These Instant Pot Short Ribs are super tender and packed with tons of wonderful flavor! This recipe is my new version of my super popular Slow Cooker Short Rib recipe that I’ve adapted to work with the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker!
Want recipes delivered right to your inbox? Sign up here! Sometimes I even send out free e-cookbooks too!
RECIPE IS BELOW IN PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BUT BLOG POST IS FULL OF “HOW TO MAKE IT”, TIPS, INFORMATION AND FAQ
I started making short ribs about 5 years ago and I’ve had them in my favorite recipe folder ever since. I make them at least once a month during the winter and up until now I’ve always made them in my slow cooker.
However, this past Christmas is when I received my Instant Pot as a gift from Thomas and I’ve started turning some of my favorite slow cooker recipes into Instant Pot recipes.
I know a lot of y’all are loving your Instant Pots too! You’re going to be crazy about this recipe, y’all! Ps. did you know that the original slow cooker recipe (Slow Cooker Short Ribs) that this recipe was adapted from is one of the MOST POPULAR recipes on my blog? It is!
I hope that y’all love this Instant Pot version just as much as y’all have loved the slow cooker version!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE Instant Pot Short Ribs:
- beef short ribs
- salt
- pepper
- coconut oil (or regular oil)
- garlic, minced
- onion powder
- beef broth
- tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- honey
- fresh thyme
You’ll also need these tools for making Instant Pot Short Ribs:
- Instant Pot
- Skillet
- Stove Top
How to cook Short Ribs in the Instant Pot:
Select the Sauté Button on the Instant Pot and set it to normal.
Sprinkle the short ribs with salt, pepper and onion powder.
In a medium-large bowl mix together the broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and honey. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
How do you brown short ribs?
In the Instant Pot, melt the coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is melted, add the short ribs. (About 3-4 ribs at a time. Don’t crowd them)
Cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Flip and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes or brown. Remove from pan Instant Pot and set aside. Finish all ribs.
Do you have to brown short ribs?
While browning the ribs is not 100% necessary it does improve the presentation and flavor of the short ribs. I personally feel like it is an important step to add in flavor and make them extra wonderful.
How many ribs can you put in an instant pot?
When I’m searing the ribs before cooking them under pressure, I tend to keep it to about 3-4 ribs at a time in the Instant Pot so that I don’t over crowd them. At this point in the recipe I want them to sear and not steam. When I am cooking them in the final stage under the pressure of the Instant Pot I fit between 8 and 10 short ribs into the Instant Pot.
Let’s keep cooking…
Hit the Cancel Button.
Pour a little of the the broth mixture into the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot to get all of those browned bits into the broth.
Add in the ribs.
Pour on the rest of the broth mixture.
Add thyme sprigs.
Put the lid onto the Instant Pot and seal it, making sure the vent on top is in the correct position.
Cook on high pressure or the stew option for 45 minutes.
When it’s done cooking, let it release naturally for 20 minutes and then use the quick release on top to depressurize the Instant Pot.
DO NOT use the quick release without letting it release naturally. The meat could seize up and be tough, tough, tough!
Remove lid and serve!
If you want a sauce for the ribs, remove the ribs from the pot.
In a small bowl mix together 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch together. Pour into broth, hit the saute button, cook and stir until thickened.
QUICK GLANCE Instant Pot Short Ribs FAQ:
Should I trim fat off short ribs?
The short ribs that I tends to find in my grocery stores already have most of the outer fat trimmed off already. However, sometimes I do get some short ribs with extra fat on them. If it is just a little bit of extra fat, I leave it on. If you want to trim it off, only trim the outer layer of fat.
Can I use boneless short ribs instead of bone in?
You can use boneless short ribs for Instant Pot Short Ribs but you will need to decrease the cooking temperature because short ribs without the bone will cook faster than the short ribs with the bone. Although I prefer the ones with the bones to add flavor. Reduce the cooking time to about 35 minutes instead of 45 for boneless ribs.
Are Short Ribs Expensive?
I find that short ribs are pretty inexpensive at the grocery stores around my area. I think this all depends on where you shop and what your market is like. I also tend to find short ribs on “manager special” a lot around here where the price has been marked down even more.
Are short ribs and spare ribs the same?
Short Ribs and Spare Ribs are the same piece of beef. The difference is how they’re cut. Short ribs are about half the size of spare ribs.
What is a good vegetable to serve with ribs?
Here are some good vegetable recipes to serve with short ribs:
- Air Fryer Corn on the Cob
- Stove Top Southern Green Beans
- Crispy Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
- Southern Slow Cooked Collard Greens
What is a good side dish to serve with ribs?
Here are some side dish recipes to serve with short ribs:
- Betty Grable’s Baked Beans
- Bacon Ranch Macaroni and Cheese
- Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
- Broccoli and Cheese Risotto
Instant Pot Short Ribs
These Instant Pot Short Ribs are super tender and packed with tons of wonderful flavor! This recipe is my new version of my super popular Slow Cooker Short Rib recipe that I’ve adapted to work with the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker! PREP: 10 minutes | SAUTE TIME: 10 minutes | CLOSED POT TIME: 1 hour & 15 minutes (COOK TIME - 45 Minutes) | PREP: 10 minutes | SAUTE TIME: 10 minutes | CLOSED POT TIME: 1 hour & 15 minutes (COOK TIME - 45 Minutes) |
Instant Pot Short Ribs
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
If you make this recipe, snap a picture and share it on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #bigbearswife —
I love to see what you’re cooking from the blog!
Love it? Pin it!
These sound and look amazing!! I am a sucker for short ribs any way!
Hope that you love them!!
How much cornstarch at the end to thicken up the sauce with the 1 Tbs water??
1 tablespoon 🙂 It’s 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Your Short Ribs would melt in your mouth, I just pinned them and can’t wait to try them! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
Where does the garlic go?
it gets whisked in with the broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce 🙂
My first recipe in my instant pot — AMAZING! I did use a bit more cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce in the end as we wanted more of a gravy. Can’t wait to make again!
So glad that you liked it!
I made this last night. It was excellent (photo below). Meat was fall-apart tender and moist. I added carrots to the instant pot, along with the meat. I served it over mashed cauliflower with spinach. The only suggestion I would make is that the amount of corn starch in the recipe (for making the gravy) was insufficient to adequately thicken it, so I had to double that. Here’s the photo.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o3kiy0ea5tk0he2/2018-09-04%2019.10.02.jpg?dl=0
OH MAN!!!! These were to die for!!!! I was looking for a recipe that didn’t have a ton of ingredients. This was PERFECT!! Loved them so much!
Yay!! I’m so happy that you loved them!
I am going to ty these for tonights dinner. The ingredients so very good. A good combo….
Is this recipe enough for three people? I have always heard that if you are needing 4 pounds of meat, if you’re using bone in, get 8 pounds, because of the weight of the bone. Also, I like sweet sauce for ribs, can I add brown sugar to the sauce mix? These look amazing. I can’t wait to try them! Thank you for sharing!
Hi! I normally get 4 servings out of this but it all depends on how much y’all are going to eat. I’m sure my husband could turn this into a 2 serving dish with his appetite sometimes haha. I go by the package weight for this recipes and I buy between 3 – 4 pounds beef short ribs based on what the package weight says. I’ve never bought 8 pounds as that would double this recipe. I haven’t tried adding brown sugar to this recipe in the Instant pot so I’m not sure how it would go but if you give it a try let me know!
Made this with boneless country style beef ribs using same cooking time and they turned out delicious. Very tender and flavorful. Thank you!!!
YAY! So glad to hear that!
Omg these were SO easy to make!!! My husband had bought 4 lbs of short ribs and asked me to fix them for supper the next day. I searched “instant pot short ribs”. So glad to have found your awesome recipe!! Turns out, I had all the ingredients, and so gave it a try. Everything was so simple but so good! (These are the best kinds of recipes!). Onion powder in the browning?! Mind blown. Tomato paste -genius. Fall off the bone ribs – amazing. My husband and son both loved them. Hubby said they were the best short ribs he’d ever had, and he’s had a few short ribs over the years. I did try to skim off quite a bit of fat (probably about a cup or so and probably could have skimmed more out). After this, i added about 3 tbsp of cornstarch and about 1/2 cup juices to make the slurry, then added it to the broth to make the gravy. I used “better than bullion” to make the 2 cups broth. The whole thing was perfect for a winters evening.
I’m doing a happy dance right now! So glad y’all loved them!
Hi Angie! I’m STILL making your amazing short ribs lol!!! I just came back to double check the recipe and saw in my previous comments that I had forgotten to actually say thank you for the great recipe lol!!! So, thank you!!! I think your recipe was one of the first things I had made in my then new instant pot and your recipe was very inspiring and got me to use my instant pot more! I hope you and your family are doing great.
P.S. my hubby came up with an idea for the extra leftover gravy (I use about 1/4 cup cornstarch in my sauce to make it pretty thick). Anyway, he suggested I put the extra gravy in the hamburger bottom of tator tot casserole. And I’ll probably add some cream of mushroom soup too. So your ribs gravy is going to be in our tator tot casserole too lol!!
I’m so happy that y’all love it so much!! I love the idea of making a gravy from it for a tater tot casserole!! So smart!
Wow – my first attempt at short ribs- love this recipe- we only had 1.5 lbs of ribs so I just halved the sauce ingredients but cooked the same length of time. It was wonderful- we also added the carrots (2 large-cut large). Served over mashed potatoes with a side of green beans. This will be added to our rotating menu. Thanks
So glad that you liked it! Love the idea of carrots with it!
Cooked these last night and stuck pretty close to your recipe and methods. Phenomenal! Restaurant quality, falling off the bone. Served over mashed potatoes with green beans on the side. Lovely meal on a cold night.
I’m so glad that you liked it Debra!!
I just made this for my family. My husband has raved for the last half hour how delicious these are. Thank you very much.
Couldn’t agree more about browning the ribs first. It really does make a difference. Love it!
So glad you adapted this recipe for an instant pot! Looks fantastic!
I love ribs and these look amazing! Simply delicious
Oh my goodness! These short ribs look divine!
I need these in my life ASAP! So much flavor!
Ohhh my family would go crazy for these!
These couldn’t look any more perfect! So vibrant, healthy and yummy!
These ribs were fantastic! I didn’t want to use my wife’s fancy honey, so I substituted brown sugar as well. Also a few drops of liquid smoke gave it a nice edge, as did the chili sauce I used because I didn’t have any tomato paste. Finally, I finished them on the BBQ rather than the broiler. Fall off the bone tender, and like molten candy they were so good. My wife told me that your recipe was absolutely a keeper. I’m thawing out more ribs as we speak. Thank you for making an instant pot version.
Let me know how to get a photo to you.
Ooo I love the idea of the liquid smoke!
I just made these and they were AMAZING!
Thank you for a recipe that didn’t include red wine (may be to rich for my daughter). I just got an IP and have been experimenting with things I have never cooked before. I have had some major disasters trying new recipes BUT this was perfection!
A MUST TRY!
So glad that you liked it! I try not to cook with a lot of wine because I feel weird making dinner for my son with wine in it haha but a lot of them do indeed have wine in them haha
I usually follow a recipe once then tweek it. No adjustments needed here. It’s a keeper. I bought 4 ribs for 2 people, and have enough leftover for tomorrow. This deal is real, real good. Delicious. For those of you that commented on the fact that you had to use more starch than the amount in the recipe called for keep in mind that Angie referred to this as a sauce not gravy. A sauce is thinner thus it’s called a sauce which suited me perfectly. Thanks Angie.
Hi Carol! I’m so glad that you liked the recipe!!
These ribs were amazing! Using the broth from the ribs and making the sauce was also amazing. I made mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Great Sunday night dinner.
Hi Claire!!! I’m so happy that you liked them!!!
Made these tonight and my husband absolutely loved them! Thanks for posting and will definitely be making again.
IMy husband and I purchased a 1/4 beef a few months back. In the bundle that we received were some short ribs. I had never cooked these before. This recipe came out so good! Thank you fir sharing. I love cooking with my instant pot. These came out flavorful and tender. Amazing we can make a meal this good in an hour. I served with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots.
So glad that you liked the recipe!! I bet it was great with the mashed potatoes and carrots!
First time using my pampered chef quick cooker – never used a insta pot before so, messed it up a little but it was delicious!! Thank you for this great recipe and such detailed instructions 🙂