Instant Pot Round Steak and Gravy–tender pieces of round steak covered in a flavorful gravy. An easy recipe with only 6 ingredients!
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card

Instant Pot Round Steak and Gravy
Instant Pot Round Steak and Gravy is a recipe that uses an inexpensive cut of beef called top round steak. It’s delicious but typically needs many hours to cook to achieve tenderness. That’s where the Instant Pot enters the picture! Cooking time is cut down significantly with the pressure cooker. If you’d rather cook low and slow I put the slow cooker instructions in the recipe card below also.
If you love steak and have a family to feed it can be an expensive dinner! With round steak you can feed the family for not much more than what ground beef costs.
This recipe only has a few ingredients…beef, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, onion soup mix and cornstarch (to thicken the gravy). Sometimes the simplest recipes are the tastiest! I know some of you won’t want to use a packet of onion soup mix so you can make your own from scratch.

What is top round steak?
Top round roast is very lean and tough, and thus it’s one of the less expensive cuts of beef. A top round steak is simply cuts from the top round roast into steak size pieces. Round steak is good for slow cooking methods such as braising, Crock Pot meals, Swiss steak, and stews. Typically this cut of meat takes hours of cooking to break down the collagen but with the Instant Pot you can make this entire meal in less than an hour (30 minutes of pressure cooking time plus a natural pressure release).

What should I serve with Instant Pot Round Steak and Gravy?
The steak and gravy tastes amazing served over mashed potatoes. I served them with Instant Pot Easter Bunny Potatoes that are a yellow potato/carrot mix. Try serving the steak, potatoes and gravy with canned or frozen corn or corn on the cob. It makes a perfect homey meal!
More Instant Pot Beef Recipes
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. Here are some beefy recipes that I know you’ll love…
Instant Pot Po Boy Roast Beef Sandwich
Instant Pot Garlic Butter Steak Bites
Instant Pot French Onion Pot Roast
Instant Pot Traditional Meatloaf
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Instant Pot Round Steak and Gravy
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes (plus NPR)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Tender pieces of round steak covered in a flavorful gravy.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 3–4 slices of beef top round steak (this was about 1.68 pounds for me)
- 1 cup diced onions
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups water
- 1 (1 oz) package Lipton’s onion soup mix
- 2–3 Tbsp cornstarch + 3 Tbsp water
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the butter and let it melt. Lightly salt and pepper the steaks and then sear both sides of each steak for about 3 minutes. Remove from pot and set on a plate.
- Add onions into the pot and stir. The onions will help release the browned bits from the bottom of the pot as they release moisture. Let onions get soft, about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the water and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Stir the soup mix into the water. Turn off Instant Pot. Add in the steaks.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 30 minutes. When time is up let pressure release naturally for 10-15 minutes. Move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Place steaks on a plate. Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. In a small bowl stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up the gravy quickly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Serve the steak with gravy over the top.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in butter and let melt. Lightly salt and pepper the steaks and then sear both sides of each steak for about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and add to the slow cooker.
- Add onions into pan and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Scrape into the slow cooker.
- Pour water and soup mix into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- In a small bowl stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the slow cooker. Turn slow cooker to high and let the gravy thicken for 10-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the steak with gravy over the top.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker






*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.
This looks so good Karen. I sure wish I had a Winco near me. The cheapest I could find this cut of meat (and it was difficult to find) was $6.99/lb. I’m still going to make it because it looks like a nice alternative to meatloaf and not something I would have thought of myself. Thanks for all the great recipes and dinner ideas!
Winco is a great store! I was so happy when they built one by me. I would also search the store ads for when the meat goes on sale.
I can’t have all that sodium. Is there any alternative to the onion soup mix? Thank you in advance for any reply. The meal looks delicious!!
Karen provided a link for a home made mix for those who don’t like store bought.
http://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-onion-soup-mix/
What could substitute for the Onion Soup mix? I just don’t like to use things like this.
Thanks
Pat
As Karen mentioned at the beginning of this post, some ppl may not want to use store bought onion soup mix. Here’s the link she provided.
http://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-onion-soup-mix/
Thanks. I need to read more carefully as I know Karen usually offers alternatives for pre-packaged products.
Could I use stewing beef in this recipe instead of round steak?
Yes you could. That would be just fine. You may only need 20 minutes pressure cooking time.