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Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage is, without a doubt, the easiest way to make this Irish-American classic. In a fraction of the time, you'll have fork-tender corned beef alongside perfectly cooked cabbage, potatoes, and carrots in a rich and savory broth. It's hearty, comforting, and practically cooks itself.
Looking for more holiday classics made in the Instant Pot? Don't miss my recipes for Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut, Instant Pot Ham, and Instant Pot Turkey Breast
My Family's Favorite Corned Beef & Cabbage Recipe - Sped Up!
While corned beef and cabbage is a St. Patrick's Day classic, it was also a regular meal in my household, one of my mom's favorites. With both of my grandparents being Irish immigrants, this Americanized Irish dish was a family staple, connecting my mom to the childhood and traditions she cherished growing up.
And while I loved the slow-simmered version she made, once I started preparing it in the Instant Pot, there was no going back -- for me OR my mom! It's faster, and honestly, the flavor is even better.
The sealed environment locks in the moisture and seasonings, giving you incredibly tender corned beef with impressive flavor. Add in perfectly tender cabbage and veggies, and after just one bite, you'll understand why this is my favorite way to make this Irish-American classic.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
5-star Reader Review
I can't believe I haven't left a review before now, been using this recipe for years now and have recommended it to many people. My husband and I love corned beef, we always buy extra in March and freeze for use year round. I used to use a crockpot recipe, which we liked, but after trying your instant pot recipe, I'm never going back, yours has excellent flavor, and is so easy to prepare. -PJR
Notes on Ingredients
- Corned Beef: This recipe works as written with both a flat cut or point cut corned beef. I personally prefer the flat cut, as it is leaner and slices beautifully, but a lot of people like the marbling found in the point cut. Use whichever you prefer.
- Pickling Spices: Most store-bought corned beef briskets come with a small spice packet made from mustard seeds, peppercorns, dill, allspice, cloves, and a few other spices. It is earthy and tangy and flavors the cured brisket perfectly. If yours does not, I recommend adding 1 tablespoon of prepared pickling spices.
- Garlic: And lots of it! The whole garlic cloves work alongside the pickling spices to deliver robust flavor.
- Stout Beer (Optional But Recommended): A stout beer, such as Guinness, adds depth, balance, and richness to the braising liquid. Prefer not to use beer? Replace it with additional beef broth.
- Brown Sugar: Just a tablespoon helps balance the tangy, salty notes of the brined beef. It doesn't make the dish sweet, it simply rounds out the flavor.
- Potatoes: Red potatoes, Yukon golds, or russets all work. Cut into 2-inch chunks for even cooking. Baby potatoes can be left whole.
- Carrots: Use baby carrots or large carrots cut into 2-inch pieces.
- Cabbage: Green cabbage works best. I recommend cutting into wedges, rather than chopping to prevent mushy cabbage.
What is Corned Beef?
Corned beef is simply brisket that has been brined and cured in a seasoned salt solution.
While it's easiest (and cheapest) to find around St. Patrick's Day, corned beef is available year-round in most grocery stores. But if you love this classic as much as I do, I recommend purchasing a couple while they are on sale to freeze for future use.
How To Make Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Just like my Instant Pot Pot Roast, this Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage uses a simple two-step cooking process to keep the vegetables from overcooking. But even with that extra step, you can have this classic on the table in just about 2 hours, rather than the 9+ hours traditional methods require.
Step One: Pressure Cook the Corned Beef
Start by pressure cooking the corned beef. Once it has finished cooking, let the meat rest while you quickly cook the vegetables.
- Rinse the corned beef under cold water and pat dry. This removes excess brine and prevents an overly salty result.
- Place the sliced onions in the bottom of the inner pot. They act like a natural trivet, helping to prevent the meat from scorching while still allowing the beef to stay submerged and soak up all the flavor from the cooking liquid.
- Add brisket to the inner pot. Then top with pickling spices, garlic, and brown sugar. Pour the beer and beef broth (or all beef broth if you aren't using beer) around the brisket.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot, make sure the vent knob is sealed, and set to pressure cook on HIGH pressure for 85 minutes.
- After cooking, allow at least 15 minutes of natural pressure release. This keeps the meat juicy and tender, while a quick release of pressure can cause the fibers to seize and tighten up.
- Once the pressure has released, open the Instant Pot, remove the corned beef to a platter, tent with foil, and let rest while the veggies cook.
Step Two: Pressure Cook Vegetables
While the corned beef is resting, use that time to cook the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Because the liquid is already hot, the Instant Pot will come back to pressure quickly.
- Ladle out about 1½ cups of the cooking liquid, leaving about 2 cups of the cooking liquid left inside the inner pot. You really don't have to be exact here. We just want to remove enough liquid so that the cabbage is not fully submerged in the broth.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the cooking liquid in the inner pot. Add the cabbage wedges on top of the veggies. The cabbage will not be fully submerged in the liquid, which is exactly what you want.
- Cook on HIGH pressure for 3-5 minutes, depending on texture preference. 3 minutes for firm cabbage or 5 minutes for very soft cabbage. I personally find 5 minutes to give me the same texture I grew up enjoying.
- Once the cook time has elapsed, let pressure release for 5 minutes, then perform a quick release of pressure to stop the cooking process. To do this, carefully knock the vent knob from sealed to venting. Stand back to prevent your face and hands from being burned by the steam released.
Serving Suggestions
Slice the corned beef against the grain, and then serve with the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Spoon a bit of the cooking liquid over everything for extra flavor.
I personally love to add a side of whole-grain mustard or horseradish cream for dipping and a Guinness beer for drinking, but both are completely optional.
Storage and Leftover Tips
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in a freezer safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months, keeping in mind the potatoes may become a bit mushy when defrosted.
While delicious when simply reheated, you may want to be get creative and use leftover corned beef in the following ways:
- As an Appetizer: Use diced corn beef to make a creamy, cheesy Reuben dip or swap out the bacon for corned beef to make incredible Irish nachos.
- Make a Classic Reuben Sandwich: Add sliced corned beef to rye bread, top with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing, and pan fry in a bit of butter to toast.
- Make a Corned Beef Hash: Pan-fry potatoes and corned beef with onions and peppers. Top with poached eggs and cheese.
Recipe FAQs
As written, this recipe is designed for a 2½-3½ pound corned beef brisket. If your brisket is 1½ pounds or smaller, cut the ingredients in half and cook for 60 minutes on high pressure. If your brisket is between 4 and 5 pounds, I would double the liquid and spices and cook for 100 minutes on high pressure.
Absolutely! A 6-quart Instant Pot will fit two 3-pound corned beef briskets, while an 8-quart can fit up to three 3-pound briskets. Stack the beef roasts on top of each other, double (or triple) the braising ingredients, and cook for 85 minutes on high pressure, keeping in mind that it will take longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
Yes. Replace the beer with additional beef broth OR use a certified gluten-free beer and verify your spice packet is gluten-free.
Not at all. Feel free to skip them altogether or simply cook the cabbage, rather than adding potatoes and carrots to the mix.
More Favorite Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pound corned beef brisket
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 1 seasoning packet from corned beef, or 1 tablespoon pickling spices
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1 cup stout beer, such as Guinness
- 1 pound small red potatoes, cut in half
- 1 pound baby carrots
- ½ head green cabbage, cut into 2-inch wedges
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the corned beef brisket under cold water and thoroughly pat dry. This removes the brine from the brisket, preventing the dish from being too salty.
- Place the onion slices into the Instant Pot. Place the rinsed corned beef on top of the onion mixture. Sprinkle the seasoning packet evenly over the meat, then top with 5 cloves garlic and 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Carefully pour 1 cup low-sodium beef broth and 1 cup stout beer (or additional beef stock) around the corned beef, so that the seasonings stay on top of the beef.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and be sure the vent knob is sealed. Using the manual or pressure cook setting, set the cook time to 85 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Once 15 minutes has passed, you can do a quick release of any remaining pressure, by carefully knocking the vent knob to the venting position. Stand back to prevent being burned by any residual steam.
- Remove the corned beef from the Instant Pot and place it on a serving platter. Tent with foil and let rest while preparing the vegetables. Ladle out about 1½ cups of the cooking liquid, leaving about 2 cups inside the inner pot. You do not need to be exact here.
- Add the potatoes and carrots into the cooking liquid inside the inner pot. Place the wedges of cabbage on top of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place the lid back on the pressure cooker and ensure the vent knob is in the sealed position. Using the manual or pressure cook setting, set the cook time to 3 or 5 minutes on high pressure. 3 minutes for crisp-tender cabbage, 5 minutes for really soft cabbage. (I prefer 5 minutes). Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes then do a quick release of any remaining pressure by carefully knocking the vent knob from sealed to venting. Stand back to prevent your face and hands from being burned by the steam released.
- Thinly slice corned beef against the grain and serve with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2026.
This was truly the best and easiest corned beef and cabbage I’ve had! We usually have a big St Patrick’s party so I have the meal catered but had a small dinner party last night instead. My only complaint was the 3.5 pound brisket wasn’t enough to feed 8 of us and there are no leftovers. Maybe because it was so good, my family and friends wanted more that the typical serving. Even my friend who rarely eats meat had a piece! I am running out to the grocery store today to get a small piece of brisket so I can cook it and make sandwiches today and corned beef hash for breakfast Sunday morning!
LOVE hearing you enjoyed so much! But it is a bummer you don't have leftovers 🙂
This was the first time I made a Corned Beef and Cabbage with an Instant Pot. HOLY MOLE-E! This was the very best Corned Beef and Cabbage EVER…honestly…the best I have EVER made. The meat was tasty, and subtle. After trying this method…I can never go back to merely boiling my Corned Beef again.
Fabulous! So happy you enjoyed this recipe for Corned beef so much and thank you for sharing!
Just made this for St Patrick’s Day dinner and it is amazing! The corned beef is so tender I love how easily it shredded and is full of flavor. I even used a full head of cabbage and the veggies still cooked perfectly. Thank you!
Love hearing this Amy! Thank you for sharing!
I purchased a 5lbs corned beef. Any recommendations on how long to cook it?
Hi Jo! I would recommend cutting the roast in half, doubling the liquid, garlic, and brown sugar, and keeping the cooking time the same. Enjoy and happy St. Patrick's Day!
Would you make any changes with two 2.5 lb pkgs of corned beef? I know it will increase the time for temp to come to pressure, just wondering if I should add more time to cook. I may add a bit more of the broth and beer as well.
Hi Terri! I would double the liquid, but keep the cooking time the same. Enjoy and Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I’m making the corn beef now but eating around 6pm, how would you recommend reheating ?
Hi Hannah! You can keep everything on keep warm in the Instant pot. I would slice the beef, place in the liquid, and then place veggies on top. Happy St. Patrick's Day
I love this recipe. I have used it every year since it came out, and my husband raves about it every time. Thank you!
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Parker!