Instant Pot Pepper Beef
Instant Pot Pepper Beef is a simple tasty take out made in the instant pot. Made with stir fry beef, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and white onion. This Chinese dish comes together easy for fake out take out.
Instant Pot Pepper Beef made in the instant pot saves you from standing at the stove stir frying the meat and vegetables. Additionally, the meat in the instant pot comes out tender from the pressure cooker.
Now, your going to ask but what about the liquid and here is my answer just a tad of water and soy sauce equal your one cup. Pour it in with the beef and set to high pressure for 20 minutes.
Gluten Free Chinese
Don’t add your sticky sauce until the end after pressure cooking the beef. Seriously, it will be a huge runny mess. The idea is to go for a sticky sauce on the beef. To make this pepper beef recipe gluten free use gluten free soy sauce.
The bell pepper cooks in just minutes on sauté mode and then just add the sauce to thicken once the pot is already hot. This will be done after pressure cooking the beef.
Certainly, when it comes to take out I try to get it to taste almost exactly like the local shop down the street. I really do hope you enjoy my recipe and start making your own fake out take out at home!
Chinese Take Out Recipes:
- Chinese Buffet Donuts
- Instant Pot Kung Pao Beef
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Pork
- Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken
Instant Pot Pepper Beef
Ingredients
- 1 lb stir fry beef or skirt steak
- 1 red bell pepper; quartered
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 green bell pepper; quartered
- 1 bundle spring onion; quartered
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
Instructions
- Chop bell peppers and spring onions. Set aside.
- Place beef into the instant pot with 3/4 cup water and one tablespoon soy sauce. Set to high pressure for 20 minutes. Once the instant pot stops counting release the pressure after 5 minutes via quick release.
- Drain juice from beef.
- Mix together brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and hoisin sauce. Stir well.
- Add bell peppers and spring onions to the instant pot and place the pot on saute mode. Stir fry vegetables for about 3 minutes with the beef.
- Pour in sauce and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until it caramelizes around the beef.
- Serve with steamed white rice with chives from the spring onions.
Video
Notes
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Easy, delicious and simple clean up! It also looked really pretty. I used stewing beef, nearly thawed and sliced against the grain and it was so tender. I added chili garlic sauce (1 tsp), fresh ground pepper, an onion, and I put back some of the cooking water with a cornstarch slurry near the end to create more sauce. Definitely a keeper!
I love Beef Pepper Tomato so I think I will try this recipe band add whole tomatoes sliced in wedges. Thanks for the recipe
I love the recipe and tried stir fry slices last time. I bought sirloin steak (thin) and cut it into 3/4 inch strips because when I used stir fry strips the meat crumbles like a philly cheese steak…
I love your recipes …. you are my go to when I’m stumped or cooking in my instapot!!!
We loved it. Sliced skirt steak, but will consider pre-sliced option next time. Cooked for 20 as indicated. Favors were fabulous.
Can i use flank steak?
I have in the past and it’s okay. I still prefer more of a london broil thinly sliced.
Do I double the 3/4 water and soy sauce when doubling the recipe?
You just need 1 cup water for the pot to come to pressure in the first step. You don’t have to double the soy sauce there but you need to add a bit more of everything to the sauce to make sure it covers all the meat and vegetables if you are doubling all of it.
This was amazing, though I changed things up a bit. We like our Asian foods less sweet, so I used half the sugar. I added a splash of sesame oil and some olive oil to the pot to brown the meat before adding liquid, then only did 15 minutes on high pressure. I also added a tablespoon of cornstarch to the sauce mixture, then added the liquid from the pot to the sauce. (I couldn’t bear to toss the yummy pot liquids). Great recipe. Would definitely use again!
I also prefer it less sweet, so I only used 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of sugar and it was just right. I used one red and one orange bell pepper and the green and white parts of a bundle of green onions. Served over rice and it was delicious!
I’ve had my 8 quart Instant Pot for about a year now and I use it at least 3 to 5 times a week. Needless to say I love it.
Made this tonight….we absolutely loved it!! We had two steaks that were just tough meat, in general. Cooking for 20 min made them crazy tender!!!! I used red and yellow peppers and half an onion that I had. The sauce was so flavorful! This is going into our dinner rotation….Thank you so much for the recipe!
Can you use cube steak or stew meat with this recipe
Stew meat wouldn’t have the same effect and would definitely need to be cooked longer. Cube steak would be a no. The best thing would be like bottom round steak or meat labeled stir fry beef in the store. I hope this is helpful!
I haven’t made this recipe yet, need to shop for ingredients. But it’s going to be on my dinner table this week. I read recipe ingredients and immediately know whether or not the hubs and I will like it…this recipe is a definite like!
I just purchased my Instant Pot yesterday and haven’t read all of instruction book yet. I plan to use it at least 4’x’s + a week.
I’m anxious to look at your recipe collection to find many more.
Thank you!
Definitely feel free to substitute. I used sirloin steak cut into thin strips, then reduced the time to 15 minutes with immediate pressure release.
We used cubed stew meat and it came out beautifully. 🙂
Do you have a recipe for Moo Shu pork? We did enjoy this. We lived in south east ASIA for 15 years. Now retired to USA.
I don’t currently have a recipe for Moo Shu Pork. Maybe in the future. Glad you enjoyed the recipe and how you enjoy retirement!
Can you substitute flank steak, and how long should it be cooked?
If you do flank steak it’s a tougher and has more fat. I’d suggest cooking it a little longer to render it as tender as the beef here.
WOW!!! 2 in my family are self proclaimed Asian food haters (literally the only thing they’ll eat anywhere near Asian food is orange chicken from Panda
CUE YOUR RECIPE!!! This made believers out of everyone! Thank you so much! Absolutely superb. I did not feel like making a substitute for the Hoisin so I just threw in some thick, sweet, hickory style BBQ sauce. Perfection! I will make this again and again.
If your looking for gluten free hoisin you can find it as specialty shops but the hoisin is a key ingredient in the dish. Glad your family liked it!
So easy and delicious. Will make it again and again. I used round steak and it worked great.
This was fantastic!!! Due to isolation, I had to sub a couple of things but nothing major. I put my skirt steak in the IP whole and it was so incredibly tender and lip-smacking good! I added some chili paste and Sriracha since I love spicy food. I served over udon noodles. I will absolutely make this again!
Very good! The beef was falling apart. I didn’t use the hoisin b/c hubs is allergic, so I just added a dash of sriracha instead (no idea what hoisin tastes like, but seemed like a good substitute based on the other ingredients). And cut the ingredients in half (except the water the meat cooked in), since it was just the two of us.
Jenne, you said you don’t like cleaning the stainless steal pot, have you ever tried Bar Keeper’s Friend? It’s amazing, I switched to all stainless steel pots and pans after discovering this little miracle! (Was tired of replacing non-stick pans all the time).
Hoisin sauce is like a plum flavor with sweetness. Not sure there is anything else to replace it. Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Yes, I’ve heard of barkeepers friend but we just pop it in the dishwasher and it’s fine. I’m just be careful not to get much stuck to the pot.
Wow, lovely recipe. totally blown away. Love the sweetness. I added a bit of chill powder and I used strips of ginger.
Can’t wait to make this for my other half.
I thought the 20mins was too long but the meat was so tender.
My new favourite recipe.
I am trying this tonight. Looks so good! Can I double the sauce so we can have like a gravy for the rice ? I love sauce. Lol. How would adding fresh broccoli to this work?
I would do some on the stuff inside the pot them make a little more and microwave it to thicken for a gravy on the side. I wouldn’t double it in the pot. As for broccoli when you add the peppers to stir fry just add the broccoli too. Broccoli becomes mush under pressure. However a simple stir fry of it for a few minutes and it’s ready to eat with the rest.
Thanks for the awesome recipe. do you pickle meat?
I like very soft meat.
I shared with family and friends.
Hi Jenne,
This is first time using instant pot. Your pepper beef recipe says to cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, but your video says to sauté first. Which is best way to do? Is it necessary to sauté?
Sorry if my video is confusing. The first step shown is to place the meat, soy sauce, and water into the pot then place the lid on and set to high pressure as directed in the recipe above. I just didn’t show me placing the lids back on. It’s best to follow the detail instructions in the recipe card. Please let me know if you have anymore questions.
Hi. I think I’m missing something. You say high pressure but my instant pot wants another button pushed. Do I choose Meat/stew and high pressure?
The button could either be pressure cook or manual depend on the model of instant pot you have.
My newest favorite recipe, and I have many! Used venison and onions from my garden, so good!
Making this for first time tonight. Its 20 minutes high pressure in sealing position? 20 minutes seems like a long time?
The time is correct. This is to render the beef tender to eat. You can see the many comments below how well it turns out. It’s one of our household favorites. We always test a recipe over and over. The beef definitely needs 20 minutes.
At what point do you slice the beef?
This is pre cut stir fry beef you can find on the shelves in your grocery store meat area. Most of them carry it just look for “beef stir fry” on the label. Best!
Excellent recipe, sauce has great flavor, the beef was tender! The deviations I made were that I used 4 lbs. of beef, 4 peppers (3 Red & 1 Green since my family prefers red peppers) and replaces the scallions with Vidalia onions (quartered). I’m making it for the second time tonight. Thank you for sharing your fantastic recipe!
Absolutely wonderful recipe! My family loved it! Thank you for sharing!
This is an easy and tasty recipe!! Yum
If you are increasing the recipe size, do you keep the amount of water/soy sauce you put in the same?
I would highly suggest up’ing the amount of the ingredients like soy and ginger. The water about should be enough to bring it to pressure without adding more. How much meat are you planning on doing?
This recipe has become one of my favorites. I leave things in a bit longer since I’m not terribly confident when it comes to cooking meat, and it turns out really good. I also leave out the spring onions since I don’t like those and replaced it with mushrooms. Yum!
Easy and Delicious!
Five stars! Was absolutely delicious! I followed recipe exactly. At first I thought it would be lacking sauce, which was NOT the case at all. Was bursting with flavor. I served it over rice and both my husband and son LOVED it. As did I. Thanks for a great recipe!
Glad you loved the recipe! It’s really one of my most favorite recipes to make in the instant pot.
I really don’t like soy sauce.. can you taste it? If so what could you substitute it with? Worcestershire sauce?
This has an Asian flavor like a Chinese dish you would get at restaurant. I wouldn’t suggest worcestershire sauce because it would not compliment those flavors like ginger. You can use teriyaki if you like it.
Can you use Chuck Roast?
You can but roast will not have the same texture and will have to cook longer.
Yum! This was so good. The putting the sauce in after it cooks is the secret!!!
Yes it sure is! I do that with almost all my chicken and beef in the instant pot.
I loved this and so did my family. I wish it had been a bigger batch. Will definitely be making again.
Absolutely delicious! Thanks for the awesome recipe that will surely be a staple in our house from now on.
Even doing the recipe totally gluten free with the sauces, it was a family favorite and will be a regular in our meals each week. It’s easy to prepare everything ahead of time. I even substituted Stevia for brown sugar. It was still really good! Thank you for this.
Thanks for sharing! Saved my butt on a quick impulsive idea for a dinner side!
Jenne, it was delicious and easy to prepare! Thank you, it’s very delicious!
It’s awesome! I cannot wait to try this. I bet it makes the house smell divine and tastes incredible!
I just made it and it’s just so amazing! The sauce is excellent! All I can say is WOW! Great recipe!
Jenne, it looks so yummy! I love the step-by-step instructions, making it an easy recipe to follow!
This sounds amazing and looks fantastic. Love all the colors!
It looks perfect and tasty! Can’t wait to have this anytime of the day, love it!
Just made this and it was absolutely delicious!! My second instant pot creation ever. It was super easy and quick to make. Loved the fresh ginger and no oil to make it greasy or heavy. This one’s a keeper! Thanks for the great recipe! Wish I could attach a picture, it looks beautiful 🙂
Thank you and I am really glad you liked it! I have some more instant pot recipes here. More will be coming soon too!
Loved this! I submitted a review previously, but forgot stars.. I love that this has no added oil, and such great flavor. Thank You!
Normally, I wouldn’t make a recipe with so few reviews, but I am so happy to have tried this! My guy and I are new to instant pot, we both know this will be a go to recipe! The meat was so tender, and the sauce so tasty! It is amazing that no oil was needed. Thank you for sharing it!
This was absolutely yummy and so easy to make! I used fresh squeezed ginger and I confess I added more than suggested. I served it over rice I made in my donabe and it got a thumbs up from my husband and a ‘this is a make again meal’ comment! Thanks for posting it!
Very glad you liked it! I usually add more ginger too. I am a sucker for ginger.
Sooo good!!!
I’m new to instant pot and this is definitely a keeper!!
Thanks!
Do use fresh ginger or ground ginger?
Fresh ginger for sure! Have a look at the video for an easy walk through.
Delicious BUT when are you supposed to slice the beef?
The beef comes pre-sliced at the store. It’s a cut you buy that says stir fry beef on it.