This Instant Pot beef & broccoli will be the easiest at-home takeout you’ve ever made! With tender beef, flavorful sauce, and perfectly steamed broccoli, your entire family will love this dish!

beef and broccoli with sesame seeds on top over white rice in a white bowl on a marble surface

Over the years, we’ve made lots of classic takeout recipes, like our Baked Crispy Orange Chicken and our all-time favorite Mongolian Beef. When developing this recipe, though, we wanted to give you a meal that was easy enough to make on a weeknight. I’ll admit, I’m a bit picky about my Chinese food and I wasn’t totally Sold that the Instant Pot could truly replicate one of my favorite dishes: beef & broccoli. Luckily, I was hooked on this recipe from the first bite. The beef gets super tender in the Instant Pot, and the classic garlicky, savory brown sauce is spot-on. This is the perfect meal to make on busy weeknights, and is sure to please the entire family!

How to Make Beef and Broccoli in the Instant Pot

Here’s how you’ll make this beef and broccoli:

  1. Brown the onions. To start, you’ll simply add the diced onions to your Instant Pot on sauté mode and cook them for a few minutes until they begin to brown.
  2. Brown the beef. Browning the beef before cooking adds an extra layer of flavor to the dish, but you can skip it if you’re short on time! You’ll season your beef with salt and pepper, then add it to the pot and cook for two to 3 minutes per side.
  3. Add the sauce ingredients. Ginger, garlic, coconut aminos, chicken broth, coconut sugar, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar are what you’ll need to make the sauce. Simply pour these ingredients over the beef.
  4. Cook for 15 minutes. Seal the Instant Pot and set to cook for 15 minutes on high pressure. Once the timer goes off, manually release the pressure and remove the lid from the pot.
  5. Steam the broccoli. You can choose to steam your broccoli on the stovetop or in the microwave, but the quickest method is to buy frozen steam-in-bag broccoli!
  6. Thicken the sauce. Turn the pot back to sauté mode, then stir the cornstarch with water to make a slurry and pour it into the sauce. Let the sauce come to a simmer and thicken.
  7. Stir in the broccoli and serve. Finally, you’ll stir the broccoli into the beef mixture, then serve over rice, cauliflower rice, or quinoa.
instant pot beef and broccoli over white rice in a white bowl on a marble surface

Variations

  • Chicken for Beef – If you don’t have beef on hand, or simply prefer chicken, you can make this dish with an equal amount of chicken instead. Just reduce the pressure cook time to 12 minutes.
  • Soy Sauce for Coconut Aminos – Substitute 1/4 cup of tamari for the coconut aminos along with an additional 1/4 cup of broth or water, and omit the salt.
  • Dried Spices – you can substitute the fresh garlic, onion, and ginger for 1 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, and ginger.
  • Other Veggies for Broccoli – If you don’t have broccoli on hand, or just prefer different veggies, cauliflower, snow peas, and bell peppers would all be great additions to this dish!
  • Cornstarch for Arrowroot Starch – Did you know that most starches are interchangeable? You can swap in arrowroot, tapioca, or potato starch here.

Yes! You can make beef and broccoli in the slow cooker by following the same recipe, except you will brown the beef, onions, garlic, and ginger on your stovetop, then transfer to the slow cooker to cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Once the time is up, transfer the sauce from the beef to a saucepan over medium heat and stir in the cornstarch, then cook until the mixture thickens.

If you’d like to make a freezer meal that you can prep, freeze, and then dump into the Instant Pot or slow cooker, you can find the recipe in our slow cooker freezer meals post!

beef and broccoli over white rice in a white bowl on a marble surface with another bowl behind it

Video

How to Store

The beef and broccoli leftovers will keep for 4-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or for up to 3 months in the freezer. To reheat from frozen, simply microwave for 5-6 minutes, stirring halfway through, or place in a saucepan with matching lid and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until warmed through.

Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli

4.62 — Votes 18 votes
By Cassy Joy Garcia
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 5 servings
This beef and broccoli with tender beef and a savory garlic sauce cooks up in minutes in the Instant Pot!

Ingredients  

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil or ghee
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 ½ pounds beef stew meat
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
  • ½ cup coconut aminos
  • ½ cup chicken broth or water
  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 heads of broccoli chopped into florets, or one pound frozen, steam-in-bag broccoli
  • White or brown rice for serving
  • Sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions 

  • Set the Instant Pot to ‘saute’ and add the avocado oil to the pot. Once hot, add the diced onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until translucent.
  • Add the beef stew meat to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes, until browned, then flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  • Pour the coconut aminos, chicken broth, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, coconut sugar, and salt into the pot.
  • Seal the pot and set to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, immediately release the pressure from the pot, then remove the lid and set it back to ‘saute’ mode.
  • Steam the broccoli using your preferred method.
  • Microwave Method: Place the broccoli florets into a large glass bowl with about ¼ cup water. Affix with either a microwave-safe lid or seal with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, until the florets are bright green and easily pierced with a fork. Drain the water from the broccoli and set aside.
  • Stovetop Method: Place the broccoli florets into a medium sized pot with ¼ cup water. Place the lid on and let simmer for 10 minutes, until the florets are bright green and easily pierced with a fork. Drain the water from the broccoli and set aside.
  • Whisk together the cornstarch and water and stir it into the pot. Let the mixture come to a low boil. Once the sauce is thickened, turn the Instant Pot off and serve!

Recipe Notes

To make in a slow cooker:
Follow the recipe, but brown the beef, onions, garlic, and ginger on your stovetop, then transfer to the slow cooker to cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Once the time is up, transfer the sauce from the beef to a saucepan over medium heat and stir in the cornstarch, then cook until the mixture thickens.

Nutrition

Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 909mg | Potassium: 1282mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1516IU | Vitamin C: 219mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 5mg

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 378
Keyword: beef, broccoli, gluten free, instant pot, paleo

Like this recipe?

Leave a comment


About the Author

Cassy Joy Garcia, NC

Cassy Joy Garcia, a New York Times best-selling author, of Cook Once Dinner Fix, Cook Once Eat All Week, and Fed and Fit as well as the creative force behind the popular food blog Fed & Fit.


More Like This

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




37 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This recipe was fantastic. The beef was so tender and the flavor was delicious. I ended up using low sodium tamari instead of coconut aminos as that is what I had on hand. This recipe is a keeper for my family!

  2. 5 stars
    This was really delicious! I used thinly sliced steak because it was on sale. I didn’t have any sesame oil either but I think the flavours were excellent. I will definitely make again!

    1. We’re so glad you loved this recipe, Jackie! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us!