Easy Instant Pot cube steak recipe with tender bites of meat smothered in a creamy mushroom gravy in under 30 minutes = winner of a dinner. Serve over butter noodles or rice. If you loved our air fryer cubed steak in Ninja Foodi make this using the pressure cooker function.

A white bowl filled with white rice topped with diced instant pot cube steak in a flavorful brown sauce, garnished with chopped green onions.
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I’m here to share this easy Instant Pot cube steak recipe that even my non steak loving children thought was amazing.  Definitely one of our favorite under 20 minutes comfort food Instant Pot recipes on The Typical Mom. (affiliate links present)

Ninja Foodi Cube Steak and Gravy

I know you’re busy, aren’t we all??!! It’s hard to find time to cook a complete meal, and find time to spend together. Using your pressure cooker, Crockpot Express or making it as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe just makes life easier. If you are trying to eat together more as a family this is the answer.

You can cook frozen cube steak slow cooker style but that takes all day. Instead, throw it in under high pressure with gravy and OMG. That is right, it doesn’t matter whether your meat is fresh, thawed or frozen. Cut into bite size pieces is key to getting it fork tender with tons of flavor.

If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:

For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.

A white Instant Pot with a Star Wars theme sits on the kitchen counter, ready to tackle your favorite beef arm roast recipe. The digital display glows "On." Next to it lie a patterned cloth and some green onions, all against the backdrop of blue kitchen cabinets and a stovetop.

How Long to Cook Pressure Cooker Cube Steak

That depends on whether you leave your pieces whole or cut into bite size pieces like we did here. To get as tender as possible I would follow our directions below. Only takes 5 minutes in this case where the other would take twice as long. You don’t want to over-cook this or it will get tough.

Here is where you start. It’s kinda’ fun pounding your beef out with this guy! Have you ever actually made cube steak? Yes you can buy it already pounded out but oh the satisfaction of doing it yourself. ๐Ÿ˜‰ You can leave the pieces whole, but just like my steak bites, I prefer to cut my meat into bite size pieces. 

It makes the meat more tender and easier for the kids to eat. It is a trick I have been using for years and years and not just with beef. Same goes with chicken too where you get the gravy and seasonings to really seep in the most. If you can’t find this cut at the store you can pound it out at home too so you can get this done. Way easier than you think it is but generally a cheap cut the butcher will offer often.

Ingredients

  1. Cube steak or make your own with a meat mallet and steaks
  2. Olive oil to saute
  3. Flour coats meat and thickens the gravy too
  4. Garlic salt for flavor
  5. Cream of mushroom soup condensed or make your own
  6. 1 packet onion soup mix
  7. Onions diced are optional
  8. Beef broth, could use half cup of water and rest broth

Instant Pot white rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes to serve on the side typically. If you wanted to add some heat to make it a bit spicy that is an option as well. I would use 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes for this.

A person uses a meat tenderizer to pound a slice of raw beef on a wooden cutting board, preparing it for a Ninja Foodi cube steak recipe. Two more slices of raw beef are visible in the background on the cutting board.

As with any recipe the seasonings that you add to the outside comes down to personal preference. With a bit tossed with salt and pepper with the mushroom gravy here it makes for a yummy meal. Make it your own with what you have on hand I say!

How to Make Instant Pot Cubed Steak

  1. First you want to tenderize your meat and cut it into bite size pieces. This is the way we prefer it. Or you can just buy cube steak already done this way.
  2. Cut into bite size pieces. Or could cut in half if preferred.
  3. Fill a gallon size storage bag with flour, garlic salt and pepper. Shake to combine.
  4. Set Instant Pot to saute medium and add olive oil.
  5. Put steak pieces inside baggie, zip closed and shake to coat pieces.
  6. When pot is hot use your fingers to take pieces of floured meat out of bag shaking off excess flour before putting it into the pot.
  7. Cook all pieces until they are lightly browned on both sides, then turn pot OFF/Cancel button – Important step! Remove meat from pan and pour some beef broth in to deglaze the pot.
  8. In a bowl whisk together cream of mushroom, onion soup mix packet. Worcestershire sauce, and remaining beef broth.
  9. Add diced onions on bottom of the pot. Then put browned meat on top of that followed by soup mixture into your pot. Put lid on and close steam valve.
  10. Set to pressure high for 5 minutes followed by a natural release for 5 minutes. Then quick release rest of steam.
  11. Lift lid and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes so sauce thickens more.

Serve over rice or as is. I usually sprinkle with a bit of salt when serving because everyone prefers a different amt. of salt. It is important to give it a few minutes to rest in the pot once it’s done. Like any other steak it become more tender and maintains juiciness when it has time to rest.

Can you make this with pork?

Here’s a quick step by step but there is a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post too. Pound your eye of round steak or do the same for Pork Cube Steak, with a meat tenderizer/mallet on both sides (helps make meat tender, can buy it at store already tenderized too).

A bowl of savory beef steak with rice, garnished with chives, sits invitingly next to a meat tenderizer and an Instant Pot—perfect for when youre craving that cube steak tenderness.
Is cube steak bad?

Cube steak is a very lean cut. You won’t get a lot of fat from the meat by itself on this one as you can see here. I mean everything in moderation but compared to other cuts it is leaner than most so I would venture to say no to this question.

How do you make cubed steak?

If your butcher doesn’t have cubed steak already available you can make a version yourself at home with a few thin steaks. Just place them in between plastic wrap and with a meat mallet hit it on both sides to thin and tenderize on both sides.

How long does it take to cook cube steak in pressure cooker?

Cook time is under 15 minutes total in Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi which is much faster than in a Crock pot. If you’re looking for comfort food smothered with brown gravy we have directions for you here. We like cutting into bite size pieces first but can be cooked whole too.

Find more easy recipes on our Instant Pot beef recipes page here. You can use steaks of all kinds for things other than just cooking them plain.

What kind of meat is cube steak?

It’s usually top round or top sirloin, used in our air fryer chicken fried steak too It is tenderized and flattened by pounding with a meat tenderizer, or an electric tenderizer.

Is cube steak the same as minute steak?

Cube steak is sometimes referred to as minute steak. It is actually a different cut of beef. It is cut from the round steak, or chuck steak, and then tenderized. Can you make slow cooker cube steak with cream of mushroom soup too? <—- YES, here is the recipe.

Instant Pot Cube Steak 4
A bowl of rice topped with savory Instant Pot cube steak, garnished with chopped green onions.
4.86 from 7 votes

Instant Pot Cube Steak

By The Typical Mom
This Instant Pot cube steak and gravy made in a Ninja Foodi or any pressure cooker is easy! Tender bites of meat smothered in a creamy mushroom sauce. A total winner. 
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 5
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Equipment

  • 1 pressure cooker
  • 1 meat tenderizer

Ingredients 

  • 1.5-2 lbs cube steak, I used top sirloin pounded flat, cut into bite size pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 c flour
  • 1 tbsp garlic salt
  • pinch pepper, optional
  • 1 pkg. onion soup mix, 1 oz. package
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 10.5 oz.
  • 2 c beef broth, or a bit more if you want it thinner
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 onion , diced

Instructions 

  • Pound your eye of round steak with a meat tenderizer/mallet on both sides (helps make meat tender, can buy it at store already tenderized too).
  • Cut into bite size pieces. Or could cut in half if preferred.
  • Fill a gallon size storage bag with flour, garlic salt and pepper. Shake to combine.
  • Set Instant Pot to saute medium and add olive oil.
  • Put steak pieces inside baggie, zip closed and shake to coat pieces.
  • When Instant Pot is hot use your fingers to take pieces of floured meat out of bag shaking off excess flour before putting it into the pot.
  • Cook all pieces until they are lightly browned on both sides, then turn pot OFF/Cancel button – Important step! Remove meat from pan and pour some beef broth in to deglaze the pot (get stuck on food off bottom).
  • In a bowl whisk together cream of mushroom, onion soup mix packet. Worcestershire sauce, and remaining beef broth.
  • Add diced onions on bottom of the pot. Then put browned meat on top of that followed by soup mixture into your pot. Put lid on and close steam valve.
  • Set to pressure high for 5 minutes followed by a natural release for 5 minutes. Then let out rest of steam.
  • Lift lid and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes so sauce thickens more. Serve over rice or as is. I usually sprinkle with a bit of salt when serving because everyone prefers a different amt. of salt.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 4oz, Calories: 383kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 101mg, Sodium: 2317mg, Potassium: 644mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 48mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

About The Typical Mom

Justine is the creative mind behind The Typical Mom and The Typical Family on YouTube. She began blogging about easy recipes, budget friendly activities for kids, and fun family travel destinations in September 2012.

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4.86 from 7 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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30 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it last night and it was delicious. I didn’t cut my steaks up before cooking them, so I went with a full 20-minutes on high with a 20-minute natural release. They were super tender and perfect.

  2. At last a Way to make cube steak that is not tough. Great flavor. Next time I will cut the steak into very large bite-size pieces. It was more like tasty beef tips when sliced into bite sizes. Will make this often thanks for the recipe.

  3. It’s never easy to get a tender cube steak but your recipe nails it! Thanks for sharing!!

  4. So I just place 2 cups of rice over the mixture and added a little more broth and set to rice. I am hoping I can do it all in one!