Instant Pot Short Ribs

These fall off the bone Instant Pot Short Ribs are the definition of comfort food. With a savory apple chutney that’s cooked in the same pot, this is a restaurant-quality dish for the home chef.

I’ve been super, super into short ribs lately. My mom made me a batch of her beef begetable soup slow cooker last month, and I also made Smitten Kitchen’s short rib onion soup over Christmas break (so good!).

I wanted to make another short rib dish where they were utilized in something other than soup.

And while I don’t go quite as gaga for the Instant Pot as some people do, I think this appliance shines when it comes to something that’s usually slow braised.

While I love my slow cooker for baby back ribs like crock pot ribs (with my dry rub for ribs slathered on first), and a conventional oven for root beer ribs, the Instant Pot was the perfect choice for these braised short ribs with sweet and savory apple chutney.

What you’ll need to make this Instant Pot short ribs recipe:

• bone-in beef short ribs – about 4 pounds. Cut them crosswise, into pieces, so that there is one bone in each piece.
• vegetable oil – for browning the ribs before the pressure cooking begins.
• yellow onion – or white or red onion also work fine.
• thyme – 3 sprigs of fresh thyme if possible, or about a teaspoon of dried thyme.
• garlic – 2 cloves, minced up.
• apples – Gala apples are my favorite for making Instant Pot beef ribs.
• raisins – the subtle pop of sweetness works SO well with Instant Pot braised short ribs, trust me! Traditional or golden raisins are both good.
• beef broth – you need a little of liquid to braise the ribs.
• apple cider vinegar – this adds a bit of acidity to the chutney and helps balance the richness of the meat.
• light brown sugar – adds sweetness to the apple chutney.
• salt and pepper – always!

How to cook beef short ribs in an Instant Pot:

You’ll be using the Instant Pot itself, on the Sauté setting, to brown the ribs before you begin pressure cooking them. I love this option because I don’t have to get a separate skillet dirty to brown these Instant Pot beef short ribs! I use the Sauté setting for my Instant Pot sweet and sour chicken, too!

Brown the ribs in batches and transfer them to a plate. Add the apple chutney ingredients (more on that later), and then add the ribs back to the pot.

Seal the Instant Pot and cook for 35 minutes on high pressure on the Meat/Stew setting. The pot will take about 5 minutes to come to pressure before the cooking time begins.

When the cooking time ends, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (DON’T do the quick release right away). After 10 minutes, move the Pressure Release valve to Venting to release remaining steam from the Instant Pot beef ribs.

You’ll take the meat out of the pot while you finish thickening up the apple mixture.

You’ll also make a homemade apple chutney!

After you brown the Instant Pot short ribs but before you start the pressure cook, you’ll sauté some onion in the Instant Pot itself to get started on the chutney.

Once the onion is a little soft, you’ll add the rest of the ingredients – thyme, garlic, apples, raisins, broth, vinegar and brown sugar – as well as put the ribs back into the pot for the pressure cook.

Once the meat is finished pressure cooking, you’ll take them out of the pot, but leave all of the apple mixture at the bottom of the pot.

You’ll again turn the Instant Pot setting back to Sauté and cook for about 10 minutes or until quite a bit of the cooking liquid has evaporated and the apple mixture is like a chunky sauce for serving over the Instant Pot beef ribs.

If you also want to drizzle some balsamic glaze over the finished ribs, I think that would be amazing! Or, if you’d prefer my easy gravy recipe instead of the apple chutney, you could do that too!

What side dishes should I serve with Instant Pot beef ribs?

Tell me how you can go wrong serving these on top of a pillowy cloud of blue cheese mashed potatoes. It is a match made in heaven. Mashed potatoes with heavy cream are another great option that I often serve alongside my country style ribs in the oven.

If for some reason mashed potatoes aren’t your thing, maybe mashed potato cakes or super crispy roasted potatoes would be more your speed to serve alongside Instant Pot beef short ribs. I also love the sweetness of roasted acorn squash slices or honey roasted carrots paired with beef.

If you’re looking for a non-starchy veggie side, my favorites are maple glazed Brussels sprouts and green beans and tomatoes.

For a fresh green salad to serve with Instant Pot beef ribs, I always recommend my tahini salad dressing and miso salad dressing, because they both taste great with everything!