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
Yes, you can absolutely make Mongolian Beef with frozen beef, with a few modifications. The beef needs to be sliced whether frozen or fresh, so it is best to slice your beef BEFORE freezing. You also can not sear frozen beef, so eliminate that step along with the oil from the recipe. Instead, add the frozen sliced beef to the inner pot, along with the Mongolian sauce, and increase the cooking time to 6 minutes on high pressure.
You can skip searing your meat, but I will caution you, the searing of the meat adds a crispy texture that compliments this dish. If you do opt to not sear the beef, increase the cooking time to 4 minutes on high pressure.
Mongolian Beef is a bit sweet and a bit spicy. The spice comes from the addition of crushed red pepper flakes and minced garlic and ginger. You can control the heat level by omitting or reducing the red pepper flakes. I would not omit the ginger or garlic, as they add incredible flavor to this dish.
NO! The flavor is NOT the same, and I can not stress how much better freshly grated ginger is in this and many other recipes. You can purchase fresh ginger root in the produce section of your local grocery store. Once purchased, simply peel the ginger and pop it into a freezer-safe bag. Store in the freezer indefinitely, and when needed, you can grate the ginger, using a Microplane, right from the freezer.
Store leftover Mongolian Beef in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
More Copy-Cat Take-Out Favorite Recipes
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- Instant Pot Vegetarian Potstickers
- Moo Goo Gai Pan
- 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.
Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound flank steak, sirloin steak, or hanger steak cut into thin strips
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- ⅓ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ⅔ cup pineapple juice
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Prepare you flank steak by slicing against the grain into ¼-inch strips.
- Turn your Instant Pot to saute. Once it reads "HOT," add in the oil and let heat for 1 minute. Add in beef and saute until just lightly browned. This should only take about 2 minutes. Turn the Instant Pot OFF.
- In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic together. Using a Microplane, grate the fresh ginger root over the sauce and mix well.
- Pour the sauce over the seared beef and using a spatula or wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits on bottom of the inner pot.
- Place the lid on the instant pot and be sure sealed. Using the manual or pressure cook function set the cooking time to 3 minutes on HIGH pressure.
- After cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes before doing a quick release of pressure.
- To thicken the sauce, turn the Instant Pot back to saute and heat until bubbling. Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water until fully combined. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and allow to cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. This should only take 2-4 minutes.
- Turn off the instant pot and serve the beef and sauce over rice. Top with scallions or sesame seeds if desired.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Saute the beef as directed and deglaze the inner pot with the Mongolian sauce as directed.
- Insert a rack in the Instant Pot, right over the beef mixture.
- In an oven-safe stainless steel dish, mix together 1 cup of rinsed long-grain white rice with 1 cup of water or stock and place the dish on the rack.
- 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.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2017 but updated in 2021 with a new video and tips.
Lorraine
My God. This is SOOOOO good! And ridiculously easy! Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
You are so welcome!
Jamie
MY GIRLS ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS WITH THE RICE (DONE POT IN POT METHO) AND STEAMED BROCCOLI (steamed in the instapot just before I started on the meat). This is high praise considering I have a 6yo red head who evaluates my cooking like a Roman emperor at the coliseum. 😉
Kristen Chidsey
LOL! Your description of your daughter CRACKED me up! But I get it and when the pickiest critics approve--it is a huge accomplishment. I am honored it was one of my recipes 🙂
Mallory
What pot do you recommend I purchase to go inside the instant pot for the pot-in-pot method?
Kristen Chidsey
This one is my favorite Mallory. It has a large pot and small and so it works great for many things. But if you just want one large pot, this one is great as well.
Tay
This recipe was darn good. I was nervous about the meat being overcooked but everything was perfect. Thank you for sharing. Will be making again!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad this recipe exceeded your expectations Tay! I hope you enjoy again and again 🙂
leatha
My 5 year old went back for thirds!
Kristen Chidsey
That is always a sign of success! So glad your family enjoyed!
MJ Mast
My family loved this - we prefer the non-saute version. I used a 20 oz. can of chunk pineapple for the juice - it is about the right amount and we liked the pineapple chunks on the side. This recipe is great!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed MJ! And It is great that you prefer the non saute method--makes this so much faster 🙂
Janet
I made this for my family and the gobbled it up...thanks so much!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad your family enjoyed Susan! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Leslie Denkers
Hello 🙂
Everything was delicious, and I appreciate your detailed instructions. I have a question. I could not fit a 7 cup measurer bowl in my instant pot. The best I could do was a 4-5 cup bowl. I worried that the rice would overflow so I halved the rice recipe even though 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 cups = 3 cups. I don't claim to be a cook so any answers or suggestions for me?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Leslie! First of all, I am glad you enjoyed this recipe! The 7 cup bowl can be hard to find. I understand your hesitation as rice does expand--equaling more than 3 cups cooked. 1.5 cups dry rice equals over 4 cups.
Claudia Taylor
I received my instant pot for Christmas. I just found your Mongolian beef and it sound delish. it will be our Sunday supper. can wait to try. Thank you - Claudia
Kristen Chidsey
I can't wait for your family to enjoy as well Claudia!
Melissa
Made this recipe tonight... great flavor unfortunately the meat was chewy... like way chewy I didn’t have flank steak so I used skirt
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Melissa. It was definitely the meat you used. Skirt Steak is better suited for grilling or pan frying and cooking to medium-rare. It would be overcooked and chewy in the Instant Pot. I am glad the flavor was good and I hope that you try again with flank or sirloin 🙂
Lisa G
THANK YOU!! This was my first time using my Instant Pot, and your Mongolian Beef recipe was easy and delicious! My husband loved it, too.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you tried this recipe first--and that you enjoyed it!