Instant Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches are easy to make and packed with flavor from a homemade Italian Seasoning Mix. Top them off with your favorite giardiniera for the ultimate hot sandwich.
Serve these sandwiches alongside Baked Zucchini Fritters or a simple Cabbage Slaw for an amazing supper.
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The Italian Beef sandwich is a classic sandwich with Chicago origins. It’s traditionally served as sliced beef in a roll topped with pickled peppers and vegetables. You can get the whole sandwich dipped in the flavorful jus or dip the sandwich bite by bite into the tasty drippings.
While Chicago is more than a day trip for most of us, you can still enjoy this classic hot sandwich at home — with your instant pot!
Yep! Instant Pot Italian Beef comes together in less than an hour and tastes amazing!
Why Make This
It’s easy! Making this bad boy was not difficult. In fact, it was a matter of tossing a few ingredients in the instant pot to sauté and then pressure cooker. Later slice up some sub rolls and dish up.
It’s so yummy! Man, these are good! You’re going to want this recipe on repeat.
The filling is freezer friendly. Make extra so that you can freeze it for later. It’ll make a quick dinner on a busy night down the line!
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for Instant pot Italian Beef:
boneless beef chuck roast – Look for a marbled roast for best flavor. Boneless is easiest for serving and quickly cooking in the instant pot.
olive oil – For best flavor and that good old Maillard reaction, you’re going to brown the meat in the pot before pressure cooking.
onion – Onion adds great flavor to the meat filling as well as the jus.
spices – You’ll need Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Super simple, yet packed with flavor.
beef broth – This along with the cooking juices and seasonings of the meat make a flavorful jus for dipping your sandwich in. Yum!
sub rolls – You can bake your own Homemade Sub Rolls or buy them from the bakery.
giardiniera – Traditionally Italian beef sandwiches are served with pickled vegetables. There are a number of commercial options that are quite good.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat the oil in the pot of your pressure cooker on sauté. Brown the beef chunks in the hot oil, turning to sear all sides. Don’t crowd the meat cubes in the pan; you may need to do this in batches. Transfer the meat to a bowl.
- Add the onion to the drippings in the pan and cook, stirring, until tender. Add the Italian seasoning and cook for another minute. Stir in the beef broth and cook, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pressure cooker.
- Add the meat back in. Stir well to combine. Secure the cover and close the pressure valve. Set the pressure cooker to manual high pressure for 45 minutes. Release the pressure when the cycle ends.
- The meat will be tender and shred easily. Shred the meat. Split the buns lengthwise and toast lightly, if desired. Divide the meat among the buns and top with pickled vegetables.
FAQs
Italian beef is a sandwich consisting of seasoned beef, simmered and served au jus.
Italian beef is a traditional sandwich popularized among Italian-American immigrants in Chicago. Its history goes back to the 1930s.
From the Italian word for “gardener”, giardiniera is a type of pickled vegetables, often including peppers, onions, cauliflower, carrots, celery, and sometimes spicy chiles.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- chuck roast – $7.98
- oil – $0.20
- onion – $0.40
- seasonings – $0.25
- sub rolls – $3.00
- pickled vegetables – $1.00
While your prices may vary depending on where you shop, you can expect to pay somewhere around $12.83 or $2.14 each.
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Instant Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
Equipment
- Electric pressure cooker
- cooking tongs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lb boneless, beef chuck roast cut into chunks
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning Mix
- salt
- black pepper
- 6 Italian sub rolls split lengthwise
- optional toppings for Italian beef sandwiches Giardiniera, sautéed bell peppers, or sliced pepperoncini
Instructions
To make the filling in the electric pressure cooker:
- Heat the oil in the pot of your pressure cooker on sauté. Brown the beef chunks in the hot oil, turning to sear all sides. Don’t crowd the meat cubes in the pan; you may need to do this in batches. Transfer the meat to a bowl.
- Add the onion to the drippings in the pan and cook, stirring, until tender. Add the Italian seasoning and cook for another minute. Stir in the beef broth and cook, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pressure cooker.
- Add the meat back in. Stir well to combine.
- Secure the cover and close the pressure valve. Set the pressure cooker to manual high pressure for 45 minutes. Release the pressure when the cycle ends. The meat will be tender and shred easily.
To make the filling in the slow cooker:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the beef chunks and brown on all sides to caramelize. Remove the meat to the crock of a slow cooker.
- Add the onion to the drippings in the pan and sauté until lightly browned. Stir in the Italian seasoning mix and heat about 1 minute. Add the beef broth and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer the liquid to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Meat should be tender and shred easily.
To assemble the sandwiches:
- Slice the rolls lengthwise and toast them well.
- Shred the meat with two forks or small tongs. Divide the meat among the rolls. Top with the optional toppings and serve with jus on the side.
To freeze the Italian beef:
- Portion the meat into meal-size containers. Seal, label, and chill the meat completely before freezing. To serve: thaw and reheat before assembling the sandwiches.
Notes
Nutrition
The post was originally published on October 16, 2013. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Adrienne
Yum! When I took it out of the instant pot after the designated time it didn’t shred easily so I stuck it back in for 10 min longer and it was perfect! Huge hit! My kids want to pack these for homeschool group from here in out!
Jen
I use this recipe, with less salt and no dried celery:
http://www.food.com/recipe/italian-dressing-seasoning-dry-mix-63812
Lee
Ummm…meant to say *like it too
Lee
I’m curious about your homemade dressing mix too. Please share :). This looks so yummy. I think all of my people would it too, so, bonus!
Jen
We just finished up the last of our Italian Beef last night. I also use a chuck roast, cut slits into it and place whole garlic cloves in the slots. I then sprinkle homemade Italian dressing mix all over the roast, and cook it on low in the slow cooker for around 8 hours. We eat it on homemade crusty buns with provolone cheese. My mom has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember.
Jessica Fisher
Curious about your homemade Italian dressing mix. What do you put in it?