Instant Pot Korean Beef is tender, flavorful Korean beef made in a pressure cooker. Recipe includes an explanation of gochujang and a gochujang substitute.
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!
Step 1: Simply stir the first ten ingredients together for the sauce.
Step 2: Place the cubed meat in the inner pot, and pour the sauce over the meat.
Step 3: Close and lock the lid.
Step 4: Turn the pressure release valve to sealing position. Press the meat button and adjust the time to 40 minutes.
Step 5: Let the pressure release naturally for 25 minutes, and then turn the pressure release valve to venting position.
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 this dish
I usually serve this beef topped with sesame seeds and sliced green onions 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).
You can also serve it as Korean beef tacos in tortillas topped with shredded cabbage.
Storage
Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The beef will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored.
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Instant Pot Korean Beef
Equipment
- Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker
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 sauce1 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”.
Video
Notes
- See notes above recipe for an explanation and substitute. Also, be sure to get gochujang sauce, not paste.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Erin says
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 :)
Kate says
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! =)
Sara says
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?
Kate says
Is it a button that says “meat/stew”?
Sil Johnson says
I made a this tonight and it’s absolutely delicious!
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for coming back to comment! =)
Samantha says
THis sounds yummy, but does it really need to cook at 40 minutes? It seems kind of long. TIA!
Kate says
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!
Michelle says
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!
Kate says
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! =)
suzanne says
Has anyone tried using Truvia brown sugar – trying to reduce my sugar intake :)
Kate says
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! =)
mkware says
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!
Kate says
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!
Patrick says
Just made it tonight and said the same thing! We also live in Newport News!
Kate says
Yay!! And how fun that you live in the same area! =)
Kim says
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!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad you both liked it! Your serving suggestions sound delicious. Thanks for commenting! =)
Shannon says
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!
Kate says
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! =)
Keith MacDougall says
Hi, the nutrition facts show a serving of 1G ? I’m assuming a typo, could you clarify, thanks
Kate says
Hi! The nutrition values are for 1 serving. I’ve updated it to say “serving” rather than “g”. Thanks!
patti g says
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.
Kate says
Is it a stovetop pressure cooker?
Denise says
I’m interested as well and my pressure cooker is a stove top one.
Kate says
I’m not sure! I’ve only made with recipe with my electric pressure cooker, so I’m not sure how it would convert for a stove top pressure cooker. Maybe someone else can jump in here.
Jeannine R says
If using a stove top pressure cooker, you can reduce the cooking time by 10% as it has a higher cooking pressure/temperature.
Kate says
Yay!! Thank you so much for that info!
Erin says
Think I could convert this to a slow cooker?
Kate says
No need to convert it! =) Here is the link for the slow cooker version.
Marlene says
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!
Kate says
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!
Margaret Clifton says
This dish was so good!
Kate says
Thanks! I’m so glad you liked it!
Florence says
Can I make my own sauce using ground fresh chili paste (samba oelek?
Kate says
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.
Dia says
Thank you! This recipe was amazing. I added a little chili sauce to make it a bit spicier. Lovely!
Kate says
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!
Ryan says
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?
Kate says
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!
Sue says
I am going to make this tomorrow but only for 2 people. I will halve everything but should I change the cooking time??
Kate says
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.
Sue says
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!!
Kate says
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.
Colleen says
SO TASTY! But based on the photo, I was expecting more of a gravy consistency for the sauce – did I do something wrong?
Kate says
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!
Lisa says
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!
Kate says
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! =)
Sarah says
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!
Kate says
Thank you! Glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment!