Instant Pot BBQ Beef Sandwiches–tender shredded beef with an easy homemade barbecue sauce served on a toasted bun. An easy and delicious dinner!
Get the SLOW COOKER BBQ Beef Sandwiches recipe here
Instant Pot BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Roast was on sale 2 for 1 last week at my Smith’s so I stocked up on chuck roast, the best cut for the Instant Pot and slow cooker. This roast gets ultra tender and shreddable and is the perfect cut of meat to make barbecue beef sandwiches.
My family absolutely loved these Instant Pot BBQ beef sandwiches. They are so easy to make and the BBQ sauce was perfect too–not too sweet and lots of flavor. We served our meat on homemade rolls (okay not homemade, they were Rhodes rolls). Next time I make this barbecue beef I am going to serve a scoop of coleslaw on top of the sandwich as well. Yum!
A few notes about the recipe:
Full natural pressure release–a full natural pressure release is letting the pot release the pressure on its own without moving the valve to venting. This can take a long time. Up to 30 minutes. For this recipe it is very important to let the pot release the pressure on its own. If you don’t the meat won’t be as tender and you probably won’t be able to shred it very well. Give yourself about 1 hour and 40 minutes for this recipe to cook. 10 minutes to build pressure, 60 minutes under pressure, 30 minutes to release pressure.
Cutting the meat–I like to cut the meat into about 6 pieces to cook. This allows the meat to get more tender than when there is a big hunk of meat. It also cuts down on the pressure cooking time. If you want to cook a frozen roast you can. Increase the pressure cooking time to 90 minutes for a big 3 pound frozen roast that is in one piece. Don’t forget to use a natural pressure release.
Barbecue sauce–Because I didn’t want the BBQ sauce to get watered down I added it into the meat after it was cooked and shredded. I chose to make an easy homemade BBQ sauce and it tasted wonderful on the meat. If you want to make it super easy on yourself you can use bottled BBQ sauce. I like the Sweet Baby Ray’s brand.
More recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Rump Roast
Instant Pot Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot BBQ Beef Sandwiches I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Instant Pot BBQ Beef Sandwiches
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes (plus full NPR)
- Total Time: 100 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
Tender shredded beef with an easy homemade barbecue sauce served on a toasted bun. An easy and delicious dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- 3 pound beef chuck roast
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
Instructions
- Pour the beef broth into your Instant Pot. Place a trivet into the bottom of your Instant Pot.
- Cut your roast into 6 even pieces. Cut off excess fat. Place the roast pieces on top of trivet. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper.
- Cover your Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 60 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for a full natural pressure release (mine took 20 minutes to release).
- While the meat is cooking make a barbecue sauce. In a small bowl stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke.
- Once you are able, remove the lid. Use tongs to remove the meat and place it on a cutting board. Discard the liquid in the pot. Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting and add in the barbecue sauce. Shred the meat and add it back into the pot and stir to coat the meat in the sauce.
- Serve the meat on toasted buns or rolls.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. Use 2 cups of broth instead of 1. You can halve this recipe in your 3 quart pot. Halve all the ingredients except the broth.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I don’t have red wine vinegar, but do have red wine and vinegar (both regular and apple cider). How could I substitute for the red wine vinegar?
I would use apple cider vinegar in its place. Should be fine!
Can I use eye of round roast ? I have one in my freezer I need to do something with.
I’m not exactly sure how that will turn out but you can give it a shot! If you do let me know how it turns out.
I’m feeding a crowd of 20 shredded beef sandwiches. Will a 6# or bigger roast, cut in pieces and seared fit in a 6 qt instant pot? Would I use 2 cups of liquid ? I usually use a combination of French onion soup and beef broth. Last question would I pressure cook on high 60 minutes with a full natural release? Thank u for us help.
Roast shrinks down a lot but 6 pounds would probably be enough for sandwiches. I would definitely cut it up so that it will cook in the 60 minutes you mentioned. And I would use the 2 cups of liquid. I think you got this Cheryl!
Since the roast was slightly frozen, cooked it for 65 minutes. It took 29 minutes for the pin to drop. It was perfectly cooked and tender. Serve on brioche buns.
★★★★★
Sounds so good on the brioche!
Just curious if you ever use the meat/stew setting?
No I don’t. Since I write recipes and everyone has different pots with different settings I use the manual/pressure cook button almost exclusively.
This is so just like my homemade bbq ? Question? At what level of keep warm if you used it did you keep it on or would recommend.
★★★★★
I just use the keep warm button. It doesn’t have different levels. Are you thinking of the saute button?
I loved this! I doubled the BBQ sauce ingredients and added extra water help smooth it out. Very good!
★★★★★
🙌
I loved this! I added granulated garlic when seasoning and seared in some olive oil first. To make it easier, I used Sweet Baby Ray’s instead of making my own sauce. I also reserved the juices and added about half back in.
This will definitely be a go to for our family dinners. In the future I’d make it without the bbq sauce so we could have more options for leftovers.
Thank you!!
★★★★★
Good tips! Thanks Tera 😊
No need to sear the meat first?
You definitely can for extra flavor!
Finally found a delicious BBQ beef recipe for my Instant pot. It is a keeper! Thank-you!
You’re welcome!
I have a 2 lb. chuck roast. Do I alter the recipe for this?
You can keep it the same, should be fine.
My ninja cooking system is t00 slow. I have 2 chuck roast cooking about 1/2 way done. I want bbq sandwiches. Is it too late to switch them to my instant pot?
No you can! I would cook half the time, natural pressure release 🙂
When u say select manual/pressure u dont state high , medium or low pressure to cook??
I always use high 🙂
I can live with that, LOL
My family LOVES chuck roast cooked this way! We use our own favorite BBQ sauce, but the meat is done perfectly according to your directions. Much of it is eaten during the shredding process! Since it is so popular here, I was considering cooking two roasts and freezing in smaller portions so it could be pulled out on busier days. Would I need to change any timing if I were to put TWO roasts in at the same time? New to the instant pot. Let me know if this is a bad idea – if the roast on top will get too dried out not being in contact with the liquid. Thanks!
P.S. My dog is a big fan also! She gets the remaining beef broth poured over her food for the next few days!
★★★★★
I love it Ann! And I think two roasts would work just fine. Just shred it and add it in with the juices and I think it will taste amazing. My husband also eats much of it in the shredding process 🙂
Thanks for something that EVERYONE here loves!! Looking forward to working through more of your recipes.
Could I do this from frozen??
★★★★★
Is the roast in one big piece? If so you can make this recipe but you’ll need to significantly increase the cooking time. 70 minutes for a 2 pound roast and 80 minutes for a 3 pound roast (add 10 minutes for each additional pound of roast). Plus the full natural pressure release. All in all I think it will still turn out well.
Thank you! I love your recipes and so does my family. Where was the Instant Pot when my kids were little?
I know. How did I survive without it?
If I double the recipe, do I need to double the time? Or just the broth.. thanks!
No, do not double the time. Here is a great article: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
I have the Instant Pot LUX60 cooker which does not have a Pressure setting. How can I adjust this recipe to work with my Pot?
Use the manual button or the pressure cook button.
Hi Karen, this looks and reads delicious! What is the reason you discard the liquid in the pot? Wouldn‘t it be a wonderful strong beef broth after the cooking?
Yes I guess it would! Keep if you’d like.
Quick question- it’s a 3 pound boneless roast that’s used?
yep that’s right