Instant Pot Beef Tips are the ultimate comfort food with tender chunks of beef smothered in a rich, brown gravy. Serve this dish over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or even rice for a satisfying, filling meal the whole family will love!
Why You’ll Love Instant Pot Beef Tips
If you are looking for an easy dinner idea that is packed with flavor, look no further than our family’s favorite beef tips recipe! Here are just a few reasons why you’ll love it:
- So Good: The tender beef and rich brown gravy with added mushrooms and onions (if you want!) is served on top of mashed potatoes or egg noodles to create the perfect comfort food dinner.
- Easy: Cooking in the instant pot makes everything easier around dinner time. Once you close the lid on the pressure cooker, you can walk away and do other things. And since there’s just one pot to wash, cleanup is a breeze!
- Inexpensive: This beef tips recipe uses very humble ingredients to create a delicious and flavorful meal. You don’t need to break the bank to make a crowd-pleasing, family-favorite dish in no time at all.
What Are Beef Tips?
There are many different cuts of beef that can be labeled as beef tips at the grocery store. In this recipe for instant pot beef tips, you’ll want to choose a type of beef that is tender and will cook quickly for optimal results.
Beef tips are usually made with the tender parts of the top of beef tenderloin. You can also use sirloin tips, or “stew meat,” which is a larger beef roast cut into smaller bite chunks — also called tips. They are then browned, covered in a rich, flavorful gravy, and cooked until tender. The instant pot makes this process a breeze!
Ingredients You’ll Need
You will need a handful of ingredients to make this instant pot beef tips recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post for exact amounts of each ingredient.
- Oil: Olive or canola oil will work great.
- Beef Tips
- Brown Gravy Mix
- Beef Broth: You can also use bone broth for more intense flavor.
- Soup Mixes: We used onion and cream of mushroom soup mixes.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Veggies: Garlic, onion, and mushrooms.
- Black Pepper
- Cornstarch: This is is optional, but cornstarch really thickens the gravy at the end. If you do not use cornstarch, your gravy will be a little thinner than we personally prefer.
How to Cook Beef Tips
This is one of those incredibly easy instant pot recipes that you’ll want to make again and again. For full detailed directions, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Sauté: Pepper your beef tips and brown them in the instant pot with the oil. Add onion and garlic and cook a few minutes more. Turn off the sauté feature on instant pot.
- Make Gravy: Add Worcestershire sauce and onion soup to the instant pot. Then, whisk together the beef broth and gravy packets and pour the mixture in.
- Add Mushrooms: Spread mushrooms on top of the beef tips. Then, spread cream of mushroom soup in as even of a layer as you can on top of the fresh mushrooms.
- Cook: Seal the instant pot and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 20 minutes.
- Stir and Serve: Stir the beef tips and the gravy. If you’re happy with the thickness, you can serve it immediately. If you prefer a thicker gravy like we do, use the cornstarch to make a slurry.
- Make Slurry (Optional): Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Add some of the gravy from the instant pot into the cornstarch and stir. Continue adding gravy 1 tablespoon at a time until the slurry is smooth and a good consistency. Then stir the slurry into the instant pot, and mix really well. Let the beef tips rest for 5 minutes while the gravy thickens!
Tips for Success
Some helpful tips to ensure your instant pot beef tips turn out perfect!
- Beef: Choose a tender cut of beef. If you can find sirloin tips or tenderloin tips, this will give you a much more tender final product!
- Thicken Gravy: Use the optional cornstarch for a thicker gravy! The flavor will stay the same, but the consistency is much better and more of what you’d expect from a gravy.
- Veggies: Don’t skip the onions, garlic or mushrooms. All three add tons of flavor and makes the dish nice and rich.
- Cook Time: Prepare for the cook time. While the instant pot only technically cooks for 25 minutes, remember that it has to reach the pressure first and then have a natural release time of 20 minutes. All in all, the instant pot will take about 1 hour to cook your beef tips.
Can I Make Beef Tips in the Crockpot Instead?
Yes, but you will need to brown the beef and sauté the onions and garlic in a separate pan on the stove top. Then, add everything to your crockpot following the same directions as the instant pot. Cook for 8 hours on low! If you want to thicken your gravy, follow the same directions for the cornstarch slurry.
What to Serve With Instant Pot Beef Tips
Beef tips are traditionally served over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice, but we also like it over a cauliflower mash if we’re trying to amp up our veggie intake. We suggest always including some buttered rolls or crusty bread to soak up the extra gravy! If want to add a little color to your plate, pair this dish with a tasty veggie. We like a simple side salad or roasted vegetables like broccoli or asparagus.
Can I Store and Reheat Leftovers?
We usually don’t have any leftovers when we make this dish, but here’s how to handle them if you do.
- Refrigerate: Beef tips hold up great in the fridge if you store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: You can reheat beef tips in the microwave or oven. If using the oven, let it reheat slowly at a lower temperature so you don’t dry out the beef.
- Freeze: If you’d like to include instant pot beef tips in your meal planning schedule, they freeze really well! Store cooled beef tips and gravy in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. If using a freezer bag, make sure to remove as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn. We recommend thawing overnight in the fridge before reheating.
More Easy Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Best Pulled Pork
- Easy Instant Pot Taco Soup
- 5-Ingredient Shredded Beef
Instant Pot Beef Tips
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef tips
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 .87 oz packages brown gravy mix
- 2 cups of beef broth
- 2 tablespoons oil, canola or olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1 oz package onion soup mix
- 8 ounce sliced mushrooms
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Sprinkle pepper on your beef tips. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together beef broth and gravy packets. Set aside.
- Set Instant Pot to sauté mode and add oil. Add beef tips and sauté until browned on all sides, about 3-5 minutes. Add onion, sauté for 3-4 minutes with beef. Add garlic, sautéing for 30 seconds, then turn off sauté mode.
- Add Worcestershire sauce and onion soup mix to the instant pot, then pour in the gravy/beef broth mixture. Spread mushrooms on top of the beef tips. Then spread cream of mushroom soup in as even of a layer as you can on top of the mushrooms.
- Seal the pressure cooker with the lid. Select Manual (or Pressure Cook button depending on your instant pot model) and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Don’t forget, it will take about 10 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure and then the timer to start counting down.
- When the cook time finishes, let the pot sit undisturbed for a 20 minute natural release (meaning do not touch the instant pot for 20 minutes after it says it’s done cooking). Then turn the steam release knob to Venting to release any remaining pressure and open the lid.
- Stir the beef tips and the gravy. If you are happy with the thickness, you can serve it immediately. If you prefer a thicker gravy like me, use the cornstarch to make a slurry.
- How to make a slurry: Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of broth/gravy from the instant pot into the cornstarch and stir. Continue adding gravy 1 tablespoon at a time until the slurry is smooth and a good consistency. Then stir the slurry into the instant pot, and stir really well. Let beef tips rest for 5 minutes and the gravy will thicken!
- Serve as desired over mashed potatoes or egg noodles! Don’t forget the buttered rolls to soak up the extra gravy!
This is the BEST recipe ever! All of this will be gone everytime I make it! Thank you for sharing!
I wanted a hearty beef dish but not a heavy meal. I made this for dinner tonight and served it over egg noodles. I always serve a fruit with dinner and pears were the perfect complement. During cold weather, a salad could give the meal more substance.
I followed the recipe with only one exception. I had impulse shopped Flavor Master/Gravy Master, but I had no idea how to use it. Research suggested it could be an alternative to Worcestershire sauce, so I used it in the recipe. Since I’m not familiar with Flavor Master, so I don’t know how much of a difference it made, if any. The ingredients are pretty basic so I had everything in my pantry. I used top round beef and used the IP according to recipe directions. I had concerns about the meat being tough but it was prefect. Twenty-five minutes of cooking time for a tough cut of beef is winning in my kitchen!
The beef tips in gravy is now in my rotation. Next time I’ll serve it with rice and next time after that, I’ll serve it with mashed potatoes. Whoo! I like versatile!
As mentioned by others, I got the burn notice. My bad. I was distracted on the phonewith my daughter. No biggie. I couldn’t remember if I needed to turn the IP off or not but to be safe, I turned it off and released any pressure (there was no pressure). I scraped the pot, stirred it and put the lid back on. I have the coolest tool for the job and it’s quick work. Scrape that pot!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Doubled the broth that it calls for, based on the comments about burn warnings. It’s delicious and the beef is very tender. I’d totally make it again.
Turned out perfect for me, best beef tips I have ever made. Won’t make them another way ever again. You have to make sure you deglaze the bottom of the pot.
I made this recipe for the first time tonight. I, also, like to have a thicker gravy and added the cornstarch. The color is rich, the flavor has depth. Will make again.
Burn notice 😕 I made sure the bottom was well scraped before adding the last ingredients. I just transferred it to a saucepan and am cooking it on the stove. Wish I had read the comments before trying this. Won’t be making this again.
This was A-ma-Zing!!! I actually cut up 3 medium potatoes and placed them on top of the onion soup mix. It was perfect. So filling.
Burn notice. I wish I had read the reviews before making. Despite following the recipe exactly and deglazing before pressure cooking… Got the burn notice. So I deglazed again added 1/2 cup water. Another burn notice. Added another 1/2 cup. Finally seems to be cooking as it should. Hopefully it isn’t ruined!
I added about 2 cups more of broth cause I was getting the burn notice. It worked and the rest of the recipe was great my meat came out nice and tender. Great recipe overall but definitely needs more liquid for 2 gravy packs yes I premixed them and deglazed the pot prior to pressure cooking. After adding more broth I’d say the hubby loved the recipe and I added peas at the end 🙂 searched over mash.
Received burn notice. Ended up up dumping everything in a bowl and scouring black gunk off pot. Trust me I did deglase the pot. Next time I will add gravy packet at end of cooking.
Tried with only the 2C liquid as directed but almost immediately got the ‘burn’ warning so I immediately added another two cups of hot water and scraped the bottom before it was too scorched. I suspected that the recipe should say to make the two gravy packets with two cups water ( that makes a thick gravy so you would need the additional liquid 2 C broth) to braise the beef)
Continued to get “Food Burn” warnings on our Instant Pot. What to do?
Hi Richard! Ugh, that’s so frustrating. It usually happens when the pot wasn’t deglazed well enough on the bottom. Make sure to scrape up all the bits at the bottom of the instant pot before starting it!
Can i use cream of chicken in place of cream of mushroom
Yes!
I I seem to always get a burn notice so I I just sear the meat and onions on the stove think it might have to do with the pot being hot
I just got the burn warning also…meat is cooked but tough. Not sure where to go from here.
I’ve just learned to brown my meat in a skillet and just use the instant pot to pressure cook the meat to make it tender then make the gravy in a skillet, add it to
the meat and keep it warm in the instant pot. I mostly use my instant pot for meat. Every single tome I’ve tried anything else I get a burn message.
How many tablespoons of corn starch?
Hi Jim! 3 tablespoons cornstarch!
I made this today with jasmine rice and it was delicious! I followed the instructions except for some of the items I used reduced sodium. I used a 6 qt IP and had no issues with burning. This recipe is a keeper for me!
Oh my goodness! I normally make similar to this in the crockpot but was short on time. This was better than my usual. My fiancé loved it… 2 plates full. The only adjustment I made was : I only had 1 package of beef gravy so I used it with a jar of beef gravy (didn’t have broth either) mixed with 2 cups of water. It was perfect!❤️
I tried this recipe using an 8 qt pot and it was a fail. I followed the directions to a T, got the burn notice right away. Read some of the comments that said to take everything out, clean the pot, add a can of water and the meat mixture back to the pot to do the pressure cooking process. I did that, and got the burn again. By this time I have invested over an hour and a 1/2 into this mess and supper is now late, being eaten after our bedtime. Pressure cooking is needed to make the meat tender, it was still chewy but cooked as far as I could tell. It was also on the salty side. I definitely do not recommend this recipe!
Regarding the burn notice so many are getting; always be sure to deglaze the pot after any type of sautéing. Pour a half cup or so of the liquid into the pot using a spatula scrape the bottom of the pot until all the stuck bits are no longer stuck. You should be good to go after that.
Despite reading all comments prior to making and adjusting the recipe accordingly, STILL got a burn notice. Hoping it will still be edible 🙁
This recipe came out perfect! My family loved it. Thank you!
I liked the taste but found it a bit bland.
At 1685 mg of sodium per serving, I may have to adjust this recipe before trying it, that is about 70% of the RDA for sodium in one serving alone. The gravy mix, onion mix and broth really jack it up.
I got the burn message too. So I just added more beef broth. I’m sure it will still come out amazing!!
Hi, can I omit the cream of mushroom soup of I’m not making mushrooms?
Hi Tanya, you can switch out the soup for cream of celery or cream of onion. Or add more beef broth, you need the extra liquid so that you do not get the burn notice.
How can I make this in a crockpot?
Hi Casey! There is a section in the post that describes how to make it in the crockpot, here it is again:
Yes, you will need to brown the beef and sauté the onions/garlic in a separate pan on the stove top. Then add everything to your crockpot following the same directions as the instant pot. Cook for 8 hours on low! If you want to thicken your gravy, follow the same directions as below for the cornstarch slurry to thicken it!
This was DELICIOUS! I put it on top of mashed potatoes. After reading the reviews, I browned the meat with the onions and garlic on the stove and then transferred it to the instant pot and followed the directions exactly. I will definitely be making this again.
So glad you enjoyed it Afton!
I agree Wendy. And some of the professional chefs out there, say there is no need to saute or brown if you are using a pressure cooker
So I just made this, and yum! I was worried about getting the burn signal so I did just 2 things different. I added only 1 packet of the brown gravy with the 2 cups of broth and I also added 1/2 a cup of water. My dinner turned out perfect!
Yea!! Thanks for the great information 🙂 and letting us know!
Is there a way to make this with frozen meat?
Hi, I think it would be best if you defrost the meat first. I am not sure how frozen meat will turn out.
Thank you for following us 🙂
This was delicious! I read the reviews before I cooked, and after browning the meat in batches, I pulled it out and put it on a plate. Then put in the onions and deglazed the bottom of the pot with some of the broth before adding the beef back in with the rest of the ingredients. No burn notice! I also added fish sauce, as I put that in almost everything I cook for extra umami! Thanks for the recipe!
We are so glad you enjoyed! Thank you for sharing!
what kind of meat do you use for the beef tips?
Hi Kim,
Beef tips are usually made with the tender parts of the top of beef tenderloin. You can also use sirloin tips, or “stew meat” which is a larger beef roast cut into smaller bite chunks — also called tips. They are then browned, covered in a rich flavorful gravy and cooked until tender. The instant pot makes this process a breeze!
Hope you enjoy dinner!
Made this for dinner tonight turned out great.I kept stirring while sauté and no burn notice,followed the recipe to the T and served it over rice with biscuits great compliments.This is a saved recipe.ThankYou
Best way to solve the burn notice….skip the sauté part. Just put everything in the pot same order as directions, don’t sauté, and cook. Turns out the exact same.
If you’re a stickler on pre-browning – do on your stove and add to instapot.
This is what I am going to do sear meat mushrooms etc on stove transfer instant pot, wish me luck first timer
Oh my gosh this is really good. I think for us I may have to cut the pepper back. But oh wow great food. Thanks
So, so, so good!!! So easy! Thank you!!!
I used two cans of French onion soup and added 2 bouillon cubes….. oh, my!!! Can’t wait to try this again!
YAY! So glad you liked it!
Made this recipe tonight and it was amazing. I used 3 cups of broth and didn’t have an issue with a burn notice so I must have cleaned the pot well on deglazing. I also put the cream of mushroom soup on top of the meat and mushrooms but didn’t stir it until after cooked. I don’t know if that was why people were getting burn notice. I figured heavy on top!
I also got the burn notice and that never happens. I asked some “experts” and they tell me if you sauté you needs to deglaze the pot or this is likely to happen. Maybe reserve some of the broth to deglaze after you sauté the beef. I will try that next time.
Let us know if you try that and how it goes! I hate the dreaded burn message so much!
The gravy didnt come out like the photos. More of a light brown. Could be a photo lens but nonetheless very tasty
I made this tonight for dinner and my husband and I loved it. We are keto, so in place of noodles or mashed potatoes we used riced cauliflower. It was a very savory meal and I’ll definitely recommend this to anyone.
So glad you loved it 🙂 and thank you for the recommendation!
What a hit! Made it for super bowl. No burn. Made Grandma’s Egg Noodles as side along with cole slaw. The peeps that had burn issues check to make sure vent is closed all the way. I caught it almost immediately. It must of jiggled loose while tightening the lid.
A tray of brownies for dessert. This is a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it!
The hardest decision that i had with this recipe was how much beef broth to add. I read the comments section and there was just too many comments with people getting the burn message for me to ignore. I googled some other instant pot beef tip in the instant pot. I seen other recipes with as little as 2 cups too to as much as a quart. I was about to use 2 cups until after starting to mix everything up i noticed the liquid getting quite thick (probably the thickeners in the gravy mix and also maybe why its been happening). Anyways in the end it i ended up using 3 cups of beef broth. Also I seen a comment about it being too salty so the gravy mix i purchased was the low sodium variety (30% less). In the end it turned out well. It was maybe a *little* too thin. After it was done i hit the saute button for 5 minutes to thicken things up slightly before i added the cornstarch. Next time i *might* try 2.5 cups instead of 3. It definitely wasn’t too salty and could have used a touch more salt. If it would have been if i would have used regular sodium content gravy i don’t know but its easy to add more . salt. After going through all of this the flavor was very good and i will make again.
I don’t have a pressure cooker. Can I cook this on the stove
Hi Evelyn, You can make beef tips in a crock pot and on the stove. If you are making on the stove follow the directions for the pressure cooker steps 1-3. Continue to cook over low heat until the meat is fork tender. The tips will need a few hours over low heat to become tender. When done if you need to make a slurry to thicken the gravy follow step 7. Thank you for following us 🙂
Wish I would have read the reviews. I got a burn notice three times. No matter what I did I couldn’t get it to come to pressure and cook right. We still ate it, but the meat was so tough. Too bad because I spent a lot of $ on the meat and I was really looking forward to this meal.
Thank you for all the comments. I just automatically added a cup of broth. As I can thicken it later if need be. Here’s hoping it works out well.
How did it turn out with the extra cup of beef broth?
Hi Rachel, I added an extra cup of broth too (it turned out fine) but that didn’t stop the burn message. I had to transfer it all to a bowl temporarily, clean all the scorched sauce out the bottom, wash the pot, and put it all back. Then it worked great The next time I’ll do the sauteing part in a different pan and then start with the instant pot.
Well I should have read the reviews first as I got the burn error too! I’ve added a can of water to the mix and after cleaning the pot we have started cooking again. Hopefully this solves the problem.
Sorry Karen that happened. Hopefully the extra water took care of the problem, thank you for your feedback
I didn’t notice a burn error message on the IP but the gravy was burnt on the bottom when I took it out. I carefully poured without scraping the bottom. The meat was so tender and flavorful. My family loved it.
I got the burn message as well. I scraped and added some water and it’s going again no issues
I thought the flavor of this was good but it was way too salty for me. Looking at the recipe first, I cut the onion soup in half and used only 3 TB of the gravy mix. It still was very salty. I’ll be even more careful next time. I used Chuck and it was fall-apart tender.
I got the burn message as well. Currently cleaning out the burn and am going to add more water like the others said 🤞
Delicious! My husband asked for the recipe to share with his colleagues (that’s a first). Thanks so much and this will certainly be included in our rotation.
Hi Mindy! I am so glad that you enjoyed and thank you for sharing!
Can you double the meat in this recipe? Would you double everything?
Hi Robyne! You could add a little more meat and keep it the same. But if you want to add a lot more meat, yes you would need to double ingredients! Hope this helps! (Also, if you are doubling ingredients, make sure you have enough room in the instant pot. You may need to make two batches or follow the directions to make it in the crockpot instead.)
I made this last night and it was AMAZING. I used an 8 qt instant pot and followed directions exactly as listed and watched the video. It turned out SO good that my husband has already asked me to make it again this weekend…in 3 days. haha thanks for a great recipe girls
I followed this to a T, minus the cornstarch. I got a “burn food” warning on my Instant Pot before it even started building up pressure. It burnt to the bottom. I improvised and finished it on the stovetop. It was extremely salty, I believe from the Worcestershire sauce. I may follow a similar method next time, but leave out the Worcestershire sauce.
I also got the burn error on my 6 qt Instant Pot Duo. I ended up emptying it into my dutch oven and finishing it off on the stove (Cooked for about an hour or so on the stovetop.) I think the sauce is too thick for the Instant Pot. I also think the Worcestershire sauce made it a bit too salty. I threw in a peeled potato while it was cooking to soak up some of the salt.
I had the same burn issue. Luckilly I saw the comments the others left before and did the same, so dumped the stew to another pot, cleaned the IP, added some more water and put the stew back to cook for 25 min. I originally had it on stew, not sure if that makes a difference.
This recipe comes together very easily and is delicious. I replaced 1 c. Of beef broth with 1 c. of dry red wine. Served over noodles. Guests raved!
I attempted this last night but I got the burn message and had to move it to the crockpot and finish it for the next day.
Hi Stacey! So very sorry to hear that! What size was your instant pot? It has plenty of liquid, it should not have given the dreaded burn error!
I got the burn notice as well. I was using an 8qt. I emptied out the pot into a bowl, added some water to the pot, set to sauté and deglazed the pot. once pot was clean I dumped it out (I would have kept this for flavor but it was chunky due to the extent of the burn so I didn’t). I added everything back to the pot and added one can of water (i filled the cream of mushroom can with water) and set to cook for 25min. This solved the burn issue and it is now cooking and counting down. Just needed a little more liquid I think.
I’m making this now and right away I got the “burn” notice. UGGGG. So frustrating! I cleaned the IP and added two more cups of beef broth, and now I’m crossing my fingers the burn hasn’t ruined this….
I see a lot of people getting burn notice. My suggestion, after browning meat, onion and garlic, I would take out of the pot and add some of the beef broth to deglaze. Then add the meat back in and follow the rest of the recipe.
This looks incredible! I cannot wait to try this!
We literally had NO leftovers. It’s that good.