Delicious tender Shredded BBQ Beef made right in your Instant Pot will for sure be on heavy rotation for dinner! The recipe prep is super easy and then it cooks in your electric pressure cooker, making it fall apart tender. Pile it on top of buns and it’s time to eat!
No Instant Pot, No Problem
If you do not have an Instant Pot but really want to make this recipe, pop over to this Shredded BBQ Beef Recipe and you can make it in your oven or crock pot.
Why This Recipe is Amazing
- We use Chuck Roast for our BBQ Beef which has such an amazing beef flavor.
- Chuck Roast cooks up perfectly in the Instant Pot, becoming fall apart tender in under an hour!
- This recipe is triple seasoned, making sure it is FULL of BBQ flavor.
- BBQ Beef Sandwiches are great any time of year!
- This is a great recipe if you want shredded beef, but don’t want to wait for a smoked brisket, which can take up to 8 hours (or more).
Ingredients
Here are the things you need to make this Instant Pot Shredded BBQ Beef, plus some pro tips on a few ingredients.
Chuck Roast – Look for a fresh chuck roast that is around 3-4 lbs. and is well marbled with nice dark red/maroon color flesh. A “choice” or “select” chuck roast will do fine here. No need pay the price of “prime” for this recipe.
Smoked Paprika – make sure that you use SMOKED Paprika, and not sweet or Hungarian paprika. It has a very distinct flavor that you want to add to your BBQ Seasoning.
Step by Step Picture Instructions
Start by patting your chuck roast dry with a couple paper towels. Now cut it into large 3 inch pieces, removing and discarding any large pieces of white fat. Set it aside.
In a small bowl combine all the BBQ seasoning spices and herbs. Give it a good stir. Reserve 2 tablespoon of the seasoning to after cooking. Set aside.
Pro Tip – make sure to break up all the brown sugar pieces before moving on.
Pour the water, cider vinegar, and Worcestershire in the Instant Pot. Cut an onion into 8 pieces and place it in the liquid.
Coat the beef pieces with the BBQ Seasoning (remember to reserve the 2 tablespoon for after cooking). Place the beef in the Instant Pot on top of the onions.
Pro Tip – don’t lose any flavor… use the beef pieces to mop up any seasoning that didn’t stick to the beef.
Set the pot to cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Do a 10 minute natural release and finish with a quick release.
Remove the beef pieces (and onion if you like) and shred them with two forks. You can discard the liquid in the Instant Pot as it can be a little fatty.
Sprinkle HALF of the reserved seasoning on your shredded beef. Toss it to coat and then give it a taste and see if you want additional seasoning.
Pour on ½ cup BBQ Sauce and toss to coat. Time to eat!
Serving
Serve piled on buns or bread and top with your favorite BBQ Sandwich toppings. Here are a few we like:
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Pickles
- Pepperoncini’s
- Onion Rings
Storing
Store leftover BBQ Beef in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze your BBQ beef for up to 3 months.
Meal Prep/Freezer
You can also make this Shredded BBQ Beef ahead of time and pop it in the freezer for easy meal prep. I recommend that you wait to add the BBQ Sauce until you reheat.
Make the Shredded Beef completely, leaving off the BBQ Sauce. Cool completely and then place in a freezer safe baggie. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To serve, thaw in the fridge overnight and then heat through in a skillet with a little water or in the microwave. Toss with BBQ Sauce and dig in!
Make it Dinner!
Here are some amazing side dish recipes to make this Instant Pot BBQ Beef a complete dinner:
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
- Corn Casserole
- Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Broccoli Bacon Salad
- Raspberry Jell-O Fluff
Recipe Tips
Here are some pro tips to make sure your recipe turns out prefect!
- Trim any large white fat pieces from your beef.
- Make sure there are no chunks of brown sugar in your seasoning.
- Coat the beef really well with the seasoning and mop up any that falls off the beef.
- Reserve some of the BBQ seasoning to do a second round of seasoning after cooking – so much flavor!!
- Find a BBQ sauce that your family loves!
Related Recipes
If you have a beautiful chuck roast, here are a couple other recipes you can make:
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Instant Pot Shredded BBQ Beef
Ingredients
- 3 lb. (up to 4 lbs.) chuck roast trimmed and cut into 3 inch pieces
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 yellow onion cut into 8 pieces
- ½ cup store bought BBQ Sauce
BBQ Seasoning
- 1 ½ tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground/dry mustard
Serving
- buns or bread, bbq sauce, and favorite bbq sandwich toppings (like pickles and/or coleslaw)
Instructions
- Pat your chuck roast dry with a paper towel and trim of any large pieces of white fat and discard. Cut the remaining beef into 3 inch pieces.
- In a small bowl mix the BBQ seasoning together.Pro Tip- make sure all the brown sugar chunks are broken up before moving on.
- Remove 2 tablespoon of the seasoning and set aside for after cooking.
- Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the trimmed and cut beef pieces. Press the seasoning into the beef.
- Pour the water, vinegar and Worcestershire in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the cut onions.
- Place the seasoned beef on top of the onions.
- Set to cook for 45 minutes on high pressure. Do a 10 minute natural release and then finish with a quick release.
- Remove the beef from the Instant Pot and shred with two forks (also include the onions if you like). Pro Tip: do this on a rimmed baking sheet to contain any juices. You can discard the liquid at the bottom of the pot, it can tend to be greasy.
- Sprinkle with half of the reserved seasoning and toss. Give it a taste and see if you want additional seasoning.
- Toss with the ½ cup BBQ Sauce and serve!
Serving
- Pile your Shredded BBQ Beef on top of a bun and add all your favorite toppings.(some good toppings are coleslaw, onions, cheese, onion rings, pickles, and/or pepperoncini's.)
Storing
- Keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Or keep in the freezer in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight and warm through in the microwave or skillet.
Notes:
- Trim any large white fat pieces from your beef.
- Make sure there are no chunks of brown sugar in your seasoning.
- Coat the beef really well with the seasoning and mop up any that falls off the beef.
- Reserve some of the BBQ seasoning to do a second round of seasoning after cooking – so much flavor!!
- Find a BBQ sauce that your family loves!
If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.
Kris
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a HIT! I will definitely add this to my dinner rotation!
Lisa G.
I made this recipe last evening for dinner and it was delicious. My family loved it. I am keeping it in my definitely a keeper file for many more meals. I have tried loads of bbq recipes and this was by far the best. Thank you for posting it.
TAS
Had this for dinner tonight. It was delicious!!