These Rustic Instant Pot Short Ribs are an easy and delicious dinner option that’s sure to impress everyone at your kitchen table!

Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Short Ribs Recipe
- Beef Short Ribs Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Short Ribs
- Beef Short Ribs Instant Pot Recipe Tip
- How to Serve Short Ribs
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More of Our Best Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe
This recipe is…
Tender, fall-off-the-bone short ribs in a rich red wine and herb sauce may sound like a fancy restaurant dish. But the truth is, they’re super simple to cook up at home – especially if you’ve got an Instant Pot.
We start off by browning the ribs in a little fat via the “sear” button on the Instant Pot. Once the meat is nicely browned, we add in the sauce ingredients (red wine, vinegar, other yummy things), secure the lid, and let the pot do its magic.
While the pressure cooker does its thing, you can cook up some Creamy Mashed Potatoes that go perfectly with the ribs…and help you soak up all that delicious sauce. (If you don’t have one of these speedy kitchen appliances, you can also make this dish in a slow cooker, which takes 7-8 hours, but is totally hands-off.)
Once the ribs are done, serve them on top of the potatoes, drizzled with an extra spoonful of that magical sauce. Add our Simple Sautéed Green Beans or Steamed Cauliflower if you’d like to add some additional veggies, and enjoy!
Why You’ll Love This Short Ribs Recipe
- Slow-braised flavor with just 20 minutes of prep
- The Instant Pot shaves hours off the time of traditional braising
- Red wine, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and herbs create a delicious, flavor-packed sauce
Beef Short Ribs Recipe Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make short ribs instant pot style. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Ghee – 2 tablespoons ghee
- Short Ribs – 3 pounds short ribs
- Salt – 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- Pepper – 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Garlic – 3 large cloves garlic
- Red wine – 1 cup red wine
- Balsamic vinegar – 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- Lemon – the juice of 1 lemon
- Rosemary – 2 sprigs of rosemary
- Sage – 2 sprigs of sage
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
Make these Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs your own with a few simple tweaks.
- Herbs – rosemary and sage add herbal brightness to this recipe, but you could use other herbs like thyme or parsley instead.
- Braising liquid – balsamic vinegar gives these Instant Pot beef short ribs a punch of sweet-tart flavor. But if you’d rather leave it out, swap in the same amount of water or red wine.
How to Make Short Ribs
Here’s how these Instant Pot beef short ribs come together in a few easy steps.
Step 1: Set Instant Pot to ‘saute’ mode and add ghee. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Once ghee is melted, add short ribs to the Instant pot to brown, 4-5 minutes per side. You will need to work in 2-3 batches to make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan.
Step 2: Once the short ribs are browned, remove them from the pan and add the garlic, and saute until fragrant.
Step 3: Next, add the red wine, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Then, add the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Add the short ribs back to the pot along with the rosemary and sage.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set it to “manual” and adjust to 45 minutes. Let the pressure release for about 15-20 minutes, then open the pot.
Beef Short Ribs Instant Pot Recipe Tip
Slow Cooker Version – To make these short ribs in the slow cooker, read below for instructions.
How to Serve Short Ribs
Serve these ribs up hot with some Creamy Mashed Potatoes, topped with some extra sauce.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover ribs in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat them in a microwave, or cook them in the Instant Pot or an oven with some additional liquid until just heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short ribs are a delicious cut of beef! They come from the rib cage of the cow, behind the brisket. With richly marbled meat on the bone, this cut of meat is best when braised in liquid like broth or wine (like we do here in the Instant Pot), which tenderizes the meat.
There are a few key differences between regular ribs (AKA back ribs), and short ribs. First and foremost (you guessed it!), is their length. Because they come from different parts of the cow (back ribs come from the upper back of the cow, while short ribs are cut from the lower portion of the rib cage, near the brisket)back ribs are longer. Short ribs are also marbled with fat and have a fatty layer (back ribs tend to be leaner), making them a great cut for low and slow cooking methods like braising.
More of Our Best Instant Pot Recipes
If you tried this recipe for Rustic Instant Pot Short Ribs, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝comments below!
Instant Pot Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 3 pounds short ribs
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons or 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs sage
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to ‘saute’ mode and add ghee.
- Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Once ghee is melted, add short ribs to the Instant pot to brown, 4-5 minutes per side. You will need to work in 2-3 batches to make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan.
- Once the short ribs are browned, remove them from the pan and add the garlic, and saute until fragrant.
- Next, add the red wine, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Then, add the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Add the short ribs back to the pot along with the rosemary and sage.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set it to “manual” and adjust to 45 minutes. Let the pressure release for about 15-20 minutes, then open the pot.
- Serve!
Recipe Notes
- Pat ribs dry with paper towels.
- Rub with salt and pepper.
- Lay meat-side up in slow cooker {or crockpot}.
- Pour the remaining ingredients over the ribs and cook on high for 7-8 hours.
Is there a recommended red wine for this recipe?
Hi Cameron! Any dry, red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Zinfandels, Merlots, Pinot Noir, etc.) will work great! -Team FF
Another fabulous recipeโฆthank you!
Awesome! So glad to hear that, Michelle. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Can’t wait to make these tomorrow night! If I have more than 3 pounds(closer to 6) does that affect the cooking time? Thanks!
45 minutes should be fine, and I’d recommend doing natural release! If you open the pot and they still aren’t fall-apart tender, cook them for an additional 5-10 minutes.
My family LOVES these short ribs!! They are super easy and full of flavor! I make them pretty much every other Sunday and it satisfies my bodybuilder family. Thanks for this recipe!
What would the directions be for a regular crockpot?
I would go ahead and sear the short ribs then cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.
Could you do these in a traditional pressure cooker? Would the time be the same?
I would think so, but we haven’t used a traditional pressure cooker before so I’m not positive on the time!
So Iโm new to instant pot. When you say let the pressure release 15-20 mins what does that mean? Do i let it release naturally or turn that pressure to release at the top? Thanks!
Release naturally!
What is your estimated calorie count on this item?
Hello! Iโm making these tomorrow night and Iโm new to the IP world..can I do all the steps up until step 5 in the morning, pop it in the fridge and cook it when I get home to save time?
Thanks!
I think that browning the refrigerating and cooking the short ribs would be problematic from a food safety standpoint, BUT if you want to save time you could skip the browning step. This would yield a little less flavor but would still taste good!
Just did this recipe in IP for dinner tonight. Used boneless because the butcher did not have bone in. Cooked at the same time as recipe called for. My wife loved them; could not believe how tender and tasty they were. Definitely one that I will do again.
So glad you enjoyed it Wayne!!
What could I substitute for the red wine?
You could do 1/4th balsamic vinegar with 3/4’s broth
hi! Can we use boneless short ribs for this? would it reduce the cooking time?
I would still cook it for the same amount of time.
Would it be possible to cook in coconut oil! My wife and I keep kosher in our house so I canโt use ghee and cook for her. *tear*.
You can! Coconut oil is a one-for-one substitute for any savory dish on my blog. Hope that helps!