Our quick and easy Instant Pot Ground Beef is a kitchen hack everyone needs to know! Whether you have fresh, thawed beef or frozen beef, you can have it perfectly brown in a matter of minutes. Perfect for adding to busy weeknight dinners!
Easy Instant Pot Ground Beef
This cooking process for Instant Pot ground beef will be a life-saver! So it’s dinner time and you realize you forgot to take out your ground beef for dinner, what do you do? Simply pull out your Instant Pot and let it get to work. It will take a little time for it to come up to pressure, but once it does it will fully brown your ground beef in around 30 minutes or less. Absolutely love this hands off help!
Looking for Meals to Make with Ground Beef?
You definitely need to try our Ground Beef Taco Bowls or some simple Ground Beef Tacos!
What You Will Need
- ground beef – find your favorite high-quality ground beef at your local grocery store or butcher shop.
- water – using an Instant Pot always requires at least 1 cup of liquid.
How To Make Instant Pot Ground Beef – Frozen
The first steps are to pour a cup of water in the Instant Pot and place the trivet in the bottom. Try to pierce the middle of the ground beef with a knife, it is frozen and may not be possible (which is fine), but it does help. Now place the frozen ground beef on top of the trivet.
Seal the lid on top of the Instant Pot and cook on the high setting for 35 minutes.
After the cooking time is up, place the ground beef on a plate and cut into it to see if it cooked all the way through. If it didn’t, which happens, simply finish cooking on the sauté setting.
Can I Just Thaw Ground Beef in the Instant Pot?
If you read the recipe card below, you will see in the Notes section that I added a little explanation regarding thawing vs. cooking. If you just need to thaw ground beef (instead of cooking), you can very easily do that in your Instant Pot on the high setting for 25 minutes. Then quickly finish breaking apart and browning the beef on the sauté function!
How To Make Instant Pot Ground Beef – Fresh or Thawed
The first steps are to pour a cup of water in the Instant Pot and place the trivet in the bottom. Put the ground beef on top of the trivet and secure the lid on top. Cook on the high setting for 10 minutes and then release the pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Now place the cooked beef on a plate and check to make sure it is fully cooked in the middle. If it isn’t quite done, feel free to remove the trivet and liquid from the Instant Pot and finish cooking the beef using the sauté function.
Best Ways To Use Instant Pot Ground Beef
A pound of perfectly browned ground beef can be used in so many different ways! A few of our favorite recipes to make are a Ground Beef Taco Bowl, Creamy Taco Soup, or Healthy Taco Salad. Feel free toss it in a spaghetti sauce or any other favorite recipe!
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Other Instant Pot Recipes You Might Like
Instant Pot Ground Beef (Frozen and Fresh)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 pound 1x
- Category: How-To
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make dinner prep even easier by learning how to make Instant Pot Ground Beef, frozen or thawed, in a matter of minutes!
Ingredients
- 1–2 pounds of ground beef – fresh or frozen
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Frozen Ground Beef:
- Prep: If able, try to pierce the frozen hamburger with a knife into the center. Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.
- Cook: Place hamburger on top of the trivet and close the Instant Pot, ensuring it is set to Seal. Cook on High Pressure for 35 minutes (see Notes). When it is done cooking, naturally release the pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Check: Carefully remove hamburger from Instant Pot and place on plate. Cut into the hamburger to see if it fully cooked through.
- Optional Sauté: If it isn’t quite done, simply remove trivet and pour out remaining liquid in Instant Pot and set to Sauté. Place ground beef back in the Instant Pot (without the trivet) and sauté for a few minutes until fully cooked, seasoning as desired with salt and pepper.
Fresh or Thawed Ground Beef:
- Prep: Pierce the hamburger with a knife or use your hands to make a little hole in the middle to help the hamburger cook all the way through. Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.
- Cook: Place ground beef on top of the trivet and close the Instant Pot, ensuring it is set to Seal. Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes. When it is done cooking, manually release pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Check: Carefully remove hamburger from Instant Pot and place on plate. Cut into the hamburger to see if it fully cooked through.
- Optional Sauté: If it isn’t quite done, simply remove trivet and pour out remaining liquid in Instant Pot and set to Sauté. Place hamburger back into the Instant Pot (without the trivet) and sauté for a few minutes until fully cooked, seasoning as desired with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Thawing Ground Beef: If you just want to thaw, cook the frozen beef on High Pressure for 25 minutes and then manually releasing pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Storage: Once ground beef is fully cooked, it can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
phil cox says
Hi Erin –
To save a finger or palm when attempting to stab a brick of frozen meat; use a large nail & tap it in a few times with a hammer :0…lots easier & safer!
Erin says
Such a great tip, Phil!! Thanks!!! 🙂