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Corned Beef and Cabbage will make your St. Patrick’s Day a breeze. The beef is tender and the cabbage and potatoes is full of flavor, you will love this!
Corned Beef and Cabbage is a classic then add Soda Bread to complete the meal. For dessert enjoy a little green with Mint Brownies or a Shamrock Shake.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
This Irish holiday is a favorite at our house. Along with everything being turned green ( think green milk, pancakes etc), we get to eat this delectable dish! Corned Beef and cabbage is a must for St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Cooking it in the instant pot guarantees tender moist beef and perfectly cooked cabbage and potatoes.Adding the carrots gives it texture, color and flavor. It is the easiest and most delicious way to eat this Irish traditional meal.
Cooking the corned beef and cabbage in the instant pot is a hands off approach that will save you time and stress. If this is your first time cooking it, then the instant pot is the way to go. It will come out perfect and tender! Cook the vegetables separate from the beef so that they don’t get over cooked. This will be a meal that will wow your family! It is so good you may want to make it more than just once a year, which you probably should anyway!
What is Corned Beef?
Traditional Irish made this meal originally with boiled bacon, but when they immigrated to America, they could not afford it pork or bacon. Corned Beef Brisket is what they used instead. They paired it with the cheapest vegetables around, cabbage and potatoes. It has been tradition here in America ever since.
Corned beef is beef brisket that has been soaked in brine and then cured with salt and seasonings. The pink color comes from the sodium nitrate that is used in the curing process. Corned beef comes in multiple cuts, and is best cooked for a long period of time so that it comes out tender. It can be boiled, slow cooked, or roasted.
What You Need To Make Corned Beef
Now is the time to buy corned beef! I like to buy more than one and stick one in my freezer for later in the year when I get the craving. Corned beef is a favorite.
- Onion: Roughly chopped
- Corned Beef Brisket:
- Water: Needed to create the pressure.
- Pickling Spice: Many corned beef come with the spices in a packet included.
- Carrots: Use regular carrots and not baby carrots for best flavor.
- Baby Potatoes: Red or yellow potatoes work well.
- Cabbage: Roughly chopped.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Instant Pot
The instant pot takes the work and fret out of making fork tender corned beef. The vegetables need to be cooked separately so they don’t turn to mush.
- Place: Add the onion to the bottom of your instant pot. Place the corned beef on top and sprinkle with pickling spice.
- Cook: Add the water the instant pot and make sure the valve is turned to seal. Set the instant pot to high and cook for 80 minutes.
- Rest: Once the time is up, carefully turn the valve to release and let the remaining pressure out. Remove the beef and onions from the instant pot and set it aside to rest.
- Cook Vegetables: Take out two cups of the water and add the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. Make sure the valve is turned to seal. Turn the pressure cooker to high for 5 minutes. Once the time is up then release the pressure. Once the pressure is released slice up the meat going against the grain and serve with vegetables.
How to Buy Corned Beef
March is the perfect time to buy corned beef, although you can usually find it year round. It is mostly found in two different cuts. The flat cut brisket and the point cut. You can also sometimes find a corned beef roast, but they are not as popular since they have the least amount of fat and dry out easily.
Flat cut brisket and point cut brisket are the cuts you want to look for and buy. Flat is a favorite because it comes in a uniform shape and size. This makes the corned beef easy to cut and you can trim the fat off easy from the top. Point cuts usually have the most fat, but can be the most tender. Either one will work beautifully for this Instant pot recipe.
Tips for the Best Instant Pot Corned Beef
Leftover corned beef is divine! Make a Breakfast Corned Beef Hash or these Incredible Corned Beef Sandwiches!
- Potatoes: To get the best results you want to use waxy potatoes that won’t break down as easily when cooked. Yukon golds or yellow potatoes, red potatoes and fingerlings are all ideal choices. Avoid russets, they can break down into mush when cooked.
- Carrots: Yes baby carrots can be used and are convenient, but if you have the time use large carrots peeled and chunked. They will give you better flavor and hold up nicely to the instant pot.
- Pickling Spices: Almost all corned beef will come with a package of spices with it. This is the same as pickling spices and you can just use them for ease. If you do not have a packet use a combination of allspice berries, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, whole pepper seeds, bay leaves and whole cloves. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Cut against the Grain: This is one of the most important steps for insuring tender, melt in your mouth meat. As you look at your corned beef you’ll notice how the strands of meat lay in one direction, usually lengthwise. You are going to want to cut against that or at a perpendicular angle. This automatically will help the meat be tender and not fibrous when you eat it.
- Leftovers: Store leftovers tightly wrapped or in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat as desired.
More Recipes With Cabbage to Rediscover
Cabbage is wonderful little vegetable that gets overlooked sometimes. It is an exceptionally healthy food. Cabbage is especially high in vitamins C and K. In addition, eating cabbage may even help lower the risk of certain diseases, improve digestion and combat inflammation. It also adds crunch, volume and taste to dishes. So add these tried and true recipes to add more cabbage to your life. It’s good for you!
- Easy Chicken Chow Mein
- Best Ever Beef and Cabbage Soup
- Stuffed Beef Cabbage Rolls
- Copycat KFC Coleslaw
- Stuffed Cabbage Soup
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Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 large onion quartered
- 3-4 pound corned beef brisket
- 4 cups water
- 2 Tablespoons pickling spice
- 4 large Carrots
- 1 pound baby potatoes
- 1 head cabbage quartered
Instructions
- Add the onion to the bottom of your instant pot. Place the corned beef on top and sprinkle with pickling spice.
- Add the water the instant pot and make sure the valve is turned to seal. Set the instant pot to high and cook for 80 minutes.
- Once the time is up, carefully turn the valve to release and let the remaining pressure out. Remove the beef and onions from the instant pot and set it it aside to rest.
- Take out two cups of the water and add the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. Make sure the valve is turned to seal. Turn the pressure cooker to high for 5 minutes. Once the time is up then release the pressure. Once the pressure is released slice up the meat going against the grain and serve with the veggies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m new to Instant Pot cooking and most recipes I’ve seen and used have at least 10 to 15 minutes after cooking time for the meant before releasing the valve. I didn’t see that here – is that supposed to be done before releasing pressure in this recipe?
After the recipe is done cooking, you will do a quick release of your valve instead of a natural release (where you wait for the temperature and pressure to come down on their own). Just turn the release handle that’s on the top of your instant pot from “sealed” to “venting” and it will quickly release all of the pressure for you.
Excellent.
I did brown the fat along with garlic powder and black pepper on the corned beef before adding the water and onion and it came out wonderful.
Too much water. Boils all the flavors out of the meat.
Can you use beer/water combo in the IP?
Yes! That will work!
I’ve made corned beef for years…oven, crockpot, instapot…I’ve tried them all – this is the first time, that I can remember, that I’ve had corned beef this tender!!! Thank you for sharing – I will never cook it any other way.
Yay! I am so happy to hear that you loved it!
I am used to cooking all day in a slow cooker until the meat falls apart. This was almost tough. Had the same issue with pot roast until I learned to cut it in smaller pieces and braze on all sides first. Would that help? I love my instantpot but this was very disappointing.
I’m so sorry that this didn’t turn out! Did you put in a smaller piece of meat? If it wasn’t 3-4 lbs then it could have cooked too fast causing it to be tough.
Meat was amazing. Veggies over cooked big time. I would try 1-2 min next time or cook on the stove for control.
Happy St.Patricks day!
Tonight I made the cornbeef and veggies in instant pot but instead of water I used 1 cup beef broth. Turned out PERFECT!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you too! I’m so glad you loved it!
For those that do not know how to set a Instant Pot thingy, can you tell us which button you would push to pressure cook and Can we add additional seasonings like Garlic or onion Powder
Hello! It depends on the pressure cooker but you can always push the manual button and set the timer that way! And of course, change this up so that it fits you best!
Great and simple. I’ve never done corned beef in an Instant Pot before but St Patrick’s Day and all I gave it a go. The corned beef came out very tender. Sliced like butter. The only alteration I did was rub the brisket with brown sugar in addition to the spice packet that came with it. I got that idea from another site and it adds a little sweet to the savory. 5 stars.
That’s a great idea!! I’m so glad it turned out well!
I’m serving this for dinner tonight (I know, it’s not St. Patty’s Day yet but it’s my hubby’s birthday and we’re having company for dinner). I need to know for purposes of timing if I want to serve dinner at 6pm, what time should I start the Instant Pot? What your directions don’t state is the time it takes to get up to full steam when the 80 minutes actually start. In some cases that can take a while. Also, after removing the meat and putting in the veggies, how long does it take to get back up to steam before the 5 minutes actually starts? Any thoughts on that?
It usually takes about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to get up to pressure, it can vary with size, but 10 minutes is about the time it takes. Since your Instant Pot is already warm, it will come up to pressure quicker (I’d say 2 min) when you cook it for the additional 5 minutes. I’d say plan for 1 hour 45 minutes before you serve it!
All the comments are in March. Must be St. Patrick’s day cooks! Do you rinse the corned beef, or soak it?
This corned beef is just rinsed to remove the salt and then it’s cooked immediately after. If you are looking for a more traditional recipe where you soak the beef in brine, try out this Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage
The corned beef is already brined unless you are buying a brisket and brining it yourself. Just wouldn’t want anyone to double brine their meat.
Question: If I have a larger piece of meat, i.e. 5 – 6 lbs, do I increase water or just the cooking time? And if so, by how much?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Anne! On the recipe card at the bottom of the post where you see how many servings it makes, you will see that number is pink. You can click on that number and raise it to 10 and that will adjust the ingredient amounts to a 5-6 lb cut of meat! Hope that helps!
Loved the corned beef- not mushy! I set my time for 55 min with a 2.2 lb corned beef. I added 1 c ginger ale and 1 cup water. Yum. Fork tender but still sliceable.
I used fewer veggies, md agree less time is likely better – 3 mins. Possibly- also I neglected to manual vent and remove them- so my error may have created mushy vegggies? Delicious.
Love your recipes, such a wonderful variety. I have started a cook book with all my print outs. I try them out on my friends, and so far they are all hits. Thank you.
What a Fantastic Post!! Love your work.
The recipe for corned beef was delicious, but I would have like the corned beef cooked a little more. Next time I will try 90 minutes.