Instant Pot Korean Beef is tender, flavorful Korean beef made in a pressure cooker. Recipe includes explanation of gochujang and gochujang substitution.
This Instant Pot Korean Beef recipe is a variation on my slow cooker Korean beef recipe, which is one of my favorite crock pot recipes.
The Korean beef is super tender and packed with flavor. The recipe makes plenty of sauce, and I love to serve it spooned over the beef.
Rather than having to slow cook it all day, the Instant Pot cuts the total time cooking from 6-8 hours to just over an hour. Most of that time is hands-off, which makes this a pretty easy dinner recipe.
How To Make Korean Beef In The Instant Pot
This is a really easy dinner recipe! Simply mix the first ten ingredients together for the sauce.
Place the cubed meat in the inner pot, and pour the sauce over the meat. Close and lock the lid.
Turn the pressure release valve to SEALING. Press the MEAT button and adjust the time to 40 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 25 minutes, and then turn the pressure release valve to VENTING.
What Is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a key ingredient in this Korean beef. It’s a sweet and spicy red chili paste that’s commonly used in Korean cooking.
Not to be confused with Thai sweet chili sauce or a spicy chili sauce like Sriracha, gochujang sauce adds unique flavor to this dish.
There are several different brands of gochujang sauce available, and I’ve seen it everywhere from my local supermarket to Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
We prefer it to Sriracha. Even my kids love the flavor of the sweet and spicy sauce.
**Note – be sure to get gochujang sauce, not paste. The paste is more concentrated and will give you a much spicier result.**
What Can You Substitute For Gochujang?
I highly recommend buying a bottle of gochujang sauce.
If you can’t gochujang sauce (or just don’t want to purchase it), you can substitute a mixture that consists of a little Sriracha, a dash of additional soy sauce, and a little additional brown sugar to taste instead.
What To Serve With Instant Pot Korean Beef
I usually serve this beef over rice with steamed broccoli on the side. It goes well with any number of steamed veggies (snow peas are also really good with this). I’ve also used this beef to make Korean tacos.
More Instant Pot Recipes!
- Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Korean Beef recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!
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Instant Pot Korean Beef
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/4 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
- 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
- 2-4 tablespoons Gochujang sauce* (depending on desired heat)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3-4 pound boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together first 10 ingredients (up to roast).
- Place cubed roast into Instant Pot.
- Pour sauce over cubed meat.
- Close the lid, and make sure the pressure release valve is turned to "SEALING".
- Press the MEAT program button, and adjust time to 40 minutes. The pot should reach pressure within 10-15 minutes.
- Once the pot reaches pressure, it will begin counting down.
- Once it has finished cooking, it will beep and switch to keep warm.
- Allow beef to remain in pot for 25 minutes NPR (natural pressure release).
- Carefully release any pressure left at that time by turning the pressure release valve to "VENTING".
Danielle says
I absolutely love this recipe but the total time is 55 minutes NOT including the 25 minute natural pressure release. It’s misleading.
Kate says
I’m sorry that you found that misleading. The way that the recipe card is structured, I only have so many fields that I can fill in. There just simply aren’t spots for the time that it takes for the IP to come up to pressure and then the pressure release. However, I noted both of those additional times in the recipe so that when one is reading through the recipe beforehand, then one would be aware of those additional times.
Roxann says
Is there enough liquid in this recipe for the instant pot? It sounds so yummy, but I’m afraid to try it.
Kate says
There is! The sauce has enough liquid, and the beef puts off more liquid as it cooks. =)
LIZA COBBS says
Trying this tonight. Surprised you don’t brown the meat first? I think I will…. fingers crossed!
Kate says
Great! Hope you enjoy!
Nhu says
Loved this recipe! Wish I could save it on Pinterest, but when I clicked on link above it just takes me to your general page, can’t find recipe.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m sorry for the confusion! There are three ways on the page for you to pin the recipe. First, you can pin it from the pin button within the recipe card. Second, if you hover over any of the images on the page, a Pinterest logo should pop up. If you click on that, it will allow you to pin the recipe. The other option is to scroll just below the recipe. There is a bar with buttons that will allow you to pin the recipe.
Jeffery Vaughn says
Looking forward to trying this but wondering if the reduced sodium Soy and beef broth makes a very big difference in resulting flavor…I have regular on hand but not reduced sodium.
Kate says
I think that it will depend on how sensitive you are to salt. If you’re concerned about the salt level, you can reduce the amount of soy sauce and then add additional soy sauce in at the end as needed.
Yvonne says
Just made this, following directions & ingredients as written. Delicious!! I’ll be making this again very soon.
Kate says
Thank you! So glad to hear that. Thanks for commenting! =)
Taterpooh says
Made this tonight . Didn’t have the Gochujang sauce so I substituted 2 T of Chile Crunch condiment and 2 T Sambal Oelek chile paste – YUM! I will definitely try freezing this with sliced beef for stir fry dishes! Thank you!
Kate says
You’re very welcome! So glad that you liked it. Thanks for commenting!
Angela Deutsch says
Thank you for this recipe! I am going to try to place everything in a gallon ziplock bag and freeze it so it marinates while freezing and is ready to dump in the Instant Pot!
Kate says
You are very welcome! I’ve done just that, and freezing it worked well. Hope you enjoy it! =)
Mama W says
What size instant pot is this for?
Kate says
Hi! I’ve used a 6 quart and an 8 quart to make this recipe.
Leanne says
First time using my pressure cooker and this is what I made! The recipe was easy to follow it turned out so good!!! This will definitely be a weekday staple for us! ❤️
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that! If you’re interested, I’m happy to recommend more easy pressure cooker recipes. =)
Dianne says
I would love more of your recipes! I’m going to try this tomorrow (Christmas Day) as I know I’m getting an Instant Pot! I’ll let you know how it goes!
Kate says
Yay! I love my IP and hope you love yours, too. Here are my Instant Pot recipes.
Therese says
Can you tell me how you would convert this recipe to the oven? I don’t like using an instant pot.
Kate says
I haven’t tried it to say for certain. However, I would cook it in an oven-safe Dutch oven (covered) for 25 minutes per pound. I’m not sure how much the sauce will cook down, so you may need to increase that part of the recipe.