Want your kids to gobble down dinner instead of turning up their noses? This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is a snap to make and is melt-in-your-mouth tender with a delicious sweet and spicy sauce.

What’s your favorite dish to order when you get take out? If you haven’t tried Mongolian Beef, you may be missing out on a real treat!

Of course, it depends on the restaurant, I’ve had delicious versions and tough as leather versions. So why pay all that money and risk it when you can make your own guaranteed to be amazing version right at home. And it’s not difficult at all.

In fact, the hands on time required for making this will be less than that required to make the phone call to your local take out restaurant. Instant Pot Mongolian Beef uses tender steak and a sweet and slightly spicy sauce to create a dinner your family will request on repeat.

Ingredient Notes

See additional detailed notes regarding the type of beef you should use
Beef broth or beef stock will both work for this recipe
Adjust the amount of Sriracha sauce to your personal spiciness preference

What is Mongolian Sauce made of?

Mongolian Sauce is a savory brown sauce that can be made from a variety of Asian ingredients. At the base is typically a soy or hoisin sauce and it may contain various spices or peppers, vinegar and cornstarch. It’s often sweetened with brown sugar or possibly honey and has a slightly sweet and slightly spicy flavor but is overall very mild.

In my version I also add some beef broth as more liquid is needed in order to cook it in the Instant Pot, and then the final sauce is thickened with a bit of cornstarch and is perfect for serving over some steamed white rice.

What kind of beef should you use?

Mongolian Beef is typically made with a flank steak or skirt steak, and I’ve used both with good results. But the best results? Using a sirloin! It may be slightly more expensive but it certainly worth it for the melt in your mouth flavor and texture after a few minutes in the pressure cooker. I prefer to purchase already thinly sliced steak, and then I dice it into smaller, bite sized pieces. You can also slice it yourself if you prefer.

How to get tender beef in the Instant Pot:

make sure you have enough liquid – at least 1 cup is needed for proper cooking
Put the meat into the liquid instead of on a steamer basket – it won’t “boil” your meat so don’t worry
don’t add any thickeners until after you’ve pressure cooked, so wait until later to add the cornstarch
cook it longer than you’d think – for this cut and type of meat you actually want it to be more overdone so that it will be super tender

How To Prep Ahead

Add all ingredients except cornstarch and onions to a freezer safe container or zipper bag
Store in fridge up to 3 days or freezer up to 3 months
To cook from frozen add 5 extra minutes of cook time plus 1/4 cup of water in bottom of pot
Continue with recipe as written after pressure cooking is complete

How To Store Leftovers

Let cool completely then store in air tight containers in fridge up to 3 days

Serve this up with some steam white rice and some homemade crab rangoon for a simple and better than take-out meal that you can enjoy at home with your family!