Pressure Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

This recipe for Pressure Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches is perfect for a weeknight – can be prepped easily in an Instant Pot is kid-approved!

Part 5 of the Best of FMBC series has always been one of my favorite Instant Pot meals. It's so simple to prep (no veggie chopping or real ingredient prep needed) and everybody in our family, kids included, always loves it. There is so much flavor in these Italian Beef Sandwiches without them being spicy. If you're worried about the heat from the pepperoncini peppers – don't be! They give it a nice kick without being all that hot.

This one originally appeared in my Original Instant Pot Boot Camp – and has been a fan favorite ever since. It's one of the longer cook times in this series, but I think 90 minutes is absolutely necessary to make the meat fall-apart tender. Trust me, it's worth the wait!

As a reminder: I’ll be sharing a recipe for each week of the summer (10 weeks total). On the 11th week, I’ll have a full pack of printables, recipes, and prep instructions to make all of these recipes at once for your freezer, just like my other Freezer Meal Boot Camps! (UPDATE: The full freezer meal boot camp is now available here!)  You can check out the other recipes in this series below:

Part 1 – Smokey Penne

Part 2 – Carrot & Butternut Squash Soup

Part 3 – Mississippi Roast

Part 4 – Firefighter Chili

Part 5 – Italian Beef Sandwiches (you're here!)

Part 6 – Beef Ragu

Part 7 – Turkey & Sweet Potato Chili

Part 8 – Zuppa Toscana

Part 9 – Carnitas Over Sweet Potato Mash

Part 10 – Taco Soup

 

In each of these posts, I’ll share how to make the recipe from either fresh or frozen. (And a note: if you’ve done my boot camps before, these recipes might vary slightly from the original version to make overall prep easier.)

Ingredient List 1: If freezing, put the following in your freezer container:

1 3lb boneless chuck roast
10-12 pepperoncini peppers, 1/4 cup juice from the jar
2 packs Italian dressing mix
2 tsp better than bouillon beef

(Don’t forget to label your meal – here’s a free printable for that!)

Ingredients Needed For Serve Day:

1 pack hoagie buns
1 pack sliced provolone cheese
1 pineapple
1 cup blueberries
2 mangoes
3 kiwi

(If Prepping From Frozen) On Serve Day…

1. Thaw your meal enough to pop out of the freezer container.
2. Add frozen meal & 1 cup water to IP.
3. Set IP for high, 90 minutes. Once cook cycle is up, allow pressure to naturally release for 10-15 minutes before manually releasing remaining pressure.
4. While the IP is cooking, peel and cut fruits into bite-sized pieces; combine. Split and toast hoagie buns (if desired).
5. Once cook cycle is up and pressure is released, shred meat in juices. Add to buns and top with 1-2 slices of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes to melt cheese.

(If Prepping From Fresh) On Serve Day…

1. Add ingredients from list 1 & 1 cup water to IP.
2. Set IP for high, 90 minutes. Once cook cycle is up, allow pressure to naturally release for 10-15 minutes before manually releasing remaining pressure.
3. While the IP is cooking, peel and cut fruits into bite-sized pieces; combine. Split and toast hoagie buns (if desired).
4. Once cook cycle is up and pressure is released, shred meat in juices. Add to buns and top with 1-2 slices of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes to melt cheese.

You can also download a recipe card for this meal here.

Hope you enjoy!

(UPDATED: You can now find the full Best of Freezer Meal Boot Camp, including full prep instructions and labels, here!)