Instant Pot Midwest Pepper Steak–shredded flank steak in a sweet and savory sauce with green and red bell peppers.
The slow cooker instructions are listed in the recipe card below.
Instant Pot Midwest Pepper Steak
Hearty and filling, your family will love this meal any day of the week! You can serve the steak and vegetables over mashed potatoes and if you want you can even cook the potatoes at the same time using the pot-in-pot method.
This recipe uses flank steak and because of the long cooking time under pressure the flank steak becomes so tender it literally falls apart. You can also make this recipe in the slow cooker using low for many hours. The collagen turns to gelatin and makes the meat fork tender.
Recipe adapted from Culinary Hill.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Olive oil–of another oil of your choice
- Green bell pepper–or another color of your choice
- Red bell pepper–or another color of your choice
- Onion–I used a yellow onion
- Flank steak–or chuck steak
- Kosher salt
- Red wine vinegar
- Soy sauce–I used low sodium soy sauce
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Sesame oil
- Black pepper
- Garlic–from the jar or fresh
- Cornstarch–this is optional
Steps
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, pepper and garlic. Set aside.
- Sauté vegetables: Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in 1 ½ tsp of oil, bell peppers and onions. Sauté until softened. Transfer vegetables to a plate.
- Brown the meat: Sprinkle the steak with the kosher salt. Add remaining 1 ½ tsp of oil into Instant Pot. Brown for 2 minutes on each side.
- Deglaze the pot: More meat to the side. Pour in the soy sauce mixture and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off sauté setting.
- Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 45 minutes. When time is up let the pressure release naturally (about 10-15 minutes). Remove the lid.
- Slice steak: Move steak to a cutting board and slice or shred.
- Thicken sauce: Stir 1 Tbsp of cornstarch together with 1 Tbsp of water until smooth. Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot to thicken the sauce.
- Serve: Stir the meat and vegetables into the pot. Salt to taste, if needed. Serve and enjoy.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice. You can even cook potatoes at the same time using the pot-in-pot method. Place a tall trivet in the bottom of the pot around the meat. Then place a pan on top of the trivet. Pressure cook as directed in the recipe. Add some washed whole potatoes into the pan. Once meat has cooked transfer the potatoes to a bowl and mash. Stir in some milk, butter, salt and pepper.
- This recipe can be gluten-free if you use a gluten-free soy sauce.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot. Although if you use a 3 quart pot you will not have room to cook potatoes at the same time.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Another recipe you can make with flank steak is Instant Pot flank steak.
More Instant Pot Beef Recipes…
- Beef Pan Fried Noodles
- Instant Pot Great Steak Sandwich
- Instant Pot Amazing Street Tacos
- Instant Pot Magic Beef
- Instant Pot Black Pepper Beef
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
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Midwest Pepper Steak
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes (plus 15 minute natural pressure release)
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Shredded flank steak in a sweet and savory sauce with green and red bell peppers.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 green bell pepper, cored and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, pepper and garlic. Set aside.
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in 1 ½ tsp of oil, bell peppers and onions. Sauté until softened. Transfer vegetables to a plate.
- Sprinkle the steak with the kosher salt. Add remaining 1 ½ tsp of oil into Instant Pot. Brown for 2 minutes on each side.
- More meat to the side. Pour in the soy sauce mixture and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off sauté setting.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 45 minutes. When time is up let the pressure release naturally (about 10-15 minutes). Remove the lid.
- Move steak to a cutting board and slice or shred.
- Stir 1 Tbsp of cornstarch together with 1 Tbsp of water until smooth. Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot to thicken the sauce.
- Stir the meat and vegetables into the pot. Salt to taste, if needed. Serve and enjoy.
Slow Cooker Instructions: (olive oil and cornstarch are not used for slow cooker version)
- In the slow cooker whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, pepper and garlic. Set aside.
- Sprinkle the steak with the kosher salt and nestle it into the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Add in the peppers and onions and cook for 2 more hours.
- Shred the meat.
- Salt to taste, if needed. Serve and enjoy.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
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