Easy Instant Pot Italian Beef (5 ingredients!)

This recipe for Instant Pot Italian Beef is perfect for a weeknight dinner. It can be prepped easily in a pressure cooker and is kid-approved - makes great sandwiches!

This Instant Pot Italian Beef recipe first appeared in my original Instant Pot freezer meal prep session post and has been a fan favorite ever since. It's one of the longer cooking times in this series, but I think the cooking time is essential to make the meat fall-apart tender. Trust me, it's worth the wait!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

This is a go-to Instant Pot meal. It's simple to prep (no chopping or ingredient prep needed) and everybody in our family, kids included, always loves it.

There is so much flavor in this Instant Pot Italian Beef without being too 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.

It also makes a fantastic freezer meal! I've got full instructions on how to take this from freezer to table in this post.

The Secret to Tender Beef

The million-dollar question is "how do you make a cut of beef fall-apart tender?" The trick is all in the timing.

I recommend 90 minutes of pressure cooking for a standard cut of beef. If you go less, you risk the meat not being cooked through and you won't give the pressure cooker enough time to break down the meat. If you go longer, you risk over-cooking and making the meat tough.

Pressure cooking isn't a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, though. Different humidities/elevations/climates can affect your cooking. You might have to experiment with this time! Try 90 minutes for the first go-round, and if you see that this isn't working, try taking off 5 minutes until your meat cooks perfectly.

Check out more great Instant Pot recipes: Mississippi Roast, Crack Chicken, and Ground Turkey Chili in the Instant Pot are all fantastic dishes!

Ingredients

(See ingredient measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

• boneless chuck roast - this is the best cut of meat for this recipe. It's a great mix of price effectiveness and quality that will leave your meat fall apart tender.
• sliced pepperoncini peppers - also known as banana peppers; the jarred kind of perfect because you can use the pickling juice in this recipe, too.
• minced garlic
• Italian salad dressing mix - Use the kind in the packs. If you really want to, you could combine all of the seasonings in this (including oregano, salt, parsley, basil, etc.), but buying these packs is much easier.
• beef broth

I also recommend picking up a pack of hoagie buns and a pack of sliced provolone cheese if you're planning on serving this as Italian Beef sandwiches.

Variations

• Some readers like to use giardiniera instead of pepperoncini peppers. This is a mix of pickled vegetables, like cauliflower and carrots, that's really popular in traditional Chicago-style Italian Beef recipes. I like using pepperoncini in mine because a) it's more accessible and b) it adds a similar flavor for a lower price.

Step by Step: How to Make Instant Pot Italian Beef

Step 1: Brown beef roast.

Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode and add a little bit of the oil of your choice. Once hot, add chuck roast to the Instant Pot and brown on both sides for 3-4 minutes per side.

Step 2: Add remaining ingredients & pressure cook.

Add peppers, garlic, Italian dressing mix, and beef broth. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the Instant Pot liner.

Step 3: Shred with a fork and serve.

Once cook cycle is over pressure is released, use forks to shred meat in the cooking juices. Add shredded beef to buns and top with 1-2 slices of cheese. Bake or Air Fry the sandwiches for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

Alternate Method: Crock Pot Preparation Instructions

Italian Beef also makes for a great slow-cooker meal! If you'd rather prep your dish in a Crock Pot, simply add the beef roast, peppers, garlic, Italian seasoning, and broth to a slow cooker. Set on low for 6-8 hours and shred beef 30 minutes before serving.

How to Serve Italian Beef

You can serve Italian Beef as a stand-alone dish, over mashed potatoes, or as a topping for rice. It also makes great Italian Beef Sandwiches - that's how I normally serve it! Just put shredded meat on hoagie buns and top with provolone cheese for a really yummy, easy meal.

Leftovers & Storage

Leftover Italian Beef should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Those strong flavors can easily seep into other foods - you don't want that! You can store this dish in the fridge for up to 3-4 days after cooking it.

How to Freeze Italian Beef

We love a good freezer meal around here! And this makes for a fantastic make-ahead meal.

To make this Instant Pot Italian Beef recipe a freezer meal: add chuck roast, peppers, garlic, and Italian dressing mix to a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Once you're ready to cook your meal, no thawing is necessary! Add the contents of the freezer bag to the Instant Pot and add 1 cup of beef broth. Set Instant Pot for manual, 90 minutes, with a 10-15 minute natural pressure release at the end (just as you would do with the standard method).

More Expert Tips & Tricks

• If you're making this into a freezer meal, forget to label your meal – here’s a free printable for that! You can also download a recipe card for this meal here.
• Make sure you don't skip the natural pressure release time in the instructions. That just means that, once your Instant Pot beeps at the end of the pressure cooking time, you allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes before unlocking the valve on top of the lid to release the remaining pressure. This helps ensure the meat won't become tough.
• Searing the meat before pressure cooking gives it extra flavor. It's an easy way to take this meal from average to out-of-this-world!

Instant Pot Italian Beef FAQs