Instant Pot Spicy Thai Basil Beef
Quickly cooked ground beef infused with aromatic Thai basil and a spicy, savory sauce, made easy in the Instant Pot. This Thai-inspired beef recipe, ready in about 25 minutes, pairs ground beef, vegetable oil, garlic cloves for a weeknight-friendly dinner that comes together with one pan and minimal cleanup. Each serving lands at about 420 calories and feeds 4, so it slots cleanly into a weekly meal plan and pairs well with a quick salad or grain on the side. Tap "Plan a meal with the AI" below to drop this recipe into your week and send the ingredients straight to Instacart. Nutrition values are approximate, calculated from USDA FoodData Central (fdc.nal.usda.gov) — verify against ingredient labels for any health-driven dietary plan.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4, minced garlic cloves
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup, loosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves
- 2, sliced diagonally green onions
- for serving steamed jasmine rice
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Equipment for this recipe
Tools this recipe's steps call for, with a link to each on Amazon.
Instructions
- Step 1: Set the Instant Pot to 'Sauté' mode and heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Add 4 minced garlic cloves and 1 tsp red chili flakes, sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Step 2: Add 1 lb ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon. Cook for 5 minutes until browned and no pink remains.
- Step 3: Stir in 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water. Mix well to combine.
- Step 4: Seal the Instant Pot lid and set to 'Manual' high pressure for 5 minutes. When done, perform a quick release.
- Step 5: Open the lid and stir in 1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves and 2 sliced green onions until wilted and fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Step 6: Serve immediately over steamed jasmine rice.







