Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe
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Rave Reviews
This was amazing! We loved the robustness of the wine in the gravy, and the ribs were fall-apart delicious! ~Debbie
What I Love About My Instant Pot Short Ribs
Short ribs are my family’s favorite comfort food, so I make them all through the fall and winter seasons (I’ve even made my boneless short ribs for Christmas a few times!), and I love this Instant Pot shortcut when I have no patience for waiting on a braise or I’m short on time.
- Rich flavor in under two hours. Searing, deglazing, and a long pressure cook build all the depth of an oven braise without tying you to the kitchen all afternoon.
- A sauce with balance. I build it with red wine for richness, balsamic for a little sweetness and acidity, and tomato paste for deep umami.
- Glossy, spoonable gravy. A quick cornstarch slurry at the end turns the braising liquid into a silky sauce made for spooning over mashed potatoes.
- Even better the next day. You can cook these a day or two ahead, chill them, and lift the fat right off before reheating.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
My short ribs never come out flavorless because it’s my goal to make short ribs with big flavor as well as juicy and tender:
- Short ribs: Choose the meatiest, thickest bone-in ribs you can find. I always say at least 1.5 inches in meat thickness but about 2 inches is ideal. (Bright red meat is what you want; Avoid raw meat that is grey, brown, or green on the outside, as well as meat that feels slimy, sticky, or tacky to the touch.)
- Buy English-cut, not flanken-cut. English-cut short ribs are thick, individual pieces with one bone running along the bottom. Flanken-cut ribs are sliced thin across several bones for grilling, and they won’t give you tender results in a braise.
- Check the length. If your ribs are longer than about 4 inches, ask the butcher to cut them down so they fit flat in the pot.
- How many to buy: Plan on about 2 ribs per person.
- Red wine: Use a dry red you’d actually drink: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or Côtes du Rhône all work great. Don’t use sweet wines!
- Cabernet Sauvignon makes the boldest, deepest sauce.
- Pinot Noir is lighter and lets the beef take the lead.
- Côtes du Rhône lands in between, with a little peppery spice.
- Skip bottles labeled “cooking wine,” since they contain added salt.
- To make it without alcohol, substitute with additional beef stock plus 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
- Herbs: I use dried herbs here because they hold up beautifully through a long pressure cook. To use fresh, swap in 1 tablespoon of fresh for every 1 teaspoon of dried, or tuck in a few whole thyme sprigs and pull the stems out before thickening the sauce. Don’t use sweet wines!
- Balsamic vinegar: Don’t skip this. It adds subtle sweetness and acidity that balances all the richness of the beef and wine.
- Beef stock: use homemade beef stock or low sodium store-bought so you can control the salt level. Bone broth works great here too and adds even more body to the sauce.
- Tomato paste: Adds deep umami and roasted richness. Don’t confuse it with tomato sauce, use tomato paste!
How to Make Instant Pot Short Ribs: Step-by-Step
- Slice and sear the vegetables. Slice the onion, carrot, and celery. Set the Instant Pot to sauté and let it fully preheat before adding oil. Sauté the vegetables and don’t stir them too much, let them sit and get some real color. That golden sear on the vegetables builds flavor in the braising liquid.
- Add garlic, then remove the vegetables. Once the vegetables have color, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Remove everything from the pot and set aside.
- Prepare the meat. Let the meat adjust to room temperature for about 30 minutes, and pat it dry with paper towels. This helps them sear more evenly. Pat them dry with paper towels (a dry surface is what gives you that beautiful golden crust). Season generously with coarse salt and cracked black pepper on all four sides.
- Sear the short ribs in batches. Work in batches of 3 to 4 ribs at a time so you’re not overcrowding the pot. Overcrowding drops the temperature and steams the meat instead of searing it. Sear all four sides until deeply golden. Set the ribs aside.
- Deglaze with red wine. As soon as you take the short ribs out, pour the red wine into the pot and hear that roaring sizzle!
- Use a wooden spoon to scrape up every bit of the brown fond from the bottom. That’s pure flavor. Let the wine simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Nestle the short ribs back into the pot.
- Return the vegetables to the pot as well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the beef stock, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, herbs, and seasoning, then pour it in. Add the bay leaves and gently stir everything together.
- Pressure cook. Close and latch the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam valve to “seal.” Cook on “stew/meat” or high pressure for 45 minutes. When the time is up, let the pot do a natural release for 10 to 15 minutes before carefully doing the manual release.
- Thicken the sauce. Carefully remove the ribs from the pot and set them aside. Switch the setting back to sauté. Make a slurry out of cornstarch and cold water, then whisk the slurry into the pot. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce turns glossy and thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
How Long to Cook Short Ribs in the Instant Pot
I cook bone-in short ribs for 45 minutes at high pressure, followed by a 10 to 15 minute natural release. That timing works for ribs with 1.5 to 2 inches of meat on the bone, which is exactly what I buy for this recipe.
A few things change the timing:
- Extra-thick ribs: For butcher-cut ribs with more than 2 inches of meat, or pieces heavier than about ¾ pound each, add 5 to 10 minutes.
- Boneless short ribs: Cook them for 40 minutes with the same 10 to 15 minute natural release.
- High altitude: Above 2,000 feet, add about 5% to the pressure time for every additional 1,000 feet. At 5,000 feet, that works out to about 52 minutes.
- Time to reach pressure: Plan on 10 to 15 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure with this much meat and liquid. That time isn’t part of the 45 minutes, so build it into your dinner plan.
- Natural release: Always let the pressure come down on its own for at least 10 minutes. If you quick release right away, you risk tighter, drier meat.
PRO TIP: Not sure they’re done? Poke a rib with a fork. It should slide in with almost no resistance, and the meat should pull easily from the bone. If you feel any resistance, seal the lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
Ways to Serve Instant Pot Short Ribs
- Homemade mashed potatoes are the classic choice and for good reason. Creamy, buttery potatoes and rich red wine braised beef are a match made in comfort food heaven.
- Mashed cauliflower is a great lower-carb option that still brings that creamy element to the plate.
- Cheesy grits are a slightly more indulgent take. The corn flavor plays really well against the red wine and balsamic in the sauce.
- Wide egg noodles or shaped pasta hold the sauce beautifully and stretch the meal a bit further.
- Roasted vegetables: Italian roasted asparagus, easy roasted zucchini, roasted green beans and mushrooms, or garlic butter roasted brussels sprouts for an easy, healthy side.
How To Make Ahead, Store and Freeze Instant Pot Cooked Short Ribs
- Make ahead: These short ribs taste even better the next day, and chilling them overnight makes removing the fat so easy. After pressure cooking, skip the skimming and thickening steps. Let everything cool, then refrigerate the ribs submerged in the braising liquid. The next day, lift off the solid layer of fat from the top, reheat the ribs and sauce together in the Instant Pot on sauté or in a pot on the stove, and thicken with the cornstarch slurry right before serving.
- Store: in an airtight food storage container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Keep the ribs in the sauce so the meat stays moist.
- Freeze: cooked short ribs to extend the shelf life or as a make-ahead meal. Make sure to cool everything completely first. Transfer into an aluminum pan or a freezer safe food storage container and make sure it’s covered air-tight. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw: slow-thaw it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
- Reheat: gently in a covered pot over medium-low heat with a splash of beef stock to loosen the sauce if needed. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave until heated through. NOTE: Avoid reheating on the pressure setting, since the pot can’t come up to pressure properly with a thickened sauce.
What to Do With Leftover Short Ribs
Leftover short ribs are a gift! Pull the meat off the bones, shred it, and turn it into a whole new meal.
- Short rib ragu: Shred the meat back into the leftover sauce, simmer it for a few minutes to thicken, and toss with pappardelle and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan.
- Grilled cheese: Pile shredded short rib onto my Gruyère and caramelized onion grilled cheese for a seriously hearty sandwich.
- Breakfast hash: Crisp up leftover oven roasted potatoes with some diced onion in a hot skillet, fold in the shredded meat, and top with a runny fried egg.
- Quesadillas: Layer the shredded meat between plenty of melted cheese, the same way I build my chorizo quesadillas, and cook them until golden and crispy.
- Nachos: Swap shredded short rib in for the seasoned beef on my ultimate nachos and drizzle a little of the red wine sauce over the top.
- Huevos rancheros: Warm the meat with a spoonful of sauce and spoon it over my huevos rancheros for a big weekend breakfast.
Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe FAQs
It is the short portion of the rib bone of the steer and come in different thickness and amount of meat.
You can get them bone-in or boneless short ribs. Bone-in version is usually cheaper and personally, I like the bone because it adds a lot more rich and full flavor to the sauce.
Most popular way to cook short ribs is by braising, which is searing the meat in a Dutch oven and then finishing in the oven slow and steady. Braised short ribs are fantastic but if you want to cut the cooking time quite a bit, Instant Pot is a great way to go.
The most common reasons are simply not enough cook time, releasing pressure too quickly, or using ribs that are very thin and didn’t have enough connective tissue to break down properly. If your ribs are still tough after 45 minutes with a natural release, seal the lid again and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes on high pressure.
A 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot works well for this recipe. A 6-quart will be snug with 4.5 to 5 lbs. of ribs, so work in tight batches when searing or use an 8-quart.
Yes. Substitute with additional beef stock and add 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce plus an extra tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar to approximate the depth and acidity the wine adds.
You can, but they need to be added later and cooked separately. After the main pressure cook cycle, remove the cooked short ribs (be gentle as they are tender) and add chunked potatoes to the pot with a bit of broth. Pressure cook on high for 8 to 10 minutes with a quick release. You can see this method in my Instant Pot pot roast recipe.
The burn notice usually means something is stuck to the bottom of the pot. After searing, scrape up every bit of fond when you deglaze with the wine. I whisk the tomato paste into the stock before adding it for this same reason, so it doesn’t settle and scorch on the bottom. If you still get the notice, open the pot, scrape the bottom clean, add another ½ cup of stock, and restart.
I don’t recommend it for this recipe. You can’t sear frozen ribs, and that golden crust is where so much of the flavor comes from. Thaw them in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours first. In a pinch, seal them in a zip-top bag and submerge the bag in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes until the ribs are fully thawed.
Yes, and you keep the same cook time, because you time short ribs by their thickness, not the amount in the pot. Just expect the pot to need longer to come up to pressure with a bigger batch. When doubling, use an 8-quart Instant Pot, sear in more batches, and never fill the pot past the max line. When halving, keep the full amount of liquid so the pot comes to pressure properly, then simmer the sauce a few extra minutes to thicken it.
More Instant Pot Beef Recipes To Try
- Mexican Braised Short Ribs
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Chili
- Instant Pot Corned Beef
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
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Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe
Ingredients
- 4.5-5 lbs bone-in beef short ribs cut in about 2-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp coarse salt
- 2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 celery ribs
- 6 garlic cloves smashed and minced
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups beef stock
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- salt to taste
To thicken:
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cold water
Instructions
Prepare short ribs:
- Take the short ribs out of the refrigerator and let them rest and warm up for about 30 minutes. Take them out of the package and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Season them well with coarse salt and pepper on all four sides.
- Slice onion, carrot, and celery and set aside.
Sear vegetables and short ribs:
- Set he Instant Pot to a "sauté" setting and let it preheat. Add oil and sauté the vegetables for a few minutes. Don't stir too much, let them get a golden sear for more flavor.
- Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Take vegetables out of the pot and set aside.
- Add a little more oil if needed and sear the ribs in batches of 3-4, depending on the size. Make sure to sear on all 4 sides. Take them out and set aside.
Deglaze and cook:
- Pour in red whine into the pot while scraping the bottom of the pot. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and add back the ribs.
- Add vegetables back to the pot as well.
- Whisk together beef stock, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, herbs, and seasoning and pour it into the pot.
- Add bay leaves and gently stir everything.
- Close the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure that it's latched. Turn the steam valve to "seal." Cancel sauté setting if it's still on and set the pot to cook on "stew/meat" setting for 45 minutes. (If the your pressure cooker does not have the "stew" setting, set it to cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.)
- When the time is up, let it do a natural release for 10-15 minutes and then carefully turn the valve to manually release the pressure.
- Carefully remove the ribs so you can thicken the sauce.
- Set the cooking setting to "sauté" again.
- Mix cornstarch and cold water together and whisk the mixture into the sauce in the pot. Let it simmer for a few minutes and stir while it simmers and thickens. Turn off the heat when it's done.
- Serve with your favorite sides and sauce on top.
Video
Notes
- Short ribs: Choose the meatiest, thickest bone-in ribs you can find, about 1.5-2 inch thickness of meat on the rib.
- Red wine: Use a dry red you’d actually drink, like Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.
- To skip the alcohol, substitute with extra beef stock plus 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
- Make ahead: These taste even better the next day as the flavors deepen overnight. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave.
- Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in November 2020.
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Categories:
Beef Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Instant Pot Main Dishes, Instant Pot Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Oh my goodness. These short ribs are so tender and delicious. And that gravy is good on everything!
Oh, this makes me so happy! I’m thrilled you loved the short ribs! And I’m with you on that gravy- definitely worth getting every last drop! 😊
In the instapot! Excited for results. I tried to cut off as much fat as possible
I hope it turns out great! 😊 Trimming some of the excess fat is perfectly fine. I’d love to hear how it turned out!
This was amazing! We loved the robustness of the wine in the gravy, and the ribs were fall-apart delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it! 🥰 The red wine really does make the gravy so rich and flavorful, and fall-apart ribs are the best kind of ribs. Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing your feedback! 💕
Best ever!
Aw thank you, Mary!
Can I add raw potatoes to this?
Hi Diane, yes you can. You will want to add them towards the end and cook them for 8-10 minutes. You can see how I did that with my Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe. Here is the link https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/instant-pot-pot-roast/
Followed recipe exactly and ribs were tender and very flavorful!
I am so glad you liked them, Amanda!
Turned out fine but was a lot of work to complete. Not sure it was worth the time to prepare and the short ribs were $8.50 per pound which made the meal somewhat expensive. I can get steak for a similar price. Served the short ribs with mashed potatoes and roasted zucchini. The gravy was good and worked well with the meat and potatoes.
Sauce was good. Ribs were super tough. Cooked at the 45 minutes and natural release for 15 minutes. Put back in and cooked another 20 minutes. So tough. Couldn’t even eat.
This sounds like an awesome recipe! Can it be made on top of the stove?