This Instant Corned Beef Casserole recipe is an easy way to create a delicious St. Patrick’s Day meal. With the push of a few buttons, your pressure cooker will create tender corned beef with perfectly cooked cabbage, potatoes and carrots.
Check out my entire collection of St. Patrick’s Day recipes for more menu inspiration.
I’ve cooked corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day every year of my adult life, using almost every method imaginable. That’s a lot of corned beef! Each method has its advantages and all are worth trying. Some work better than others, depending on whether St. Patrick’s Day falls on a busy weekday or a lazy Sunday.
What is the best method for cooking corned beef?
If you’re out for most of the day, my Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage is a great choice. Or, if you have time to babysit a pot on the stove, here’s my tried and true Guinness Corned Beef.
But, if you have a few hours to devote to your St. Patrick’s Day dinner, I don’t think you can beat the ease and tender result of making your own corned beef in the Instant Pot.
Regardless of the method, there are a few things you should know about cooking corned beef that I’ll cover here. If you have an Instant Pot, I hope you give this pressure cooking method a try.
Ingredient notes
- liquid – Combination of Guinness beer and Low sodium beef broth.
- vegetables – Yellow or white Onion, minced garlic, carrots, Gold or red potato varieties (sometimes labeled as small or baby potatoes), and a head of green cabbage.
- Canned meat – 3 to 4 pounds Corned beef brisket or round with the A packet of pickling spices.
- to serve – butter, Salt and freshly ground black pepper, Fresh parsleyand Whole grain mustard for baptism
Corned beef brisket vs. round corned beef
You may see these two cuts at your local grocery store and not be sure what to buy. Here’s the lowdown on these two cuts of corned beef.
Corned beef brisket
The brisket is a flatter cut than the round with a much thicker layer of fat across the top. It’s a tough cut that comes from the breast of the cow. The extra fat in the brisket results in a very moist and tender corned beef. A bust can have a “flat” or “point” cut. But, most of the grocery chains will come across the flat section.
You can easily tell if you have a flat chest or a point cut just by looking at it. The flat cut chest is slightly square and more evenly thick from end to end than the point. The point will be just that – it’s a little thicker and will get to the point. It also has more fat going through it than a flat.
Round corned beef
The round corned beef is a thicker, leaner cut that comes from the rear of the cow. It usually has a very light layer of fat (see the pictures below). The round slices will be larger while the flatter breast will have narrower slices. It cooks very moist and tender, but I believe the extra fat on the brisket gives it a bit of an edge. It’s a small difference in my opinion and I like both cuts.
Which cut is the best?
There is no single answer to which cut is best. It all comes down (ha!) to personal preference. Try the different cuts to find what you like best.
I purchased the Shenson brand corned beef round pictured in this post at Costco. This is the cut I saw in stock at both my old California and my new Oregon Costco locations. But, breasts are widely available in most grocery stores.
What type of beer is best for cooking corned beef?
A dark beer with a rich and complex taste like Draft Guinness. This will greatly enhance the flavor of your corned beef and the resulting cooking liquid. In turn, this delicious cooking liquid is also going to add great flavor to your cabbage, carrots and potatoes.
Another brand of strong beer will do the trick. But, for St. Patrick’s Day, I feel compelled to go with an Irish beer. It’s always Guinness Draft in this house.
How to make instant pot corned beef
- Cut the onion into cubes and add it to the socket of a 6 to 8 liter instant pot. Add the low sodium beef broth and garlic.
- Place the breast on the onion, with the fat side up.
- Pour a bottle of Guinness over the top of the corned beef.
- Sprinkle over the package of pickling spices that came in the package.
Close and lock the lid and set your pressure cooker to cook on high pressure for 1 hour and 25 minutes. After the cooking time is over, allow the Instant Pot to do a Natural release for 10 minutes and then Manually release the remaining pressure.
- Transfer the corned beef to a cutting board and tent it with a piece of foil to keep warm.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the onions, leaving the cooking liquid in the Instant Pot.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the cooking liquid.
- Finally, place the cabbage slices on top. Close and lock the lid. Set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Immediately release the pressure and transfer the cabbage, potatoes and carrots to a serving plate or bowl.
submission suggestions
- vegetables – Toss the cooked carrots and potatoes and the cabbage slices with a few pats of butter. Season to taste Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. And stir up the vegetables a bit with some chopped fresh parsley. Be careful not to use too much salt so that the vegetables nicely balance the salty corned beef.
- aside – Some grainy mustard A delicious side for dipping. square Crispy bread And a few bottles of Guinness would make the perfect St. Patrick’s Day meal.
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Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
This Instant Corned Beef Casserole recipe is an easy way to create a delicious St. Patrick’s Day meal. With the push of a few buttons, your pressure cooker will produce tender corned beef with perfectly cooked cabbage, potatoes and carrots.
Component
- 2 cups Low sodium beef broth
- 1 Medium yellow or white onion, cut into 5 or 6 pieces
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 11.2 ounce A bottle of Guinness beer, (I used draft Guinness)
- 3 ½ to 4 pound Corned beef brisket or round, with a packet of pickling spices
- 1 pound Gold or red potato varieties, (sometimes labeled as small or baby potatoes)
- 4 large carrots
- 1 A small head of green cabbage
- 3 spoons butter
- Finely ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, taste
- 2 spoons Chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ Goblet Whole grain mustard
Instructions
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Add the beef broth, onion, and garlic to the well of a 6- to 8-quart Instant Pot. Place the breast on the mixture, with the fat side up. Pour the beer on top and sprinkle the sour spices on the corned beef. Close and lock the lid.
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Choose the MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK setting, switch to HIGH and set the time to 1 hour and 25 minutes.
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After the cooking time is up, allow the Instant Pot to release naturally for 10 minutes and then manually release any remaining pressure.
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Meanwhile, slice the core end of the cabbage and place the cut cabbage down so you have a stable base. Slice the cabbage in half and then cut each half into quarters. You should end up with 8 pieces of cabbage. Slice the potatoes in half. Peel and cut the carrots into large 3-inch cubes.
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Transfer the corned beef to a cutting board and cover with a piece of foil to keep warm. Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the onions, leaving the cooking liquids behind in the Instant Pot. Add the potatoes and carrots to the instant pot and place the cabbage slices on top. Be sure not to fill the Instant Pot more than ⅔ full. Close and lock the lid.
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Select the MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK setting, switch to HIGH and set the time to 5 minutes. When done cooking, quickly release the pressure.
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Slice the layer of fat from the top of the corned beef (a flat breast will have much more rounded fat) then slice the corned beef against the grain and transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle the corned beef with a little of the cooking liquid.
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Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes, carrots and cabbage to the serving plate with the corned beef or to a separate bowl. Toss the vegetables with butter, season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley, if desired.
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Serve with grainy mustard on the side.
diet
Calories: 720 KKL · Carbohydrates: 30 G · protein: 45 G · Fat: 45 G · Saturated fat: 16 G · Cholesterol: 158 mg · sodium: 3478 mg · potassium: 1686 mg · fiber: 7 G · Sugar: 8 G · vitamin: 7229 IU · Vitamin C: 148 mg · calcium: 111 mg · iron: 6 mg
Nutritional information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This post was originally published on March 4, 2020 and has been updated with new text.
