This Easy Instant Pot Pepper Steak is a delicious 30-minute dinner idea packed with bell peppers, sirloin steak and a tasty soy-pepper sauce!
The Instant Pot makes this steak super tender and infuses the sauce with flavour in a fraction of the time!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Speedy & so tasty: This is a great 30-minute meal packed with delicious flavours.
- Simple & convenient: Easy cleanup and minimal effort makes for a restaurant-quality meal at home.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or any other neutral cooking oil like canola oil or grapeseed oil.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would also work.
- Sirloin steak – use any 12 oz. steak variety of your choice.
- Low-sodium soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Honey – brown sugar would also help add a hint of sweetness to this dish.
- Rice vinegar – white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar would also work.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Black pepper – if you want your pepper steak to be extra spicy, double up on the black pepper.
- Water – this is crucial to the dish and will help cook the rice.
- Jasmine rice – you can use plain white long grain rice, but make sure to double up on the amount of water if you do so.
- Green and peppers – use any combination of colour bell peppers of your choice.
- Green onions – chives or shallots would also be good as garnish or you can leave these out altogether.
- Sesame seeds – black or white sesame seeds would both work or you can leave these out.
How to make pepper steak
Step 1: Drop in the first 10 ingredients.
Put the first 10 ingredients to the Instant Pot in order.
Step 2: Cook on high pressure.
Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
Step 3: Release pressure.
Do a quick release of the pressure.
Step 4: Stir in the peppers.
Add the peppers and put back the lid.
Step 5: Let it sit.
Allow the dish to sit for 5-10 minutes.
Step 6: Garnish and serve.
Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy immediately.
Recipe Tips and variations
Here are some ideas to make your Instant Pot pepper steak even more delicious:
- Sear steak first: A little sear can do a lot to boost the flavour and texture of the meat.
- Veggie medley: Add mushrooms, broccoli, and any of your favourite veggies to this dish – you can't really go wrong here!
- Add beef broth: You can use broth instead of water for an ever richer flavour.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make sure my steak is tender?
You can marinate the steak in a mixture of cornstarch and baking soda (use 1 tsp of each).
Can I adjust the recipe for a thicker sauce?
A cornstarch slurry added after pressure cooking and simmered on the sauté function will thicken the sauce.
Why do I need to add the veggies in last?
One thing you've probably noticed is that I usually do a base of protein and starch to cook on high pressure, and I almost always wait until the end to add the veggies. I'm telling you, there's nothing more that I hate than overcooked, soggy bell peppers. I would rather my veggies get tender from sitting in the hot rice and sauce.
What to serve on the side
This pepper steak dish is a meal all on its own with steak, rice and veggies. That being said, you can still serve some sides:
- Simple greed salad or cucumber salad
- Steamed or roasted veggies
- Crusty bread
How to store and reheat
Store: Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Freeze and reheat: Freeze this pepper steak for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat.
Meal prep tools
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus is the version I use in this recipe.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls for your leftovers.
- I get my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box.
Easy Instant Pot Pepper Steak
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 12 oz sirloin steak, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (double it if you want it spicy!)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Add olive oil, onions, steak, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, black pepper, water and jasmine rice to the Instant Pot in that order, gently pushing rice underneath the liquid as much as possible but not stirring.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Instant Pot will take 10-15 minutes to preheat then the 3 minutes on high pressure. Do a quick release of the pressure. When safe to do so, open lid and stir in peppers, then replace lid and let sit 5-10 minutes until veggies soften.
- Serve garnished with green onion and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Video
Comments & Reviews
stace11yel says
i’m new to your site and have to say, i’m loving it. this is the second recipe i have made so far and both have been five stars! i might try a natural pressure release next time to see if it tenderizes the beef a bit more but i didnt have the time and did the manual pressure release and it was great. this is so delicious! i used frozen peppers (also to save time) and that worked out well. i am really loving these recipes that incorporate rice, so much. thanks!!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed! Doing a natural pressure release will definitely help to tenderize the beef a bit more 🙂
joanne beasley says
Excellent recipe. Easy to read instructions. Will definitely make again
Kim says
WE l8ked it but thought it needed more spice. Next time I will ad some red pepper flakes.
Stacia Jahnke says
Hubby loved this recipe!! I tweaked it to be Keto-approved by subbing our sweetener for the honey, cauliflower rice for the rice, only used 1/2 an onion and used coconut aminos for the soy sauce. Definitely a keeper!!!
Kim says
Loved this recipe, did this tonight and it was easy and flavorful!! Thankyou!! Added frozen green beans with with peppers and onions just for more veggies.
Nanci says
How would I go about doubling this for tonight Please . Looks so good
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Nanci – I would just double the ingredients then add one more minute to the cook time. That should work!
Tiffany says
Fun recipe! One big change I made was to use pearled barley in place of the rice. I know it’s not traditional but I’d been craving it. Since barley takes longer to cook, I partially pre-cooked it for 18 minutes, then removed it and layered everything back in the order the recipe indicates only using 1/2 C water since I didn’t need that much liquid. It worked perfectly!
Small changes – I used venison for the meat, 8 baby peppers for the bells, and coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce. However, the coconut aminos made the recipe too sweet so if you do this, omit the honey! We had to add salt at the table which is always OK with me, and a squeeze of lime solved the sweet problem. Will definitely make again!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you liked it Tiffany!! And happy to know that you can make these substitutes – thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Dan says
Tylor, thank you so much for this recipe! Being a single guy in the city I decided to try this instapot thing. This was the first recipe I tried and I cannot belive the results! So easy, so good. I cant thank you enough.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you liked it Dan!!! Isn’t the Instant Pot amazing?!
Rosa says
Can this recipe be doubled? if so, does the cooking time change?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Rosa – you should be able to double it yes! I’d add an extra minute or two to the cooking time.
pl says
Thank you for this fantastic recipe. I’m new to instant pot cooking and this recipe was so simple and tasted amazing! This is now one of my favorite recipes.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy to hear that!!! 🙂