Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is an easy version of a restaurant favorite that can be on your table in less than 30 minutes! Made with a sweet and savory sauce, this recipe for Mongolian Beef is healthier than take-out but just as delicious. 

Prepare white rice at the same time you make Instant Pot Mongolian Beef using the Pot in Pot Cooking Method or serve with Instant Pot Brown Rice or Pineapple Rice for a wholesome, easy meal. 

Why Use the Instant Pot

While Mongolian Beef can be prepared together rather quickly on the stove, there are several reasons I prefer to prepare this dish using the Instant Pot.

• The sauce develops more flavor. 
• You can prepare rice at the same time for an all-in-one meal. 
• A less expensive cut of meat CAN be used. 

Bottom-line--it is a set it, forget it, and dinner is done kind of meal and that is how I like to roll--especially when Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is such a family favorite!

Key Ingredients

• Beef: Flank Steak is the best choice for most stir-fried beef recipes because flank steak is lean and yet extremely flavorful. Its intense beef flavor holds up well to strong sauces in Asian Beef dishes and when cut correctly, is extremely tender. If you can't find flank steak at your store, skirt steak or hanger steak are great substitutes. And because the Instant Pot works its magic, you can even use a less expensive cut of meat like sirloin steak.
• Mongolian Sauce: Most Mongolian sauces are made with lots of soy sauce and sugar. I opted to make my Mongolian Beef lighter by using low sodium soy sauce, a bit of brown sugar, and pineapple juice for extra sweetness and flavor. Just like my Instant Pot Chicken Breasts, pineapple juice is the secret to this sauce. The sauce's flavor is rounded out with rice wine vinegar, freshly minced ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.
• Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce, a cornstarch slurry is added to the sauce after pressure cooking. It is optional to thicken the sauce, but it helps it stick to the rice.

How to Cut the Beef

It is very important to thinly slice beef against the grain at home to achieve tender, restaurant-quality results.

To cut against the grain means to cut in the opposite direction of the fibers in the meat. The fibers of the meat look like lines running through the meat and are easy to recognize on tough cuts of beef. You don't want to cut parallel to those fibers, instead, you want to cut so that your knife blade forms a T, which is perpendicular.

In flank steak, hanger steak, and sirloin steak, the fibers of the meat run from top to bottom, so you are going to slice your cut of meat on the shorter side.

TIP: I find it easier to cut the beef in thin strips if my meat has been frozen for 5-10 minutes prior to slicing. 

How to Make Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

• Turn your Instant Pot to saute.
• Once it heats up, add in ½ -1 tablespoon oil and let heat for 1 minute.
• Add in beef and saute until JUST browned for about 2 minutes. Turn Instant Pot OFF.

• In a mixing bowl, mix together the soy sauce, pineapple juice, garlic ginger, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes together.
• Pour the sauce over seared beef in the inner pot.
• Use a spatula or wooden spatula and scrape up the browned bits off the bottom of the inner pot.

• Put the lid on Instant Pot and turn the vent knob to the sealed position.
• Hit manual and then adjust the cooking time by using the plus or minus buttons to 3 minutes.
• After cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release for at least 10 minutes before releasing pressure.
• Turn Instant Pot back to saute.
• Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water until fully combined.
• Add cornstarch slurry to the pressure cooker and stir and boil for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.

• Serve with rice. quinoa, or cauliflower rice, and top with toasted sesame seeds and green onions if desired.

Cooking Rice using the Pot-in-Pot Method

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef only requires 3 minutes of cooking time under pressure, which is the same amount of cooking time for long-grain white rice. This makes it the perfect recipe to cook rice along with beef for an all-in-one meal.

• Saute the beef and add in the sauce as directed.
• Insert a rack in the Instant Pot, right over the Mongolian Beef mixture.
• Place a stainless steel dish on top of the rack and mix together 1 cup of rinsed long-grain white rice with 1 cup of water or stock. YOU MUST USE LONG-GRAIN WHITE RICE FOR THIS TO WORK!
• Close the instant pot and turn the valve to seal. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
• Let the pressure release for 10 minutes and then open the Instant Pot.
• Remove the rice and rack from the inner pot and proceed with thickening the Mongolian Beef with the cornstarch slurry as the recipe directs.

Recipe FAQs

More Chinese-American Copy-Cat Recipes

• Instant Pot Orange Chicken
• Instant Pot Vegetarian Potstickers
• Easy Fried Rice
• Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
• Stir-Fried Chicken and Bok Choy

Put down the take-out menu and whip up this healthier, Instant Pot Mongolian Beef instead--your taste buds and your wallet will thank you! And be sure to leave a comment and review below if you gave this recipe a try.

This recipe was originally published in 2017 but updated in 2021 with a new video and tips.