.
- Letting it rest: The Instant Pot does a good job at creating a juicy brisket, but if you’d like to let your meat rest for a few minutes before serving, you can.
FAQs
Corned beef usually comes with its own package of seasoning. You can choose to use it or not. You can also add more if you’d like as some people find it’s not enough. If you don’t add any seasoning to the corned beef, the peppercorn and bay leaf and other ingredients in this recipe will add plenty of flavours.
Not a necessary step, just personal preference. You can if you find corned beef to be too salty for your liking.
Corned beef is a brisket that has been cured and brined. Be sure not to add just a plain brisket to this dish or you may find the flavours a bit weird! If you end up buying a plain brisket, have no fear, use it for a delicious healthy beef and broccoli dish!
Yes and no. It comes from Irish Immigrants who purchased their meat from Kosher butchers after having arrived in America. Then, used the cured brisket to create a cheap filling meal known as corned beef and brisket.
If you’d like to try your hand at the original crockpot method, you can use this recipe and set your slow cooker for 8-10 hours on low heat.
Yes! Same cook time.
More Tips
- What to serve with: Serve with some traditional Irish Bread, a nice light lettuce salad and of course a pint of Guinness.
- Using leftovers: Use leftover corned beef for corned beef sandwiches (with sourdough is tasty and healthier) or make cabbage soup (by using leftover broth and adding more cabbage).
- For the beer drinkers: If you have a favourite beer you like to drink, add some of it to the water for added depth of flavour. The alcohol will cook off but the taste remains!
- Mustard: Serve with your favourite mustard (yellow, dijon, honey mustard) as a classic condiment for dipping corned beef.
Storing, Freezing and Reheating
Store: Corned beef and cabbage can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing anything containing potatoes, the remainder of the dish freezes very well.
Reheat: Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove top.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot beef barley soup
- Instant Pot beef stew
- Instant Pot pork chops
- Instant Pot pulled pork
- Instant Pot meatloaf
- Instant Pot French dip
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs corned beef brisket
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 large onion sliced
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 whole peppercorns
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups carrots sliced
- 1 lb baby potatoes sliced in halves, optional
- 2 lbs head of cabbage sliced into 6 pieces
Instructions
- In 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, add beef, garlic, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns and water.
- Close the lid, set valve to Sealing and press Manual or Pressure Cook on High for 90 minutes.
- After let Instant Pot release pressure for 20 minutes and then turn valve to Venting position to release remaining pressure. Can also let pressure subside on its own.
- Open the lid, add carrots, potatoes and cabbage on top. With 6 quart, you can add only half of cabbage + potatoes or full cabbage and potatoes. There will be not enough room for pressure to build up otherwise. You can also remove meat and cover, then add back in to warm through. In 8 quart, you can add it all.
- Close the lid, press Manual or Pressure Cook on High for 3 minutes and after release pressure using Quick Release by turning valve to Venting immediately.
- Remove brisket, slice and serve with veggies.
Notes
- Store: Corned beef and cabbage can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing anything containing potatoes, the remainder of the dish freezes very well.
- Does corned beef come seasoned? Corned beef usually comes with its own package of seasoning. You can choose to use it or not. If you don’t add any seasoning to the corned beef, the peppercorn and bay leaf and other ingredients in this recipe will add plenty of flavours.
- Do I need to rinse my brisket first? Not a necessary step, just personal preference. You can if you find corned beef to be too salty for your liking.
- What is the difference between brisket and corned beef? Corned beef is a brisket that has been cured and brined.
- Can I use frozen beef? Yes! Same cook time.
- What to serve with: Serve with some traditional Irish Bread, a nice light lettuce salad and of course a pint of Guinness.
- Mustard: Serve with your favourite mustard (yellow, dijon, honey mustard) as a classic condiment for dipping corned beef.
Great recipe I’ve been using for the past four years!
I’m so glad you enjoy this Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage so much, Amanda!
Do we opt out of the spice packet?
My corned beef came seasoned. So I assume you use the spice packet.
This recipe is delicious and so easy!
So glad you love it!
Another fantastic and EASY recipe from Olena. This was my first time using my insta pot for corned beef and boy what a game changer! Followed recipe and everything turned out just perfect. I would not change a thing!
Thank you Olena for ALL of your wonderful recipes!!
I am so happy to hear this, Marilinda!
This recipe sounded so good. I made this recipe last night exactly as you have it but my corned beef was a bit larger by a pound so I was not sure if it needed more time but I added five minutes. I followed the directions exactly and made cornbread to go with it. My picky teenaged son liked it so thank you!
Yeah for a dinner win with the teenager, that is always a great feeling! Glad you enjoyed it!
Need corn beef and cabbage recipe for one person in the Insta pot.
This recipe serves 6, you could try to halve the ingredients for a small Instant Pot or freeze leftovers (minus the potatoes which don’t freeze well).
Excellent. I’ve never cook corned beef. I grew up hating the smell so I don’t eat it. However, it was just St. Patrick’s Day, I’m part Irish, my husband is back in town & he loves it, so why not give it a go in the Instant Pot? I already knew how prepared & detailed you are with recipes so I had no fear. Well, I actually liked it very much & my husband said it was as good as he’s had at any restaurant. So, yay! The only thing I did different was to add the spice pack. Since it wasn’t a bunch of salt & unknown chemicals & instead was some nice smelling herbs, I tossed it in. I will definitely make this again next St. Patty’s Day. Thank you for the excellent, detailed recipe. You rock.
I am so happy to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe, Janet 🙂
loved it!!. I made corned beef and cabbage in a slow cooker before. never made it again. I was leery to make it this time, but gave it another try. It was great!. the meat was so soft and buttery. did’nt even need a knife to cut it once it was on the plate.
Awesome to hear, Irene!