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Home » Instant Pot Recipes

Instant Pot Pepper Steak Stir Fry

Published: Dec 19, 2019 · Modified: Jan 4, 2023 by Steph · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · About 5 minutes to read this article.

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Instant Pot Pepper Steak Stir Fry
Instant Pot Pepper Steak Stir Fry
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Meal Prep Instant Pot Pepper Steak Stir Fry Recipe | Meal Plan Addict

Instant Pot pepper steak stir fry is ultra tender beef, perfectly cooked peppers in a homemade savory sauce that is perfect for dinner or meal prep lunches! 

Instant Pot Pepper steak plated

You guys have been loving Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli, and I know you are going to love this ultra tender Instant Pot pepper steak stir fry too! 

Getting beef ultra tender, but not over cooking your veggies in a dish can be a bit of a challenge. When you put ingredients into and Instant Pot that have significantly different cook times, you can end up with and Instant Pot fail. 

How to avoid over cooked peppers in your Instant Pot stir fry

Not all Instant Pot recipes should be just dumping all ingredients in and pressuring up. 

When foods have different cook times, you have to take that into consideration. 

For this recipe, if you put the peppers in for the pressure cycle, you will end up with very over cooked peppers. To keep the peppers with a bit of crunch to them, you will saute them using the saute feature, before you cook the beef. 

Instant Pot Pepper steak peppers on saute inside instant pot

The secrets to ultra tender beef   

This recipe calls for flank steak. This cut of beef can often come out tough. But, there are a couple of ways to avoid this. 

First, cut your beef "against the grain".

How to cut against the grain 

You can see in the image below that the grain (the direction of the fibers) is horizontal here. This means you are going to cut your strips at a vertical cut. 

When you cut against the grain, you are shortening the fibers, thus making it easier to chew, and more tender. This is important for cutting flank steak. 

how to cut against the grain

The second step to ultra tender flank steak is to tenderize it, with a meat tenderizer. 

How to tenderize flank steak

To take it one step further to get ultra tender flank steak, I use mechanical tenderization. This basically means you pound the steak. Again you are breaking up those fibers to make the meat easier to chew.

I use this very meat tenderizer mallet (affiliate link). 

Once the strips are cut, pound them with a mallet and then cut into bite size pieces. The meat is now flatter and will become ultra tender.

Instant Pot Pepper steak after tenderization

Sear the meat or not?

With steak this thin, no, you don't need to sear the meat first for this recipe. 

Instant Pot Pepper steak in instant pot after cooking

Can this be a meal prep?

Yes, of course! There are 2 ways I prep this ahead. 

For lunches, I fully cook it, portion it, and reheat through out the week. 

For dinner, I will prep the meat (cut and tenderize) and put it into a container. Cut the peppers and onions and store them separate from the beef. I will then also made the sauce and keep it in a mason jar. Dinner then comes together really quick.

Instant Pot Pepper steak in meal prep containers with fork

Are you ready to get Instant Pot Pepper Steak Stir fry into your weekly meal plan?

When you make it, tag me @mealplanaddict on Instagram so I can see your creation!

For more Instant Pot Beef recipes, check out:

  • Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli
  • Easy Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
  • Instant Pot Beef Ragu
Instant Pot Pepper steak plated

Instant Pot Pepper Steak Stir Fry

Course: Instant Pot
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Instant Pot Easy Dinner, Intant Pot Stirfry
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 337kcal
Author: Steph
Instant Pot pepper steak stirfry is ultra tender beef, perfectly cooked peppers in a homemade savory sauce that is perfect for dinner or meal prep lunches! 
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • 6 Quart Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs Flank Steak
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ small onion, sliced thin
  • 1 cup sliced red pepper
  • 1 cup sliced green pepper

Sauce

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoon brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • ⅓ cup hoisin sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 Tbs chili garlic sauce (Sambal Oelek) you can sub in sriracha here

Slurry to thicken sauce

  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoon water

Instructions

  • Select the saute feature on your Instant Pot. Allow to heat.
  • Meanwhile, slice steak, against the grain, into strips.
  • Using a meat tenderizer mallet, pound the strips, and cut into bite size pieces. Set aside.
  • Add oil to the instant pot. Once the oil is hot, add the peppers and onion. Saute until onions are translucent and peppers are cooked to desired tenderness. Take care not to over cook.
  • Remove the pepper/onion mixture from the Instant Pot and set aside.
  • Select cancel on your Instant Pot.
  • Add the sauce ingredients to a mason jar and shake (or just add directly into the Instant Pot liner and stir). Leave out the slurry ingredients. You add that after the pressure cycle.
  • Add the beef into the Instant Pot.
  • Set the Instant Pot to 8 minutes on high pressure.
  • After the pressure cycle is complete, quick release the pressure.
  • Remove the lid, press cancel and select saute.
  • Add the cornstarch slurry into the pot and stir.
  • Add the peppers and onions into the pot.
  • After about 3 minutes, the sauce should have thickened and the peppers heated.
  • Press cancel on your Instant Pot.
  • Serve with rice, cauliflower rice, or side of your choice.

Notes

Nutrition information is for stir fry without any sides. 

Nutrition

Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 7g

More Instant Pot Recipes

  • How to Make and Freeze the BEST Instant Pot Bone Broth
  • Instant Pot Greek Chicken Skewers with Lemon Dill Pilaf {Pot in Pot}
  • Instant Pot Meal Prep Shredded Chicken {+ all the ways to use it all week}
  • Instant Pot Taco Spaghetti

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jill says

    May 19, 2020 at 5:49 pm

    5 stars
    Awesome
    I didn’t have hoisin sauce do I used taco sauce
    Used pre sliced beef from my meat dept. no need to tenderize or pound
    Yummy
    Jill

    Reply
  2. Janet Vinyard says

    April 19, 2021 at 8:23 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent depth of flavors! We loved this dish! I used round steak instead of flank steak and it was just fantastic! Thanks for this great recipe!

    Reply
  3. Heather says

    January 19, 2022 at 4:06 pm

    This was absolutely DELICIOUS! The sauce is so, so flavorful I could have drunk it on it's own, haha! Can't wait to try this same recipe with difference proteins as I feel it would work great with chicken and pork, too! Definitely will be making again. Also, super quick and simple!

    Reply

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