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Instant Pot Korean Beef

Posted by: / Beef, Dinners, Instant Pot

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Instant Pot Korean Beef is tender, flavorful Korean beef made in a pressure cooker. Recipe includes explanation of gochujang and gochujang substitution.
Instant Pot Korean Beef in a stoneware bowl

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.

Rather than cooking all day, the Instant Pot cuts the total time from 6-8 hours to just over an hour. Most of that time is hands-off, which makes this a pretty simple recipe.

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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, and even my kids love the flavor of the sweet and spicy sauce.

 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.

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Instant Pot Korean Beef

Pressure cooker tender Korean beef.

Author: i heart eating
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: beef, dinner, Instant Pot
Servings: 8
4.92 from 23 votes
Print Recipe

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

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together first 10 ingredients (up to roast).
  2. Place cubed roast into Instant Pot.
  3. Pour sauce over cubed meat.

  4. Close the lid, and make sure the pressure release valve is turned to "SEALING".

  5. Press the MEAT program button, and adjust time to 40 minutes. The pot should reach pressure within 10-15 minutes.
  6. Once the pot reaches pressure, it will begin counting down.
  7. Once it has finished cooking, it will beep and switch to keep warm.
  8. Allow beef to remain in pot for 25 minutes NPR (natural pressure release).

  9. Carefully release any pressure left at that time by turning the pressure release valve to "VENTING".

Recipe Notes

*See notes above recipe for an explanation and substitute.

**Nutrition facts are estimates.

Nutrition facts per serving (1serving)

Calories: 390kcal
Fat: 23g
Saturated fat: 9g
Cholesterol: 117mg
Sodium: 686mg
Potassium: 650mg
Carbohydrates: 12g
Sugar: 9g
Protein: 33g
Vitamin A: 0.6%
Vitamin C: 1.5%
Calcium: 4.3%
Iron: 22.2%

Leftovers? Try the Korean beef in this Korean Beef Taco Cup recipe.

Instant Pot Korean Beef is tender, flavorful Korean beef made in a pressure cooker. Recipe includes explanation of gochujang and gochujang substitution. #InstantPot #korean #beef #Koreanbeef #dinner #easy #recipe #gochujang #meal #weeknight #ihearteating
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  1. I have a really dumb question….very new to instant pot cooking so appreciate the patience. Are you supposed to eat the meat with the sauce? As in serve the meat almost like a stew? I thought the sauce was more like a marinade (so you wouldn’t eat something drenched in marinade) and so when I ate the meat on it’s own it was a bit dry.

    Reply

    • That’s ok! Yes, you eat the meat with some of the sauce. However, the meat should be tender on its own, so you may find that you need to adjust the cooking time if it’s dry. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

    • Actually, yes. =) The “calories” that we’re used to seeing on food labels are actually “Calories” or “kilocalories”. And there are 1000 calories in a Calorie or kilocalorie. However, if you’re asking whether or not the dish has 390,000 Calories per serving, then no. No, it doesn’t.

      Reply

  3. Very easy to make & absolutely delicious! I served it with rice, broccoli, and carrots. This is definitely our new favorite meal. Used leftovers for lunches.

    Reply

  4. Would it be possible to substitute gochujang sauce with the paste, and just try to dilute it with the rest of the liquid?

    Reply

  5. Delicious! This is now one of my ‘go-to’ super easy recipes after a long day’s work. My husband loves it, and the leftovers are always a hit for lunch the next day. And because of how tender meat turns out in the Instant Pot, I just use whatever cut of beef is on sale.

    Reply

    • Thank you! I’m so glad that you like it! One of my fave things about this beef is how well it reheats. =) Thanks for coming back to comment!

      Reply

  6. This was absolutely fantastic! My family loved it and so did I! The only thing I did different was when it was all done I took about a cup of juice out and added corn starch mixed it back into the meat and turned on sauté for a few minute tonlet thicken! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will definitely make it again. Oh and I fried wonton and put it on top with the green onion!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! I do the same thing with my slow cooker version of this Korean beef. =) Fried wonton and green onion sound like a delicious way to top this! Thanks for your comment!

      Reply

    • You could leave it out or replace it with a more neutral oil. I would suggest tasting the gochujang before you make the recipe because if you find sesame oil too strong, then you may not like the flavor of the beef. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  9. This was absolutely delicious!! It was a hit with my husband and I’ll defini add this to our meal rotation. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

  10. Oh wow, this was just amazing! What a great recipe and it couldn’t be easier! Definitely one I’ll have my kids preparing. And my kids all loved this too btw. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Thank you! I’m glad that your family liked it. =) It’s so great when kids can help with (or takeover) some of the cooking! Thank you for coming back to comment!

      Reply

  11. Hi Kate, I’m planning on making this for a party I’m hosting and need to triple the size. Would I use the same time or should increase it? Thanks!

    Reply

  12. Hi! This looks delicious for a weekend meal prep recipe!! Question: do you know how I would adjust the cooking time if I used frozen or partially thawed stew meat? Still a bit of an instant pot newbie. :) thanks in advance!

    Reply

    • Hi! Thank you! I’m not exactly sure how much time you would need to add. For partially frozen meat, I would probably add about 10 minutes. For fully-frozen meat, I would probably add 20-30. I hope that helps! =)

      Reply

  14. Hi! Do you use Gochujang sauce, or the paste? All the sauces seem to have another flavor, like miso, or hot and sweet…

    Reply

    • The sauce is thin, but it shouldn’t be super soupy. Part of that will depend on the meat. I’ve noticed that some meat puts off more juice than other. If you’d like the sauce to be a little thicker, you can add a cornstarch slurry at the end to help with that. Thanks for coming back to comment!

      Reply

  16. This recipe worked really well for me. Great taste and it was a big hit with my family. I served it in tortillas with coleslaw that had been dressed with an Asian style dressing,

    One question I do have is the meat seemed a little too soft, borderline mush for some of it. I used very lean beef stew meat and about 2 lbs. Could this have been the reason?

    Reply

    • Yay! I’m so glad! That sounds delicious! I’ve used Korean beef to make taco cups, and the beef does go really well with coleslaw. =) I think it was the cooking time. I’d cut the cooking time down for two pounds of beef, and I think that will really help.

      Reply

  18. Thank you for this recipe! I was just gifted an Instant Pot and this was the first dish i made in it. So delicious! The beef was so tender. Flavor is fantastic!

    Reply

  19. I will definitely be making this in the next two days. However, I don’t have an Instant Pot. I have two different 6 qt pressure cookers that I use quite often. I’m not sure what difference it would make if I used one of those instead. I really wish Instant Pot users would let us regular pressure cooker users know if their recipes are compatible. ..and if not, what adjustments would have to be made. Thanking you in advance for a timely response.

    Reply

    • My understanding is that Instant Pot recipes should work in any other same-size electric pressure cooker. There are so many electric pressure cooker models available that, unfortunately, I don’t have a way to test variances across models. I hope that helps and that you enjoy the beef! =)

      Reply

  20. Looks excellent. Would marinating the beef in the liquid first, then cooking both together make it even more flavorful? And do you ever get BURN errors with this recipe? It seems like a relatively small amount of liquid. Excited to try it tomorrow with a tri-tip roast I bought.

    Reply

    • It might! I’ve found that the Instant Pot does a pretty good job of helping the sauce infuse the meat with flavor. I haven’t gotten a burn error. Maybe the juice the meat puts off helps with that? I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! =)

      Reply

  21. Great recipe! Whole fam loved it, including/especially, my picky daughter who hates spicy food. I did not have, nor did I try you sub the gochugan sauce. I instead used chili garlic sauce. My daughter begged to take the leftovers in her lunch. I felt like a rockstar that they all moved it and wanted to thank you ;). Will def be making it again!!

    Reply

    • Yay!! I’m so glad that your family liked it! I know that feeling, and it’s seriously the best!! Garlic chili sauce is a great alternative. Thank you for coming back to comment! =)

      Reply

  22. Just made this for my family and it was delicious!! Very easy to make as well. This has become a new family favorite!

    Reply

  24. Absolutely delicious!! This recipe inspired me to purchase an Instant Pot & this was my first recipe to try. Very, very easy to follow & turned out perfect. Thanks so much :)

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! I’m really glad that you liked the beef and that you found the recipe easy to follow! I hope you continue to enjoy your Instant Pot! =)

      Reply

  25. Seems to me you have to add the time the IP takes to come to pressure (12 minutes) plus the 25 minutes to NPR to the 55 minutes prep and cook. No?

    I will be making this dish this weekend. Looks too good to pass up.

    Reply

    • Thanks! I didn’t include either of those times in the cooking or prep times because I’ve never seen them included that way in an IP recipe. All of the recipes that I’ve seen only include the active cook time in the “cook time” and only prep work time included in “prep time”. Maybe we need a third category for pressure release time for IP recipes!
      My understanding is that the time that it takes for the IP to come to pressure can vary based on a number of factors, so that may be one reason why time to pressure isn’t usually included.

      Reply

  26. How spicy would you say this is with the minimum amount listed of the gochujang sauce? I want to try this recipe, but my little ones don’t do much spice.

    I know this is a very subjective question, thought I would ask anyway :)

    Reply

    • My kids don’t notice it at 2 tablespoons. They’re ok with a little spice but not much. If you’re worried about the spice, you could try 1 tablespoon and then go from there. Hope that helps! =)

      Reply

  27. This will be my first time using the Instant Pot. The only meat setting I see on it is “meat stew”. Is that the proper setting to use?

    Reply

    • You might be able to shave a few minutes off, but the longer cooking time really helps to break down the meat so that it’s very tender. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  30. Hi! Loved the recipe & it worked great for me. Have you ever tried it from frozen prep? I want to prep bagged frozen meals to throw in the instant pot easily once our baby comes. Would like to do this recipe, as we really enjoyed it. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Thank you! I’m glad you liked it! I haven’t made this one from frozen, but I have done a lot of frozen meal prep. I haven’t had any trouble putting roasts in a sauce or marinade (as long as there isn’t dairy in the sauce), so I think this one would work. Good luck, and congrats on your new baby! =)

      Reply

    • The brown sugar just provides a hint of sweetness to add some balance to the sauce. I haven’t tried that sub, but since it’s just for a little sweetness, I would think it would work. Good luck! =)

      Reply

  32. So authentic! Easy to follow with suprising results. Beyond 5 stars indeed. The Gochujang sauce was the secret ingredient. Some freakin’ flavorful meat! A great recipe👍 that comes as close to our favorite Korean restraunt Chung Oak in Newport News VA. Husband approved!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you both liked it and that it was close to what you can get at your favorite Korean restaurant! That’s a big compliment. Yes, the gochujang definitely makes the sauce. =) Thanks for coming back to comment!

      Reply

  33. This was DELICIOUS!!! The Gochujang sauce was Awesome! Even my picky husband loved it. I used a sirloin roast instead of chuck so it had less fat. I served it over cauliflower rice and sprinkled sliced green onions on top with some white pepper. We ate it with fresh green beans from the grarden. I will definitely be making this again soon! Thank you!

    Reply

  34. Followed the recipe as written and was floored at how good this is! My meat was delicious with plenty of incredible sauce. I may shorten my cooking time a bit next time though because meat was so tender it fell apart and I like it to be a bit less shredded. This one is a keeper!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked it! Yes, it does fall apart, so that’s a smart idea. I appreciate you taking the time to come back to comment! =)

      Reply

  35. Hi, the nutrition facts show a serving of 1G ? I’m assuming a typo, could you clarify, thanks

    Reply

  36. I don’t have an instantpot only a pressure cooker. What changes would I have to make to to make this recipe in the pressure cooker? Any vice would be appreciated.

    Reply

  38. So in the cooking time the 25 minutes you leave the meat in should you turn the pot off or let it stay on warm for that 25 minutes? In the cooker as we speak!

    Reply

    • Hi! The cooking time is 40 minutes. After the cooking time ends, it should switch to keep warm, and you’ll let it stay in the pot to let the pressure release naturally for 25 minutes. Then, open the release valve to let any remaining pressure vent. Hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any questions!

      Reply

    • Sure! You could add it to the sauce for a little extra kick, or you could use it in place of the Sriracha in the gochujang substitution listed above the recipe. Or you could just use it in place of the gochujang if you’re looking to add a different flavor to the sauce.

      Reply

  41. Thank you! This recipe was amazing. I added a little chili sauce to make it a bit spicier. Lovely!

    Reply

    • Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it, and chili sauce is a great way to add a little kick. =) Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment!

      Reply

  42. I’m confused by the timing. If I set to meat setting for 40 min and when it’s done cooking, let sit for 25 more min, isn’t cooking time 65 min?

    Reply

    • I’m sorry for the confusion! The 25 minutes after the 40 minutes is time when the pressure is releasing. I didn’t include that time in the cooking time because I’ve never seen the pressure release time included in the cook time in an Instant Pot recipe. All of the recipes that I’ve seen only include the active cook time in the “cook time”. Hope that makes sense!

      Reply

  43. I am going to make this tomorrow but only for 2 people. I will halve everything but should I change the cooking time??

    Reply

    • I’m not sure! I haven’t tried a smaller piece of beef with this recipe. However, when I’ve cooked smaller cuts of beef (in the IP for other recipes), they still need about the same amount of time to allow the beef to break down and become tender. Just a note – if you’re making this in the Instant Pot, you’ll still need about 1 cup of liquid.

      Reply

      • I made this tonight with 2 pounds of meat since it is only 2 of us. I took your advice and made sure there was enough liquid so I didn’t change any other measurements. It was yummy! I think next time I won’t let it keep warm for 25 minutes as the beef was a bit dry. Delicious!!

        Reply

        • I’m glad you liked it! And thank you! I appreciate you coming back to let me know how it turned out! I’m sure that note about the timing will people helpful for other people.

  44. SO TASTY! But based on the photo, I was expecting more of a gravy consistency for the sauce – did I do something wrong?

    Reply

    • Thank you! You didn’t do anything wrong; the sauce is fairly thin. Maybe the pieces of meat make it look chunkier? If you’d like a thicker sauce, that’s really easy! You could scoop the meat out to a bowl, and then take 1 cup of the sauce out. Add 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the cup of liquid you removed, and stir until dissolved. Then, stir the sauce with the dissolved cornstarch back into the sauce. Turn the Instant Pot to “Saute” on high, and stir until it reaches your desired thickness. It should thicken up fairly quickly. Hope that helps!

      Reply

      • Before I read this, I did this very thing to thicken the sauce and it worked perfectly! It was my first cook in the Instant Pot and it was a perfect first recipe to try! I loved having the option to sauté in the same pan. I used a Chuck Tender Roast because it was cheaper. It was lean, too. I also cooked my jasmine rice in the Instant Pot to serve with this. It was delicious!

        Reply

        • Thank you! I’m so glad it worked for you! It is nice to be able to use the same pan – one less dish to wash. Thank you for coming back to comment! =)

  45. This recipe is really good! I’m new to Instant Pot, and this recipe was easy and the beef came out really good. It’s a keeper!

    Reply