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Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli

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This Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli recipe is one of the most popular recipes on Pressure Cooking Today. And it's no wonder! This dish features tender, thin-sliced beef and broccoli in a rich sauce that is salty and sweet, with just a little heat from the red pepper flakes. It's better than take-out!

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Easy Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli Recipe

Beef and Broccoli! You can make this Chinese takeout favorite at home in your pressure cooker in less time and for a fraction of the cost of eating out.

You start with a cheap cut of beef chuck and tenderize it in the pressure cooker. So it's not tough and chewy like stir fried beef and broccoli can often be.

This pressure cooker version is absolutely delicious and on your table in under 30 minutes!

This easy Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli recipe is one of my favorites to recommend to people who are new to pressure cooking. I've included it in my Easy Recipes for the Pressure Cooker post because it's just the kind of quick, easy recipe that will make you fall in love with pressure cooking!

Making Easy Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli in an Instant Pot

An Instant Pot is one of the most popular brands of electric pressure cookers. They are easy to use, and your Instant Pot can help you create this Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli!

Easy Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli Recipe

Since this recipe is a long-time reader favorite, I wanted to update the post with answers to a few common questions:

What kind of meat should I use to make Beef & Broccoli?

While the recipe calls for chuck roast, you can substitute flank steak or London broil. Readers have also used skirt steak with this recipe, though it's a little chewier cut of meat. (Here's the difference between skirt steak and flank steak.)

Also, if you want to substitute chicken for the beef, go for it! Just change out chicken broth for the beef broth. Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces and reduce the cook time to 3 minutes at high pressure.

How do I cut the beef?

Honestly, when I buy the beef, I usually ask the butcher at my local grocery store to do it for me! However, if you don't want to ask, there are a number of tricks!

First, make sure you're cutting the beef against the grain. (Not sure how to do that? Fine Cooking magazine has anexcellenttutorial!)

To make it easier to slice, you can place your beef in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. Not long enough to be frozen, but enough to firm it up and make it easier to hold. You'll get more even, uniform slices this way.

However, if you hate cutting cold meat, you take the opposite approach. Brown the entire chuck roast in a single piece (this will take a little longer), then remove to a cutting board and set aside.

Continue with the recipe, adding the onion and garlic, then adding the beef broth and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Then quickly slice the meat and continue with the recipe.

(If you stop to slice the meat before cooking the onion, the browned bits on the bottom of the cooking pot may burn, which would ruin the flavor.)

Pressure cooker beef and broccoli

Do I need to use the sesame oil?

Even though you're only adding 2 tablespoons, the sesame oil adds a lot of flavor to this dish. I wouldn't omit it if possible. If you wanted to substitute non-toasted sesame oil for toasted that's fine. If you do omit it from the recipe, you don't need to substitute any other oil.

Can I cook the broccoli in the pressure cooker instead of in the microwave?

Absolutely! Cook your broccoli however makes sense to you—on the stove, in the microwave, or in the pressure cooker!

Note: Since the beef has a 12 minute cook time, you'll want to cook the broccoli before or after you've made the beef so it's not mushy and overcooked. I've included instructions for either way at the end of the recipe.

Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Beef and Broccoli

How do I freeze and reheat the leftovers?

Since some of my kids don't like sauce on the broccoli, I generally keep the broccoli separate from the sauce. When I dish up, I'll layer the rice and steamed broccoli, and spoon the meat and sauce over the top.

Use an instant-read thermometer to verify your beef is at least 145°F in the thickest part after cooking. If reheating, make sure your beef is done to 165°F.

Keeping things separate works great for freezing or reheating the leftovers, since the meat and broccoli have very different reheat times.

What do I serve with Beef and Broccoli?

I generally serve it over white rice or brown rice. However, when I'm trying to cut carbs, I'll often eat it just over a generous helping of steamed broccoli or with spiralized zucchini noodles. It's also delicious with rice noodles, lo mein noodles, or even mixed stir fry vegetables.

A plate of food with rice and broccoli over rice.

Check out the video to see just how easy and it is to make this delicious Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli. Enjoy!

If you haven't tried Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli yet, you definitely need to put it on your menu!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, well trimmed and sliced into thin strips**
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce*
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound broccoli florets, diced into bite-size pieces
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Cooked rice, for serving
  • Toasted sesame seeds for garnish, optional

Instructions

  1. Season the beef with pepper to taste. Put olive oil in the cooking pot and select Browning or Saute. When the oil begins to sizzle, quickly brown the meat in batches until all of the meat is browned—do not crowd the pot. (Usually, I'll only brown one side of the meat. You don't want to spend a lot of time browning.) Transfer the browned meat to a plate.
  2. Add the chopped onion to the pot. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
  3. Stir in the beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
  4. Add the browned beef and any accumulated juices. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and set the cook time for 12 minutes.
  5. While the beef is cooking, place broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup water. Microwave 3 to 4 minutes until broccoli is tender.
  6. When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker off. Use a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
  7. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water and stir until smooth. Select Simmer/Saute and add to the pressure cooking pot. Stir well to combine, and continue stirring until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Add the steamed broccoli.
  8. Serve over hot, cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds.

Notes

*Use reduced-sodium soy sauce if you prefer less salt.

**A tip from a reader: brown the beef first and then thinly slice the meat to save time.

While this recipe calls for chuck roast, it works well with flank steak or London broil as well.

If you want to cook the broccoli in the pressure cooker:

  1. Before browning the beef, place 1 cup water and a steamer basket in the bottom of the pressure cooking pot. Select High Pressure and set the cook time for 0 minutes. When the cook time ends, use a quick pressure release. When valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Transfer the cooked broccoli to a bowl and cover tightly. Discard the water and wipe out the pressure cooker, then continue with the recipe as directed.
  2. Or, you can simply add the broccoli to the pot after pressure cooking. Lock the lid in place, select the Keep Warm setting, and let the broccoli steam in the sauce until it reaches desired crispness.
Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 452 Total Fat: 26g Saturated Fat: 9g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 16g Cholesterol: 94mg Sodium: 1401mg Carbohydrates: 24g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 12g Protein: 33g

Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.

Other Easy Pressure Cooker beef recipes you might like:

Mongolian Beef, Pressure Cooking Today
Beef Stroganoff, Pressure Cooking Today
Tex-Mex Chili Mac, Pressure Cooking Today
Instant Pot Beef Gyros, 365 Days of Slow Cooking
Pressure Cooker Ground Beef Chili, Simply Recipes

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Easy Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli Recipe || EASY to make and tastes better than take-out!

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