Instant Pot Beef Tips Recipe

If you love all things beef, then you should bookmark these recipes for making later this week: Best Quick Steak Marinade, Garlic Steak and Potato Foil Packs, and Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff.

My mom would make this dish in the slow cooker, and excitedly announce as we went off to school, “Beef on rice tonight kids!” to give us something to look forward to all day. Because we totally all looked forward to this dish. The beef was tender and juicy after cooking all day and it took very little effort to get it that way. It’s the most perfect comfort food dish. But, let’s say you are sick of the slow cooker or you forgot to add your ingredients to it before you left for work or you just want to play with your new Instant Pot (there’s no shame in that), then this Instant Pot Beef Tips recipe is for you. It’s everything you loved about Beef on Rice except quickly cooked in your Instant Pot for (nearly) instant gratification. I added a couple extra ingredients to this recipe (mushrooms, garlic, worcestershire) but you can skip them if you want and this recipe will be almost exactly like the Beef on Rice except adapted for the Instant Pot.

What Kind of Beef is Used for Beef Tips?

I admit, the term “beef tips” is kind of nebulous when you think about it, isn’t it? What constitutes the tip of some beef anyway? Well, I was curious myself so I did a little digging. It turns out that beef tips are not made from one specific cut of meat but rather can come from a variety of cuts. Sirloin, chuck roast, or another tougher, fattier section of meat is used. The butcher will likely have already cubed these up at your grocery store and labeled them as “stew meat” or “beef tips.” Any variety will work in this recipe as you’ll cook it long enough to tenderize the meat.

Best Side Dishes for Beef Tips

As you know, my mom’s original recipe for Beef ON Rice was just that — beef tips slow cooked all day and with a to-die-for gravy served ON top of rice. I still like beef tips served this way but other options include:

Using brown rice or a wild rice mix for a different taste and texture to your meal. Using mashed potatoes as your base. Egg noodles are a perfect complement to beef tips, I promise you’ll enjoy the heck out of noodles and beef together. Polenta or grits — something you probably didn’t think about but just as delicious to layer under the beef tips. Instead of adding beef tips on top of a starch, you could add something like roasted potatoes on the side. For a carb-free meal, consider adding a salad or roasted vegetable on the side. You might also enjoy these beef tips over any of the above and with a side of dinner rolls for dipping in all of that wonderful gravy. Braised red cabbage is another veggie side that is just screaming to be served with beef tips. Serve this beef with garlic bread for an out-of-this-world, delicious dish.

Expert Tips and Tricks

For this dish, I added mushrooms, garlic and worcestershire sauce. There are other ways you could customize this dish as well, including:

Steaming broccoli and adding it to the dish at the end when it’s time to make the gravy (during step 5). Use a variety of mushrooms — any kind will be delicious! Try adding a tablespoon of soy sauce instead of or in addition to the worcestershire. Substitute half a cup of red wine for half a cup of the beef broth for a deeper, richer flavor to your gravy and sauce. Add your own Italian seasonings if you don’t have an Italian blend seasoning. Or use a dry packet of Italian dressing. Diced celery and carrots cook up nicely with the beef and gives the dish more of a hearty “stew” vibe and taste.

Adapted from my mom’s beef on rice recipe.