This tender, beer-infused Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage is the perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Using the pressure cooker function makes it easy and convenient to cook a traditional corned beef dinner in less time. For a recipe without an Instant Pot, try my Beer-Braised Corned Beef.
This reader-favorite recipe was originally published on March 3, 2018. We’ve updated this post in 2022 with additional cooking tips and photos.
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Why Make Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Instant Pot?
Adapting my Beer Braised Corned Beef for the Instant Pot was one of the first things I had in mind when I bought it. We were not disappointed! The pressure cooker corned beef, infused with aromatic pickling spices and lager, was tender, succulent, and full-flavored.
Instant Pot Corned Beef is a one-pot dinner that saves you about an hour of time from start to finish, as compared to braising in the Dutch oven. In comparison to crockpot corned beef recipes, which can take up to 8 hours, it’s substantially quicker.
What You’ll Need to Make Instant Pot Corned Beef
- 4-pound Corned Beef Brisket. You’ll find Corned Beef (salt-cured brisket) in flat and point cuts at the market. You can use either for this recipe, but I most often buy flat cut. (To read about the difference between the cuts check out Brisket: Flat Cut vs. Point Cut from Cuisine at Home.)
- Lager-style Beer. As with my Beer Braised Corned Beef, I prefer to use a lager that isn’t too strong or hops forward. I most often use a bottle of Samuel Smith Pure Brewed Organic Lager or Sam Adams Boston Lager.
- Water. To help pressurize the pot and draw salt out of the corned beef as it cooks.
- Pickling Spice. A classic mixture of whole spices such as cinnamon, peppercorns, mustard seeds, cloves, bay leaves, ginger, and coriander. If your corned beef comes with a spice packet, you can substitute it for the pickling spice.
- Yellow Onion and Garlic. Adds additional flavor the braising liquid. Peel and slice the onion, and peel the garlic cloves, leaving them whole.
- Carrots, Potatoes, and Cabbage. Make this a one-pot corned beef and cabbage dinner! I like to use baby carrots and creamer potatoes (red and/or yellow, about the size of golf balls), in addition to a wedged head of green cabbage.
I developed this recipe using a 6-quart Instant Pot; specifically, the 6-quart Duo Plus. I find that using the included handled trivet makes it easier to remove the tender brisket from the insert after cooking.
How to Make A Pressure Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner
Prepping the Brisket
Before cooking, rinse the corned beef thoroughly with cool water (2-3 times) to remove excess salt from the surface. I don’t recommend trimming the fat cap before cooking. The fat adds flavor and moisture to the meat, and can be trimmed before serving, if needed.
Add the sliced onions, garlic cloves, pickling spices, and water into your Instant Pot insert. Place the rinsed corned beef (fat side up) onto the trivet that came with your Instant Pot.
Nestle the trivet into the pot, and pour the beer over the brisket. Check the level of the liquid in the insert before sealing the pot; it should reach up the sides of the brisket.
Note: The amount of water you need may vary by your brisket’s dimensions. While the Instant Pot might only need 1 to 1-½ cups of liquid to pressurize, this is not enough to draw the salt out of the meat. Adjust the quantity of water as needed, but don’t exceed the insert’s fill line.
Pressure Cooking the Corned Beef
For a 4-pound corned beef, we like the texture of the meat best when cooked at high pressure for 85 minutes, with a 20-minute natural release. The meat comes out fork-tender, but still sliceable against the grain without falling apart.
Adding about 15 minutes to the cooking process for the Instant Pot to heat up to pressure, the corned beef itself takes about 2 hours total.
We always make a corned beef around 4 pounds to ensure leftovers for sandwiches and corned beef hash, but if you make a much smaller brisket, it will likely need a shorter cooking time. We’ve found 70 minutes at high pressure to be sufficient for 2 pound briskets, with a 15 minute natural release.
Remove the cooked corned beef from the Instant Pot, and strain the cooking liquid, discarding the pickling spices and solids. Place the corned beef in a dish with a bit of the strained cooking liquid and cover with foil to keep the meat warm and juicy.
Cooking the Potatoes, Carrots, and Cabbage Wedges
Adding vegetables to an Instant Pot corned beef dinner is a breeze. I love the flavor that the pressure cooker infuses into the vegetables from the beer-based cooking liquid. I don’t usually get that excited about boiled or steamed cabbage wedges, but I really enjoy the flavor of these.
Add 1-½ cups of the strained cooking liquid back into the Instant Pot insert, layering in the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage wedges. Cook the vegetables on high pressure for 3-4 minutes, with a manual (quick) release.
Serving Your Corned Beef Dinner
When ready to serve, slice the corned beef against the grain into ⅛ to ¼-inch slices. Check Out: Here’s How (and Why) to Slice Meat Against the Grain from Kitchn.
If there is a substantial fat cap on the corned beef, you might want to trim it down or remove it entirely before slicing. This is entirely a matter of personal preference. We like to serve the brisket with some of the fat left on.
When serving, spoon a little bit of the strained cooking liquid over the sliced corned beef on the platter, and offer guests whole grain mustard on the side. I treat the vegetables to a light drizzling of melted butter and sprinkle them with chopped fresh parsley for a pop of color and freshness.
Have leftovers? Try making my Corned Beef Hash and Eggs for breakfast, Reuben Sandwiches, or Deli-Style Corned Beef Sandwiches for lunch!
More of our Favorite St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
- Roasted Cabbage Wedges
- Cabbage and Leek Colcannon
- Stout Beer Braised Short Ribs (Dutch oven or Instant Pot)
- Irish-American Soda Bread
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Corned Beef
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion , sliced (use ½ if large)
- 4 cloves garlic , peeled and lightly smashed with the back of a knife
- 2 tablespoons pickling spice
- 2-½ cups water
- 4 pound corned beef brisket , rinsed
- 12 ounces lager-style beer (nothing too bitter)
- 1 pound tiny potatoes (about 1-½ inches in diameter), or red-skinned potatoes cut into 1-½ inch wedges
- 1 head cabbage , cut into 8 wedges
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley , for garnish
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted (optional)
- grainy mustard , for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Combine onion, garlic, pickling spices, and water in the insert of a 6-quart Instant Pot. Place the corned beef brisket, fat side up, on a rack on top of the onions. Pour beer over the brisket.
- Seal lid and set the unit to HIGH pressure for 85 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for 20 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.* Remove corned beef and place on a dish or a cutting board, spooning a bit of the cooking liquid over the top. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Strain cooking liquid and discard solids. Return 1-½ cups of liquid to the Instant Pot and add potatoes, carrots, and cabbage wedges. (Reserve remaining cooking liquid.) Seal lid and set the unit to HIGH pressure for 3-4 minutes, depending on how soft you like your vegetables. Quick release pressure.
- Slice corned beef against the grain. Spoon a little bit of the reserved cooking liquid over the corned beef slices on your platter. Sprinkle parsley over the vegetables, and if desired, drizzle with melted butter. Serve corned beef with mustard.
Shannon says
Made this and enjoyed with friends who also thought it was delicious! Easy! Hardest part is waiting for the pressure to come back up for the veggies. Will make again!
Amanda Leonard says
I made this yesterday for my husband and it was a huge hit! I used Guinness instead of a lager as I like that richer taste and also used the link for your mustard. I am in love and cannot wait to make this recipe again!
Ashley says
Making this tonight and I can’t wait to try it after reading all of the comments! Quick question, the 3-4 minutes for the vegetables is after the pressure builds again?
Amanda Biddle says
Hi Ashley, the 3-4 minutes is after the veggies come to pressure (depending on how soft you like them cooked). Enjoy!
Jen Davis says
Delicious! We substituted a can of hard cider for the lager since I’m gluten free. Wonderful light apple infused broth. Perfectly cooked veggies. My husband was very skeptical of the 4 min for the veggies. He was pleasantly surprised. Excellent
Megan Duffy says
We have loved getting to know our Instant Pot and I have to admit I was a bit nervous about trying corned beef this way… but this was by far the BEST corned beef we’ve ever had!!! Homemade OR in a restaurant! I love that the veggies are cooked much less time but in the juices from the beef. The cabbage was actually the tastiest and was gobbled up by all!!! Thank you for putting this out there – I would love to see other recipes from you for the Instant Pot – I’ll start hunting around!!! I’m sure google has them somewhere!!! Do you have a cookbook out there I can purchase?
Cynthia says
I’m planning to make my corned beef brisket tonight using my 6-qt IP for the first time. My meat is 5 lbs. Do I need to adjust the cooking time as your recipe is for a 4 lb cut?
Striped Spatula Team says
Hi Cynthia,
A few of our readers have made 5 pound corned beef briskets and reported that it took the same amount of time.
Enjoy!
Sarah H. says
Really delicious! I’ve always made corned beef in my crockpot, but with the addition of an Instant Pot to my kitchen, I was anxious to try something new. It came out beautifully, and making the “fixin’s” separately (cabbage, potatoes, and carrots) was perfect! I’ll definitely be using this recipe again!
Margaret says
Very good. Will make again. Thanks for sharing????
St Patty says
Without a doubt, the most buttery, delicious, tender corned beef I’ve ever had. And my DNA is very Irish ☘️
Stacy R says
This was great! I made two batches, back to back, plus followed your oven braising recipe for a third batch (we had 20 people coming over plus you gotta have leftovers for hash!) After removing from instant pot, I let cool and then removed most of the fat and sliced it all up. Insanely good.
I have so much of the pilsner beef stock left over and I wonder if others have used it in other recipes. It tastes amazing and my husband and I are thinking it would sub in really well for the liquid (beer/stock) in a cheddar ale soup. Thoughts?
Thanks again!
Amanda Biddle says
Hi Stacy,
Wow! It sounds like you had a great party! :) I’m so glad to know everything turned out so well.
I’d say go for it with using the strained braising liquid in Cheddar Ale Soup! A reader commented (last year, if I remember), that it worked well in a vegetable soup. I’ve shied away from it in the past just because I’ve gotten corned beefs that were on the saltier side and the liquid was quite salty after braising. This year, the liquid was really useable and I’ve frozen it to test some recipes later. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Mackenzie says
I’ve made plenty of corned beef- stove top, crockpot, and instant pot. This is by far the BEST recipe. I made this recipe a couple of times now. Seriously so tender and flavorful. I used a bottle of Allagash Black and wow, so good. I’ve also made it with Allagash White and that is also good. I have an 8qt. and it fits an almost 5lb brisket perfectly. Thanks for your recipe, it’s now my go to!
Amanda Biddle says
I’m such a fan of Allagash :) So glad you love the recipe as much as we do!
Emilie says
Made this for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner tonight, and it was perfect!! Followed the recipe exactly. Three minutes for cooking the vegetables was ideal. Thank you!!
Chuck says
Thank you for this excellent IP recipe! We just finished St Patrick’s Day dinner and everyone, my wife included, loved it (she’s not a fan of corned beef or cabbage). I also want to thank you for a very well organized and well-written recipe.
Kelly Lonsdale says
Absolutely fool proof and the roast is super tender. I have been afraid to use the pressure cooker that I’ve owned for 5 years. This was easy!! Thank you for taking the time to write this recipe and share it.
Michelle says
Do you think it’s a problem if I don’t have the rack? I’m in the process of moving and can’t find it to save my life.
Striped Spatula Team says
Hi Michelle,
You can still make it. It’s just a tender cut of meat when it comes out of the IP and the rack helps you lift it out easily. We recommend using a meat fork and a spatula to take it out of the pot without the rack. Enjoy!
Rebecca Schmitz says
I couldn’t walk away without eating ( I think my husband would give 6 Stars)
Rebecca Schmitz says
Delicious! Used my instant pot for the second time. Spot on directions and my husband can’t stop raving. I was a bit nervous attempting this recipe in my new instant pot since my husband begins salivating around the first of the year in anticipation of St Paddy’s Day corned beef and cabbage. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Rebecca says
Where do you find pickling spices?
Striped Spatula Team says
Hi Rebecca,
They’re usually in the spice aisle at the grocery store. McCormick makes one. If you can’t find it, you can also use the spice packet that came with your corned beef.
Eric & Cortney Sikking says
Turned out amazing!!! Thank you for the recipe.
Followed it pretty much step by step.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!
RickD says
I’m assuming I should set my Instant Pot to “Pressure Cook” and not the “Steam” setting,, is that correct ?
Striped Spatula Team says
Hi Rick, Yes – High pressure (step 2).
Shannon says
My instant pot has a manual setting in a slow cooker setting do I just do manual for 85 minutes?
Striped Spatula Team says
Hi Shannon,
Yes, go with the manual button. On some IP models, this is the pressure cooker button. You want “high” pressure. Enjoy!