This instant pot short ribs recipe yields the most tender, juicy and flavorful meat that’s falling off the bone. The instant pot makes it possible to enjoy this traditionally slow cooked meat much faster and just as delicious.
If you are a meat lover, waiting patiently for the slow cooking process of braising short ribs in an oven or slow cooker may seem like a worthy cause (and it is, if you have the time!) but this Instant Pot recipe offers the same amazing flavors and meat falling off the bone experience, in a fraction of the time.
Today recipe is for all meat lovers. Those of us who appreciate a well flavored, juicy and tender meat, but don’t always have the time to invest in the traditional method of cooking short ribs.
My guess is, if you never tried short ribs cooked in a pressure cooker, this will be the ONLY way you will want to cook short ribs, roast, beef stew, oxtails and any type of tough meat from here on.
Slow Cooker vs Pressure Cooker
Personally there are no particular better method. The pressure cooker simply offers a quicker method of cooking without compromising on flavor. This is what makes the Instant Pot stand out.
Based on my experience, you get amazing results from either of these options. However, what has me reaching for the Instant Pot version MORE often than the slow cooker or dutch oven, is the time constraint.
I believe this is the true for most working Moms/ Dads out there, which is why the Instant Pot is such a popular option.
Table of Contents
how to make the best tasting beef short ribs
- Season the meat well on all sides. I use a kitchen thong to hold the meat while I sprinkle a generous layer of salt and pepper over a large piece of parchment paper or even the store packaging paper. I don’t work well if the kitchen is too messy, so little steps like this helps keep my hands and counter clean.
- Brown the short ribs on all sides (picture above). This helps lock in moisture and flavor. Use the sauté mode to do this.
- Make the base. This is where we’ll build the flavor base for the recipe. Sauté onions, garlic and a shredded carrot (for color and flavor), then add tomato paste, coconut aminos or wine (acid), flour to thicken sauce, fresh thyme and bay leaves and top it with the broth (picture above).
- Now you can add the short ribs back into the pot and also the veggies. Cancel the sauté mode and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. The picture below shows what the ribs looks like once I open the pot. I always add fresh herbs right away to get the extra aroma and flavor.
Recipe notes, substitutions and adaptations
- it is very common to use red wine in the making of braised meats. Wine being an acidic element, it add depth in flavor. But a lot of times folks don’t have wine in hand or want to use it. For this reason I tested this recipe with another form of acid other than wine and the result was extremely tasty. What I used, you ask? COCONUT AMINOS! which is a healthier substitute for soy. This said you can use soy, I unfortunately am allergic to it so coconut aminos is my best friend 🙂
- feel free to add other types of veggies to the pot. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, squashes and Brussels are good substitutions
- the beef short ribs can be substituted for stew meat (see this Instant Pot Beef Stew) or even Oxtails (see this Instant Pot Oxtail Recipe). All these recipes are very similar the only difference is the cooking times. In fact, once you learn the steps of making mega flavorful stew-like meats or braised meats, you can confidently grab any type of tough meat and turn into a pot of deliciousness.
- You will see that in a lot of my stew meats, braised meat recipes I sauté one shredded carrot with the onion and garlic. That is because I found that the carrot adds beautiful color and great flavor to the sauce.
- the broth! this is where I go bananas!! what I mean by that is, yeah you can add some plain ‘ol beef broth but you can also add bone broth, or even better collagen bone broth! Listen, I can go on and on about the AMAZING health benefits of bone broth and collagen but I’ll just say this; these two are like an invisible shield helping keep you healthy and strong!
Once everything is ready, we serve the short ribs over the polenta, topped with our carrots and plenty of that tasty meat broth. Garnish with fresh thyme, parsley or cilantro and moooooore parmesan because WE CAN and voila!
how to make polenta
I recently published a recipe where I share my favorite way to make polenta. Most times recipes asks for water but I find it that the polenta comes out pretty bland, so this is how I have been making polenta
If you make this Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs recipe be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thanks a bunch!
Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
Equipment
- Instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb bone-in short ribs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 onin, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos or red wine, use coconut aminos for whole30
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, sub for GF flour for gluten-free + whole30
- 2 cup beef broth, sub for bone broth wtih added collagen
- 2 bay leaves
- fresh thyme
- 1 lb carrots, cut into large chunks
Instructions
- Season meat on all sides with a generous amount of salt and pepper
- Turn pot on sauté mode and brown meat on all sides (about 3 minutes on each side = 12 minutes). Transfer short ribs to a plate
- Add in onions, garlic and shredded carrots. Saute until onions are translucent and fragrant. Stir in tomato paste. Add coconut aminos or wine and let it reduce (3 minutes). Then stir in flour until mixture thickens (1 minute). Add broth and give it a good stir.
- Transfer short ribs back to the pot. Add some fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Toss in carrots and cover the pot. Cook on high pressure (HP) FOR 40 minutes when done allow for 15 minutes of natural pressure release (NPR).
- Once you open the pot garnish with fresh cilantro, parsley or thyme and cover for just a minute or two. Serve over polenta, mashed potatoes or rice
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This looks great, so comforting and flavourful and this time of year!
Exactly! The flavors are amazing, I think you would love it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
The amount of thyme is missing in the recipe. This lacks richness.
So sorry to hear Kelly, I felt that it was plenty flavorful. You can definitely adjust to taste tho!
I thought flour or any thickening agent, should not be put in the pot until after everything was cooked?
I don’t think so Patricia, I’ve always added the flour in the beginning of cooking and always turned out amazing. Actually not sure how it would work if added afterwards… Try this way and see what you think! 🙂
Have you ever doubled this recipe? If so what did you do different?
Hi Alena! If you are going to double the recipe, cook for 50 minutes instead. Hope you like it 🙂
Unfortunately this recipe kept throwing a “burn” error on my instant pot. I’m determined to eat before 10pm tonight, so I threw it in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. It smells amazing, so hopefully that will do the trick. I wonder if I should have waited to thicken the sauce after the meat had cooked? I would advise making this early in the evening so if it doesn’t work out you have time to make it in the oven, instead…
Mmm I am so sorry you run into this issue Shannon! I mean, next time you can try to thicken the sauce afterwards but honestly I make this recipe all the time, thicken my sauce prior to going under pressure and never had this problem. Yikes! Glad you still had a good meal tho! Also make sure you stir things up really good before going under pressure.