Easy Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs that are fall off the bone tender in under an hour - for real.
Cooked to perfection in a savory sauce with very minimum prep and hands on time, this is your next Sunday Instant Pot dinner!
Not just for a fancy eating out meal, with your Instant Pot, you can have ultra tender short ribs in under an hour!
I am no stranger to putting ribs into the Instant Pot so I HAD to give it a go with beef short ribs. My Weeknight Instant Pot Ribs are here on the blog!
This post was originally posted January 2019, but I learned that the flavour was being diluted because the original recipe had too much liquid.
This recipe was updated with additional images, directions, and recipe December 2020.
Simple and minimal ingredients for Instant Pot Short Ribs
A few recipe notes:
- The chipotles in adobo add a depth of flavor here and as written, this recipe is not spicy.
- Why molasses? Molasses is a really underrated ingredient for added sweetness.
Which short ribs to get?
Short ribs come in 2 variations. First, is the English version - that you use in this recipe.
They are thick and short (see above image).
The other variation is the BBQ style short ribs which are extremely thin and and are in long strips.
It is as easy as putting all of the ingredients into the Instant Pot and pressing start!
Because the molasses is so thick, I suggest stirring everything together so it doesn't just stick to the bottom.
Then, simply place the short ribs into the sauce.
Don't worry, the beef doesn't need to be submerged.
As the meat cooks and the fat renders down, the beef will slip into the sauce - as well as create more sauce volume.
What to serve Short Ribs with?
If you make these, I want to see! Tag @mealplanaddict.com on Instagram, or post a photo in the Meal Plan Addict Community!
Easy Instant Pot Short Ribs
Equipment
- 6 Quart Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs Beef short Ribs (cut into 3 inch sections)
- Salt & Pepper to season meat
- 1 cup Beef Broth (Better than Bouillon is by far my fav)
- ¼ cup Molasses
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 2 whole Chili peppers (in adobo)
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce from the chili pepper can
Instructions
Make it Now
- Season your ribs with salt and pepper.
- Place the remaining ingredients into the liner and stir unil combined.
- Add the ribs into the sauce mixture.
- Secure the lid, place the release knob to sealing.
- Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook, high pressure for 45 minutes.
- Allow for 10-15 minutes of natural pressure release, then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the ribs from the pot and serve with dinner sides. I also like to put a tablespoon of the juices onto the meat for serving, like an au jus.
Make it a Freezer Meal
- Place all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer zip bag.
- Label the bag and freeze flat.
- Freeze for up to 4 months
- Thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking, then follow the "make it now" instructions above.
Notes
Nutrition
Elaine says
Thank you! I was looking for a short rib recipe that uses less than 4 lbs. of meat! OK, but I'm a real baby when it comes to spicy. Can you tell me how spicy the chilis in adobo are? If spicy, is there a substitute flavor ingredient I could use?
Thanks again!
Steph says
Chilis in adobo are quite hot on their own. In this recipe it is a mild spice, you could just leave it out and be ok!
Andrea says
I am a little confused by what you mean by “cut into 3 inch sections”. Do I cut slits in each short rib every 3 inches?
Thank you so much!
Andrea says
Thank you for this recipe! My husband said that it is his favourite short rib recipe of all the different ones I have made (I have made several different ones, as he loves short ribs) and I said that it was also the easiest short rib recipe! This will definitely be going into our regular meal rotation and next time I will double the recipe!
Steph says
Thanks for giving it a try! So happy to hear it was a hit!