This Instant Pot Short Ribs recipe lets you enjoy the tender, flavorful ribs without the hours of cooking time usually required. This set-it-and-forget-it recipe makes it easy to cook the perfect meat.
If you’re looking for more short ribs recipes, try this Guinness Braised Short Ribs. It’s amazing and very easy to make.
We love ribs over here at Primavera Kitchen. I’ve shared how I make Slow Cooker Ribs and Instant Pot Ribs. But have you tried short ribs??
What are short ribs?
Short ribs actually come from the beef chuck portion of the animal. They are the bottom five ribs that are too short to be used for steak.
However, they are muscles that are always in use while the animal is moving. Therefore, short ribs are not as tender as other meat portions, but are super flavorful.
There are two different ways you will find short ribs cut. The traditional method is English style. These are small chunks of meat around a single bone. There are also BBQ-style cuts. These are long strips with three bone sections. This is the kind I recommend for this recipe.
Other preparation methods
Making Instant Pot short ribs is a much quicker method of cooking ribs that are still tender and fall off the bone. I love how quick tender meat gets in the Instant Pot, like this Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe.
You can make this short ribs recipe in the oven as well. Use a Dutch oven or other heavy pan so you can catch all the drippings to make gravy. Cook short ribs low and slow in the oven. Give them three hours in an oven set at 300°F. You’ll know they are done when you can easily pull the meat apart with a fork.
You can also make this short ribs recipe in the slow cooker. I recommend you still brown all sides of the ribs on the stove before putting them in the slow cooker. Cook them on low for eight hours or high for five hours.
What do you serve with Instant Pot short ribs?
It’s easy to make gravy from the drippings that are left in the pot after cooking Instant Pot short ribs. Just whisk it with a cornstarch slurry for a few moments to thicken it to your perfect consistency. If you make gravy, the natural side dish to go with it is mashed potatoes. If you aren’t eating white potatoes, you can substitute mashed cauliflower. The gravy is a wonderful addition to the meat itself.
You can try lots of other side dishes as well:
Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 lb bone-in beef short ribs 0.778kg
- sea salt + pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped (If you are folling keto diet replace onions ofr 1/2 of scallions)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup water or cooking liquid
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrow flour for low-carb and whole30
- Chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- Set the instant pot to the sauté setting and add olive oil.
- Add the short ribs and brown all sides. It probably will take about 10 minutes. Then, remove the short ribs from the Instant Pot and set aside.
- Add in onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent. It's about 4 minutes. Don’t forget to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add thyme, tomato paste and balsamic vinegar. Stir everything very well. Then, season with salt and pepper.
- Turn off the sauté mode. Add in beef broth and bay leaves. Stir well. Transfer the short ribs back to the pot.
- Lock the lid and set pressure on high for 1 hour. When done, use Natural Release for 10 minutes, then release valve and remove the lid.
- Remove shot ribs carefully, keeping the meat on the bone.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid into a small bowl. Add cornstarch and stir it very well. Set aside.
- Pour all the cooking liquid from the Instant Pot into a saucepan and heat on a high heat.
- Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan with the cooking liquid and whisk for about 2 minutes or until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper if you desire.
- Place short ribs on serving plate, spoon over sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- The nutrition facts don’t include mashed potatoes and green beans.
- If the beef was frozen beforehand, make sure you fully thaw it before using it.
- Do not quick release the instant pot immediately to keep the short ribs from drying out.
- To store: Store leftover short ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To reheat: You can reheat the short ribs in the microwave or oven.
- To freeze: Once fully cooled, you can freeze cooked short ribs in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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This recipe was slightly adapted from the blog Garden in the Kitchen.
This looks divine! Our local butcher sells de-boned short ribs, I assume that would reduce the cooking time. Any idea how long to cook de-boned ones?
I would cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.
I am making these shortribs for one. I have 1 pound bone in. How long should I cook them. The recipe states 1 hour for 4 pounds
I would say at least 45 minutes. As long as you cook, as tender it will be!
Thank you for the speedy answer
When you are doing your calorie configuration what exactly is 1/4 of this recipe?
I had 4 short ribs. So the calorie is for 1 short ribs. It can be different if you are short ribs are fatter or not.
Hello there,
First my wife and I would like to Thank you for this recipe. What will the process be for a slow cooker?
Thanks again.
You can cook it using a slow cooker. Cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Can you finish the sauce in the IP? Or do you have to transfer is to a sauce pan?
Transfer to a sauce pan because you are only using 1/4 cup of the sauce.
This was sooo good and super easy to make!! Our grocery store didn’t have short ribs so we used country style bone in pork ribs. It was soo delicious! We made a side of mashed cauliflower and string beans. My husband and 3 year old really enjoyed it. I’ll be making this part of my meal rotation, that’s how easy it was!!
That’s awesome to hear that. Thanks for stopping by 😉
Hello, if I wanted to double the recipe in one pot would that take the same amount of time of 1 hour or would I have to increase the time? I’m a newbie with the Instant Pot 😬
Yes you need to double the time if you double the recipe.
Making this for the third time! I use Better than Bouillon instead of broth. Delicious!
Awesome!
My Hubby & I absolutely loved it!!! I think it is the balsamic vinegar that gives that depth of flavor 👍👍👍
Indeed it is 😉
I made this its awesome. Everyone loved it!!
Aww that’s awesome. Glad you all liked it.
So delicious wouldn’t change anything!
That’s awesome!
How would you suggest reheating from the freezer?
Absolutely delish!
Happy you liked it.
Love it. Fairly low in potassium and I don’t use salt.
Awesome!
If I do 4.3lbs of meat- do I have to do more of everything else?
yes you have to.
So great & simple
Totally!
Can I substitute beef ribs for pork loin back ribs? If so, does it change the pressure cooking time?
Yes, you can substitute pork loin back ribs for beef ribs in an Instant Pot Short Ribs recipe. However, keep in mind that the cooking time may need adjustment. Pork ribs generally have a shorter cooking time than beef ribs. Start by reducing the cooking time by 5-10 minutes and adjust as needed based on your preferences and the doneness of the ribs.
The ingredients mention Water but I don’t see water anywhere in the recipe. Are we supposed to add water?
You can use water or cooking liquid. The instructions are on the recipe card. Thanks for your question.
Delish!!!! Oh my lanta!!!
The short ribs were fall off of the bone and I loved that I didn’t have to cook them for hours and hours and I got started too late. My husband and I felt it was too heavy on the balsamic vinegar, which we both do love. Also, I may just be missing it after reading the recipe over and over but, where do you add the 1/4 C water? I will follow this technique but go back to my original recipes.
Can I use white vinegar?
I don’t think it would work for this recipe.