Instant Pot Ground Beef (Frozen and Thawed) – a kitchen hack everyone needs to know!!!
Easy Instant Pot Ground Beef
This recipe for Instant Pot ground beef will be a life-saver!!!
So it’s dinner time and you realize you forgot to take out your hamburger for dinner and you find yourself thinking …..
Can you cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot®
YES!! It is one of my favorite things about my Instant Pot®. actually! It could not be easier! I put the step-by-step directions in the recipe card below!
Thawing frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot®
If you read the recipe card you will see in the Notes I added a little explanation regarding thawing vs. cooking. The recipe provides instructions for cooking frozen hamburger (I also included instructions for fresh hamburger), but if you are really looking to speed up the process you can very easily just thaw your frozen hamburger and then quickly finish sautéing it in the Instant Pot® too!
How to thaw ground beef in an Instant Pot:
After you have added your liquid, place your frozen ground beef on top of your trivet (don’t for get to try and pierce the frozen ground beef with a knife to help allow it to vent so the inside meat cooks better).
After the cooking time is up, place your 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.
Note: if you merely want to THAW your ground beef – see the recipe note! You don’t need to cook it nearly as long in the Instant Pot and then you can finish cooking your ground beef however you need or want to!
Very similar instructions if you just want to cook your fresh ground beef in the Instant Pot – just a reduced cooking time!
It’s SO easy – isn’t it! This one is going to come in handy – save and share!!
Quick ground beef recommendation:
If you are looking for a great place to stock up on high quality ground beef, I highly recommend Butcher Box (a service that delivers 100% Grass-Fed and Grass-Finished Beef, Heritage Breed Pork, Free-Range Organic Chicken and Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon). All of their meat, including their ground beef, is absolutely amazing. Click here for $20 off your first order + free bacon!
Other easy Instant Pot recipes:
- How to cook a whole head of cauliflower in the Instant Pot
- How to cook spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
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Instant Pot Ground Beef (Frozen and Fresh)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1lb hamburger 1x
- Category: Hamburger
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Description
How to cook hamburger in the Instant Pot (either frozen or thawed)! Meant for a 6qt. Instant Pot Duo.
Instructions
Frozen:
- To the extent possible, try and pierce the frozen hamburger with a knife, as far into the center.
- Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.
- 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 pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Carefully remove hamburger from Instant Pot and place on plate.
- Cut into the hamburger to see if it fully cooked through.
- If not (which is possible), 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.
Fresh:
- Pierce the hamburger with a knife or use your hands to make a little hole in the middle in order to help the hamburger to cook all the way through.
- Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.
- Place hamburger 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.
- Carefully remove hamburger from Instant Pot and place on plate.
- Cut into the hamburger to see if it fully cooked through.
- If not (which is possible), 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
- If you simply just want to thaw your hamburger, cooking on High Pressure for 25 minutes and then manually releasing pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions would be just fine. At that point, simply place hamburger on plate and pour out remaining liquid and remove the trivet. Place hamburger back in Instant Pot on the Sauté setting and continue cooking until fully cooked.
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!!! 🙂