Instant Pot Mongolian Beef cooks up in under 30 minutes. This sweet, flavorful Asian-style beef is so much better than takeout and so easy to make.
Mongolian Beef is my absolute favorite Asian-style meal. I love the sweetness in it. I also love to make it at home so I can control the amount of spice in it. I add a good bit of crushed red pepper flakes to balance the sweetness and sometimes I like to add a little Sriracha sauce when I dish it up.
This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is fabulously sweet and salty with lots of ginger and garlic flavor. The sauce is a wonderful mixture of soy sauce, dark brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. So much flavor!
Tips For Making Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- Mongolian Beef is no better than the quality of the beef you use. I use flank steak for my Mongolian Beef. It is a little pricey, bit I really believe it is the best cut of beef for this dish.
- To make the flank steak easier to slice, freeze it for 30 minutes and use a very sharp knife.
- The key to great Mongolian Beef is coating the beef in cornstarch and frying it in oil. Do NOT substitute flour. The cornstarch gets the beef really crispy.
- You will need to saute the beef in multiple batches in the Instant Pot which is kind of a pain.
- It’s convenient to saute in the Instant Pot but it is also very small. If you prefer, do it on the cook top in a large skillet. You will have one more thing to clean, but you will save a little time sauteing. Your choice.
- Add more or less crushed red pepper flakes to adjust the seasoning. Serve with Sriracha sauce if you want it spicier.
Once the meat is sauted, add the sauce to the Instant Pot along with all of the browned beef and Pressure Cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the green onions and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve over rice for one of the best homemade Asian meals you have ever had.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Jalapeno Popper Shredded Chicken
- Instant Pot Mississippi Beef
- Instant Pot 3-Packet Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Sweet and Spicy Meatballs
- Instant Pot Crack Chicken
No Instant Pot? No problem! Use this recipe for Mongolian Beef. It is every bit as good!
Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar,, you can use light brown sugar instead
- 1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 3 garlic cloves,, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 green onions,, sliced
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut flank steak against the grain into thin slices. Cut longer slices in half so that they are bite-sized.
- Place flank steak slices in a medium bowl and add cornstarch. Stir until evenly coated. Let sit 10 minutes.
- Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, beef broth, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Turn Instant Pot to "Saute" mode. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and when hot, sear flank steak in batches until browned on both sides. Add more oil if needed between batches. Be sure not to crowd the flank steak. Hit "Cancel" on the Instant Pot.Note: If you'd rather, you can sear the flank steak in a large skillet.
- Return all flank steak to the Instant Pot. Pour sauce over it. Place lid on and set to Manual (High Pressure) for 10 minutes. Be sure the valve is in sealing position.
- When time is up, do a quick pressure release.
- Stir in green onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Made it exactly as the recipe stated. Very tasty but would decrease the amount of brown sugar next time. A bit too sweet