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Lunch Dinner Instant Pot One Pot 30 Minutes or Less Beef Asian
4.5 from 327 votes

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

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By: Joanna Cismaru 113 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef recipe is your answer to “take-out” at home! Much better than the restaurant version, easy, saucy, tender beef, delicious, and ready in minutes!

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef in a bowl over rice

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

After all this time, I still love my Instant Pot and I still use it on a weekly basis. Sometimes even twice or three times in a week. By this point I think I can call myself an Instant Pot pro! It’s incredible for soups, curry, and this ultra tender Mongolian Beef.

Mongolian Beef is one of my favorite take-out dishes, but I no longer go out to restaurants for it. I make it myself at home! It’s really easy and tastes so much better. This sauce has been carefully tried and tested to create perfect flavors. The balance of sweetness from the brown sugar with tangy rice vinegar, fresh garlic and ginger, and a hint of heat. You won’t believe what’s come out of your kitchen!

I know that Mongolian Beef is a very fast stir fry that can be done on the stovetop, but trust me with this Instant Pot version. The beef comes out infused with so much flavor, and it’s ridiculously tender. No more rubbery, tough pieces of meat!

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef process shots

How to Make Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

  1. Prepare the beef and sauce: Toss the strips of beef with the cornstarch and let everything sit together for about 5 minutes. In this time, you can make the sauce. Mix the rice vinegar, soy sauce, water, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Sear the beef: Turn your Instant Pot onto its “saute” setting and add half the sesame oil. Once it’s nice and hot, add half the beef and sear for a few minutes on each side. Remove the cooked beef and repeat with the remaining oil and meat.
  3. Cook the beef: Add all the beef back to the pot, and stir in the sauce. Close the lid and set the Instant Pot to high pressure, and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Depressurize and serve: Use the quick release to let all the pressure out of your Instant Pot once the 10 minutes is up. Mix in the fresh green onions, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve.

Tips for Making the Best Instant Pot Mongolian Beef:

Use the right cut of beef. Typically Mongolian beef is made with flank steak, but top round beef can also be used. To slice it easier, place the beef in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. This will make it so much easier to slice it as thinly as possible. Always slice the beef against the grain.

Make sure to toss the beef with cornstarch before cooking and let it sit for 5 minutes before searing. This is known as velveting and you’ll end up with very tender meat. Do not use flour; the results will not be the same.

When searing the beef, do not overcrowd the pan. Do it in batches. If you add too much beef to the pan, you will not sear the meat. It will steam it instead. This step can also be done separately from the Instant Pot in a skillet if preferred.

Can I Use Chicken Instead of Beef?

This recipe will be fantastic with chicken! You can use thin slices of either chicken thigh or breast depending on what you like better. You can also try it out with thinly sliced pork loin! Placing these meats in the freezer for 20 minutes, like the beef, will help you cut them nice and thin.

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef in a bowl

Can You Make Mongolian Beef in the Slow Cooker?

This recipe will work very well in your slow cooker because you’ll get the same ultra-tender pieces of meat. Sear the meat in a skillet; the sear imparts so much incredible flavor and is a step I wouldn’t skip. Add the seared beef and prepared sauce to your slow cooker, give it all a good stir, and cover. Cook for 4-5 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high.

What to Serve with Mongolian Beef

  • Rice- brown or white will work. I love to use basmati or jasmine.
  • Steamed vegetables.
  • Noodles- try out soba, udon, ramen, or rice noodles.

How to Store Mongolian Beef

Store this Mongolian Beef in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can either reheat it in the microwave, or use a skillet over medium heat. If you’re using the skillet method, feel free to add a splash of water or broth to thin out the sauce if it cooks off too much during the reheating process.

How to Freeze Mongolian Beef

Store in an airtight container to freeze. You can also split it up into individual portions to make thawing easier. It will last 3-4 months frozen. Reheat either in the microwave, or in a skillet over medium heat.

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef over rice

Looking for More Instant Pot Recipes? Try These:

  • Butter Chicken
  • General Tso’s Chicken
  • Chicken Tikka Masala
  • Beef Stroganoff
  • Chicken Shawarma

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

overhead shot of a bowl of rice topped with instant pot mongolian beef
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4.52 from 327 votes

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 30 minutes
Rate Recipe
This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is your answer to "take-out" at home! Much better than the restaurant version, easy, saucy, tender beef, delicious and ready in minutes!
8

Ingredients

  • 2 pound flank steak (cut into thin strips)
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
  • ⅔ cup water
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
  • 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 green onions (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoon sesame seeds

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

  • Prepare the beef: In a large bowl toss the flank steak strips with the cornstarch together and let them sit for 5 minutes. This will ensure the cornstarch penetrates the beef.
  • Make the sauce: In a medium size bowl add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, water, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, red pepper flakes and whisk well. Set aside.
  • Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. (See your manufacturer's guide for detailed instructions on how to use your instant pot.)
  • Sear the beef: Add half of the sesame oil to the pot. When the oil is hot add half of the flank steak and cook 2 to 3 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove from the pot and repeat with remaining sesame oil and beef. Return all the beef to the pot and press the cancel button on your Instant Pot.
  • Pour the sauce over the beef and stir well. 
  • Cook: 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.
  • Stir in the green onions and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve over rice.

Video

Notes

  1. TIP: To slice the steak easier, place it in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing.
  2. MEAT: Top round beef can also be used for this. You can also use chicken breast or thighs instead of beef.
  3. 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.
  4. I don't have an Instant Pot, can I still make this: Yes! Check out my Mongolian Beef recipe here.
  5. Nutrition: Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 358kcal (18%)Carbohydrates: 37g (12%)Protein: 26g (52%)Fat: 10g (15%)Saturated Fat: 3g (19%)Cholesterol: 68mg (23%)Sodium: 1134mg (49%)Potassium: 494mg (14%)Sugar: 27g (30%)Vitamin A: 65IU (1%)Vitamin C: 1.1mg (1%)Calcium: 57mg (6%)Iron: 2.7mg (15%)
© Author Joanna Cismaru

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

overhead shot of a bowl of rice topped with instant pot mongolian beef

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Joanna Cismaru

Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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113 Comments
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Meredith
Meredith
Posted: 3 days ago

5 stars
As someone else mentioned, this recipe is a keeper! You can adjust the seasonings, of course. I use about half the sugar, and last time I made it I used both Coconut Aminos and soy sauce because that’s what I had on hand. Also must confess I used ground ginger since I didn’t have any fresh in the house.

0
Reply
Robert
Robert
Posted: 1 month ago

5 stars
Made the Mongolian Beef. It was great. I added bell peppers (red, yellow and orange). Went a little light with the red pepper flakes (some of my people don’t like too spicy). But, this is a keeper.

0
Reply
Brenda
Brenda
Posted: 1 month ago

5 stars
We made this recipe for the first time for lunch today. We actually had all the ingrediencies in our cupboard. Very easy, fun, also just so delicious and a definite keeper. Looking forward to making this again.

Last edited Posted: 1 month ago by Brenda
1
Reply
Brenda
Brenda
Reply to  Brenda
Posted: 20 days ago

5 stars
So sorry to ourselves for waiting this long to make the Mongolian Beef again. Exactly as good as we remembered.

1
Reply
De
De
Posted: 3 months ago

5 stars
Easy and delicious! One of our favourite instant pot recipes

0
Reply
Jennifer Hylton
Jennifer Hylton
Posted: 3 months ago

5 stars
This recipe was such a hit! Dinner was so yummy. Thank you for sharing.

0
Reply
Essess
Essess
Posted: 4 months ago

4 stars
Really good flavor but I had to really scrub with water and vinegar to deglaze the pan after browning the meat before I could put the meat/sauce back in to cook. It was a very thick layer of burned on cornstarch coating on the bottom that needed to be removed. I will probably make it again because it tasted so good but my arm is very sore from 6 minutes of scrubbing the pan to get it ready to continue cooking

1
Reply
Jack P
Jack P
Posted: 6 months ago

4 stars
Good. Low sodium soy sauce is a must. You need to deglaze the pan before pressure cooking to avoid burning.

0
Reply
Jo Gee
Jo Gee
Posted: 7 months ago

Can I make this with the rice in as well? Would like to try and do a one pot meal.

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Jo Gee
Posted: 6 months ago

Hi Jo! I haven’t tried it, so I can’t tell you for sure, but my guess would be yes, but you’d have to cook the rice at least 5 minutes in the IP.

0
Reply
Jo Gee
Jo Gee
Reply to  Joanna Cismaru
Posted: 6 months ago

I tried this and used 1 cup of sushi rice with a pot inside the pot. It was lovely. Might mush jasmine rice a little too much.

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Jo Gee
Posted: 6 months ago

Oh, so glad it turned out for you!

0
Reply
Tanvi iy
Tanvi iy
Posted: 9 months ago

Can I use stew meat instead and increase the cooking time pls ?

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Tanvi iy
Posted: 9 months ago

Sure, but you shouldn’t have to increase the cooking time. 10 Minutes should be enough, because the beef is cut small.

0
Reply
Charlene
Charlene
Posted: 10 months ago

4 stars
Very easy and quick. Meat so tender and flavor was good. I used flank steak. Thought it might have been a touch sweet. I will try it again and reduce the brown sugar a bit.

1
Reply
CRV
CRV
Posted: 1 year ago

5 stars
So very easy and tastes so grand. Excellent.

0
Reply
Rhonda
Rhonda
Posted: 1 year ago

4 stars
I’ve made this a few times and it’s delicious! The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I’ve had an issue each time with the cornstarch. How do I sauté the coated meat without the cornstarch shedding off and sticking to the bottom of the pot? I’ve waited till the oil was hot, the meat sizzles when put in the hot oil but the cornstarch comes right off and sticks to the pot and then it becomes lumps in the sauce in the end product. It tastes so good but the sauté process is not working for me. What am I doing wrong?

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Rhonda
Posted: 1 year ago

You could always saute the meat in a non stick skillet first. I know they also have a ceramic pot for the IP (link here: https://amzn.to/3D89fWJ) which I have and love, and nothing sticks to it. I bought it a while ago and that’s the only insert I use, so much better.

0
Reply
Joseph MEYER
Joseph MEYER
Posted: 1 year ago

5 stars
Loved it! I’m trying it with chicken next time, on rice noodles. I doubled the ginger to give it a bit more zing, and deglazed the pot with a cup of water. I hate the burn notice! Served it over jasmine rice. Delicious! I must be slow – my prep took a lot longer. I also cut the meat too small, and took a long time to cook. I had never heard the term “velveting”, but, turned out great. I am loving my instant pot! I thanks for sharing this recipe. I will do it again!!

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team AMJ
Jo Cooks Team AMJ
Reply to  Joseph MEYER
Posted: 1 year ago

That’s great, Joseph! So happy you enjoyed it so much!

0
Reply
Kristina
Kristina
Posted: 1 year ago

3 stars
This recipe is great when it actually works (I add broccoli at the end to make broccoli beef). But half the time I try to make this, I get the “burn” message on my instant pot. It seems to be a combination of not being able to fully deglaze the pot after searing the beef and the liquid getting too thick (from the cornstarch and brown sugar).

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team AMJ
Jo Cooks Team AMJ
Reply to  Kristina
Posted: 1 year ago

Hi Kristina,

Thanks for sharing this. Make sure to check the instructions in your user’s manual for the Instant Pot that you are using. It might have different requests for cooking than what I use. It usually happens with different models. Hope this helps!

0
Reply
Shelley
Shelley
Posted: 1 year ago

5 stars
Outstanding! Easy and fast to make. Loved it. A make again. Served over jasmine rice with coleslaw on the side.

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team AMJ
Jo Cooks Team AMJ
Reply to  Shelley
Posted: 1 year ago

Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it!

0
Reply

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Hey there!

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

Read More
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