This Instant Pot Pepper Steak Recipe is the perfect combination of tender beef, peppers, onion, and a rich, savory sauce. It’s a quick meal with only a handful of ingredients your entire family will love. This popular Chinese American dish is always a dinner-time hit.

A flavorful bowl of beef and vegetable stir-fry with rice and green onions, cooked in an Instant Pot.

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When I was growing up, I would get so excited when we had Beef Pepper Steak for dinner. It’s a classic Chinese-American dish that’s loaded with tender slices of beef, yummy peppers, and a sauce that manages to have a sweet and savory flavor at the same time.

My kids love it as much as I do, although I do notice they take more beef than peppers, so I sometimes increase the amount of beef I use in the recipe to accommodate for that.

This is one of my most requested Instant Pot recipes, and I often rotate between my Instant Pot Mongolian Beef recipe and this one. I love this version even more than the original skillet version because the electric pressure cooker makes the meat melt in your mouth tender.

What You’ll Need to Make Instant Pot Beef Pepper Steak

1 ½ pounds of top round steak or flank steak, or sirloin steak (cut into thin strips)
2 bell peppers (you can use green bell pepper, red bell pepper, or a combination of both, sliced)
1 medium white onion (sliced)
1 ½ cups beef broth
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ cup cold water
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Optional: hot cooked white rice, brown rice, noodles, cauliflower rice, green onions, or sesame seeds for serving.

Tips & Tricks for Making This Recipe

You can use 1 tsp of fresh ginger in place of the ground ginger if you’d like. I hate messing with fresh ginger, so I always keep Trader Joe’s frozen ginger cubes in my freezer. They come in 1 teaspoon portions and are perfect to pop out and defrost anytime you a recipe calls for fresh ginter.
If you like your food on the spicier side, you can stir in red pepper flakes to taste to give it a bit more “bite.”
You can really use any kind of steak in this recipe, as long as it can be thinly sliced. I would avoid using a chuck roast, stew meat, or anything along those lines. I’ve tried it as an experiment, and the texture and taste are WAY off.
You can increase the beef to 2 – 2 and a half pounds without increasing sauce ingredients or peppers. I do this sometimes because, as I mentioned, my kids sometimes shy away from the peppers, and by the time I’m serving myself, I’m left with a bowl full of peppers and a few slices of meat!

How to Make Easy Instant Pot Beef Pepper Steak

Step One

First, place the beef, seasonings, brown sugar, soy sauce, and beef broth in the Instant Pot. Stir everything together until it’s combined and the beef strips are completely coated.
Next, place the Instant Pot lid and make sure it’s sealed. Set your Instant Pot on high pressure and set the cook time to 10 minutes.
When the cooking time is done, do a quick pressure release.

Step Two

Now, remove the lid and add the peppers and onions. Replace the lid and, keeping the Instant Pot on high pressure, set the cook timer for 2 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, perform a quick release.
Finally, remove the lid.

Step 3

In a small jar, mix cornstarch and water. Next, close the lid tightly and shake until it’s totally combined into a thick mixture. (You can also do this in a small bowl with a whisk, but I’ve found that giving it a few good shakes in a tightly sealed mason jar always gives me the best results).
Select the saute setting on your Instant Pot.
Pour the cornstarch slurry into your pressure cooker and gently stir it into the rest of the liquid.
Let the mixture come to a boil and allow it to boil for 3-5 minutes until the sauce in the pot thickens.

How to Serve Quick and Easy Electric Pressure Cooker Beef Pepper Steak

You can serve this instant pot stir fry recipe over:

White or Brown Rice
Cauliflower Rice, if you’re looking for a healthier option
Lo Mein Noodles (You can use spaghetti noodles if you can’t find lo mein noodles. I use them interchangeably in a lot of my recipes including 20-Minute Easy Chicken Lo Mein and Spicy Chicken Lo Mein, and I’ve never received a single complaint. 🙂
If you’d like, you can sprinkle the pepper steak with sliced green onions or sesame seeds just before serving.

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