This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is a quick and easy way to get take out at home. It’s better than the restaurant version and fast to make thanks to the pressure cooker. Sear the beef for a crispy outside then pressure cook it with a sweet sauce that coats the steamed broccoli. Have a healthy dinner on the table in under 30 minutes!
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- Ingredients You Need
- How to Make Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- How to Cook the Beef from Frozen
- Health Benefits of Beef
- What Cut of Beef Should I Use?
- How is This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef Recipe Healthier?
- More Instant Pot Beef Recipes
- Healthy Instant Pot Mongolian Beef Recipe
This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef recipe will be a lifesaver on busy weeknights! I know schedules get crazy and kids come home hungry so having an easy recipe they will love is key.
This recipe features tender beef that will remind you of your favorite Chinese takeout —just healthier!
Why You’ll Love this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- It’s a great recipe for the whole family – kids love the sweet sauce!
- Pressure cooking the meat and sauce develops a lot of flavor in a short amount of time—similar to Instant Pot Pulled Pork.
- It’s a pf chang copycat, but cheaper and healthier.
- This meal is just as good the next day, making it one of our favorite recipes for meal prep.
- The thin slices of beef are so tender and juicy.
- It’s easy to customize with other fresh vegetables like baby corn, green beans, or red or green bell pepper.
Love making take out recipes at home? Then you’ll love this Air fryer Orange Chicken and Healthy Chicken Pad Thai.
Ingredients You Need
Here are the simple ingredients for this apple kale salad. They’re easy to find in grocery stores. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Flank Steak: my favorite cuts of beef beef to use in stir-fry recipes with steak and veggies. Here are a few flank steak substitutes to thinly slice for this recipe like flat iron steak or top round beef.
- Soy sauce: use low sodium soy sauce, tamari (gluten-free), or coconut aminos (soy and gluten-free)
- Aromatics: fresh garlic and fresh ginger.
- Honey or dark brown sugar: to sweeten the sauce.
- Corn starch: or tapioca starch to thicken the sauce.
- Broccoli: purchase pre-chopped and washed to save time.
- Beef broth: to create the sauce and to help the Instant Pot come to pressure.
Success tip: You need at least 1/2 a cup of liquid in the Instant Pot to prevent getting the burn notice.
How to Make Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
Slice the Steak
Start by slicing the flank steak against the grain. You’ll notice there are small fibers going across the beef. You’ll want to cut the steak in small thin pieces across those. This makes the beef really tender and not chewy!
Sear in Batches
Work in batches to sear both sides of the flank steak for 1-2 minutes.
Prepare the Sauce
Add the liquids, garlic and ginger to the Instant Pot with the beef.
Pressure Cook and Serve
Pressure cook for 8 minutes then quick release to depressurize.
Add the cornstarch and water mixture, honey and broccoli to the Instant Pot and turn the saute function back on. Mix everything together until the sauce gets thick!
Serve: with brown rice, white, cauliflower rice or quinoa! Learn how to cut green onions on the bias for a finishing touch.
How to Cook the Beef from Frozen
You can even make this recipe directly from frozen beef. It will take a few extra minutes to come to pressure. I love that about an instant pot! You can safely cook frozen beef in an Instant Pot without thawing which makes weeknight dinners so easy. Anyone else forget to defrost meat in the morning!?
The other recipe I love about this is it’s so healthy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like as much brown sugar in my dinner as in an entire cookie recipe, so I stuck to a healthy ingredients for this Mongolian beef.
And everything in this recipe is healthy too!
Looking for more ways to use your Instant Pot weekly? All of our Instant Pot recipes are delicious, but we especially love this Instant Pot Greek Chicken and Rice and this Instant Pot Pot Roast.
Health Benefits of Beef
Beef is definitely a healthy part of a balanced diet and I love eating it a couple of times a week. It’s such a good source of protein too!
A 3-ounce serving of beef (about the size of an iPhone) provides more than 10 essential nutrients and 25 grams of protein for less than 150 calories. Not to mention, eating protein helps your kiddos stay focused during the school day and the B vitamins in beef provide them with energy too.
I was a student athlete all through middle school and high school and I know that if your kids are active, eating beef is a great source of protein and energy! My husband (who’s a health coach!) always says we need to be eating more protein to help build muscle and strong bodies.
What Cut of Beef Should I Use?
Mongolian beef is most commonly made with flank steak. This cut of beef is lean and has tough muscle fibers running through it. Cut it against the grain and cook it quickly for best results.
How is This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef Recipe Healthier?
- No refined sugar: I used a little honey to sweeten it instead of brown sugar.
- Gluten free: I also opted to use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Coconut aminos tastes just like soy sauce but doesn’t have any soy in it! If you don’t mind having soy in your diet you can definitely use soy sauce, but I love the coconut aminos! You can get it at any grocery store
- Greens: The broccoli in this recipe also makes it healthy and balanced. Broccoli is a really good source of vitamins K and C and it’s a great source of folate and provides potassium and fiber. Add that to the protein from the beef and you’ve got yourself a balanced meal!
If you love this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram with @what_mollymade or #WhatMollyMade so I can see it and feature you!
More Instant Pot Beef Recipes
- Instant Pot spaghetti or Instant Pot lasagna soup for an Italian night.
- Try Mexican shredded beef to put into shredded beef enchiladas.
- Instant Pot pot roast or Instant Pot taco soup are really cozy.
Or try any of these Instant Pot recipes!
Instant Pot Mongolian Beef (Better Than Takeout in 30 Minutes!)
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked quinoa white rice, jasmine rice, cauliflower rice, or brown rice for serving
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil or sesame oil
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak (Note 1)
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce, Tamari or coconut aminos
- 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root grated
- 1/2 cup water or beef broth
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 2 cups broccoli florets chopped small
- 4 stalks green onions
- Sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, or sriracha sauce optional to top
Instructions
- Cook the brown rice or quinoa according to the package instructions and set aside.
- Cut the flank steak into thin pieces against the grain and set it aside. Turn the Instant Pot onto the saute setting, drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the pot, and let it heat up. When it's hot and shimmering, work in 2-3 batches to sear the steak on each side, for 1-2 minutes. Overcrowding the Instant Pot will result in the steak steaming rather than searing.
- While the steak is searing, whisk together the coconut aminos or soy sauce with the minced garlic, minced ginger, and water.
- When the steak is browned, cancel the sauté setting and pour the liquid mixture over the browned steak. Lock on the lid and make sure the pressure valve is in a sealed position. Pressure cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. It will take 5-7 minutes for it to come to pressure before it starts to count down.
- While the beef is cooking, whisk together the cornstarch or tapioca starch and 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small dish.
- When the time is up, carefully quick-release the vent by turning the seal to venting position. You can put a dish towel over the steam to limit noise and protect your cabinets.
- Remove the lid then add the cornstarch mixture, honey, and broccoli. Push the saute button again and stir frequently until the sauce thickens. You can close the lid of the instant pot for a few minutes to allow the broccoli to steam, 4-6 minutes total. It will be done when the broccoli is cooked and the sauce is thickened. If you want the sauce thicker, add mix another tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch together then add it to the Instant Pot and saute for a minute for a thicker sauce.
- Serve over brown rice, white rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa and top it with green onions, sesame seeds and optional red pepper flakes.
Notes
- Sear first: Those caramelized browned bits add tons of depth.
- Slice thin: This ensures the beef stays tender, not chewy.
- Use fresh garlic + ginger: It makes the sauce vibrant.
- Don’t skip the slurry: A 1:1 mix of corn starch and water thickens the sauce perfectly.
- Steam broccoli just until bright green: Keeps it crisp-tender.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi, about to make this in the slow cooker. Do I add the broccoli in the same time as everything else ?
Hey Amber! I would add them closer to the end so they don’t get mushy.
This was so delicious. My husband really enjoyed the Mongolian Beef. I didn’t tell him it was healthy. Tasted way better than restaurant food. We will be making this again. I would not substitute the flank steak. I think the tenderness of the steak really made the meal. Thanks for the recipe.
Haha love this. Healthy can also be delicious! Thanks for sharing, Leah!
Can the rice be cooked in the instant pot at the same time as the steak & broccoli?
Hey Kayla! I haven’t tested this so I can’t say for sure! Let me know if you try it.
Tasty recipe but don’t jive with the cooking. I think after the pressure cook that steak was perfectly cooked. Then you have to put raw broccoli in there and cook it for another 6 minutes. The steak is overcooked now. Next time I’ll probably take the steak out after pressure cooking it, and put the broccoli in there and cook it by itself.