The Blond Cook

Serving Up Cooking Simplicity

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Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

This incredibly tender and flavor-packed Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is on the table in a flash!

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Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef – The most tender and flavorful Mongolian beef prepared in your pressure cooker!

My new Instant Pot has been a total game-changer when it comes to getting a meal on the table on busy weeknights.  I was completely amazed at how tender and flavorful this beef was… like it had been slow cooking for hours and hours!

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

With just 10 minutes prep time and 25 minutes cook time (I included the time it takes to come to pressure), this sweet and tangy Mongolian beef is on the table in 35 minutes, and it’s so much better than takeout!

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

With warmer weather headed our way, I’m wanting to spend more time outside during the evenings (it was a LONG winter!) and quick recipes like this make it easier.  I have a garden to plant and so much work to do!  I’ve been dreaming of vine-ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, green beans…  

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, I have a slow cooker version of this recipe here.

12/4/18:  Recipe slightly revised

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy Mongolian beef as much as we did!

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Instant Pot Mongolian Beef – The most tender and flavorful Mongolian beef prepared in your pressure cooker!

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

★★★★★ 4.8 from 16 reviews
  • Author: Amy @ The Blond Cook
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 38 minutes
  • Total Time: 48 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds flank steak, sliced into thin strips across the grain
  • 2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
  • 2 teaspoons freshly minced garlic
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1 cup shredded or julienned carrots
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1/3 cup cold water
  • Sliced green onions and sesame seeds, for garnish
  • Optional:  cooked white rice

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, add ginger root, garlic, soy sauce,  1 cup water, brown sugar and hoisin sauce.  Stir well to combine.
  2. Set your Instant Pot to the saute setting.  Add olive oil.  When olive oil is heated, add beef and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  3. Pour mixture over beef and stir to combine.  Add carrots and stir again.
  4. Turn Instant Pot off.  Place the lid on and lock.  Steam release knob should be set on “sealing”.
  5. Cook on manual setting (high pressure) for 10 minutes.  Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.
  6. Carefully remove lid and stir.  Turn off Instant Pot.
  7. Prepare the cornstarch slurry by whisking together cornstarch and 1/3 cup cold water in a small bowl or large measuring cup until smooth.  Add to sauce and stir to combine.   Turn on the saute setting and continue to stir until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes).  Turn off your Instant Pot.  Sauce will thicken as it sits (about 5 minutes).
  8. Serve over cooked white rice (if desired) and top with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.

Notes

  • Cook time includes the time it took my pot to come to pressure.
  • I used an Instant Pot LUX80 8 quart in this recipe.

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

 

 

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Comments

  2. This looks delicious! I’m wondering how to convert this recipe to slow cooker or stove top, as I don’t have an Instant Pot. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and mouth-watering photos!

    Reply

  4. I want to try this but I have a 6 QT pressure crockpot. would there be any changes to the recipe. I am new to the pressure crockpot

    Reply

  5. This sauce is incredible!! I unfortunately got my first instant pot BURN icon while making this tonight. I followed the recipe exactly but my steak was tough and chewy. Any insight as to why?

    Reply

    • Hi Brandi, I’m so sorry that happened to you! I’ve made this several times and have never had a burn notification so I can’t say as to why that happened… my meat has always been tender as well. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!

      Reply

    • Hi Stacey, in step 2 of the instructions: “In a medium bowl, add ginger root, garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar and hoisin sauce. Stir well to combine.” Hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply

  8. this is legit one of the BEST meals I’ve ever made. My family loves it. Including my children who basically live on nuggets.
    thanks!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Janet! So happy to hear everyone loves it, even your children… makes me smile! 🙂

      Reply

  9. Hi Amy Thank you for all the great recipes!Trying this one tonight. Question re the Sesame seeds:should they be toasted? And I saw in the comments above that someone got a Burn error and was wondering why. I’m sure they have found an answer already but for anyone still wondering googling the error will give you all possible scenarios for getting that error and how to address them :o) My first Burn error came as a result of not deglazing the pot after sauteing meat in a different recipe. I was trying my own recipe for pot roast and also found that using mushroom soup (with some water and onion soup mix) was possibly too thick and may also have caused the burn error which doesn’t mean that your food is burning but that it could and that is why there is an auto heat shutoff and the error for you to address. This will be my 4th Instant Pot meal and I’m thinking the best so far! Thanks again :o)

    Reply

    • Hi Lana! No, I don’t toast the sesame seeds. I’ve never gotten a burn error using my Instant Pot so I can’t give any advice on it… sorry! Hope you enjoy the Mongolian beef! 🙂

      Reply

  10. I made this tonight. It was fantastic. This is only my 4th time using my Instant Pot. It was very easy to make.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  11. I just purchased my insta pot yesterday and this was the first thing I tried. LOVED it!!! The only thing that I’m going to change is adding the cornstarch to the liquid mixture as when I coated the meat the cornstarch stuck to the bottom. I had to remove everything and clean the bottom and then put the food back in the pot.

    Reply

    • I had this too. It’s ok if some gets stuck to it. that actually adds amazing flavor. You have to deglaze the pot by adding a little water or broth. Not too much or you lose the texture of your sauce.

      Reply

  12. I made this last night and it was awesome. The whole family loved it. The skirt steak at our grocery was very expensive. It was going to be $33 for this dish, so I used a london broil instead. I was worried about it being tough, but it was not. It turned out very tender and delicious.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  13. Did anyone have problems with the “burn” error using this recipe? I did — maybe the saute created a layer on the bottom or the liquid wasn’t thick enough. Not sure.

    Reply

    • Hi Jeff, I’m so sorry that happened. I’ve never gotten a burn error when making this recipe (I’ve made it several times) so I can’t say for sure what might have caused it.

      Reply

  14. Do you make the rice first in your instant pot and set aside or do you have a 2nd pot or do you make the rice in a rice cooker while making the meat. I am thinking, if may make since to keep the rice cooker. I just ordered the instant pot and it will arrive in a few days. I am planning on making this recipe first.

    Happy Thanksgiving.

    Reply

    • Hi Stacey, I only have one Instant Pot so I prepare my rice on the stove top. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving as well, and enjoy your new Instant Pot! 🙂

      Reply

  16. My 3 grown boys and husband did backflips over this meal! We will definitely make again, but boys wanted seconds. New to Insta Pot, but can this recipe be doubled??

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, Katie! I’ve never doubled this recipe so can’t say for certain. It would also depend on the size of your Instant Pot, as you shouldn’t go over the fill line. So happy to hear everyone enjoyed it! 🙂

      Reply

  17. If i wanted to include broccoli in the recipe, should it cook in the Instapot the same time the meat is cooking?

    Reply

    • Hi Scott, I’ve never included broccoli in this recipe so I can’t say with certainty. I would steam the broccoli separately (microwave or stove top) and add them just before serving. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi Melissa, I’ve never substituted honey for brown sugar in this recipe so I can’t say with certainty… but I wouldn’t hesitate to try it. Here is an article I found on how to substitute honey for brown sugar in recipes. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply

  19. I do not have an instant pot – only crock pot.
    this recipe has been going around for a very, very long time. I have not received any other recipes from you. do you only cook with an instant pot?

    Reply

    • Hi Cyndi, if you browse around the site, you’ll see that I don’t cook only with an Instant Pot. At the end this post I included a link to a slow cooker version of this recipe that you can find here. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply

  21. We loved this recipe!! I am new to Instant Pot and love trying new recipes! The big drawback I am finding is no info on Nutritional Facts. I count calories & have to keep track of Hubby’s sodium. I couldn’t find a low sodium Hoisin sauce so I almost skipped it, but was well worth that flavor! I went to a small market and they didn’t have Flank or Skirt Steak but they did have Bottom Round Stir Fry Beef & I didn’t even have to slice the meat, BONUS!! I would like to try this again with Flank. If anyone has figured out the calories & sodium, please let me know since this is one of the new favorites!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, Karla! I don’t have nutritional info for this recipe, but there are several online resources, just Google “nutritional calculator” and enter the ingredients. So happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi Steve, that’s the only thing I can think of… sorry that happened! I hope you’ll try it again with slicing the meat thicker; glad you liked the flavor!

      Reply

  23. This was my first instant pot recipe. It came out so well! Very tasty and tender. I used a cheaper cut of beef and still came out great. Next time, I may use less brown sugar to cut down the sweetness.

    ★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Jessica, that’s so great to hear! So happy you liked it and hope you enjoy your new Instant Pot! 🙂

      Reply

  25. I liked the taste of this, but it was a bit on the sweet side. My sauce never thickened, even after increasing the amount of corn starch mixture that I added. Also, the carrots completely disappeared. I’m thinking it might be better to add them when the pressure cooking is done and the lid is removed. When I added the corn starch, a chemical reaction happened that made the sauce foam up and expand. It did eventually go down. It would be useful to add to the instructions to pour the corn starch mixture in slowly. I’ll definitely make this again and tweak the amount of liquid that goes in at the beginning. Any suggestions as to why the sauce didn’t thicken would be appreciated.

    ★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Joan, I honestly can’t say as to why your sauce didn’t thicken as I’ve never had that to happen (especially with adding more cornstarch mixture). As for the “chemical reaction” that has me baffled as well. So sorry I couldn’t be of more help.

      Reply

      • I feel like a dunce! I just realized I used baking powder instead of corn starch! That’s why I got the chemical reaction and the sauce didn’t thicken. Remade, this time using corn starch. It was perfect!

        ★★★★★

        Reply

        • JOAN! So funny, I was going to suggest that being a possibility but decided not to (LOL). At least I’m not the only one that makes silly blunders in the kitchen! Thanks and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

          Reply

  26. This fantastic recipe is the very first one we tried in our Instant Pot, and we’re immediate fans! Thank you so much!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  28. Made this today, first recipe in my new instant pot. Love it, thank you sooo much. Where can I find more of your recipes?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Linda, Thanks so much! My recipe index is here and there is a category dedicated to Instant Pot recipes. Hope you enjoy your new Instant Pot!

      Reply

  29. I’m so happy with how this turned out! Im new to instantpot and this is the first beef dish i made. Its moist and flavorful and not dry at all.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, Katy! So happy to hear you liked it. I hope you enjoy your new Instant Pot! 🙂

      Reply

  30. Made this yesterday in a six-quart Duo. I decided to brown the beef in batches so that it didn’t all just steam in the bottom of the pot. That was the only change I made to your instructions. So, you can assure other readers that this recipe works in a 6-quart pressure cooker just fine!

    Tasty recipe. I am curious, did you intend for the beef to brown in that initial saute step?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  31. I made this recipe the other night and it was a HUGE hit with my kids! I just got my instant pot and this was the first recipe I made using it. I was kind of intimidated to use my instant pot but this recipe was so easy and so tasty and now I love using my instant pot! Thank you for this recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thanks, Christina! So happy to hear you (and the kids, too!) enjoyed it! I was intimidated as well when first using the Instant Pot. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have! 🙂

      Reply

  32. This was so great! Husband raved and both kids went back for seconds – a usually unheard-of occurrence! The only difference is I used arrowroot since I didn’t have cornstarch in the house. Thanks so much for this recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, Stacey… that makes me smile! 🙂 So happy to hear everyone (even the kids!) enjoyed it!

      Reply

  33. I have a new Instant Pot and am pretty interested in this recipe. I have to say, that seems like a lot of sugar. How sweet does the final dish taste?

    Reply

    • Hi Angela, it’s definitely sweet (and spicy), which Mongolian sauce is supposed to be. Hope you enjoy it if you make it! 🙂

      Reply

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