Instant Pot Birria Ramen
DISCLAIMER: I am not Mexican, nor have I have never had authentic Birria tacos. I just saw a video on Tik Tok and thought it looked delicious, so I made it.
I also don’t measure as I cook, so these measurements are my best guess. Adjust things to your liking!
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, just throw everything in a crock pot for 8 hours instead.
Ingredients
BEEF
Ramen Noodles
1L Beef Broth
2 Onions
2 Red Peppers
3 Carrots
1 Head of Garlic (6-8+ Cloves)
1/2 Can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
3 Tbs Tomato Paste
1 Large Can Tomatoes
1 Bunch of Cilantro
1/4 Cup Vinegar
A couple Shakes of Hot Sauce (I used Valentinas)
Some Olive Oil
Lime
Pickled Jalapenos (for Garnish, Optional)
Mozza Cheese (sub for Monteray Jack, oaxaca, cotija...)
Seasonings: Salt, Pepper, 1 Bay Leaf, Onion Powder, Paprika, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Garlic Plus, Taco Seasoning, Seasoning Salt, Tajin
~500 Calories Per Serving
6 Servings
30min Prep
60min Cook
90min Total
Tools Needed
Instant Pot or a Crock Pot or a Big Pot
A Blender
A Cutting Board
A couple of large bowls
A Sharp Knife
A Large Strainer
Some Patience
Ingredients Notes
The Beef: I used lean stewing beef chunks from Costco (because I was trying to make it healthy), however, it’d taste a lot better and be more authentic with a short rib or a fattier cut of beef.
Ramen Noodles: I used a $0.25 pack of Mr. Noodles for my recipe, but you could use higher quality noodles. The cheaper ones were lower calorie and … cheaper
Beef Broth: I used water and Better than Bouillon Beef Base, but you could buy the carton.
Garlic: the jar of garlic works totally fine if you want to minimize the chopping.
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce: I prepped these by taking out all of the seeds in the peppers and dicing them small. If you wanted, I believe you can just buy the sauce instead which works totally fine. If you love spice, you can keep the seeds in – but this is your fair warning to take them out.
Tomato Paste: I subbed for some Hungarian Pepper Paste instead and I loved it. However, unless you have a Hungarian Nagymama I would imagine you will just use tomato paste.
Tomatoes: I believe fresh tomatoes are the authentic way, but I used a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Use whatever you want though, they get blended up anyways.
Cilantro: if you are a cilantro hater, you could probably sub for some parsley or just omit it.
How to Cook the Thing
1. Chop up the following ingredients and set them aside: 1 of your onions, red peppers, carrots, garlic. No need to chop these up fancy, they’re going to get blended up eventually anyways.
2. Thaw your beef and cut it into chunks (if you didn’t buy beef already cut up).
3. Brown your beef – this is technically optional, but it’s going to taste way better if you do it. I use the Sautee settings on the instant pot, but you can also just use a pan. You’ll do this until each side of the beef is brown and has a nice crust. If you’re doing this, this is where you use your olive oil.
4. Remove the beef and set it aside.
5. With your instant pot still on Sautee, add in the veggies you chopped in step 1 (1 of your onion, red peppers, carrots). Cook these for a couple of minutes until they are softened and a bit browned. Then, add in your tomato paste and cook a couple of mins. Then, add in your Chipotle Peppers in Adobo and your Garlic (garlic burns and tastes bad, so it doesn’t cook as long). Cook for a couple of minutes. Add in all of your seasonings. Then, add in your beef stock, vinegar and hot sauce. Cook for around 5 mins or so, make sure you stir and nothing is burning.
The goal with #5 is to cook things until they are soft, have a bit of color on them, and are ready to blend!
6. Remove the contents of the pot from step 5 (NOT the beef, this is still off to the side), and put in your blender. You’ll have to do this in batches. Blend the contents until smooth, and put the new smooth sauce mixture in a separate bowl. Repeat the process until everything is blended (again, DON’T BLEND YOUR BEEF!!).
7. Add back your smooth sauce and your beef to the instant pot. Set the instant pot to Meat/Stew setting for 47 minutes and let it cook.
8. While that’s cooking, take a seat for a few minutes and rest your feet. The hardest part is over.
9. Prep your garnishes for when the instant pot is done. This would be shredding your cheese, chopping your cilantro, and nicely dicing one of your onions. Set all of these to the side.
10. Cook up your Ramen Noodles and place them to the side.
11. Once the Instant pot is done, remove all of your beef and shred it in a separate bowl. Then set this aside.
12. Take the leftover sauce and run it through a strainer into another bowl. This will make it into a broth instead of a chunky sauce. It’s a bit time consuming, but worth it.
13. Then, we’re ready to assemble! Add your noodles to a bowl, then some shredded beef, cheese, onion, cilantro and a lime wedge. Pour your broth over everything and serve up with a fork and a spoon!