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We shared our recipe for the Absolute Best Prime Rib last year, and this year we are speeding up the process and showing you how to cook Instant Pot Prime Rib in less than 45 minutes!
The holidays are busy and can be stressful, especially when it come to preparing food. Time is crucial…time with the family, time with friends. You don’t want to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. This Instant Pot Prime Rib solves that problem!

Table of Contents
- How to Make Prime Rib in an Instant Pot?
- What Should I Eat with Prime Rib?
- What Does An Instant Pot Do?
- What Is The Difference Between An Instant Pot And A Pressure Cooker?
- Should Cooked Prime Rib Be Pink?
- Is Prime Rib an Expensive Cut of Beef?
- Is There Another Name for Prime Rib?
- How Many Pounds of Prime Rib for 8 People?
- If You’re Looking for More HOLIDAY RECIPES, try these:
- Watch This Video Tutorial…
- Instant Pot Prime Rib Recipe
If you want a fancy, impressive dinner in a hurry or you need to free up oven space for your holiday baking, cook up a melt-in-your-mouth prime rib in under an hour all in the Instant Pot!
How to Make Prime Rib in an Instant Pot?
Prime rib doesn’t need to be intimidating! We are going to walk you through every step. We also have a video in our Absolute Best Prime Rib post if you need to see any of the steps. Let’s get started by prepping the prime rib:
Prep the Prime Rib
Most of your success in cooking a prime rib is going to come in your prep work. The first step is to cut slits in the outer fat layer with a very sharp knife. The slits should be about 1 inch apart in a criss-cross pattern. Just be sure to not cut into the meat.
Slice down through the meat on the opposite side of the of prime rib close to the ribs and remove them from the meat and discard. Rub Kosher salt all over the roast especially in the slits you created. Place the meat on a plate store it in the refrigerator uncovered for at least 24 hours and up to 96 hours.
Remove the prime rib from the refrigerator about 2-3 hours before you’re ready to start cooking it. You want it to be close to room temperature. Set out the butter at the same time so it has time to soften.

Cook the Prime Rib
Turn your Instant Pot on and set it to “more saute”. Drizzle some oil into the pot and brown each side of the prime rib. Remove the meat and turn the Instant Pot off. Add the beef broth into the Instant Pot and place a trivet in the pot. Mix the butter and garlic together in a bowl, season the prime rib with pepper, and then rub it with the garlic butter.
Place the prime rib onto the trivet and put the lid on your Instant Pot. Cook it at high pressure for 8 minutes and then don’t touch the pressure valve for 35 minutes. The Instant Pot will automatically switch over to warm and the meat will continue to cook. Head down to our FAQ section for more info on cooking in an Instant Pot and all things prime rib!
After the 35 minutes, there shouldn’t be anymore pressure left, but release the valve just in case. Then remove the lid and pull the prime rib out. Heat a skillet on the stove to medium high heat and drizzle a little oil in. Brown each side of the meat so you get a nice crispiness on the outside. You can also do this in the broiler if you prefer. Reserve all the drippings that come off the roast.

Rest and Slice
After you have browned each side of the roast, place it on a cutting board and cover it with some foil. Make the gravy (see following section) from the reserved drippings while the meat rests. Cut the meat into 3/4 inch slices and season with coarse salt. Serve with the gravy. Enjoy!
Gravy

What Should I Eat with Prime Rib?
Some sort of potatoes is a must for me with prime rib. Whether it’s our best mashed potatoes, our steakhouse smashed potatoes or a delicious baked potatoes, I have to have potatoes!! And you all know I never say no to bread…no way! Our easy herb focaccia bread is awesome or just a simple dinner roll is magic! We should probably have a vegetable or two as well, so I like to do some roasted garlic vegetables or lemon pepper asparagus as well.
[faq]
What Does An Instant Pot Do?
An Instant Pot is a multi-cooker that does the job of several of your kitchen appliances all in one machine. It can be a slow cooker, an electric pressure cooker, a rice cooker, a steamer, a yogurt maker, a sauté pan, or a warming pot. In this case we use it as a sauté pan, a pressure cooker and a warming pot. They are pretty dang awesome! There’s a link in the recipe card to the style of Instant Pot that we have.
What Is The Difference Between An Instant Pot And A Pressure Cooker?
An Instant Pot and a pressure cooker can do similar things, but there are a few important differences. An Instant Pot uses electricity as it’s heat source rather than a gas or electric stove. Instant Pots are also programmable, so you can set them how long you want them to cook and when you want them to turn on and off. The other big difference is the 6 other functions of an Instant Pot mentioned above. Both and Instant Pot and a pressure cooker cook food at an extremely high pressure which reduces the amount of time needed to cook.
Should Cooked Prime Rib Be Pink?
Prime rib is best cooked to rare or medium rare. It should never be cooked past medium (140°F) because all the fat will melt out and the meat will be left tough and chewy. So yes, it will be a little pink. As long as it has reached temperature (130°F), it is perfectly safe to eat.
Is Prime Rib an Expensive Cut of Beef?
Yes, prime rib is an expensive cut of meat, and for good reason. It is fabulous! It has loads of marbling which results in more flavor. A full prime rib is cut from the 6th through 12th ribs of the cow, so seven ribs in total, meaning you are getting quite a lot of meat and bones. It takes some extra work for a butcher to get it, making it more expensive.
Is There Another Name for Prime Rib?
Prime rib is also sometimes called standing rib roast. Different people call them different things. We mentioned a full prime rib is 7 ribs. A standing rib roast may contain anywhere from two to seven ribs, just depending on what you buy.
How Many Pounds of Prime Rib for 8 People?
Trying to decide how much meat people are going to eat is so hard! As a general rule for prime rib, I go with about 1 pound per adult. So for 8 adults, a 4-bone prime rib should be plenty. If you’re going to feed 20 adults, you’re going to want an 8 to 10 bone prime rib.
[/faq]

If you want to see all our tips and tricks for cooking all the basics in the Instant Pot, download our free Instant Pot Cheat Sheet!
Juicy, tender prime rib all done in under an hour! Seems unbelievable, right? Try this Instant Pot Prime Rib and see for yourself! Your holiday guests are going to think you were in the kitchen all day preparing it!
If You’re Looking for More HOLIDAY RECIPES, try these:
- Award Winning Instant Pot Turkey
- Cade’s Bananas Foster French Toast
- Orange Cinnamon Butterflake Rolls
- Instant Pot Blueberry French Toast Bake 3 Ways
- Candied Pecan Brussel Sprouts
- Mom’s Sticky Buns
- The Best Potato Rolls
- World’s Best Brown Sugar Ham
- Southern Macaroni and Cheese
Watch This Video Tutorial…

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I haven’t tried this yet but planning on it really soon. I do have a question. We live at almost 5000 ft. I know on other things we have to ad time do to the altitude because water boils at a lower temperature. Has anyone made this at high altitudes.
Hi Crystal! We are at 4500 ft elevation and this is how we make it, so you should be good to keep the recipe the same!
Cook longer than 8 minutes. After 40 minutes on warm my prime rib was only 110*. Just about wasted a $80 piece of meat.
Hi Keola! This recipe can be tricky because it needs to cook to temperature and that will be slightly different depending on the size and fat marbling in the meat. You did the right thing. If it’s not to temp, then it needs to cook longer.
If I cook it with the bones it does it affect the cooking time at all. Do I need to cook it longer to get a nice medium-rare?
No, it shouldn’t change the cooking time. Enjoy!
Help….ASAP. 12/24/2021
Family wants me to cook in the Instant Pot a 11.25 lbs (with Ribs) Prime Rib Roast for tomorrow Xmas dinner.
How many MINUTES and either LOW, NORMAL or MORE TEMP?
I’M using an Oval 10 quart Pressure Cooker that fits perfectly.
Hi Donna! I’m so sorry for the late reply. I didn’t hop online Christmas Eve or day. So I’m probably way too late, but I’ve never done a prime rib that big in the Instant Pot. Did it turn out ok?
I want to use the air fry lid to broil the prime rib. How long do I set the timer for?
I haven’t tried using an air fryer for this so unfortunately, I can’t say for sure.
Can you use the air fryer lid instead of broil (turn halfway) to make it a one pot sort of dish. (We don’t have a oven roasting rack)
I have never tried them in an air fryer, but I don’t see why not! Enjoy!
Follow-up on the lid. It worked nicely. I was nervous to turn it, so I just left it on the trivet. There’s a broil function on the fryer lid so I just tried that default setting (400 degrees for 4 minutes). It was a preset that you could adjust.
Awesome! Thank you so much for getting back to us on how it worked out!
Can I leave the bones in, or will that affect cook time and texture?
Thanks! Excited to try this recipe tonight. 🙂
Yes, you can definitely leave the bones in. That’s what I did for the longest time, but then decided to try it without the bones and preferred it that way. Enjoy!!
Can you leave the roast “uncovered” in the fridge for 24 hours? Isn’t the meat going to go bad?
Nope, it won’t go bad in the fridge. Leaving it uncovered will help it dry out it will cook perfectly and the outside will get nice and crusty delicious! Just make sure it doesn’t come in contact other things in your fridge. Enjoy!
I had a 4.5lbs prime rib and set it for 8 minutes. Left it for 35 minutes on warm and it was at 100°. Threw it in the oven for another 20. Definitely needs more than 8 minutes.
Hi Bree! This recipe can be tricky because it needs to cook to temperature and that will be slightly different depending on the size and fat marbling in the meat. You did the right thing. If it’s not to temp, then it needs to cook longer.
What size Instant Pot are you using for this recipe?
Hi Andrew! We have a 6qt Instant Pot.
Any suggestion on reheating in an instant pot?
I know it can be down on keep warm, or steam. But with steam it can change the flavor or consistency a bit. I haven’t done it, but let me know if you try it!
Tasty, but pretty much raw. Put it in the oven to get to medium rare.
It does turn out more pink when it is done in the Instant Pot for some reason. But as long as it has an internal temperature of 130 degrees it is safe to eat and should be cooked to over 140 degrees.