A simple recipe that packs a ton of flavor, these Chili Lime Instant Pot Short Ribs are easy, delicious, and super versatile. Serve with your favorite side, turn into tacos, or top on a salad- you can’t go wrong with this amazing dish!
What are Short Ribs?
Short ribs are a flavorful and tender cut of beef. They’re best prepared through slow cooking methods like braising in the oven, resulting in rich, delicious meat that falls off the bone. Braising, however, is a time-consuming process.
Today I will show you how to pressure cook short ribs in the Instant Pot! They turn out just as juicy and tender as braising methods but require less time and work!
What Makes This Recipe Great
If you’ve cooked with an Instant Pot before, you already know how quick, easy, and brilliant this gadget is. Personally, I find it to be my go-to for so many weeknight dinners for these exact reasons. It speeds recipes up, cooks them perfectly, and has all of the functions in just one pot, meaning fewer dishes!
These Chili Lime Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs are inspired by a dish I had at a Mexican restaurant a few weeks back, and I’ve been thinking about them ever since. They are ridiculously tender and jam-packed with so much flavor! Plus, this recipe is gluten-free, keto, whole30, and paleo!
While the process of cooking them is quite easy, you’ll never guess that when you taste these short ribs. The wonderful combination of the spices, along with lime zest and juice, is mouthwateringly delicious. And using the Instant Pot to cook the meat will have it fall off-the-bone tender in no time.
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- bone-in beef short ribs: As the beef cooks, it will become tender and fall off the bone. You can remove the bones before serving.
- chili powder
- cumin
- onion powder
- dried oregano
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
- coriander
- cayenne
- garlic cloves
- juice and zest of 2 limes
- coconut oil: Or your favorite cooking oil.
- apple cider vinegar
- chopped cilantro
Step-by-Step Instructions
- If the short ribs aren’t cut up already, slice them across into sections so each section contains a bone.
- Combine chili powder, cumin, onion powder, oregano, sea salt, black pepper, coriander, cayenne, garlic cloves, and lime zest in a small bowl and mix together.
- Sprinkle and press down the spices all over the short ribs until the short ribs are evenly covered.
- Set a 6qt Instant Pot to Sauté setting and heat coconut oil for 5-10 minutes until fully heated.
- Add the short ribs to the Instant Pot and sear on all sides, about 5 minutes. Work in batches if needed.
- Leave the beef in the Instant Pot and turn it off.
- Pour in the lime juice and apple cider vinegar.
- Close the pressure cooker lid and make sure the valve is set to SEALING. Set the Instant Pot to MEAT/STEW for 35 minutes.
- Once done cooking, let it sit for 10 minutes until the pressure naturally releases and you can open the lid easily.
- Sprinkle with cilantro and more lime juice before serving.
Expert Tips
- Even though this recipe doesn’t require a lot of liquid, the Instant Pot will come to pressure and cook the short ribs. The meat will also release a lot of liquid during the cooking process, so you don’t need to add more liquid.
- If you use an 8 qt Instant Pot, I recommend adding 1 cup of beef broth with lime juice and apple cider vinegar so you don’t risk burning the beef.
- This recipe is super versatile and can be spiced up or down depending on preferences.
Serving Tips
- I recommend serving these short ribs with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower.
- Because they have a Mexican-inspired twist, you can also serve them with corn tortillas and taco toppings or make a taco salad and serve with a cilantro dressing/sauce.
Storage Tips
- Store leftover short ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or stove top and serve with your favorite side dish.
- We enjoyed the leftovers as taco meat, and it was fantastic. They reheat really well, so make sure to cook up a double batch and enjoy it for several days!
Recipe FAQs
Ribs may turn out tough in an Instant Pot due to insufficient cooking time, lack of liquid, or inadequate seasoning. For tender beef, increase the cook time and ensure enough liquid.
To make tender short ribs, don’t forget to season and sear them with the saute function of the Instant Pot. Then, cook them in the specified amount of liquid until fork-tender. Let rest before serving.
More Instant Pot Recipes
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Chili Lime Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb beef short ribs
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne optional
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- Juice and zest of 2 limes plus more for garnish
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or your favorite cooking oil
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- If the short ribs aren't cut up already, slice them across into sections, so each section contains a bone.
- Combine chili powder, cumin, onion powder, oregano, sea salt, black pepper, coriander, cayenne, garlic cloves, and lime zest in a small bowl and mix together.
- Sprinkle and press down the spices all over the short ribs until the short ribs are evenly covered.
- Set a 6qt Instant Pot to Sauté setting and heat coconut oil for 5-10 minutes, until fully heated. The reader on the Instant Pot will say "hot."
- Add the short ribs to the Instant Pot and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Work in batches if needed.
- Leave the beef in the Instant Pot and turn it off.
- Pour in lime juice and apple cider vinegar.
- Close the lid and make sure the pressure valve is set to SEALING. Set the Instant Pot to MEAT/STEW for 35 minutes. Once done cooking, let it sit for 10 minutes until the pressure naturally releases and you can open the lid easily.
- Sprinkle with cilantro and more lime juice before serving.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Even though this recipe doesn’t require a lot of liquid, the Instant Pot will come to pressure and cook the short ribs. The meat will also release a lot of liquid during the cooking process, so you don’t need to add more liquid.
- If you use an 8 qt Instant Pot, I recommend adding 1 cup of beef broth with lime juice and apple cider vinegar so you don’t risk burning the beef.
- This recipe is super versatile and can be spiced up or down depending on preferences.
Serving Tips
- I recommend serving these short ribs with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower.
- Because they have a Mexican-inspired twist, you can also serve them with corn tortillas and taco toppings or make a taco salad and serve with a cilantro dressing/sauce.
Storage Tips
- Store leftover short ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or stove top and serve with your favorite side dish.
- We enjoyed the leftovers as taco meat, and it was fantastic. They reheat really well, so make sure to cook up a double batch and enjoy it for several days!
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Thanks so much! I love them as well.
This was SO good! I had never been a short-rib fan but was mixing it up for Whole 30. LOVED it!
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
They sound delicious! What do you recommend serving it with?
A yummy refreshing salad like this Curtido (https://whatgreatgrandmaate.com/curtido-salvadoran-spicy-cabbage-slaw-giveaway-latin-american-paleo-cooking/) and my Cauliflower Mexican Rice (https://whatgreatgrandmaate.com/cauliflower-mexican-rice-paleo/)!
Hi Jean!
I was given an instant pot as a gift, but let it sit on my counter for months because I was afraid of it. Yesterday, I finally decided to use it and I chose this recipe to christen the IP. I am writing because I must have done something wrong and I am seeking advice. This recipe did not taste or smell good to me and I ended up not serving it. I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought 3 lbs of fresh beef short ribs, Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut oil, organic limes and brand new chili powder and ground coriander. I had the other spices already. I LOVE all the spices in this recipe. I love lime and cilantro. There was nothing in this recipe that I didn’t like which is why I decided to try it. The visual end result was perfect and they looked just like your picture, but they did not taste or smell good to me.
The spice rub with lime zest smelled fine, but as soon as I went to brown the ribs in the coconut oil, the smell of cooking beef, lime and coconut was extremely unpleasant and overpowering. Did I buy the wrong kind of coconut oil or something? I stopped everything, took the ribs out of the pot and emptied out the coconut oil and washed out the pan. I started again, but I think it was just too late at that point. The coconut oil had already permeated the meat and the fat. So, I stopped everything again and proceeded to cut as much of the natural fat off of the ribs as I could in an attempt to remove the coconut oil taste. I then browned the ribs as they were with no extra oil added. Once they were browned I added Bragg’s ACV and fresh lime juice and the smell just got worse to me. But, I proceeded and cooked the ribs for the alloted time. I let the IP release naturally and when I looked inside they were beautiful. But, the taste and smell was really off. I know it wasn’t the beef as I got them from the butcher and I smelled them before I started cooking. I double checked all my spices and made sure I didn’t put something in that wasn’t supposed to be there. I put all the right spices in. All I can say is when I tasted the meat it had an overpowering smell of beef fat and coconut with what tasted like cinnamon or some sweet spice. Not what I had envisioned at all. So, I squeezed fresh lime juice over the meat and sprinkled chopped fresh cilantro on it. The lime juice covered the coconut flavor somewhat, but it didn’t make it taste good. I was so disappointed because I REALLY wanted to love this recipe. Do you think it was the coconut oil that I used? Normally I don’t have any issues with coconut oil and have cooked with it many times, but mixing it with beef was really offputting to me for whatever reason. Maybe I should have bought another brand or a different type of coconut oil? Is this recipe supposed to have a taste and smell of coconut? What did I do wrong? But, in any case, your recipe allowed me to use the instant pot and now I see how easy it is. I’m no longer afraid of it and can’t wait to try more recipes. Thank you for helping me to conquer my fear!
Hi there, perhaps you are just sensitive to the coconut oil smell. I use it so much that I barely taste it at all. You can try to switch up the oil with ghee, shortening, or avocado oil. Hope you have better luck next time!
I love this recipe!!! The first time I made it it was perfectly tender and flavorful and amazing! I just made it again, followed the recipe to a tee and it was tough and didn’t fall off the one like last time at all. I’m so sad! Any ideas why it would yield two very different results? Same exact recipe and process both times. So confused!!
So sorry the 2nd batch was so tough! There could be various reasons that this can happen. It could be that the meat didn’t have enough fat on it. Also, do not quick release pressure at the end. Or did you put more meat in the pot than the first time? To fix the tough meat, you can try to put it back in the IP and cook it for longer. I’m not really sure what happened exactly but I hope you have better luck next time!
Hi! Do you think this would go well with country style pork ribs instead of beef?
I don’t see why not. I actually have a similar recipe with ribs which isn’t made in the IP but you can check it out HERE.
Delicious recipe! My only question is what is the portion size? 4 oz of tips without the bone?
Hello – loved this recipe! I want to double it for a dinner party – would I need to change the amount of time that the ribs cook for?
Thank you so much! I would increase the time to 45 minutes.