Make your takeout dreams come true any night of the week with this epic Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli recipe.
This will give your favorite slow cooker beef and broccoli stir fry recipe a run for its money…and time because it’s made with a cook time of just 9 total minutes!

My #1 Takeout Meal
GUYS. I don’t actually know how I made it 8 whole years without a single beef and broccoli recipe on FFF. When we were in the Boundary Waters last month, we were talking about what our last meal would be. Mine would 100% be beef and broccoli over and over again.
So we’re finally bringing you the most epic, better than slow cooker beef and broccoli…INSTANT POT BEEF AND BROCCOLI. With this recipe, you’ll find that your beef is tender as can be WITHOUT having over-cooked broccoli. How did we make this work?! Well, LOTS of trial and error. We tested this recipe 6 times. YES, 6…to get the most perfect beef with broccoli on the planet. How did we do it? We’re sharing the secrets below!

Step 1: Tenderize and Slice
Time to whip out your meat tenderizer. Flank steak is ALWAYS better with a little tenderization. Lay a piece of parchment paper over your flanks teak and give her some love. Then, cut her down the long way and slice her up. Try and get them as thin as possible.
Step 2: Make Beef and Broccoli Sauce
Beef and broccoli sauce is super easy to make. Here’s what you need:
- low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
- hoisin sauce
- minced garlic
- red chili sauce
- cornstarch

Step 3: Sear and Cook Beef
Turn on the Instant Pot’s sauté function, and give your beef a quick sear, but don’t cook it all the way! Then, pour in your sauce, close and seal the Instant Pot, and cook on high for 8 total minutes.
*SECRET* Step 4: Add broccoli + cook for 0 minutes
Once the timer goes off, quick release the Instant Pot and open it up. Add in your broccoli, close, and seal. Cook on high for 0 minutes. Yes, 0 minutes. This will allow your Instant Pot to build pressure and then be done cooking once it’s at max pressure.
If you cook it any longer than 0 minutes, I promise you, your broccoli will be mushy. So? Once that timer goes off, open the vent to quick release immediately!

Step 5: Thicken Sauce
Immediately remove the beef and broccoli from the Instant Pot, keeping the sauce at the bottom of the pot. Add in your cornstarch and whisk away. Then, place the beef and broccoli back into the Instant Pot and give everything a stir.
You should be ready to go with perfectly tender beef and crunchy, yet cooked broccoli, just the way a beef and broccoli stir fry should taste.

Beef and broccoli stir fry is traditionally served with a white sticky rice, but it’s absolutely delicious with quinoa as well. Check out some other nummy stir fry and Instant Pot recipes you might like, too:
Instant Pot Recipes

Stir Fry Recipes
- Best Stir Fry Recipes
- Honey Ginger Chicken
- Thai Basil Veggie Stir Fry
- Healthy Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot Korean Beef

Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 lbs. flank steak
- 8 cups broccoli florets cut into chunks
- 1/3 cup low sodium cup soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons red chili sauce or more if you like it spicy
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- First, create the sauce by mixing together soy sauce, hoisin, minced garlic, and red chili sauce. Set aside.
- Next, place flank steak out on a cutting board and cover with parchment paper. Use a meat tenderizer to tenderize the flank steak. Pound each side of the flank steak for 1-2 minutes and until it is 1/2 inch thick.
- Then, slice your flank steak in half (hot dog way) and cut each half into thin strips.
- Turn on the Instant Pot's saute function and add olive oil to the pot. When olive oil is fragrant, add flank steak and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Next, turn off Instant Pot. Add sauce to the flank steak. Mix well and cover Instant Pot.
- Turn the pressure valve to seal and cook meat on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Quick release pressure and uncover Instant Pot. Then, place broccoli on top of the flank steak.
- Place lid back on the Instant Pot, turn pressure valve to seal, and set the timer '0' minutes. The pressure will build and beep when it reaches full pressure. This is when you quick release.
- Remove lid and remove beef and broccoli from the Instant Pot, leaving the sauce. Add cornstarch to sauce and whisk.
- Add beef and broccoli back into the Instant Pot and mix so all ingredients are coated with sauce.
- Serve with quinoa or rice.
Watch It
Nutrition facts
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PS: learn how to make quinoa in your Instant Pot HERE.
Just made tonight and oh myyyyyy! The sauce is so good! Best beef & broccoli recipe I’ve ever tried. Added some rice and green onions on top! So so good!
This is WAY better than takeout. Simple and delicious.
Super easy and sooooo good. I don’t like spicy anything, and I think I could’ve added more chili sauce. Def will make this again!
This is one of my favorite recipes on FFF!
This is my FAVORITE recipe from Fit Foodie Finds. Quick, easy and so yummy!
THE SAUCE THOUGH. So, good! I made it on the stove top with no issues. Paired it with cauliflower rice. Reheats really well! This will be joining my regular meal rotation!
So so soooo good! Glad you loved this recipe!
Thanks Lee! This looks AMAZING! 42 protein is a good deal for me. I shall try!
Where can I find the nutritional information on this recipe? Calories?
I really love this recipe and have made it quite a few times now. But for the life of me I cannot figure out step 8! Do you have an estimated amount of time it should take for the pressure to build up? A few times I’ve taken the broccoli out too early where it’s not cooked at all, or I’ve completely scorched everything from leaving it too long! Help!
Hey Lauren! We’ve never ran into this issue as the broccoli always steams perfectly with just the pressure build-up and quick release. Are you waiting for your Instant Pot to beep, saying “I’m done!”
I love this recipe–it’s tasty, easy and my kids/family love it! One question…the printing options seem to have changed. Whereas before the recipes would print on one page, now it’s taking up 4! Can you help a tree hugger out and tell me what I may be doing wrong? LOVE FFF!!!–my favorite food bloggers!
Looking into this for you!!
Not sure what I did, but my broccoli was complete mush! I set the timer to zero and waited til it went from “ON” to L:01. Was that too long?
I’ve made this several times and with different cuts of meat and it always works out perfectly! Delicious flavors and pairs fantastically with quinoa. Even my 2 year old loves it
This is possibly my husband’s most-requested recipe. We LOVE it! I also skip the tenderizing step and the meat is still super tender. Also last time I subbed sriracha for the chili garlic sauce because that’s what I had, and it was still delicious! Reheats very well for lunches throughout the week.
YASSSSS! It’s my favorite too. I think Mark might be a little sick of it 😛
Think did something wrong. Pretty new to instant pot and got burn message. Looking forward to this all day and now bumming!
Hey Tricia! For some reason, the newer Instant Pots give that message so much more than the older ones! That just means you need to add a little more liquid. If that happens again, you can just release the pressure, add some water, and then cover it and start again! No need to toss the entire recipe!
Is it possible to make this in a slow cooker? It sounds super yummy.
Hello! I’m sure it is, but we haven’t tried it!
This is SO GOOD! I’ve made it twice now and my husband loves it. I skipped the tenderizing step and the meat still fell apart. Absolute winner!
I don’t have an Instant Pot, but i do have a pressure cooker. Any suggestions?
This was my first recipe/attempt in our Instant Pot and it was DELICIOUS and so easy to follow along with your recipe. We will definitely be adding this to our regular line up and look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thanks!
Loved this recipe! Wondering if you’ve ever done it with chicken?
Thanks!
I have not, but I bet you guys try it as is with chicken!
This was AMAZING! My kids loved it.
YAY!!!
LEE THIS IS AMAZING. Made it exactly how you instructed and so perfect. Loved how lovely the flavor turns out! So quick and easy, and that broccoli trick makes the florets perfectly crunchy yet soft. I will be making this again soon.
This makes me so happy!