Instant Pot Flank Steak—the most tender and delicious Instant Pot steak ever! Flank steak or skirt steak is pressure cooked in a garlic balsamic marinade/sauce and then sliced and served. No knives needed to cut this steak!
Note: You can also make this in the slow cooker. See note in bottom of recipe card for instructions.
Garlic Balsamic Instant Pot Flank Steak
Greg and I both were in awe of how amazing this Instant Pot flank steak turned out! It was incredibly flavorful and tender. The balsamic garlic sauce was spot on too. I highly recommend cooking a flank steak in your Instant Pot. Give your grill a break and try out your pressure cooker this week!
Why flank steak works in the pressure cooker and slow cooker
Usually flank steak is cooked on the grill. But did you know that you can also pressure cook or slow cook it and get great results? Flank steak is best either hot and fast (grill) or braised. With the pressure cooker or slow cooker you can braise the steak until it breaks down the connective tissues and tenderizes. That’s why the recipe calls for a fairly long cooking time, to break down that connective tissue.
How to make flank steak in the Instant Pot
- Heat your Instant Pot by turning on the saute setting.
- Season both sides of the flank steak (or you can use a skirt steak).
- When Instant Pot says HOT add in 2 Tbsp of oil and then place the steak in the pot. Brown on each side of the steak for 2 minutes.
- Deglaze the pot by moving the steak out of the way and pouring in some broth to scrape the bottom of the pot.
- Cover the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 50 minutes with a natural pressure release.
- Move steak to cutting board and let sit for 5-10 minutes and then slice against the grain.
How and why to slice across the grain
In the context of meat, the grain refers to the direction that the muscle fibers are aligned.
In the photo of flank steak above, you can see that the fibers run horizontally from side to side. The cut of meat isn’t the only determinate in how tender it is, it’s also HOW you cut the meat. When you cut against the grain you cut through the fibers and shorten them. This makes the meat easier to chew.
What to serve with Instant Pot flank steak
Here are some ideas of foods that would taste great with this garlic balsamic flank steak:
- Mashed Potatoes
- Potato Salad
- Quinoa and veggie side dish (recipe coming soon)
- Green beans or broccoli
- Salad
- Mashed cauliflower
- Rice a Roni
Try these other Instant Pot beef recipes…
Instant Pot Hot Beef Sandwich and Mashed Potatoes
Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak
Instant Pot Flank Steak
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
The most tender and delicious Instant Pot steak ever! Flank steak or skirt steak is pressure cooked in a garlic balsamic marinade sauce and then sliced and served. No knives needed to cut this steak!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 (2 pound) flank or skirt steak
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ cup chicken or beef broth
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Press kosher salt and pepper on each side of the steak. When the display says HOT add in the oil and swirl it around. Brown the steak in the oil for 2 minutes on each side. Move the steak to the side and deglaze the pot with the broth.
- Add in vinegars, mustard and garlic. Place the steak down into the liquid.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 50 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit for 15 minutes and then move the valve to venting to release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid.
- Use tongs to place steak on a cutting board. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Then slice the steak against the grain. Drizzle juices from Instant Pot over the steak. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Make this in your 3 or 8 quart pot with no changes. For 3 quart pot you may need to slice steak in half to fit.
Slow Cooker Instructions: Heat pan over medium high heat. Add in oil. Press kosher salt and pepper on each side of the steak. Brown steak on each side for 2 minutes. Add steak to slow cooker. Stir rest of ingredients together and pour over the top of steak. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
*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.
Does this steak need to be tenderized as part of the prep? Or does cooking it in the IP take care of that on its own?
The IP gets it plenty tender 😊
Oh my gosh! So good!
★★★★★
I know, right?!
I love this recipe. I use the leftovers, if any, for so many other dishes. I am diabetic and most of the recipes I get from here fit into my menus. Sometimes I tweak an ingredient or maybe the pastas or rice but the base recipes are delicious. My favorite way to use leftover flank steak in the next day on a big salad with a touch of blue cheese. I am going to try this recipe with chicken also.
★★★★★
Blue cheese 😍😍😍
Seems like this would be a great way to cook the flank steak for taco meat. Have you got a recipe for that?? Generally flank steak is used for carne asada right? Why not tacos???
Heck yes that would taste so great! I don’t have a recipe for that yet. But I should definitely make one.
I have a 1-lb flank steak in the freezer and would love to try this recipe. Would I cut the pressure cooking time in half? I often halve your recipes for my husband and I. Would I cut the pressure time in half for chicken tenders?
Thanks.
For this recipe I’d keep the same cooking time as long. Chicken tenders would be a 5 minute cooking time.
I love flank steak. Thanks so much for this recipe. Would love a good IP recipe for teriyaki flank steak. Just throwing that out there! 🙂
Yum, I’m in officially in love with flank steak so I’ll have to try more recipes and flavors.
If the steak is frozen, how long would you cook it?
Still brown it even if frozen. Then cook for 65 minutes.
Can this be made to a medium rare center instead of well done
If you use the IPot for this type of meat you will not get an easier eating meat. The reason for using the IPot is to make it an easier eating meat. When we use an IPot to cook meat we are wanting to make it more tender. I feel that I would use a stove top pan and or grill if you want rare meat. Just thinking!!
Yep you are right Jim!
Not in the pressure cooker. I would just grill it if you want it pink in the middle.
Can this be double? Same cooking time?
I have an 8 qt IP.
Thank you!
Yes same cooking time. You’ll have to brown the 2 flank steaks separately because there won’t be enough room. Place on top of each other. Should work well!
I can see using the broth, balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, Dijon and garlic as a marinade and perhaps later made into a sauce, but since my preference is for rare flank or skirt steak, I probably wouldn’t cook the meat in my Instant Pot – but for those who like well-cooked meat, this would be worth trying.