Easy Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli

Everyone needs an easy rice bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes, and this is that recipe! The Instant Pot does the heavy lifting by perfectly cooking the beef until tender, and while it cooks, all you need to prep is some rice and broccoli. Together they make a tasty and quick beef and broccoli rice bowl!

Rice bowls have been such a tasty meal to make during busy seasons. When I was teaching, I would often come home after work and throw them together with lots of vegetables to get a healthy meal on the table.

The fun part about rice bowls is that you can really use whatever meat or vegetables you have on hand. There are no set rules for me, so I often will take out leftover veggies, or frozen veggies, and steam them up or stir fry them in the sauce I’m using. More than once, I have turned to rice bowls when I am lacking time, energy, inspiration, or ingredients, and I will just throw stuff together and see what happens.

This beef and broccoli recipe became a favorite of mine when I was trying to create an Asian inspired sauce since I didn’t have any on hand. We’ve tried this recipe a few times now, and I have to say, it’s pretty tasty.

Now, I also make this sauce without any alliums, like garlic and onion, since my hubby has an allergy to that plant family. However, I have some suggested options for you to add if you really love those flavors. I have put “optional” next to them as I have not tested them myself. If you do add them however, I would love to hear about it!

For this easy Instant Pot beef and broccoli recipe, the beef is cooked in the sauce in the Instant Pot. Then while the beef is cooking, you will need to steam the broccoli and cook the rice or rice alternative of your choice. You could also cook the broccoli in the sauce as well if you like everything together. The overall time to prep and make everything takes only about 30 minutes. However, if you are wanting to meal prep some pieces ahead of time, I suggest pre-mixing the sauce, slicing the beef into thin slices, and chopping the broccoli up into bite-sized pieces. The rest quickly comes together for an easy weeknight meal!

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What type of beef is in beef and broccoli?

For beef and broccoli, I use beef loin or chuck because the fat content is slightly higher and allows it to be more tender and flavorful as a finished product. However, you could realistically use any type of beef for this recipe because the pressure cooking will help to tenderize the meat.

Does broccoli beef have gluten?

For most broccoli beef recipes, soy sauce is a major component. There are some gluten-free brands of soy sauce that you could use instead of regular soy sauce. The rest of the ingredients should be gluten-free, but always check the labels on your favorite brands to be sure.

How to cut broccoli for beef and broccoli?

When cutting up fresh broccoli for this dish, wash the head and cut off the stem of the broccoli. Then I like to cut the head into pieces by cutting at the intersections between the main stem and the tiny “trees” that make the broccoli head. If any pieces are too big, I slice them in half. Once I get to the top section, I just slice it into bite sized pieces. That’s it!

What does broccoli beef taste like?

This broccoli beef recipe has a sweeter flavor with a slight heat as the aftertaste. The sauce has some salty undertones as well because of the broth and soy sauce included, but the sweetness from the brown sugar is a more obvious flavor that you can taste right away. I personally love the red pepper chili flakes and the white pepper that together add the warm and spicy aftertaste. The more red pepper chili flakes you add, the hotter the sauce will be.

What do you need to make beef and broccoli in the Instant Pot:

-Fresh broccoli

-Beef Chuck or Loin, sliced up thinly

-Beef Broth

-Soy Sauce

-Brown Sugar

-Sesame or Grape Seed Oil

-Red Pepper Chili Flakes

-White Pepper

-Salt & Pepper

-(optional) Garlic Cloves or Garlic Powder

-(optional) Onion or Onion Powder

How to make beef and broccoli:

In the Instant Pot, mix together all of the sauce ingredients using a whisk.

Add the sliced beef to the sauce. (Optional: Cut up the broccoli into bite sized pieces, and add to the Instant Pot to cook with the beef.) Set the valve to sealing, and use the Manual function to set the timer for 8-10 minutes.

While the beef is pressure cooking, cook the rice. (Optional: Cut up the broccoli into bite sized pieces and steam.)

Once the beef is done cooking, you can release the pressure naturally. In a bowl, spoon up some rice. Then cover the rice base with some beef and broccoli. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this beef and broccoli recipe! I would love it if you shared this recipe with others and subscribed to the blog! If you want to join me on my Instagram or Facebook @godsgiftofcreativity, I would love to see you there!

Thanks for reading!

-Chelsey