This beef arm roast recipe is amazing! With balsamic vinegar and onions it’s packed with flavor and super tender in a pressure cooker.

Ok so I was determined to come up with the best beef arm roast recipe this week and scored! This cheap cut is often overlooked but with the right sauce and seasonings it can be an excellent and quick Instant Pot recipe. (affiliate links present)
I’ve told you before that we buy half a cow at the beginning of each year from local farmers. If you’re new to The Typical Mom blog welcome, and you can buy bulk meat online too. It’s been a game changer for us.
Similar to a chuck roast, an arm roast has a wonderfully beefy flavor and can get nice and tender if cooked just right. You can make this as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe too if that is the pot you have.
FIRST – You should sign up for my free newsletter so you get new posts emailed to you twice a week and never miss out on anything! Now let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook and a set of wooden utensils are great to grab too.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should still deglaze pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.

Have you seen one of these at your local grocery store with a little price tag on it but you thought “whaaaaat am I supposed to do with that?” I kinda’ did too when I got 2 packages in our cow delivery.
It wasn’t anything I had ever bought, cooked, or even eaten as far as I can remember. BUT I am always up for a challenge so I started experimenting.
I looked back at my Instant Pot carnitas recipe as far as the cook time was concerned. Like that one I decided to remove the bone, trim a bit, and cut into large chunks.
- You could saute and brown on all sides at first with a bit of olive oil, but I literally just threw it in.
- Sometimes I am just in the mood for an EASY throw together one pot meal.

You can see here about how large the chunks were. I wanted it to shred easily and this is key. Smaller pieces means fork tender and delicious if you ask me. Don’t ask me about specifics, just “chunk it” alrighty. 😉
Here are a few questions you might have about this cut of beef;
What is the difference between an arm roast and a chuck roast?
The arm is less expensive and leaner than chuck, go figure right? Some people braise it but we used it as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe this time. Any pressure cooker will do and my preferred method of cooking this.
What is arm roast good for?
I think it’s great to make shredded beef served over rice or to make sliders. If cut into smaller pieces and cooked under pressure it falls apart nicely and has a rich beefy flavor.

Is arm roast tough?
It is less tough than a shoulder roast actually. It can become quite tender if cooked low and slow in a Crockpot or using high pressure in an Instant Pot. I compare it to our Instant Pot tri tip kinda’.
Let me show you what we added to our meat to make it ultra delicious.
Balsamic vinegar, I mean really this stuff is pretty darn amazing. There are tons of different flavors, brands and price points out there you can get. This one I bought at a local fair in Idaho and is amazing.
Not sponsored at all, just like to support local when I find something amazing, and this is one of those things. 😉
Used as is as a dipping sauce for steaks, or a sort of marinade as we did here it takes meat from good to out of this world.

Thinned out with a bit of beef broth it mad a great “sauce” or beef marinade of sorts for sure. This is what you’re going to need to make this:
Arm Roast Recipe
- Our arm roast was about 3.5 lbs. before trimming and removing the bone
- Balsamic vinegar
- Beef broth
- Onion
- Salt
- Garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Soy sauce
- A bit of honey
- Red pepper flakes – just a bit but not to make it spicy
- If you feel like you must put bay leaves in with any large piece of meat, go ahead. Just remember to remove it once cook time is up.
I used a bit of cornstarch at the end to thicken the “gravy” at the end.

A roux isn’t necessarily I guess but boy is it nice to pour that thick sauce on the top when you serve it. Just takes a few minutes on saute after the initial cook time to get to this consistency.
Here’s what we did:
Time needed: 1 hour.
Beef Arm Roast Recipe
- Prepare
Remove bone and fat from roast. Cut it into large chunks, discard bone and fat. Put meat into pressure cooker and sprinkle salt on top of meat.
Slice or dice your onion and put that on top and around meat. Pour in all other ingredients in EXCEPT cornstarch, close lid. - Cook
Close steam valve and set to high pressure for 45 minutes. Then allow steam to naturally release for 15 minutes. Release rest of steam quickly, there won’t be much.
Lift lid and remove meat and onions into a bowl. - Saute
Set pot to saute. In a small bowl add 1/2 cup of your hot broth from the pot. Add cornstarch with it and whisk together until you create a smooth roux.
When liquid is bubbling pour your cornstarch mixture in. Stir continuously for about 3 minutes allowing gravy to thicken.
Shred meat with forks in bowl. Pour this on top so it is coated well and serve over white or brown rice! Thicken sauce over medium high heat on the stovetop alternatively…..but why would you dirty another pot?

You can see how fall apart tender this turns out. Use some red wine instead of beef stock if you preferred. I add a sprinkle of salt and pepper once this is done but it doesn’t need much.
Yes you could use this same recipe with other cuts of meat if you wanted too. Of course a chuck roast would work the same way. It would be a good pot roast recipe too if cut into smaller chunks at the beginning.
I haven’t used my slow cooker or tried this in a dutch oven yet but I imagine it would be just as amazing. It would just take quite a bit longer.

What sides go good with roast?
Air fryer vegetables are soft with a bit of crispness on the edges and perfect with this as a side dish. You could make slow cooked mashed potatoes and corn on the cob with it too which are low in saturated fat.
More easy pressure cooker recipes you should try too are:
- Try our Instant Pot Barbacoa recipe is similar to this one.
- We share several beef stew meat recipes here.
- If you want to cook a dutch oven roast we have instructions for that method here too.
Instant Pot beef tips are always a winner. If you want a large cut of meat with a crispy outside, give our air fryer roast beef a whirl too.

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***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉

Beef Arm Roast Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb arm roast trimmed, bone removed, cut into large chunks
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 tsp salt plus salt and pepper to taste when done
- 1/2 c beef broth
- 1/3 c balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp cornstarch optional, to thicken broth at end
Instructions
- Remove bone and fat from arm roast. Then cut it into large chunks. Put into pressure cooker and sprinkle salt on top of meat.
- Slice onion and put that on top and around meat.
- Pour in all other ingredients in EXCEPT cornstarch, close lid. Seal steam valve and set to high pressure for 45 minutes.
- Allow steam to naturally release for 15 minutes, then release rest.
- Lift lid and remove meat and onions into a bowl. Set pot to saute. In a small bowl add 1/2 c of your hot broth from pot. Add cornstarch and whisk together until you create a smooth roux.
- When liquid is bubbling pour your cornstarch mixture in. Stir continuously for about 3 minutes allowing this sauce to thicken.
- Shred meat with forks in bowl. Pour this on top of meat so it is coated well and serve over rice!
Julzie
Monday 5th of June 2023
How could I make this is a crock pot?
The Typical Mom
Tuesday 6th of June 2023
Will do this next but I'm planning on using the same ingredients on low for 8 hours or until it shreds.
Hawkeye
Monday 24th of April 2023
Meat was super tender!! I actually came home for lunch out it on and then it went to warm once it was done. In other IP put quinoa on and when I got home from work put meat on sauté and added cornstarch thickener!!! It was fabulous
Jennifer
Friday 24th of February 2023
I made this exactly as written, and HOLY COW. This is a keeper for sure! I served it with mashed potatoes instead of rice because I just had a taste for them. My family loved it!
The Typical Mom
Friday 24th of February 2023
OH so glad
Teresa Blunier
Thursday 16th of February 2023
My husband went crazy for this recipe! He said he never wants to eat a roast any other way! Definitely a five star keeper! We get a 1/4 cow every year and most gets made into burger because he said roast tends to be too dry. After this he said he wants it all made into roasts! I made it in the Instant Pot and used a red onion. This is the first recipe I've made in the Instant Pot and can't wait to try more!
The Typical Mom
Saturday 18th of February 2023
Oh good glad it was a hit for your first go around
Kimie
Saturday 14th of January 2023
I made this last night, we just got a 1/4 of a cow and I had no idea what to do with an arm roast…I have never had a better roast in my life. I made it in the crockpot on low for 6 hours, then did the sauce on the stove with flour instead of cornstarch. I have nothing but the most amazing things to say about this recipe. I can’t wait to make it again. I’m excited for leftovers for the next few days. :) thank you for this recipe!
The Typical Mom
Sunday 15th of January 2023
You're welcome!