Enjoy three delicious foods in these Instant Pot shredded beef sandwiches. Creamy coleslaw, BBQ pulled beef and cheese and garlic grilled buns in one perfect bite. Give this diner-style classic a go in your own kitchen.
To make these delicious Instant Pot shredded beef sandwiches, you will need soft brioche buns (which we grilled with cheese and garlic butter), creamy coleslaw and fried shallots. And of course, you will need to make a batch of tasty shredded beef.
This is where your Instant Pot comes in super handy as you can make it much faster than doing so on the stove or in the oven.
HOW TO MAKE SHREDDED BEEF SANDWICHES
The start of the dish is, of course, the BBQ pulled or shredded beef. We have a super easy recipe for making Instant Pot shredded beef here, but we also included it in the recipe below so it's all in one spot for you.
Please note, that the recipe makes more shredded beef than you will need for the four sandwiches, but you can easily use up the rest later on and it freezes well. Alternatively, use another favourite pulled beef recipe instead. You will need 2 cups of shredded beef for the 4 sandwiches.
Once the beef is ready, the fun part is deciding on what other fillings you want and assembling of the sandwiches. We opted for a simple cabbage slaw and grilled cheese. You can also add things like pickled onions, gherkins, fermented veggies, fresh lettuce, tomato and so on.
For a super-quick version, you can pick up ready-cooked shredded beef and coleslaw from a deli, so all you have to do is grill the buns. But trust us, this homemade version is a total winner!
MORE INSTANT POT BEEF RECIPES
- Beef Tacos With Chorizo & Chipotle
- Instant Pot Beef & Rice Burritos
- BBQ Bacon Meatloaf
- Instant Pot Cheeseburger Pasta
- Healthy Sloppy Joes
Rate This Recipe
Instant Pot Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the BBQ shredded beef (makes 6 servings)
- 2 lbs. diced beef stewing steak like chuck (1 kg)
- 2 large cloves of garlic diced roughly
- 1 cube of beef stock break it apart into smaller crumbs
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon celery salt or regular salt and celery seed powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 tablespoons Tamari or regular soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoky chili flakes
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup barbecue sauce of choice
For the buns
- 4 brioche buns or burger buns, cut in halves
- 4 teaspoons of butter
- 1 large garlic clove finely diced or grated
- 2 oz. sliced cheese like Mozzarella or Cheddar, grated works as well (60 g)
For the coleslaw
- 1.5 cups cabbage shredded, white or red, about ¼ of a small cabbage head
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Other additions
- ¼ cup fried shallots
- Pickled onions or sliced gherkins
Instructions
- To make the shredded beef, add all ingredients (except for the BBQ sauce) to the inner pot of the Instant Pot and mix together. Close and lock the lid, making sure the steam valve is pointing to Sealing. Set to Manual, HIGH pressure and set to 45 minutes. After 3 beeps, the Instant Pot will start to build up the pressure and the cooking will begin. Once done, allow the pressure cooker to release the pressure naturally.
- Open the lid and remove the inner pot with the beef. Pour out the broth into a bowl but return the beef to the inner pot. It should be nice and tender. Use a fork or a potato masher to shred the beef into strips. You can also take some of the bigger pieces out and shred them with a fork and a knife on a chopping board.
- Return all shredded beef back to the inner pot and add a cup of the cooking broth from the bowl. Press the Sauté function key and stir the beef in the broth for 5 minutes until it starts sizzling. Then, turn the Instant Pot off.
- At this stage, you can transfer the shredded beef to a container, cool it off slightly and then refrigerate until you need to use it. You can also portion it out and freeze for 2-3 months.
- To turn it into the most delicious barbecue shredded beef, simply stir in ½ cup of good quality barbecue sauce to the finished meat and stir through. You can now use it in our shredded beef sandwiches.
- To make the sandwiches, preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F.
- Spread one side of the buns with butter and sprinkle evenly with diced garlic. You can also combine the butter with garlic first and then spread over the bread.
- Top the other side of the buns with the cheese slices. Place the buns (ingredients facing up) on a flat baking tray and place in the oven, close to the grill element. Grill for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese melts and the buns turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In the meantime, combine the cabbage with salt, lemon juice and mayonnaise and mix well so that the slaw is evenly coated. Set aside.
- Assemble the buns. Top the bottom buns (without the cheese) with ½ cup of shredded beef each, a couple of tablespoons of coleslaw, a tablespoon of fried shallots, and either pickled onions or sliced gherkins. Top with the cheesy half and or serve it on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
SAVE THIS BEEF SANDWICHES RECIPE TO PINTEREST
Chris
this recipe says 2 cups of water but the link to your shredded beef recipe says 1 cup of water. I'm assuming this requires 2 cups since the reviewer said it didn't have enough water and you edited the recipe. C
instantpoteats
Hey Chris, we'll check both recipes but 2 cups sounds right.
Magatagan
This was a disaster! Not enough liquid. Flavor was lost. I would not make this again.
instantpoteats
Hey Magatagan, we checked the recipe and there was a typo in the amount of water required. We checked the original recipe notes and again and amended it. Hope you get to try it again.