Instant Pot Italian Beef
This easy Instant Pot Italian Beef is an amazing low carb pressure cooker beef recipe, that doubles as a quick Italian Beef Sandwich recipe with pepperoncinis!
Tender Beef
Slow cooked beef, so tender it pulls into shred and melts in your mouth, is one of life’s true pleasures.
Although there are all sorts of ways to season and prepare beef like this, Classic Italian Beef is a personal favorite. It offers a deep meaty flavor, laced with herbs and tangy pepperoncini peppers.
You can enjoy the beef on its own as a low carb option, or pile it high on sub rolls and cover it with provolone cheese.
Who Invented Italian Beef?
Is Italian Beef Really Italian?
Sort of… It was actually invented in Chicago, in the 1930s, by an Italian immigrant and restaurant owner.
As the story goes, in a pinch Al Ferreri stretched a beef roast to feed over 150 people by shaving it extra thin and serving the meat, soaking in its juices, on bread.
This led to a sandwich shop chain that has been making beef sandwiches this way for decades.
What Kind of Meat Do You Use for Italian Beef?
Although any sort of beef roast could be used, I find you get the most flavor and the best texture from a chuck roast.
However, if you happen to have another type of beef roast in the freezer, go for it!
In the original Italian Beef recipe, Al shaved the beef into thin slivers. Yet most home cooks do not own a commercial meat slicer. Therefore we’ve changed the recipe to a shredded beef variation.
It offers the same flavors and appeal, with less equipment or time involved.
What Ingredients You Will Need
- Beef Chuck Roast – Perfectly marbled with fat for the best shredded beef.
- Butter – Start the onions and garlic off in butter to release their flavors.
- Red Onion – Sliced, not chopped.
- Garlic – The more the merrier!
- Pepperoncini – Use mild or hot peppers, making sure to reserve some juices for the recipe.
- Worcestershire Sauce – To accentuate the deep beefy flavor.
- Beef Broth – Used instead of wine for a low carb paleo version.
- Sugar – Just a small amount of brown sugar (or palm sugar) balances the tangy ingredients.
- Italian Seasoning – This dried Italian herb blend puts the I in Italian.
- Crushed Red Pepper – For a flavor kick!
Slow Cooker vs. Instant Pot
In my original slow cooker beef recipe, I add wine to the cooking broth to deepen the flavor.
However, here we are trying to keep the recipe low carb, so feel free to skip the wine… And for very low carb (keto) skip the sugar as well.
If you prefer using a slow cooker, so you can set-and-forget your beef roast all day, go for it! But for those who don’t usually think about dinner until they are driving home in the evening, the Instant Pot method is the answer to perfectly tender beef and peppers.
How to Make Instant Pot Italian Beef
You can make Chicago-style Italian Beef in the oven as well. However, if you want to make it in the least amount of time, a pressure cooker is the best option.
- Sauté – Cook the onions and garlic on the sauté setting to soften and sweeten them.
- Pressure Cook – Next add all remaining ingredients. Then set the Instant Pot on high for 50 minutes.
- Shred – Once it’s safe to open the pressure cooker lid, shred the beef in the juices. It will be very soft and tender, so you can shred it with tongs or a couple forks.
For quick Italian sandwiches, pile the beef on sub rolls. Lay a slice of provolone cheese over the top. And set it under the broiler for 1-3 minutes to melt the cheese.
See Our (Printable) Pressure Cooker Italian Beef Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Make This Low Carb?
If you are sticking to a strict low carb, paleo, or ketogenic diet, skip the traditional bread!
You can adjust this low carb base recipe to be even lower in carbs by taking out a little bit of sugar. However, I feel it does help balance the overall flavor.
Consider adding a keto sweetener like stevia or erythritol instead of sugar.
How Long Will The Leftovers Last In The Fridge?
This recipe can last in the fridge for 4 to 5 days in an airtight container. I usually add some of the juices from the instant pot in with the beef to keep it nice and juicy, while also adding extra flavor.
How Spicy Does This Recipe Get?
If you use mild pepperoncini, it’s not spicy at all. You can adjust the spice level by buying mild, medium, or hot peppers.
Then Serve This Recipe With:
Lemon Butter Roasted Asparagus
Other Great Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto Recipe
- Homemade Instant Pot Applesauce Recipe
- Instant Pot Perfect Carnitas Recipe
- Instant Pot Green Chicken Curry Recipe
- Instant Pot Italian Chicken Orzo Recipe
- Best Instant Pot Baked Beans Recipe
- Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken Curry Recipe
- Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken Recipe
- Easy Swedish Meatballs Recipe (Crockpot & Instant Pot)
Instant Pot Italian Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck
- 4 tablespoons butter (pork fat for paleo)
- 1 large red onion, peeled and sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 20 pepperoncini peppers (mild or hot)
- 1/4 cup pepperoncini juices
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or palm sugar)
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot on Sauté. Add the butter, onions, and garlic. Sauté for 3-5 minutes to soften the onions.
- Meanwhile, cut the beef chuck into 4 large chunks. Once the onions are soft, place the beef down in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the pepperoncinis, pepper juice, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, sugar, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper.
- Lock the lid into place. Then set the Instant Pot on the Meat setting, or Pressure Cook High for 50 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, turn off the Instant Pot. Perform a Quick Release. Once the steam valve drops it’s safe to open the lid.
- Use tongs or forks to shred the beef into the juices. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve as-is for a low carb meal, or serve on sub rolls with provolone cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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It may have been invented in Chicago in the 1930’s. But I guarantee there were no pepperoncini peppers in the original recipe.
I’m sure it’s delicious based on the other ingredients. it’s just not true Chicago style Italian beef with those salad peppers in it.
My first Instant Pot meal was a success! So yummy. We served on toasted ciabatta rolls with provalone.
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If I could have left a 10 star rating I would have. I met my husband in Chicago, but we moved north soon after. This is as close as I’ve gotten to preparing him a Chicago style Italian beef sandwich, and he beloved it!
this is SO BOMB! writing this as we eat them, seriously so amazing. Cooked as written. Served on toasted bread with a smear of horseradish, this will definitely land on our dinner rotation!
Absolutely love the recipe. Just found a rump roast in our freezer, can I use that and expect similar results?
this is such a great recipe, thank you so much for sharing this!
Delicious! Our family has enjoyed this several times! Recipe is perfect! Great way to use a roast!
This is very similar to my pot roast recipe, except I use a 26 oz. can of diced tomatoes, in place of the tomato paste & wine. I usually cook green beans as a side dish.
I’ve shared this recipe all morning after making it last night! It is soooo good it will be my go-to from now on!
Great recipe! I did add another 30 minutes to the Instant Pot. The meat was so tender.
I have made this recipe a couple of times and it is really good, especially for feeding a small crowd. You should, however, sear the roast in the instant pot before sautéing the onions. Season the beef on all sides with salt and pepper, then remove it when it’s browned all over. Saute the onions in evoo and deglaze with red wine or stock before adding everything back to the pot. I also recommend taking it a little bit easier on the worcestershire, try 2Tbsp. Serve this on an Italian loaf with melted provolone cheese and giardainera (try fermenting that from scratch too, it’s amazing).
I made this for dinner last night. Yummm! I used butter to sauté onions and garlic in a cast iron Dutch oven, then put them in the instant pot. Next I cut the chuck roast into four chunks and browned it in some olive oil in the same Dutch oven. Once the beef was nicely browned on all sides, I popped it into the instant pot. I deglazed the Dutch oven with a bit of red wine (Pinot noir) and poured it into the instant pot. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. I added the rest of the ingredients to instant pot, pressure cooked, and served it on warm ciabatta rolls with mozzarella cheese. I pulsed some giardiniera in food processor to go on the sandwiches. Mmmm!
I’ve made this recipe several times and have varied it a couple times if I was out of an ingredient or two. But it is delicious and my husband loves it…also my picky daughter does too
Definitely WAY to much Worcestershire sauce. Super overpowering. I would put in maybe a tablespoon; half a cup is excessive. Other than that, pretty good recipe.
Very tasty. My only two comments are these; I’d go lighter on the Worcester (maybe by half) and sear the meat with salt and pepper before it goes in the IP. I thought the Worcester was a little too dominate and lost the peppers and other flavors in the soup. The meat would also benefit from a good Maillard reaction which would bring more “beefy” flavor than the broth alone.
Don’t go light on the pepper “juice” or the peppers as the flavors are really key. I skipped the “Italian” seasoning, and went for oregano and a bit of rosemary. By accident, I didn’t use quick release and instead just caught it maybe 20 min after shutdown. Popped the lid and the meat was perfect. Served on kaiser rolls I had brushed a little olive oil on and then added kosher salt to the tops. Put the rolls under the broiler for a little to toast them up. My wife loved them and told me to make them anytime.
I have some London broil steaks – 1lb and a random roast that could get me to the 3 lbs. can I use the steaks or roast only?
Hi Kim,
You could definitely use a London Broil. Let me know how it turns out! :)
Silly request here, but I’d be thrilled if you’d mention provolone cheese in the actual recipe’s ingredient list as an option, because every time I make this I forget to get some provolone, and it would be so wonderful!! 🤣
This was one of the first recipes I made when I got my IP last Christmas. I have made it countless times and try to add it every week to my family’s dinner list for the week. The only thing I change is I leave out the crushed red pepper. This is SO YUMMY and is cooking in my IP now! I like to serve it with rice. Thank you so much for giving me a family staple recipe!
Hey! I’m going to make this tonight for a party but I have 6lbs of meat vs. 3lbs. Does the recipe double well? Should I cut it up? Is there anything else I should change?
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Kerry,
According to Instant Pot’s website, as long as your pot is large enough, you should be able to double recipes, yet keep the same cooking time. It’s worked for me in most cases!
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I want to make this for a party, some guests don’t eat carbs, any suggestions what to serve instead of rolls for those guests?
Hi Mary,
I would probably make a big tray of roasted vegetables for the low carbers. :)
The cooking time was perfect. The meat was super tender and flavorful. The only issue was that the pepperocini flavor completely took over the sauce. It was too vinegary and overpowered the meaty flavor. If I make it again, I will leave them out when cooking and just use some on top to control how much.
This beef recipe looks amazing!
I am still drooling – this recipe was so easy and came out perfectly! Cant wait to make it again!
One of our favorite dinners. Turns out perfect every time.
Obsessed with my IP – can’t wait to make this again!
This is one of our favorite recipes – so tender and full of flavor!
Thank you for all of your helpful suggestions!
This was so tender and delicious. Putting it in rotation for sure.
My husband really loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
Italian beef sandwiches, our family loves them!!
A great pressure cooker recipe.
I don’t have an instant pot but this looks so good!!! I NEED to get one!!
Any advice on converting this to a crockpot/slow cooker recipe?
Thanks!
Never mind, I found the link. Silly!
How spicy is this? It sounds delicious but I don’t like a lot of spice & kids won’t either.
Hi Tara,
If you use mild pepperoncini, it’s not spicy at all. :)
My family loves this recipe! And I love how quickly it comes together!
This turns out so tender and flavorful!
SO GOOD. I love the addition of the pepperoncini!