This Instant Pot Corned Beef makes a cozy, complete dinner with tender, sliceable beef and perfectly cooked veggies in under 2 hours. It’s a one-pot, classic comfort meal with an easy, hands-off method that turns out juicy every time.

Instant Pot Corned Beef on a plate with potatoes and vegetables

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Holly’s Recipe Highlights

  • Flavor: Savory corned beef with that signature pickling-spice flavor, gently mellowed with beer and broth, served alongside potatoes, carrots, and buttery cabbage.
  • Recommended Tools: A 6-quart Instant Pot, a trivet, and a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon make this recipe effortless.
  • Serving Suggestions: This is great with mustard or horseradish sauce.  
  • Leftovers: This is one of those go-to winter comfort dinners, and the leftovers make easy, satisfying lunches all week long. They are great for Reuben sandwiches, corned beef hash, and baked Reuben-style casseroles.
cabbage , beer , carrots , potatoes , broth , onion , garlic , beef brisket with labels to make Instant Pot Corned Beef

Ingredients That Make it Work

  • Beer: Choose a mild lager. A darker beer can taste slightly bitter after pressure cooking. No beer? No problem. Replace it with additional broth or a mix of broth and water.
  • Broth: For a deeper flavor, use beef broth. For a lower sodium content, use water or a low-sodium beef broth.
  • Beef: Use either a point cut (fattier and more tender) or a flat cut (easy to slice) brisket. If very salty, give it a quick rinse and pat dry. If it comes with the spice packet, add it on top so it seasons the beef as it cooks.
  • Spice Packet Substitute: If your corned beef doesn’t have a packet, replace it with about 1 tablespoon of pickling spice.
  • Vegetables: Waxy potatoes hold their shape and don’t need peeling (russets can get a bit crumbly), while chunky-cut carrots keep their texture instead of turning soft. Add the green cabbage after the beef cooks and cut it into wedges or large pieces so it stays tender-crisp.
  • Variations: Add parsnips, turnips, or rutabaga along with the potatoes and carrots for extra heartiness.

The One Pot Game Plan

  1. Combine beer, beef broth, onion, and garlic in the Instant Pot (full recipe below).
  2. Add the corned beef to the Instant Pot on the trivet. Sprinkle with seasoning. Cook.
  3. Remove the corned beef. Add veggies and cook.
  4. Slice the meat across the grain and serve with the veggies.

Instant Pot Corned Beef Success

  • Let the brisket rest 10 to 15 minutes before slicing so the juices stay in the meat.
  • For extra tender slices, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release.
  • Slice across the grain (look for the long lines in the meat) to keep it tender.
  • If the potatoes are small, add them whole. If they are larger, halve them so everything finishes at the same time.
  • Save the cooking liquid and spoon a little over the sliced beef when serving and again when reheating leftovers.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Store leftover corned beef (and a little cooking liquid) and vegetables separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 4 days.

Freeze the corned beef with a little cooking liquid in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months.

Reheat with a splash of broth or cooking liquid in a covered skillet or microwave at reduced power to prevent drying.

Cozy St. Patrick's Day Spread

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4.92 from 85 votes

Instant Pot Corned Beef

Servings 6 servings
A cozy one-pot corned beef dinner with classic seasoning, juicy slices, and perfectly cooked vegetables, ready fast in the Instant Pot.
Servings 6 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
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Ingredients  

  • 2 cups water or broth
  • 6 ounces beer
  • 6 ounces beef broth
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 to 3 pound corned beef brisket with spice packet, uncooked
  • 1 pound baby potatoes
  • 3 cups chopped green cabbage
  • 3 carrots chopped

Instructions 

  • In a 6-quart Instant Pot, combine water, beer, broth, onion, and garlic.
  • Add the trivet to the bottom of the pot and place the corned beef brisket with the *spice mixture, fat side up (if your corned beef doesn't have a spice mixture, see the notes).
  • Close the lid and ensure the pressure release valve is in the sealed position. Cook on high pressure for 90 minutes.
  • Once the cooking time is done, release the pressure. Open the lid, remove the brisket, and place it on a plate to rest. Lightly tent with foil.
  • Leave about 1 cup of liquid in the Instant Pot. Add cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Close the lid and set to high pressure for 5 minutes.
  • Quick-release pressure and remove the lids. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a serving plate. Top with butter or juices from the Instant Pot.
  • Slice corned beef across the grain and serve with vegetables.

Video

Notes

No Spice Packet? No Problem! Corned beef often comes with a seasoning packet to be added during cooking. If you don’t see a spice packet, sometimes the spices are already in the beef, and the packet is not separate. A corned beef spice packet can be substituted with about 1 tablespoon or so of pickling spices.
You can use all broth or all beer with the water. Darker beers can produce a slightly bitter flavor depending on the type/brand.
I prefer baby potatoes because they hold their shape and don’t require peeling/chopping, but you can use any potatoes. Russet potatoes will need to be peeled. Baby carrots will work in this recipe.
Keep leftover beef and vegetables separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 4 days and in the freezer for 3 months. 
4.92 from 85 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 416 | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 1880mg | Potassium: 984mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 5130IU | Vitamin C: 73mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Beef, Entree, Instant Pot, Main Course
Cuisine American, Irish
plated Instant Pot Corned Beef with a title
tender and juicy Instant Pot Corned Beef with writing
close up of Instant Pot Corned Beef with writing
plate of Instant Pot Corned Beef with veggies and writing

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About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
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4.92 from 85 votes (68 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Meat was actually a little on the firm side, but it’s hard to say if that was time, technique or the quality of the roast. It was very flavorful.

    Next time I follow this recipe, I’ll double (at least) the potatoes, cabbage, and carrots.

    I appreciate the 2-step process to keep the veggies from being overcooked, and the advice to remove most of the liquid is brilliant, as it comes up to pressure much faster.4 stars

  2. The meat wasn’t that tender…not sure why. It maybe the timing is off. Cool lower for longer ot crackpot?

    Also the veggies ate good if cut in big Chinese except the cabbage shouldn’t be added until after…too mushy.

    Overall decent but not awesome!4 stars

  3. The corned beef had good flavor but I would add 6-8 more minutes. The Cabbage was mushy, and the carrots were very soft, so I would decrease cooking time to 31/2 min with instant pressure release as stated.
    I served potato salad as a side just because I had it on hand and it needed to be used.3 stars

  4. Made this last night for dinner, hubby was very skeptical when I started dinner at 4:45 and told him we would eat corned beef at 6:30pm. He was blown away. The meat was done perfectly. The only change I made was to do the cabbage, more onion and potatoes on the stove top while the meat cooked. This was just to have everything ready to go once the meat was done. Delish!5 stars

  5. Can this be done with a crockpot?? Yes, the timing will of course be different, I don’t have an instant pot but this looks delicious!!

    1. Hi Sandra, you may need to add a few extra minutes for a corned beef of that size but we have never tried so I can’t say for sure.

  6. I made this last year and ready for this year. Very good. Gave the recipe to my son who liked it also.
    I really enjoy your email recipes. I use so many of them
    Thank you
    Linda5 stars

  7. Does it matter what cut of corned beef is used? Point is less expensive but I wondered if it might be tough?

  8. Can you use regular potatoes cut in small pieces? Also, can you use baby carrots instead? If so, how many would you recommend? I love all of your recipes so I’m sure this will be great as well!

  9. We love corned beef…but this one just doesn’t meet the standard. I use my Instant pot constantly so I know the ins-and-outs procedure wise. I don’t know if this was an old cow or what happened but even giving it two stars was a stretch. I’m sorry :-(2 stars

  10. I made this yesterday for St Patrick’s day dinner. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it because after the meat was cooked but before the veggies were added to the pot I tasted the broth and it had a slightly bitter taste – I imagine due to the beer. I really dislike bitter and was afraid the veggies would pick up that taste. I should not have worried. The whole thing was delicious. I normally don’t have beer in the house so next time I will probably skip the beer and just use beef broth. All the recipes I’ve tried from your website have been spot on. Thanks for another great recipe!5 stars

  11. Hi Holly,
    Tried this recipe tonight. Came out good but I believe the 90 minute cooking time is too long for a 2.7 lbs. Vienna Beef corned beef lean round cut. I actually lowered the time to 15 minutes and the meat was really soft to almost crumbling. Used 50% less sodium beef broth.

    1. I haven’t tried doubling this recipe Tracy, so can’t say for sure how it would work. It may take extra cook time. Let us know how it works if you try it!

  12. Hi Holly
    Just made the corned beef tonight and it was delicious. I have a son who is an excellent cook and he was very impressed. I used all broth.
    Glad I bought two briskets as we will have this again5 stars

  13. Are you saying do a quick release when the roast is done? Isn’t that against all recommendations for most all meats? You mention quick release with the vegetables and only say release the pressure. The only recipe I have seen not calling for NPR.

    1. Yes Jack, in this recipe, we do quick release after the roast as well as after the vegetables. Enjoy!

  14. This was very very good. Meat was cooked perfect. I had 3.5 lb. flat cut corn beef and left that good fat cap on. Used Miller Lite beer and unsalted beef broth. I did not rinse the corn beef. Only thing is that the cabbage was very mushy. Next time I’d leave it in wedges instead of cut up. Broth was very flavorful and great over everything!5 stars

    1. This was SO good!!! I cooked for 55 minutes in the instant pot instead of the 90 for 1.9 lb and it was so tender! Delicious, will make this again. Thank you!!5 stars