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    Home » Recipes » Pressure cooker

    Instant Pot Flank Steak (For Tacos or Burritos)

    Published: Nov 9, 2023 · Modified: May 1, 2025 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 22 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    Flank steak tacos on an aqua plate, topped with avocado and cilantro, and text below with the recipe name

    Instant Pot Flank Steak (for Tacos or Burritos) - a pressure-cooked, beefy Tex-Mex flank steak, great for filling tacos, burritos, or burrito bowls.

    I think of flank steak as a tender piece of beef, something I grill quickly. But, it is also a tough cut, that holds up well to pressure cooking. (And, it was on sale at the grocery store, when I was looking for Taco Tuesday fillings.) When I made it, my kids gobbled down the flank steak, and my wife kept commenting on the big, beefy flavor.

    A plate of flank steak tacos with avocado

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    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How to make Instant Pot Flank Steak
    • Pressure cook for 12 minutes with a natural release
    • Serve
    • Tips and Tricks
    • Substitutions
    • Storage
    • What to serve with Instant Pot Flank Steak
    • Instant Pot Flank Steak Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    These are so great! They have such a beefy flavor!

    My wife

    Now Instant Pot Flank Steak Tacos are part of my regular rotation, a lifesaver when I need to get dinner on the table quickly. The only trick is slicing the steak into ½-inch thick strips across the grain. Cutting the long strands of meat tenderize it and shorten the cooking time to 12 minutes under pressure.

    Ingredients

    • 1½- to 2-pound flank steak, cut across the grain into ½-inch thick strips
    • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 cup water
    • 10- to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes & green chilies (Ro*Tel tomatoes)

    ACCOMPANIMENTS (for tacos)

    • “Fajita” size flour tortillas
    • Salsa
    • Shredded Mexican cheese
    • Shredded lettuce
    • Sour Cream
    • Hot sauce
    • (And any other favorite taco toppings)

    How to make Instant Pot Flank Steak

    Everything in the pot

    Sprinkle the sliced flank steak with salt, Ancho chile powder, and garlic powder. Put the steak into an Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker), and stir in 1 cup of water. Spread the tomatoes with green chilies over the top of the beef. (Don’t stir the tomatoes – they may scorch if they’re at the bottom of the pot.)

    Pressure cook for 12 minutes with a natural release

    Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and bring it to high pressure. Pressure cook at high pressure for 12 minutes in an electric or stovetop PC (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally for at least 10 minutes before quick-releasing any remaining pressure in the pot.

    Serve

    Remove the steak and tomatoes to a platter with a slotted spoon. Add a ladle or two of the liquid from the pot, just enough to moisten the beef, and serve with the tortillas and accompaniments. Enjoy!

    Tips and Tricks

    • Cut into pieces before cooking: This is the big trick for this recipe. I cut my flank steak into ½-inch strips, across the grain, before cooking. That speeds up the cooking time dramatically. It also makes tender meat; cutting the long muscle fibers into short pieces, giving us tender steak without long, stringy strands of beef.
    • Steaming add-ins: I wanted this to be an easy recipe, quick to throw together on a weeknight, without many ingredients. A quick way to add extra flavor to the beef is to flavor the water. Replace the water with beef broth or chicken broth. Also, add a teaspoon of liquid smoke, soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce to the water (or broth) for extra depth and body in the beef.
    • Browning the beef: I skipped this step for a weeknight recipe, but if you want to add extra flavor, brown the beef before adding the water. Set your Instant Pot to sauté mode - high (use medium-high heat in a stovetop PC). Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil or olive oil until it starts to shimmer, then add the sliced and seasoned beef, and cook until it is browned on the bottom. Add the water, and scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of beef. Pour the tomatoes over the top and continue with the recipe.

    Substitutions

    Different cuts of meat

    If you can't find flank steak, you can substitute skirt steak, flat iron steak, or a chuck roast sliced into chuck steaks.

    Spices

    I like a simple spice rub of Ancho chile powder, garlic powder, and salt. Chili powder blend can substitute for the Ancho chile powder, and if you want to increase the heat in the recipe, add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the rub.

    Cut the heat

    I consider this a low-heat recipe, but I like it hot. If you (or someone you're serving) really don't want any heat, do the following: Substitute fire-roasted diced tomatoes for the diced tomatoes and green chiles and ground cumin for the ground Ancho chile powder.

    Storage

    This steak will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or 2-3 months in the freezer. I store leftovers in 2-cup containers, with some of the cooking liquid to keep it from drying out.

    What to serve with Instant Pot Flank Steak

    This is the perfect carne asada filling for Mexican or Tex-Mex meals. I serve it in street tacos, with sliced bell peppers as fajitas, as a filling for burritos, or topping a burrito bowl. I like to serve it with Pinto beans or black beans, salsa, sour cream, sliced or pickled jalapenos and shredded lettuce on the side. I also like to serve with lime wedges; a squeeze of lime juice over the meat is a nice touch.

    Print
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    A plate of flank steak tacos with avocado

    Instant Pot Flank Steak Recipe


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 11 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 35 minutes
    • Yield: 8 servings 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Instant Pot Flank Steak (For Tacos or Burritos) - a quick, beefy taco dinner, ready in minutes thanks to pressure cooking.


    Ingredients

    Scale

    INGREDIENTS

    • 1½- to 2-pound flank steak, cut across the grain into ½-inch thick strips
    • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 cup water
    • 10- to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes & green chilies (Ro*Tel tomatoes)

    ACCOMPANIMENTS

    • “Fajita” size flour tortillas
    • Salsa
    • Shredded Mexican cheese
    • Shredded lettuce
    • Sour Cream
    • Hot sauce
    • (And any other favorite taco toppings)

    Instructions

    1. Everything in the pot: Sprinkle the sliced flank steak with salt, Ancho chile powder, and garlic powder. Put the steak into an Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker), and stir in 1 cup of water. Spread the tomatoes with green chilies over the top of the beef. (Don’t stir the tomatoes – they may scorch if they’re at the bottom of the pot.)
    2. Pressure cook for 12 minutes with a natural release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and bring it to high pressure. Pressure cook at high pressure for 12 minutes in an electric or stovetop PC (use “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally for at least 10 minutes before quick-releasing any remaining pressure in the pot.
    3. Serve and enjoy: Remove the steak and tomatoes to a platter with a slotted spoon. Add a ladle or two of the liquid from the pot, just enough to moisten the beef, and serve with the tortillas and accompaniments. Enjoy!

    Equipment

    6-Quart Pressure Cooker

    Buy Now →

    Flat edged wooden spoon

    Buy Now →

    Notes

    The Accompaniments section are my favorite taco toppings - use your favorites on your tacos. (Or burritos!)

    I used to cut flank steak into 2-inch strips, thinking bigger pieces were better. I re-tested the recipe, and ½-inch thick strips result in better tacos, even if there’s a little more slicing work up front.)

    If flank steaks are expensive, look for flat iron steaks, cut from the chuck shoulder. They cook the same as flank steak, and I'll buy whichever is cheaper for this recipe.

    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 25 minutes
    • Category: Weeknight Dinner
    • Method: Pressure Cooker
    • Cuisine: Tex-Mex

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    Comments

    1. David says

      January 14, 2025 at 9:54 am

      Great easy recipe. We love it.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        January 14, 2025 at 12:05 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    2. Dot says

      November 13, 2022 at 6:10 pm

      I followed the recipe exactly using 1.5 lb flank steak and a 10 ounce can of Rotel tomatoes and chilies. It was delicious! This is going to be my beef taco recipe from now on. The meat was so tender and juicy. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. And my husband LOVED it over Spanish rice.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        November 14, 2022 at 4:45 pm

        Thanks, glad you liked it!

        Reply
    3. Sean says

      February 03, 2022 at 11:54 am

      This was a bit sketchy for me at first. Flank steak? Come on. That’s like leather unless marinated and cut cross and used for delicious fajitas! Nope. Holy crap. This was great. The chat I did miss and I did 13 and release after 25 natural but this was fantastic. I also added more spicy stuff like chili peppers and serranos but that’s because we are psychos at my home. Other than that I highly recommend this for a quick awesome meal.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        February 03, 2022 at 4:20 pm

        Glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    4. Anne M. says

      October 02, 2021 at 4:31 pm

      My grill didn’t work at the last minute so I found this recipe as a quick alternative to cook the flank steak I already had. I was actually surprised how well and tasty this turned out considering how simple it seemed and my first time cooking flank steak in the IP. My kids ate 3 tacos each and wanted to know if there were any leftovers for the next day (there wasn’t :-)) I didn’t have a can of diced tomatoes with chiles handy so I used a combination of 1 cup diced fresh garden tomatoes and 1/2 cup medium salsa and it worked out! Very tender and juicy!

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        October 02, 2021 at 4:54 pm

        Great! I'm glad it worked for you.

        Reply
    5. Laurie says

      May 05, 2020 at 9:51 pm

      Perfect! I couldn’t believe how tender the meat turned out!

      Reply
    6. Laurie says

      March 25, 2020 at 10:20 pm

      Omg SUPER TENDER! Very pleasantly surprised at how great this one was.... and EXTREMELY EASY! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Thanks for sharing! 😀

      Reply
    7. Mandy says

      July 08, 2019 at 8:43 pm

      This was absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        July 10, 2019 at 8:40 am

        You’re welcome!

        Reply
    8. Denise says

      April 17, 2019 at 10:01 am

      Delicious! This was my first attempt at flank steak in my IP ! So tender. I added cut up peppers and onions on top for fajitas. Thank you

      Reply
    9. Michelle says

      January 22, 2019 at 8:43 pm

      Was DELICIOUS and came out perfect. Only difference I did was no tomatoes or chilis. I used a cup of my homemade fajita marinade. Perfection!

      Reply
    10. Andrew says

      November 10, 2018 at 6:26 pm

      Turned out perfectly, thank you

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        November 11, 2018 at 10:21 am

        You're welcome!

        Reply
    11. Rita says

      August 10, 2018 at 9:27 am

      I've bought the flank steak but I think I would like to cut the meat into thinner strips, maybe 1/4-inch thick. What would you suggest for a cooking time? Or is this a bad idea? Would the meat be less tender?

      Reply
      • Rita says

        August 11, 2018 at 8:51 pm

        By thinner strips, I mean for younger children, beef and taco beginners.

        Reply
    12. David King says

      August 01, 2018 at 3:10 am

      Sounds like a good recipe, just had to comment on you saying put the salsas over the "Pork".😊

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        August 01, 2018 at 7:04 am

        Argh! Cut and paste will be the death of me. Fixed, and thank you for letting me know.

        Reply
    13. Sarah says

      July 31, 2018 at 9:34 pm

      What are those fiesta bowls? I need them!

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        August 01, 2018 at 7:16 am

        They are Fiesta Ware Fruit bowls: https://amzn.to/2v1TqPZ . I use them for pinch bowls and small amounts of toppings.

        Reply

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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

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