Instant Pot Short Ribs

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These Instant Pot short ribs are delectably flavorful and so easy. It’s my favorite method for cooking boneless beef short ribs (and bone-in ones too), because it’s much faster than other methods — no hours upon hours of braising time necessary — and still comes out just as fall-apart tender! Now it’s become one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for beef short ribs in the Instant Pot, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

Basic Instant Pot Short Ribs:

• Boneless Beef Short Ribs – Both types of Short ribs are an incredibly tough cut of meat, but when cooked properly, you can cut them with a fork. Buy boneless beef short ribs (cut from the chuck, or shoulder) if you can find them. Otherwise, many butchers will actually remove the bones from bone-in short ribs (cut from the belly) for you, which is what I did for this Instant Pot short ribs recipe. You can also make it using bone-in short ribs if you prefer — you’ll just need to add 10 minutes to the cook time.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper
• Olive Oil – For searing the meat. Avocado oil also works.
• Beef Broth – The Instant Pot always requires some liquid for pressure cooking, and beef broth is one of the most flavorful choices. For an even richer sauce and more nutrition, use bone broth.
• Coconut Aminos – This is similar to soy sauce, with a combination of salty, sweet, and umami flavors. Another soy sauce substitute or regular soy sauce is also fine to use.
• Garlic – Use fresh garlic cloves for best flavor or jarred garlic for convenience.

Optional Add-Ins:

• Dried Bay Leaves – Add classic flavor to the short ribs.
• Gelatin Powder – Helps make the sauce thick and glossy (similar to a cornstarch slurry) — be sure to use unflavored gelatin. You can also use a different cornstarch substitute.

VARIATIONS: Up the flavor with other additions.

This recipe uses just five ingredients to keep it as simple as possible. However, you can definitely make it even more flavorful by adding:

• Onion – Saute 1/2 of a diced white or yellow onion before adding the garlic.
• Veggies – Dice carrots and celery into small pieces, and saute before adding the garlic.
• Red Wine – Add 1/2 cup of merlot or cabernet sauvignon together with the broth.
• Balsamic Vinegar – Add 1/4 cup of balsamic with the broth.
• Tomato Paste – If you like sweet, rich tomato flavors, add 1 6-ounce can of tomato paste with the broth.
• Fresh Herbs – Such as fresh thyme sprigs, fresh rosemary sprigs, or both. Add right before pressure cooking, then discard at the end.

How To Cook Short Ribs In The Instant Pot

This section shows how to make Instant Pot short ribs, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Dry the meat. Pat the beef dry with paper towels.
2. Season the meat. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. This step helps to build flavor throughout the cooking process. Don’t skimp, you need a generous amount!
3. Sear the short ribs. Brown the short ribs in the Instant Pot using the Sauté setting. Cook in batches to avoid crowding the pan, or they will steam instead of brown. Remove short ribs and set aside.

TIP: The browning step adds a lot of flavor!

You don’t have to brown the Instant Pot short ribs, but I highly recommend it! Browning takes just a few minutes, and adds rich flavor. It makes a big difference in the final result.

4. Saute the garlic. Add oil and garlic and saute for just a minute.
5. Deglaze. Add beef broth and coconut aminos to the pressure cooker, and use a spoon to stir, scraping up any of the yummy browned bits off the bottom. Place the short ribs back in there, along with a bay leaf, if using, and place the lid on and seal.
6. Pressure cook. For boneless Instant Pot short ribs, set the time to 40 minutes, or increase to 50 minutes for bone-in pressure cooker short ribs. When they are done, let the natural release do its thing for 10 minutes before switching to manual release.

TIP: Don’t skip the pressure cooker natural release.

This helps the beef short ribs finish cooking and helps them come out tender.

7. Thicken the sauce. Simmer the sauce with gelatin powder on the Saute setting (it’s easy and worth it!).

Storage Instructions

• Store: Keep leftover Instant Pot beef short ribs in fridge for 3-4 days.
• Reheat: Reheat the beef in the oven together with the sauce, covered in foil, for best results. You can microwave, but be careful to not overcook, or the meat will dry out.
• Freeze: Cool completely, place in an airtight container or freezer bag (with the sauce/cooking liquid), and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

What To Serve With Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs

You can serve Instant Pot brased short ribs with all kinds of side dishes, from traditional to inventive:

• Potatoes – Mashed potatoes are the classic choice to soak up the juices, but you can make mashed cauliflower (pictured above) for a lighter option or roasted potatoes for a different twist.
• Vegetables – Try easy veggie sides like baby broccoli, oven roasted zucchini, or crispy smashed brussels sprouts (or fried brussels sprouts). Or make your entire meal in the Instant Pot by choosing Instant Pot cauliflower.
• Salads – Serve the short ribs over a salad for a lighter dinner (or lunch) in one bowl! Try them in place of steak in this steak salad or instead of chicken on a cobb salad.
• Tacos – Stuff the meat into your favorite tortillas with some taco slaw, or combine with a fresh salsa recipe, avocado or guacamole, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, red onions, and sour cream.
• Soups – Add leftover Instant Pot short ribs to vegetable soup for a hearty meal, or swap out the pork in pork stew.

More Tender Meat Recipes

If you enjoy these Instant Pot short ribs (I know you will!), you might also like some of these other tender meat recipes:

Crock Pot Barbacoa

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Roasted Brisket

Gyro Meat

Recipe Card

4.97 from 96 votes

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Instant Pot Short Ribs (5 Ingredients!)

Make this flavorful, fall-apart tender Instant Pot short ribs recipe (boneless or bone-in) with just 5 simple ingredients. It's so easy!

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 10 (adjust to scale recipe)

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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 medium 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. Pat the short ribs dry with paper towels.

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

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

4. 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.

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

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

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.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keywords: beef short ribs recipe, boneless beef short ribs, how to cook short ribs, instant pot short ribs

Calories: 226 kcal

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