Instant Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage
Enjoying corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day is a much-loved tradition, but with this Instant Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage recipe, you can feast on the amazing flavors of this humble fare, all year long. Hungry? Dust off your Instant Pot and read on – I’ll show you all my cheffy tips and tricks to make this amazing corned beef recipe perfectly every time!
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Paired with tender potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, this is a one-pot meal that’s hearty and flavorful. It’s made in 2-steps, first cooking the corned beef and then cooking the veggies. Give yourself a fair bit of time because while the IP is quick, corned beef still takes quite some time to tenderize.
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What You Need to Make Instant Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage Supper
- Instant Pot – my advice regarding Instant Pots is that bigger is better! Unless you’re only cooking for 1 or 2 people, always spring for the bigger IP.
- Corned beef – see my notes below
- Water
- Onion
- Garlic
- Bay leaves
- Cabbage
- Potatoes
- Carrots
How To Buy Corned Beef
What is corned beef? Corned beef is typically beef brisket that’s been cured in a salty brine to tenderize it. This technique is a throwback to the days before refrigeration when meat was packed in salt to preserve it.
Today, you can find it in most grocery stores, especially in March when St. Patrick’s Day is close. I usually buy a few hunks and keep them in the freezer to make throughout the year.
Look for vacuum sealed packages of corned beef. Some come with an included spice package, but that’s not necessary. There’s already so much flavor in it.
How Much Corned Beef Per Person?
Corned beef will shrink like crazy when it’s cooked. You can start out with a big hunk of meat and end up with very little. That’s because the beef takes on so much liquid when it is cured in a salt brine.
I always count on 14 ounces to a pound of RAW corned beef per person. This will give you enough cooked meat for a pleasant portion.
However, leftover corned beef is NEVER a bad thing! Check out my ideas for leftover corned beef below.
How To Make Corned Beef in the Instant Pot
Scroll down for the full recipe card with exact measurements and printable instructions.
Start by setting the steamer rack or trivet into your Instant Pot.
Open the package of corned beef and place the beef along with any juices into the Instant Pot. If there is a spice packet included, open it and add all the spices to the pot.
Add 3 to 4 cups of water, then toss in the onion, garlic, and bay leaves. I like using a small silicone spoon to gently stir everything so the spices distribute evenly.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure or the meat setting, depending on your model, and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Attach the lid and start the cooking cycle.
When the timer goes off, perform a quick release and carefully lift the corned beef out onto a plate. Tent it with foil and let it rest while you cook the vegetables.
Keep the cooking liquid in the Instant Pot. Add the peeled carrots, cabbage wedges, and potatoes. Make sure the cabbage is fully submerged.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure or the stew setting and cook for 10 minutes. Quick release when done and remove the vegetables.
To serve, slice the corned beef across the grain into nice, even slices. Arrange the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes around the meat on a platter.
Serve with grainy mustard and enjoy every tender, flavorful bite.
Chef Jenn’s Tips To Make Instant Pot Corned Beef
- To prepare the cabbage for cooking, use a big knife (a chef’s knife works great) and after removing a layer or two of outside leaves, cut the cabbage in half. Then, make a triangular cut to remove the core. Cut each cabbage half into 4 wedges.
Allow at least one wedge per person. - Peel the carrots before adding them to the Instant Pot, but the potatoes can go in washed but unpeeled.
- If the potatoes are about the size of a tennis ball or larger, cut them in half or into more pieces so that they cook.
- Do not add salt to the water! The corned beef is salty enough already, and there’s plenty of salt in the cooking liquid to cook the vegetables, too.
- Discard the garlic, bay leaves, and onion.
What To Do With Leftover Corned Beef
Leftover corned beef is a hot commodity in my house! Not only does it make amazing sandwiches, but there are so many things you can do with it, including:
- Corned Beef Fritters
- Corned Beef Hash – keto style
- Corned Beef Hash with potatoes and veggies
- Corned Beef Casserole
- Add chunks to Split Pea Soup in place of the ham
and so much more!
What To Serve With an Instant Pot Corned Beef Dinner
Mustard and butter.
Seriously – that’s about it! This dish already includes 2 veggies and potatoes, so with the corned beef it’s a full meal! Pick your favorite mustard – from yellow mustard to spicy and grainy, mustard goes oh-so well with corned beef. Have lots of creamy butter on hand to slather all over those hot veggies. Oh my, I’m making myself hungry!
Can I Freeze Corned Beef?
Sure, if you have any leftover! Leftover corned beef in my house is about as rare as a unicorn. But if you’re lucky enough to have leftover corned beef, I’d freeze it, along with some of the cooled cooking liquid, in a vacuum sealed bag.
Packed in cooking liquid, it’ll keep for several months in the freezer.
To reheat it, simply pop the frozen cube into a casserole dish and cover it with foil. Heat it in a 350-F oven until it is heated through.
Sadly, the veggies won’t fare as well so just freeze the leftover corned beef.
Frequently Asked Questions
You bet! I make it with plain water. I find there’s soooo much flavor in the corned beef, that it doesn’t need a single thing more. I do add some aromatics (onion, garlic, bay leaves) but that’s it!
No! It is fork-tender and the fat renders out leaving lovely tender pockets of meat that are fall-apart delicous.
You can, but I don’t think it really adds anything. And, if you use anything other than no-sodium added chicken broth, you could end up with a dish that’s too salty.
Yes, it sure can be! To make this recipe keto, just omit the potatoes and limit how many carrots you eat. Cabbage and corned beef are totally keto so you can indulge guilt-free.
Instant Pot Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes & Carrots
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4 pounds corned beef
- 1 onion peeled and quartered
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 head cabbage cut into wedges
- 1 pound potatoes cut into 2-3-inch pieces
- 6 large carrots
Instructions
- Set the steamer rack/trivet into the Instant Pot.
- Open up the package of corned beef and add the beef and any juices from the package into the Instant Pot. Watch for the little spice package, if it's included. If it is, open it up and add all those lovely spices to the IP.
- Add 4 cups of water to the Instant Pot.
- Add the onion, garlic, and bay leaves to the pot.
- Set the IP on high or the meat setting, whichever your model has. Set it for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Attach the lid and start it.
- When the time is up, quick release and lift the corned beef out to a plate. Tent it with foil and let it rest.
- Add the peeled carrots, cabbage wedges, and potatoes to the hot cooking liquid in the IP. Make sure the cabbage is fully submerged.
- Set it on high or the stew setting for 10 minutes. Put the lid on and start it.
- Quick release and fish everything out of the IP.
- Slice the meat across the grain in lovely thin slices. Not paper thin, but not too thick. Lay the slices on a pretty platter.
- Arrange the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes around the corned beef. Serve with a good mustard and enjoy!
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
