Easy Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs Recipe (Paleo)

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These Instant Pot short ribs are amazing and SO EASY. I’ll show you how to cook short ribs in the best and fastest way with this easy beef short ribs recipe. Pressure cooker short ribs become so tender – without all of the cooking time that’s normally needed to transform boneless beef short ribs.

It’s an incredibly tough cut of meat, but when it’s cooked properly, you can cut them with a fork. And in addition to being super easy, this beef short ribs recipe needs just FIVE ingredients. Head to your butcher shop ASAP!

I don’t know about you, but when I first got my Instant Pot, I was scouring the internet for all sorts of easy low carb pressure cooker recipes. I loved that they made cooking dinner so fast!

When it came time to figure out how to cook boneless short ribs, I was so glad I had the pressure cooker practice in my back pocket, because using the Instant Pot makes this a quick short rib recipe – no hours upon hours of braising time necessary!

What Are Beef Short Ribs?

What kind of meat is short ribs? It’s not what you might think!

Surprisingly, boneless beef short ribs are not actually rib meat. They are cut from the chuck, or shoulder, but can be harder to find.

Bone-in short ribs come from the belly and are a much fattier cut of meat. Many butchers will actually remove the bones from bone-in short ribs for you, which is what I did for this boneless short rib recipe.

TIP: If you’re using bone-in short ribs, you will need to increase the pressure cook time to 50 minutes. Short rib meat takes a bit longer to cook with the bones than without.

How To Cook Short Ribs

Let’s get to the best beef short ribs recipe, I’m getting hungry!

First, we’ll season the meat with salt and pepper. This step helps to build flavor throughout the cooking process. Don’t skimp, you need a generous amount!

Next, we’re going to sear the short ribs and get a nice crust on them – we’ll do this right in the Instant Pot using the Saute setting. Be sure to do this in batches. We don’t want to crowd the pan too much or they will steam instead of brown.

After cooking short ribs on the outside to get a brown crust, remove them and saute the garlic with some oil in the Instant Pot for just a minute.

TIP: This is a basic 5-ingredient beef short ribs recipe – that’s the point. You can definitely up the flavor by adding some sauteed onion before adding the garlic, or adding fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary.

Add some beef broth and coconut aminos to the pressure cooker, and use a spoon to de-glaze the pan. This means getting all the yummy browned bits off the bottom! Place the short ribs back in there, along with a bay leaf.

Then, we’ll let the pressure cooker do its magic. For boneless Instant Pot short ribs, set the time to 40 minutes, or increase to 50 minutes for bone-in pressure cooker short ribs.

After the instant pot short ribs are done, let the natural release do its thing for 10 minutes before switching to manual release.

TIP: You need the natural release, because this helps the beef short ribs finish cooking and helps them come out tender.

Finally, you can thicken the sauce by simmering it with gelatin powder (it’s easy and worth it!), or just eat them up.

Do You Have To Brown Short Ribs?

You don’t have to brown short ribs. But you should! Browning takes just a few minutes, and will help add rich flavor to the pressure cooker short ribs. It makes a huge difference!

Can You Make Slow Cooker Short Ribs Instead?

Yes, you can make the same easy short ribs recipe in a slow cooker. It will take approximately 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High.

But, it’s more cleanup because you’ll have to sear the short ribs separately on the stove first. Plus, the slow cooker takes longer. I really prefer cooking beef short ribs in the Instant Pot!

Can You Make Boneless Beef Short Ribs Ahead?

Yes, you can make boneless beef short ribs ahead of time. In fact, it’s a great meat to make the day before you are serving, as it just gets better with time.

You can reheat braised short ribs in a saucepan (or using the saute function in the Instant Pot!). Just be sure to reheat together with the sauce, so that they turn out tender.

How To Freeze Beef Short Ribs

First we covered how to cook short ribs, now let’s freeze them for later. Let the ribs cool completely, then place in a freezer-safe glass dish. Cover with the sauce/cooking liquid and then freeze.

Let them thaw in the fridge overnight, then simply reheat in a sauce pan when you’re ready to serve them.

What To Serve With Short Ribs

This beef short ribs recipe goes well with so many different side dishes. I’ve got a ton of low carb/keto side dish recipes on my site, here are some of my favorites for pressure cooker short ribs:

• Keto Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes – This the classic side dish pairing. You can’t go wrong with mashed cauliflower and it’s perfect to soak up any excess sauce. I have a new recipe (that’s shown in the pictures) coming soon!
• Keto Creamed Spinach with Cream Cheese – This will give your boneless beef short ribs a steakhouse feel.
• Air Fryer Keto Onion Rings – Onion rings go well with anything, but especially this beef short ribs recipe. This meal feels like something you’d find at a gourmet gastropub.
• Jicama Tortillas – Beef short rib tacos… yum!

• Instant Pot 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker – This is the pressure cooker that I use and love. It’s a great pressure cooker but I also love that you can also use the saute function to brown meats in the same pan.
• Porcelain White Serving Platter – You’ll definitely want to put these pressure cooker short ribs on display. They are a sight to be seen.

Pressure Cooker Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe:
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4.97 from 53 votes

Easy Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs Recipe (Paleo)

Wondering how to cook short ribs? This pressure cooker Instant Pot beef short ribs recipe makes it EASY with just 5 ingredients. Use bone-in or boneless beef short ribs - both will work.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword beef, keto, low carb

Calories 226 kcal

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Author Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings 10 servings

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Ingredients

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• 2 1/2 lb Boneless beef short ribs (weight without bones; see notes for using bone-in)
• 2 tsp Sea salt
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 cup Beef broth
• 1/4 cup Coconut aminos
• 6 cloves Garlic (minced)
• 2 Dried bay leaves (optional)
• 2 tbsp Unflavored gelatin powder (optional)

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

Instant Pot Short Ribs:

1. Use sea salt and black pepper to generously season the short ribs on both sides.

2. Set the Instant Pot to Saute on High (or "More"). Add oil and let it heat up until hot.

3. Once oil is hot, add the short ribs in a single layer. Sear for about 5 minutes per side, until browned. You will need to do this in two batches, so that they are not too crowded. Set all the short ribs aside outside the pan as you get through them.

4. Add the minced garlic to the empty Instant Pot, and saute for about 1 minute, until fragrant.

5. Add the broth and coconut aminos to the Instant Pot. Use a wooden spoon to release any browned bits of garlic from the bottom of the pan (deglaze it). Shut off the saute function.

6. Place the short ribs back into the Instant Pot, crowding them together in a single layer. Push the bay leaves into the broth, if using (optional). Close the lid and set the pin to Seal. Cook on High pressure for 40 minutes. Use Natural Release for 10 minutes, then Quick Release if there is any pressure left.

7. At this point, you can shred the short ribs or leave them whole.

Optional Steps For Thicker Sauce:

1. Remove the short ribs, leaving the liquid behind, and cover the short ribs with foil to keep warm. Set the Instant Pot to the Saute function. 

2. Sprinkle gelatin (don't dump it) over the liquid in the Instant Pot, one tablespoon at a time, whisking rapidly and immediately after each sprinkle. 

3. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens. If it's still not as thick as you like, add more gelatin and repeat.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1/4 lb meat + sauce

How to make bone-in short ribs: You can make this a bone-in short rib recipe, too. The weight will be approximately 3-3.5 lb, and you will need to increase the cook time to 50 minutes.

Video Showing How To Make Instant Pot Short Ribs:

Tap here to jump to the video for this recipe -- it's located directly above the ingredients list. It's the easiest way to learn how to make Instant Pot Short Ribs!

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 226

Fat 13g

Protein 23g

Total Carbs 1g

Net Carbs 1g

Fiber 0g

Sugar 0g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

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