I know, I know, you’re probably thinking…why on earth are we talking about corned beef and cabbage in May?! We all know that this classic dish most often surfaces in early March, sticks around for St. Patrick’s Day…and then promptly disappears until the following year. In our home, however, we LOVE corned beef! We stock up on these briskets when they’re on sale in March so that we can enjoy them in the coming months. This past weekend, the craving struck (this was probably due to the fact that we gave up red meat during Lent – we are still making up for lost time 😉 ). And in the interest of saving time and effort, I took a stab at making Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage.
Have you hopped on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet, by the way?! If not, you absolutely must. It’s my number one kitchen appliance by far, and I use ours multiple times a week. The Instant Pot cuts down on the cooking time drastically, and makes cooking meat foolproof. (This is great for someone like me who has always been nervous about cooking meat).
I have this model of the Instant Pot, and been serving me well for two years now. If you’re looking for a newer one, I recommend this one or this one (both of which I’m considering upgrading to when the time comes!)
It turns out (just as I suspected) that cooking the corned beef brisket in the Instant Pot is super easy, much faster than the traditional oven method, and totally delicious. You can’t go wrong with having the entire meal cooked in one pot!
INSTANT POT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE INGREDIENTS:
Of course, you need all of the classic ingredients for this dish:
- Corned beef brisket: aim for a 2.5-3.5 pound brisket to yield hearty portions.
- Cabbage: a non-negotiable in corned beef and cabbage, for obvious reasons. 🙂
- Veggies: Baby carrots are the easiest to throw in, but I’ve also just chopped up large whole carrots. I also add an onion for extra flavor.
- Potatoes: I’ve used both red and Yukon Gold with success.
- Spices: Be sure to grab the spice packet out of the corned beef package (if yours doesn’t come with one, you can easily make your own DIY spice packet) and add extra bay leaves and garlic.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE:
- Add corned beef brisket and spices: The corned beef brisket, spice packet, garlic cloves, bay leaves, and water go into the Instant Pot. I use the rack that came with the Instant Pot to keep the brisket from touching the bottom.
- Cook brisket: Cook the brisket for 90 minutes on high pressure, and do a quick pressure release when it’s finished. Remove and set aside.
- Add the veggies: Add your cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onion to the Instant Pot (you can remove the rack before adding them).
- Cook veggies: Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, then do a quick pressure release.
- Extras: Slice the brisket. Serve with the vegetable mixture (top the veggies with some salted butter to make them even more delicious) and if you’re like us…a couple of pieces of bread to make a corned beef sandwich, plus lots of spicy mustard. 🙂
This corned beef and cabbage meal couldn’t be easier (thanks to the Instant Pot) and is totally foolproof. Why wait till March? Give it a try, and let us know how you like it!
INSTANT POT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
Ingredients
- 1 2.5-3.5 lb corned beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups water
- 1 medium cabbage, cut into eighths
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 2 lbs potatoes, cut into eighths (both red potatoes & Yukon Gold work well)
- 2 cups baby carrots
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place rack in Instant Pot, followed by the corned beef brisket, garlic cloves, bay leaves, and water.
- Cook for 90 minutes at high pressure.
- Do a quick pressure release. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Remove the brisket, and set it aside on a platter (cover it with foil to keep it warm while it rests).
- Add the cabbage, onion, potatoes, and carrots to the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick pressure release. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the vegetables and add them to the platter with the corned beef.
- Top the veggies with salted butter (optional, but a game-changer in our opinion), and serve with the corned beef, mustard and bread, if desired. Enjoy!
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