This Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli recipe is a delicious and fast dinner, amazingly flavorful, featuring tender and tasty beef. This can be on your dinner table in 30 minutes.
Beef and broccoli has got to be my favorite take out dish ever and it’s pretty much the only thing I’ll order when we go to a Chinese restaurant. However, making it at home is so much better! Think about it, no sad or soggy broccoli and no chewy or dry pieces of beef.
Not to mention that this is probably the easiest “faux” take-out you can make at home. A quick sauce, some flank steak and a head of broccoli is all you really need.
Ingredients
For the sauce you will need:
- Beef broth
- Cornstarch
- Chinese cooking wine
- Oyster sauce
- Ginger
- Hot sauce (I used sriracha)
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce (low sodium is best)
- Brown sugar
- Garlic
- Red pepper flakes
For the beef and broccoli you will need:
- Vegetable oil
- Broccoli
- Steak
- Sesame seeds (for garnish)
If you can’t find any Chinese cooking wine, some dry cooking sherry or rice wine will work as well. For non-alcoholic substitutes, you can use chicken broth with a splash of vinegar. It won’t taste quite the same, but it will still be delicious!
What cut of beef is best
For this beef and broccoli recipe, flank steak or skirt steak are your best choices. These are not only really tender cuts, making them perfect for quick, high heat cooking, they pack a lot of flavor and they’re relatively cheap.
When you’re using high pressure cooking like this, pretty much any type of meat is going to come out tender. You can use any cut of beef that you like best as long as you cut it into nice little bite sized pieces.
How to make beef and broccoli in the Instant Pot
Start by making the sauce first. This part is as easy as it can get! I used a jar for this step so that I could just quickly shake everything together. You can also whisk everything together in a small bowl.
Cook the broccoli first, because broccoli is a fussy ingredient and will get all mushy and brown if it cooks in the Instant Pot with the beef. You can either steam it separately or saute it in the Instant Pot as instructed in the recipe for a few minutes.
Once the broccoli is cooked transfer it to a bowl and set aside. Add some of sauce to the beef to flavor it and saute in the Instant Pot until no longer pink. Pour in the remaining sauce and cook it on high pressure for 10 minutes. Add the broccoli back and stir everything together. All that’s left is to garnish with some sesame seeds and serve!
Slow cooker option
This recipe adapts very well in a slow cooker! I would still sear the beef first before adding it to the slow cooker for extra flavor, but that’s totally up to you. Add the beef and the prepared sauce to the slow cooker, give everything a stir, and cook for 3.5 – 4 hours on high or 7 – 8 hours on low.
How to serve
I love to serve my beef and broccoli over cooked rice such as Basmati or Jasmine rice, but sometimes I love it over noodles. Ramen, soba, udon, and rice noodles would all work well for this recipe. You can use riced or mashed cauliflower as well for a low-carb option.
Leftovers
This meal will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container, and 3 – 4 months in the freezer. You can reheat it either in the microwave, or covered in a pan over medium heat.
More great recipes to try:
- Mongolian Beef
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- French Dip Sandwiches
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Butter Chicken
- Beef Stroganoff
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Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ cup beef broth low sodium, or water
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp ginger fresh, minced
- 1 tbsp hot sauce such as Sriracha
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Beef and Broccoli
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 head broccoli cut into small florets
- 1 lb flank steak trimmed of fat and sliced thin against the grain
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a jar add all the sauce ingredients. Close the lid and shake until everything is combined. Alternatively, you could whisk everything together in a bowl.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the cut beef and toss well.
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. (See your manufacturer’s guide for detailed instructions on how to use your instant pot.)
- Add 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil to the Instant Pot and when the oil is hot add the broccoli florets. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the broccoli is a vibrant green color. Transfer the broccoli to a plate.
- Add the remaining vegetable oil to the Instant pot and when it’s hot add the beef to it. Saute the beef for about 3 to 5 minutes until it starts to brown, then add the remaining sauce to the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Manual (high pressure) setting and set the timer to 10 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use a quick release to depressurize.
- Add the broccoli back to the Instant Pot and stir. Garnish with sesame seeds.
- Serve over rice or noodles.
Video
Recipe Notes
- TIP: To slice the steak easier, place it in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing.
- MEAT: Best cut of beef for this recipe is flank steak or skirt steak.
- What is an Instant Pot: An IP is a multi-cooker, it’s like seven different appliances all in one! It does the job of a slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, etc.
- I don’t have an Instant Pot, can I still make this: Yes! Check out my Beef and Broccoli recipe here.
- Nutrition: Nutritional information does not include rice or noodles. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Hey Jo, I cannot eat beef. Have you tried this recipe with chicken instead or have a similar recipe? If not, no worries, however, I thought I would ask. Sounds delicious!
You absolutely can use this recipe with chicken! The cook time will be a little different because of the change in protein, but I do have many recipes you can peruse! One of my favorites is the Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken!
Thank you for the prompt reply!
No worries! Happy cooking 🙂
My Honey raved on and on about this recipe! So delish 😋
Our family loves this recipe! The kids are always asking for this and it’s so easy!
The flavors of this recipe are amazing and I have made this several times. However, I really have trouble getting my IP to come to pressure with this recipe. I have tried everything, any suggestions?
Hi Kelly! I’m so glad to hear you love the recipe. There could be many reasons for this. One reason could be that the sauce is too thick and in that case you can add a bit more liquid to the sauce, and then at the end you can just thicken it with a bit more cornstarch.
I made this for my fiancé and he loved it!! I’ve been trying new “fast” recipes since we’ve been busy preparing for the wedding and this is a winner!!
So glad you guys enjoyed this!
I made this tonight and we really enjoyed it. I did a slow release for 10 minutes, released the pressure and added the broccoli. I then set the pressure at 0 and when it beeped I opened the pot and added a few green onions. The broccoli was nice and crisp and perfect for us.
I can not describe how amazing this recipe is! I’m used to making a different one in the slow cooker, but I will never make anything but this recipe again! The sauce had just the right amount of sweetness and heat – and it was just thick enough. My husband and I almost cleaned out everything in one sitting.
Kids LOVED it. First time ever my daughter asked for seconds.
Yay! Love hearing this!
Just tried this recipe this week. The flavor was so good and the thickness of the gravy was perfect. I misread the recipe and put the broccoli and beef in together for 10 minutes. Because I had already steamed it in the microwave it was a bit more softer but not too bad. I think I will either cook the meat for a few more minutes as we like it a bit more tender but we will definitely make this again! Thanks Jo for another great recipe. 🙂
Just awesome recipe with full of nutrient. Many Thanks for posting this recipe, I will must try to home. As a Nutritionist I appreciate this recipe with all healthy ingredients. I hope you will upload more recipes like this.
Thank you for such a simple recipe using the Instapot. Its lovely for a busy person like me!
My pleasure, glad you like it!
Wow really nice and awesome recipe with full of nutrients. Many Thanks for posting this recipe, I will must try to home. As a Nutritionist I appreciate this recipe with all healthy ingredients.
can we use white sugar instead of brown sugar
Waiting for reply
Sure!