I haven’t posted an Instant Pot recipe in a while. I was in Georgia, visiting over the holidays, and no Instant Pot. Honestly, I went through withdrawal! Once home I met a friend at Panera, and I knew exactly what I wanted to make next! A 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast Medium Rare. So I could copycat the famous Panera Steak & White Cheddar Panini.

30 Minute (total time) Instant Pot Roast Medium Rare

My friend and I got together, and we made the Roasted Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprouts, and this Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Quiche. The best thing we did that day was recreate Panera’s Steak & White Cheddar Panini. And later in the week, I made French Dips (a childhood fave!) The French Dips are included in the recipe (below), and they were pretty awesome, too.

About 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast:

Before we could make either sandwich, we needed the beef! Let’s talk about the 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast. It’s like the “Mother” recipe and the Panini & French Dip, the “child” recipes, so making this roast was utilizing planned leftovers.

Speaking of leftovers, there are so many ways to refashion Leftover Steak and Roast. Leftover Roast is the gift that keeps on giving if you know how to work with it. If you’re interested, just click for more ideas on what to do with leftover roast beef.

But back to this roast. Rump Roast was on sale, two for one, so it was an obvious no-brainer. The Rump usually isn’t my first choice. It’s a little dense, it’s lean, and if it’s not perfectly cooked and on the rare side, it can be dry, tough & chewy. On the plus side: the price was great, and when cooked just right, it can be fantastic. And as you can see, the Instant Pot cooks up that roast just right.

We cut a variety of pieces, from thin to thicker.

We did thicker slices, thinner sliced and some that were almost shaved.

Cooking 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast:

There is no peeking with the Instant Pot, so it helps to have a little flexibility in your expectations. There’s a range of doneness when a roast comes out of the Instant Pot, but if rare isn’t your thing, slice and immerse those slices in the au jus in the bottom of the pot to gently cook through in the residual heat. That slow heat will keep it tender and bring it up to your desired doneness.

When I worked at a restaurant, they bought whole beef prime ribs, already cooked to rare. They sliced to order and heated it in au jus (which just got better with time) to the desired temperature.

When pressure cooking, the timing isn’t just about weight; it’s also about shape. Thicker roasts will be less rare than smaller ones, even when cooked for the same amount of time. It’s really counter-intuitive – you might expect that a thicker roast would be rarer. After all, it would be if it were cooked in the oven. In reality, in the pressure cooker, different shapes and sizes can mean that the time it takes the cooker to come up to temperature can vary.

This timing and method for Instant Pot Roast will work for a wide range of roasts, though I haven’t made one that was over about 4 1/2″ inches thick. Just follow the instructions in the recipe closely. By the way, if you’ve ever made No Peek Roast, sometimes called Mock Prime Rib, this is the similiar idea.

Make sure to brown well and scrape up all the fond from the pan.

The Roast:

The Rump Roast is a cut from the Bottom Round, found on the rear leg of the cow. That’s a pretty big muscle. You have three options for cooking:

• Braise it, like this Slow Cooker Barbacoa, in a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or in the oven until it is literally falling apart. The drier Rump (or any cut from the Round) is not the first choice, but the juices or gravy save it
• Slice and pound it for recipes like Chicken Fried Steak, Swiss Steak & Beef Roulades. (See my Beef menu.)
• Sear it, roast (or pressure cook) until medium rare. Rare is ok, too, but going to medium or above will give dry, tasteless beef. Sharpen up those knives and slice thinly against the grain.

The Instant Pot turned out a gorgeous, medium-rare roast. In minutes. And there is lots of flavorful, onion-y au jus for dipping and caramelized onions to lay on top of the French Dips. The IP turned this cheap cut into something gorgeous.

If you like this roast, you might also like:

• Panera White Cheddar Steak Paninis: These are my newest crush at Panera. They sound simple, though the flavor is anything but. They are made from this roast.

Copycat Panera Steak and White Cheddar Paninis

• And of course, the French Dip is made from this roast. Instructions are in the recipe.

French Dip Sandwiches made from this roast & the juices

Saving Money:

These roasts were about 6 pounds; I divided the one I used into two. Count on about 6 ounces per person; a little less when refashioning into something like sandwiches. Two &  half pounds = 40 ounces. Divided by 6 ounces, it’s 6 1/2 servings. Three pounds is 8 servings.

That’s enough for a meal and a few leftovers, especially if those meals/leftovers are cost-conscious like my French Dips and Panera Copycats were. Leftovers let you “cost average” the price of this beef over two meals. That’s economizing for the win!

While sales on beef are sometimes sporadic, there are times when you can expect to find some great sales. And FYI, that is generally NOT going to be in the summer. In the summer, a good portion of the less expensive cuts are often used to meet increased demand for ground beef.

• Look for good pricing in the fall, after the cattle go to market. Beef is seasonal, and the fall pricing reflects that.
• Look for these cheaper roasts after holidays, when “fancy” roasts or steaks are featured: in January, after the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays, and February after Valentine’s. They have to do something else with the rest of the beef.

Bottom line: to save money, get yourself a freezer and pay attention to the cycles of sales. Stock up at a low.

30 Minute (total time) Instant Pot Roast Medium Rare

30 Minute (total time) Instant Pot Roast Medium Rare

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• Author: mollie kirby
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: varies
• Category: Main Dish Beef
• Method: Instant Pot

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

I apologize that I call this a 30-minute roast, because I realized after the post was all done and set that you need a few additional minutes to saute & bring up to pressure. So it’s more like a 38-minute roast!

• 1 small rump roast, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
• Montreal Steak Seasoning or another seasoning blend of choice
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 1 cup strong beef broth, au jus, or Consommé, divided; reserve the rest of the can for serving (see note)
• If making French Dip, sturdy rolls

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Rub roast with Montreal Steak seasoning, as little or as much as you’d like.

Add oil to Instant Pot and turn to Saute, High. When hot, add roast and brown on all sides. Remove roast, add broth and scrape any bits off the bottom. Add onions in a pile, do not stir. Add the roast on top, centering it in the middle, right on top of the onions.

Cancel out the Saute function, add lid, seal and turn Instant Pot on to High Pressure, using the Manual function, for 4 minutes. Do not choose (or else cancel out) the Keep Warm function.

When the four minutes of pressure cooking time is up, leave the roast in the pot, and set a timer for 20 minutes. (Most IP’s will not “count up” as they usually do because the keep warm function is not selected, so you will need to manually time.) If there is any remaining pressure after the 20 minutes are up, do a quick release. (Remove the roast immediately when that 20 minute time is up; do not let it sit any longer in the IP.)

Rest for several minutes and carve. If the roast is rarer than you’d like, add the slices back into the hot au jus to gently cook to the desired doneness. Turn the instant pot back on to Saute and choose Low if the au jus needs to be heated.

Serve with au jus. If more au jus is desired, add the remainder of the broth from the can.

Note: I love scratch cooking but there’s no shame in adding what’s needed to get an intense flavor for the au jus. I like to add a little Johnny’s French Dip au Jus. Just a touch, by taste. Any remainder can be divided into ice-cube trays and frozen for the next roast.

French Dip Sandwiches:

• 4 small French Baguettes or 1 large baguette cut into four portions, wrapped in foil and warmed in 300-degree F. oven for about 10 minutes if desired
• 10 to 12 ounces thinly sliced roast beef, above (basically as much or as little as you’d like)
• Cheese, if desired, one to two slices per sandwich. Provolone is great
• Au Jus from the roast

If more au jus is desired, add extra broth to the onions and sauce in the instant pot.

Dip roast beef into warm au jus in Instant Pot. If you’d like your Roast Beef cooked a little more, leave in the au jus until the desired doneness. Lay on sliced French Baguette. Add cheese on top of hot beef if desired. Add onions from the au jus on top of the beef.

Divide au jus among 4 bowls and serve with sandwiches.

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I’ll be posting 30 Minute (total time) Instant Pot Roast Medium Rare at Fiesta Friday 208.