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Instant Pot roast beef with apple cider gravy is a melt in your mouth, easy to make pot roast recipe. This delicious, tender beef gets cooked in a yummy apple cider marinade and smothered with sweet and savory apple cider gravy.

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A forkful of tender Instant Pot Roast beef is slathered in apple cider gravy and served with roasted carrots and potatoes. — Instant Pot Roast Beef with Apple Cider Gravy

For a long time, my family did turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

But years like this year when Thanksgiving falls so late and Christmas is less than a month later, that’s just too much turkey for me.

Especially since there are only 4 people in our house, one of whom basically exists on pepperoni sandwiches, applesauce and a sprinkle of pixie dust.

Someday, she won’t be so picky right?

So we switched to beef for Christmas Day. We often do a bigger beef recipe like this Christmas stuffed flank steak. Heck we often also have a full three cheese ziti with it.

However, this year we aren’t entertaining so it will just be the 4 of us and we want to spend more time enjoying our kids and less time in the kitchen on Christmas Day while still making a special feeling dinner.

So say hello to our answer to that: roast beef and apple cider gravy, ready with limited active prep.

It’s easy enough to serve all fall and winter long (and I plan to!), but special feeling enough to be the centerpiece of your holiday meal. That right there makes me feel pretty merry and bright.

The Trick to Fall Apart Pressure Cooker Beef

A platter of roast beef served on a white plate is easy to make thanks to the Instant Pot. — Instant Pot Roast Beef with Apple Cider Gravy

This is one of those cases where the name Instant Pot is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, you will get fall apart roast quicker than you would in the slow cooker or in the oven.

But, it’s not Instant.

The secret to super tender, fall apart roast in the pressure cooker is to not rush the cook time.

This recipe needs 80 minutes of pressure cooking and a full natural release, which took 33 minutes.

So not Instant, but definitely faster than the slow cooker.

Ingredients

To make this you need:

Chuck roast– Look for a 2-3 pound roast. You can use a bigger roast, but you will need to pressure cook it longer.
Aromatics- chopped onions and pressed garlic
Apples– Granny smith or another tart green apple.
Butter– Unsalted.
Olive oil
Dried spices- garlic powder, salt, pepper, bay leaves, sage, rosemary
Fresh herbs- a roasting blend
Apple cider
Dijon mustard
Balsamic vinegar

For the gravy you’ll need:

Butter and flour- to make a roux to thicken the gravy
The liquid left in the Instant Pot after making the roast

How to Make

Prepare the meat.

Mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of olive oil with a tablespoon of salt, 1/2 tbs pepper and 1 tbs garlic.

Pour the spices and olive oil over the meat and rub in — Pour the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder mixture over the beef and rub it in.

Pour the mixture onto the meat and rub it or brush it into the meat’s surface.

Sear the meat.

Insert the liner into your Instant Pot and turn the Pot on Saute mode. When the pot says hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter into the inner liner of the Instant Pot. Once the butter is melted, sear each side of your roast in the pot for 2-3 minutes per side.

Deglaze the pot.

Deglazing the Instant Pot with apple cider

Remove the roast from the Pot and pour in a cup of apple cider. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits from the bottom of the liner. Stir in the Dijon and balsamic until combined. Stir in the onions and apples.

Add the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook.

Add beef and remaining ingredients back into the Instant Pot — Add the beef and remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot.

Hit cancel to stop saute mode. Now return the meat to the Pot. Then, pour in the remaining cider and the dried and fresh herbs. Secure the lid on the Pot and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the pot to cook on manual high pressure for 80 minutes. Once the pot beeps, let the pot to a full natural release to release the pressure.

Let the roast rest and enjoy.

Once the pressure is released, remove the lid. Then carefully take the roast out of the pot. While letting the roast rest, make the gravy if serving with gravy. See below for how to. Then serve and enjoy!

How to Make the Best Apple Cider Gravy

I’m on a major apple cider gravy kick this year. The gravy we made to go with our apple cider turkey breast was fantastic.

And this gravy is much the same only instead of relying on the turkey drippings and poultry stock, this uses the leftover liquid from the Instant Pot.

To make it:

Make a roux
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium sauce pan over medium low heat. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of flour and keep stirring until the mixture becomes golden.
Slowly stir in the liquid
Now, spoon or pour a cup of the liquid from the Instant Pot into the roux, whisking the whole time.
Let the mixture come to a slow simmer.
As it simmers, it will thicken up and continue to thicken more as it cools. Serve with the beef and enjoy.

What to Serve with It

Instant Pot Roast Beef with carrots and potatoes — Instant Pot Roast Beef

I enjoy serving this with roasted carrots and garlic and herb roasted red potatoes or over mashed potatoes.

If you go with mashed potatoes, these Instant Pot mashed potatoes are quick and easy.

For holiday style mashed potatoes, you could check out this garlic Parmesan twice baked potato casserole or my mascarpone mashed potatoes with rosemary butter.

It’s also delicious with this baked cranberry apple crumble, these The Best Easy Fried Apples or even homemade cranberry sauce alongside it.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.

Tips and Tricks

Don’t skip searing the roast. While it does add more hands on time, it more than makes up for it with the delicious caramelization that happens on the outside of the roast. It’s well worth it!
It might feel like you are overseasoning, but you are not. Probably my biggest beef (haha see what I did there) with the Instant Pot is that unlike with other methods of cooking, the flavors don’t intensify through the cooking process because nothing is evaporating and concentrating. To compensate for this, I adjust the seasoning when I cook for the Instant Pot to give you the flavor profiles you are more used to.
Make sure you let the roast rest. This gives the juices in the roast time to redistribute and allows the fibers in the meat to relax after the cooking process. It results in a juicier, more tender meat.

What kind of roast should I use in the Instant Pot?

When we first started working on this recipe, we discussed the meat selection with the butcher in the specialty grocery store.

He recommended a fattier cut of beef so it would be the most tender and flavorful and told us to steer clear of leaner roasts like sirloin or round roasts.

For best results, after having tested this recipe several times, I hands down recommend chuck roast.

To read more about choosing the best meat to make in the Instant Pot, you can check out this article from Appliances Online.

What size Instant Pot?

I have the 6 quart Instant Pot. You could use the 6 quart or any larger sized Instant Pot to make this. Don’t make this in a smaller sized Instant Pot. You won’t have enough room.

Other Beef Recipes You’ll Love

This Instant Pot Roast Beef with Apple Cider Gravy is a delicious and special feeling pot roast that is easy enough to prepare all year long but delicious enough for a holiday occasion. Make it and treat yourself to melt in your mouth beef and the best gravy ever.

For other beef recipes you might love, try these:

Christmas stuffed flank steak– These flank steaks get stuffed with a blend of herbs and nuts and are perfect for your holiday main.
Balsamic roast beef sandwiches– Slow roasted balsamic beef makes for a delicious, tender sandwich filling.
Southwestern style steak and baby potatoes– A delicious rub dresses this easy steak dish up.

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