Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
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Cooking corned beef and cabbage in an Instant Pot is the quickest and easiest way to create a delicious weeknight dinner or St. Patrick’s Day meal. Celebrate the holiday with this traditional Irish dinner recipe!
My family enjoys having a special meal on holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. For a long time, my favorite St. Patrick’s Day meal has been lamb stew.
That changed after learning how to make corned beef in an Instant Pot. Honestly, I have never had a better tasting St. Patrick’s Day meal in my life!
If your family wants to celebrate the March 17th holiday with a traditional feast, my Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage recipe doesn’t disappoint!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
THANK YOU! You saved my dinner party. I was about to make all the same mistakes as you listed. What a gift you have given us. Blessings on you in return.
–Mateo
Why This Recipe is a Favorite
Ready in a little over an hour, and with hardly any clean-up, I’m 100% convinced that my trusty Instant Pot is the way to go for this dish.
Pressure cooking is the perfect method to quickly cook a large cut of meat like corned beef. The meat retains all of its natural juices, so it’s extremely tender and juicy. In fact, it just about melts when it hits your tongue!
Another nice benefit to this easy corned beef and cabbage recipe is that the vegetables cook in the same pot as the beef. Cabbage, carrots, and potatoes are all hearty and filling, so other than some bread and butter, it’s a complete meal!
Happy Kitchen Secrets
Here are my important mom-tested cooking tips for making Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage! It’s been tested countless times to save you from a failed attempt.
- Calculating the cook time for corned beef in an Instant Pot is based on the size and thickness of the meat. My brisket was about 2.5 inches thick before cooking. If yours is quite a bit thinner or thicker, then it might be necessary to adjust the cooking time by a minute or two.
- The size and placement of the veggies is important. If your potatoes are large, cut them into quarters, and cut the carrots into 4-inch long pieces. When it’s time to cook them, arrange the potatoes on the trivet first, then the carrots, and place the cabbage on top.
- Allow extra time for pressurizing and pressure release. The time it takes for the unit to come to pressure varies by make and model, and the temperature of the ingredients is also a factor. To speed up the process a bit, let the corned beef come to room temperature and warm the stock/broth before adding it to the IP.
- Let the pressure release naturally after cooking the corned beef. This is very important! If you release the pressure all at once, the brisket will lose all of its moisture, leaving it very dry and tough.
Ingredient Notes
Corned beef brisket is a beef brisket that’s been cured in a salty brine with spices. The word “corned” just refers to the coarse salt used in the curing process, not actual corn.
Important Info
Even though it has been cured in salt, corned beef brisket is still raw! In order to eat it, the beef must be be cooked first.
When you shop for it at the store, corned beef is almost always pre-seasoned in a sealed package. There are two cuts of corned beef brisket available; the flat and the point.
- Flat cut corned beef is the leaner, more uniform piece of brisket. It slices neatly, making it easier to serve. It's great for sandwiches or dinner.
- Point cut corned beef is much fattier than the flat cut. Its irregular shape makes it difficult to cut into nice slices, but it shreds beautifully.
Cabbage: Green cabbage is the traditional choice for corned beef and cabbage, but purple cabbage will work as well. Avoid using thin/leafy varieties like Savoy cabbage—they're likely to overcook and become soggy in the Instant Pot.
Potatoes: Use thin-skin potatoes that hold their shape well, like red or yellow potatoes. Baby potatoes are the best choice because they won't need to be cut.
Cooking Corned Beef in the Instant Pot
This is just a summary of the steps. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full instructions! ⬇️
Jump to Recipe
- Cook the brisket, fat side up. Set the beef, stock, onions, and garlic cloves in the Instant Pot. Cook at high pressure for 70 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove the corned beef from the Instant Pot. Transfer it to a plate and let it rest. Meanwhile, strain the solids from the cooking liquid, then return the liquid to the IP.
When the meat is fully cooked, let the pressure release naturally using NR (Natural Release). All this means is you do nothing to the pressure valve, just simply wait for all the pressure to dissipate.
If you're in a hurry, you can let it NR for about 10 minutes, then turn the valve to let the remaining steam release quickly (QR). To prevent the meat from drying out, give it at least 10 minutes.
Cooking the Vegetables
- Cook the vegetables at high pressure for 4 minutes. Set a trivet into the stock. Arrange the potatoes first, followed by the carrots, then the cabbage on top.
- Perform a quick release of pressure. This prevents mushy, overcooked veggies.
Note
The cooking liquid is full of rendered fat, so it adds a lot of flavor to the vegetables!
Finishing Steps
Take the vegetables out immediately. You might want to season them with a bit of pepper, but corned beef is pretty salty, so you may not need to add any salt.
Storing Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage
If you have leftover corned beef, use it to make breakfast hash! At my house, there are rarely leftovers, so I usually buy and cook a second corned beef specifically for corned beef hash.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and use them within 4 days. The cooked corn beef is perfectly safe to eat cold, but most people prefer to warm it up first.
Freezing: While it's possible to freeze cooked corned beef for up to 2 months, the thawing process will affect the texture of the meat.
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage FAQs
When you make corned beef in a Dutch oven on the stove, it's always best to cook it "low and slow". However, for Instant Pot corned beef, it's best to use high power.
Placing the roast in the Instant Pot fat side up allows the fat to render down into the meat, making the corned beef tender and juicy.
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Equipment
- Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker
Video
Ingredients
- 2.75 lbs. corned beef brisket
- 1 medium onion white or yellow, peeled and cut into quarters
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2 cups vegetable broth or beef broth/stock
- 1 lb baby potatoes or baby red potatoes
- 1 small head green cabbage
- 8 large carrots
- ½ teaspoon sea salt or more/less as desired (to season vegetables)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or more/less as desired (to season vegetables)
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse the corned beef with tap water and place it in the Instant Pot, fat cap side facing up. Add the quartered onion, garlic, broth/stock, and spices to your Instant Pot.
- Lock the lid in place, close the steam valve, and manually set to cook on High Pressure for 75 minutes. When the cook time is up, allow 15-20 minutes for the pressure to release naturally.
- While the corned beef cooks, wash and cut the vegetables. Peel and cut the carrots into 4-inch pieces and quarter the cabbage, removing the bottom part of the stem and any brown pieces. Leave the baby potatoes whole. Note: If the baby potatoes are larger than 3 inches long, cut them into halves or quarters.
- Remove the cooked corned beef from the Instant Pot and set it on a platter. Ladle a little bit of the cooking liquid over the beef and cover with foil to keep the meat warm.
- Strain the solids from the cooking liquid, then add the liquid back into the Instant Pot. Set a trivet into the inner pot, then stack the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, in that order.
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, then manually open the vent, for a quick pressure release. Remove the lid of the IP and use a slotted spoon to transfer vegetables from the liquid to serving platters or bowls.
- Slice the corned beef against the grain. Corned beef is normally pre-seasoned, but the vegetables may need salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Great recipe! My family loves corned beef and cabbage!
So glad your family enjoyed the recipe, Alyse! -Laura
Cooking time is way too long on this. I would say 45-50 minutes at most.
How much time should I add for a 5 pound corned beef? My family likes A LOT of leftovers!
Hi Tracey! I’d add 20 minutes, but it would depend on the thickness of the roast. I normally add 5-7 minutes per extra 1/2 inch of thickness.
Such a great dish! Thank you for sharing your version!
Thank you, Tabitha! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! -Laura
So excited for this!!!
Hope you loved it!
THANK YOU! You saved my dinner party. I was about to make all the same mistakes as you listed. What a gift you have given us. Blessings on you in return.
Thank you so much for your kind words! Glad to help in any way I can. Let me know how you like it! 🙂
I’m making this on st. patty’s day!
Yay, that’s awesome! Hope you love it!