Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

Instant Pot Corned Beef is fall-apart tender, juicy, and downright devourable. Pressure cooker corned beef and cabbage is great for St. Patrick's Day 🍀 or any day! You'll love having this corned beef brisket recipe in your Instant Pot recipe collection.

Oh hi! Did you say you're looking for an electric pressure cooker corned beef recipe that's super easy and fall-apart tender? This St. Patrick's Day recipe is a pot of gold! It's simple, budget friendly, and loved by everyone. You only need 6 ingredients: corned beef brisket, Guinness (or preferred cooking liquid), onions, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. You don't even need to know how to cook corned beef. The Instant Pot does everything for you! Turn the leftovers into Homemade Corned Beef Hash!

What is corned beef?

Corned beef is a beef brisket cured in a seasoned brine. As referenced from the Food Lover's Companion, "corn" refers to the particle-sized grains of salt used in the curing process. This curing process tenderizes the brisket, an otherwise tough cut.

Instant Pot corned beef ingredients

* see recipe card below for FULL PRINTABLE recipe

• corned beef brisket (point cut or flat cut)
• Guinness draught or preferred liquid (water, broth, other beer)
• onions (white, red, or yellow)
• cabbage
• potatoes (any kind)
• carrots

Corned beef point cut vs flat cut

Point cut corned beef has more fat marbling resulting in a fall-apart tender, juicy texture. (Point cut is what I used in this recipe)

Flat cut corned beef is leaner cut with less connective tissue. Flat cut is best for when you don't want corned beef to fall apart, which is just crazy talk, in my book 😂

Should I rinse corned beef before cooking?

You can rinse corned beef before cooking, but it's really not necessary. People do it to remove excess salt from the brine. Also, it's a little slimy, so it feels like it needs to be rinsed, but doing so is thought to remove flavor. I personally don't rinse, Also, some corned beef briskets are packed with a seasoned brine (like this one pictured), instead of a seasoning packet. In this case, rinsing would remove all that seasoning, which we don't want.

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How to make Instant Pot corned beef

* see recipe card below for FULL PRINTABLE recipe

1. Place brisket, onions, and contents of seasoning packet in the pressure cooker.
2. Add cooking liquid (Guinness, water, or broth), close lid, set the cooker, and allow it to work its magic.
3. Once it cooks and depressurizes, transfer the brisket out of the cooker and cover with foil. You'll slice it before serving.
4. Pressure cook (and depressurize) the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage.
5. Serve and devour!

Electric pressure cooker corned beef and cabbage couldn't be easier, even if you're an Instant Pot beginner.

Instant Pot corned beef with beer or without beer?

It's true that a Guinness beer, or any beer, can create a unique flavor for your corned beef in the pressure cooker. It's also true that any cooking liquid will do the same thing...even water. Corned beef is naturally so flavorful and rich, it would be hard to make it not taste amazing.

How long to cook corned beef in Instant Pot pressure cooker

I have tested various cook times with various sizes of corned beef. I find 90 minutes to be the perfect amount of time for a 2 to 5 lb. brisket. The pressure cooker adapts for you, so no need to adjust the time.

Corned beef is a tough cut with a lot of connective tissue that breaks down and tenderizes the longer it cooks. It takes several hours via stove or slow cooker to get fall apart corned beef. The pressure cooker magically shortens that process and you can have juicy, tender corned beef on the table in under 2 hours.

How much corned beef per person?

Plan on 1/2 lb - 3/4 lb corned beef per person. This weight does not include the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. When making corned beef for a crowd, you'll want to factor in shrinkage.

How much does corned beef shrink in the Instant Pot?

We measured the shrinkage on this 1 3/4 lb corned beef brisket. After pressure cooking, it shrunk over 50% leaving us with 1 1/2 lbs of meat for serving. That's a big number when you're planning to feed a crowd, so plan accordingly.

Is corned beef brisket gluten free?

It may or may not be. You'll need to check the packaging carefully on your corned beef product. Don't try to decide this based on the ingredient list. Make sure the product indicates that it is gluten free. I invite my GF readers to share their favorite corned beef product in the comments below 🌸

What to serve with corned beef and cabbage

• Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
• Homemade Coleslaw
• French Bread
• Smashed Potatoes
• Macaroni Pasta Salad
• Shamrock Shake

Recommended Tools

• chef knife and cutting board
• Instant Pot

📖 RECIPE

Instant Pot Corned Beef

Instant Pot Corned Beef is fall-apart tender, juicy, and downright devourable. Pressure cooker corned beef and cabbage is great for St. Patrick's Day 🍀 or any day! You'll love having this corned beef brisket recipe in your Instant Pot recipe collection.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Pressure cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Yield: 12 4-oz servings

Author: Traci - TheKitchenGirl.com

Ingredients

• 3 lb. Corned Beef Brisket
• 1 large Onion peeled and quartered
• 1 11.2 oz Guinness Draught Beer or preferred cooking liquid
• 1 head Green Cabbage cut into wedges (still in tact at core)
• 1-2 lbs Potatoes cut into 2" pieces
• 3 large Carrots peeled and cut into 2" pieces

RECIPE VIDEO

Recipe Instructions

 

• Place ONIONS and CORNED BEEF in the Instant Pot (you don't need a trivet).
• Add corned beef seasoning packet to the pot and add GUINNESS. *see recipe footnote about adding more liquid.
• Secure the lid and turn pressure release valve to "Sealing".
• Select Manual or Pressure Cook on HIGH pressure for 90 minutes.
• When cook cycle completes, allow Instant Pot to sit undisturbed for a 20-minute natural pressure release (NPR).
• Carefully turn the sealing knob to release any remaining steam and wait for the float valve to drop before attempting open the lid.
• Press CANCEL, open the lid, and transfer corned beef outside the pot, cover, and allow to rest.
• To the Instant Pot, add POTATOES, CARROTS, and CABBAGE.
• Secure lid and select Manual or Pressure Cook on HIGH pressure for 3 minutes on HIGH for fork-tender veggies (or 2 minutes for firmer), followed by a quick pressure release.
• To serve, slice the corned beef against the grain and serve with cooked vegetables.
• To store, allow corned beef and vegetables to cool completely. Refrigerate up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Tried this recipe? I'd love your review!Visit the comments below and tell me how it went.

RECIPE NOTES

Point cut vs flat cut corned beef

 

Point cut has more fat marbling resulting in the fall-apart tender and juicy texture.

Flat cut is leaner with less connective tissue making it better for staying in tact, once sliced, for a cleaner presentation.

 

Should I rinse corned beef before cooking?

 

You can rinse corned beef before cooking, but it's really not necessary. People do it to remove excess salt from the brine. Also, it's a little slimy, so it feels like it needs to be rinsed, but doing so is thought to remove flavor.

 

Adding more liquid

 

It's ok if the liquid doesn't cover the corned beef bc it will pressure cook just fine. If you can't resist the urge, you're welcome to add more liquid to cover the beef. It won't hurt anything.

How long to cook corned beef in the pressure cooker

The sweet spot for a 2 to 5 lb. corned beef brisket is right around 90 minutes. Corned beef is a tough cut with connective tissue that breaks down and tenderizes the longer it cooks. So, it takes many hours via stove or slow cooker to become fall-apart tender. However, the pressure cooker shortens that process and you can have corned beef on the table in under 2 hours.

What to serve with corned beef and cabbage

• Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
• Homemade Coleslaw
• French Bread
• Smashed Potatoes
• Macaroni Pasta Salad
• Shamrock Shake

Turn your Instant Pot Corned Beef into Homemade Corned Beef Hash!

TOOLS NEEDED

• chef knife
• cutting board
• Instant Pot

Nutrition

Serving: 4oz | Calories: 70kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2626IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition data provided as courtesy estimates using unbranded ingredients from a nutrition database. Please consult preferred resource for precise data.

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