Instant Pot Pepper Steak
This Instant Pot Pepper Steak is a savory, healthy recipe that is ready in a flash. Tender flank steak and vegetables are combined with a savory stir-fry sauce for a delicious dish!
This Pepper Steak Stir Fry in the Instant Pot is a great way to combine steak and vegetables in a bold, flavorful sauce. Don’t be afraid to customize the vegetables with your personal favorites. By preparing this recipe in a pressure cooker, there is minimal hands on-time while cooking, and requires minimal cleanup time. The Instant Pot does an incredible job of preserving flavor and creates the perfect texture.
This is a perfect, healthy weeknight dinner option. This Fried Rice recipe would pair really well. It also works great as a stand-alone dinner. Especially for those on a low-carb or keto diet. This recipe can still be keto-friendly when paired with certain side dishes. This Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice or Air Fryer Broccoli are two great keto-friendly sides we love to serve with this stir fry recipe. It is also a great option for meal planning. This recipe can be made ahead of time and portioned out so that you have a tasty, healthy meal even when on the run!
What you’ll love about this recipe:
- Minimal Cleanup: This recipe is prepared in an instant pot so you won’t have to worry about cleaning numerous dishes after dinner!
- Healthy: This is a low-carb, low fat recipe that can be served alone or combined with some additional vegetables or a starch for a well-rounded, filling meal.
- Customizable: This a great recipe to customize with your favorite vegetables.
- Inexpensive: You very well may have most of this recipe’s ingredients already as they are mostly pantry staples. Flank steak is also one of the most inexpensive cuts of beef, but don’t let that fool you into believing it can’t be delicious!
Ingredients for Pepper Steak
As always, this is a quick overview of the ingredients needed to make the perfect Pepper Steak Stir Fry! For the complete, printable recipe scroll down. To make this tasty steak dish you will need:
- Vegetables: Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Yellow onion, and Scallions
- Canola oil: Any neutral oil would also work
- Fresh Garlic and Ginger: adds incredible depth and flavor.
- Thinly sliced flank steak: Other cuts like skirt, round, or other lean, thin beef cuts could work too but flank steak is recommended
- Soy sauce (or tamari sauce): La Choy is gluten-free
- Rice vinegar: helps to balance the salty soy sauce and rich brown sugar.
- Water: this is necessary to create the steam in the pressure cooker. Feel free to replace this with beef broth if you prefer, but hold off on adding any salt as the added sodium can be a lot sometimes.
- Dark brown sugar: monkfruit will work as a low-carb sub.
- Spices: Fine sea salt, black pepper
- Cornstarch: this is an optional ingredient, but is used to thicken the sauce and is highly recommended.
How to Cut Steak Against the Grain
Flank steak is an excellent cut of meat when cut and cooked properly. It is best when cut in thin slices that are cut against the grain. This will create the desired texture for eating. The meat is less chewy and more tender. The grain of the meat is the direction the muscle fibers run across the meat. It is easiest to identify the direction of the fibers when the meat is raw. Once you have identified the direction of the muscle fibers, you will cut your slices of flank steak perpendicular to the direction of the fibers.
How to Make Steak Stir Fry
In addition to the ingredients listed above you will need an Instant Pot. This recipe used a 6-quart pressure cooker. You will also need a cutting board and knife for the vegetables and steak. Below I’ve documented each step of this recipe so you can see exactly how to make the perfect tender pepper steak!
Saute the Vegetables
First, we will saute our peppers and onions. If you are new to using an Instant Pot simply click the “Saute” setting on your pressure cooker and allow it to heat up. Add the oil along with sliced pepper, onions, and the chopped white parts of the scallions. Saute until peppers have softened and onions are translucent, mixing every 1-2 minutes.
Mix in the garlic and ginger, and saute for 1-2 minutes, just until fragrant. Press “Cancel” on the Instant Pot. Remove the pepper mixture from the pot and set aside in a bowl for later. It’s ok if some garlic pieces are left behind in the pot.
Add Stir Fry Sauce and Steak
To the now-empty Instant Pot add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and 1 cup water to the Instant Pot along with the sliced steak. Mix together. It may seem like a lot of moisture and you may be tempted to decrease the amount of water. However, the Instant Pot cooks with pressure and water is needed to achieve that. If you use less water you will get the burn message. I promise a lot of the mositure is cooked off during the process.
Pressure Cook
Cover the Instant Pot and set the pressure cook setting to 8 minutes on high pressure. Once the time is up, quick release the pressure, to ensure the beef doesn’t overcook. Once the steam has been safely released remove the lid and stir the steak. If you wish to thicken the sauce (reccomended) simply remove the lid from the Instant Pot and select the “Saute” option. Mix in the cooked peppers, then the cornstarch-water mixture, mixing quickly so it doesn’t become clumpy. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
Serve
This dish is excellent with fried rice, sesame noodles or low carb cauliflower rice. Some great vegetable sides include these Asian Brussels Sprouts – the dipping sauce is out of this world! You may also enjoy this no cook cucumber salad, or these crispy Air Fryer Egg Rolls!
Tips and Tricks
- For the best flavor, it is truly critical you cut your steak against the grain. Otherwise, the steak will be tough and difficult to choose.
- Mix up the vegetables if you want to try a different flavor. This recipe can easily be made to more closely resemble a traditional stir fry by using different vegetables.
- Add some crunch by adding roasted peanuts, cashews or sesame seeds as garnish.
Pepper Steak Stir Fry FAQ
Yes. Ensure your choice of soy sauce or tamari sauce is gluten-free.
This recipe can be adjusted to be keto-friendly. Instead of using corn starch to thicken you can skip this ingredient altogether, or you can use 1/8th teaspoon xantham gum. Also, skip the brown sugar and use monkfruit instead.
Other cuts like skirt, round, or other lean, thin beef cuts could work too but flank steak is recommended.
Other Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Chili: amazing flavor and super easy!
- Easy Instant Pot Whole Chicken: a great addition to weekly meal prep!
- Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili: super simple and ready in a flash.
- Beef Stew: tender chunks of beef and vegetables make the perfect comfort food!
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Pepper Steak
Ingredients
- 1 each red bell pepper and green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 scallions *chopping directions below
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1.5 lb thinly sliced flank steak cut into strips
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, or monkfruit if keto
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water, optional, see notes
Instructions
- Chop the green part off of the white part of the scallions. Slice the white part of the scallions into 1 1/2” long pieces and then cut lengthwise so each piece is split in two; set aside. Cut the green part into thin ¼” slices and save for later.
- Click the “Saute” setting on your Instant Pot and allow it to heat up until it reads “Hot”.
- Add oil to the instant pot, along with sliced pepper, onions and the chopped white parts of scallions. Saute on “Medium” heat for about 8 minutes, then increase to “High” for 5 minutes or until peppers have softened and onions are translucent, mixing every 1-2 minutes. Mix in the garlic and ginger, and saute for 1-2 minutes, just until fragrant.
- Press “Cancel” on the Instant Pot. Remove the pepper mixture from the Instant Pot and set aside in a bowl for later. It’s ok if some garlic pieces are left behind in the pot.
- To the now-empty Instant Pot add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and 1 cup water to the Instant Pot along with the sliced steak. Mix together.
- Cover the Instant Pot and set the Instant Pot to “Pressure Cook” on “High Heat” for 8 minutes. Once the time is up, Quick Release the pressure, to ensure the beef doesn’t overcook. Do NOT open the pressure cooker lid if the float valve is up; it MUST be fully down to ensure safety.
- Once it is safe to remove the lid, uncover and stir the steak a few times.
- Remove the lid from the Instant Pot and select the “Saute” option. Mix in the cooked peppers, then the cornstarch-water mixture, mixing quickly so it doesn’t become clumpy. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Press “Cancel” on the Instant Pot and transfer the cooked food to your serving dish or serve over rice on individual plates.
- Garnish with remaining green scallions.
Notes
- To make this keto-friendly use brown sugar monkfruit in place of the brown sugar.
- To thicken the sauce us 1/8th teaspoon xantham gum instead of corn starch.
