When cooking frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot, there’s no need to worry about thawing it first for recipes.
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We are all aware that the Instant Pot is known for its speedy cooking from frozen foods. It is amazing and oh-so-convenient. I have entire freezer meal plans that you can simply plop a frozen block of food into, or better yet, place in, set the cook time, and walk away from. Like I said, convenient.
On a daily basis, however, it’s when I completely forget to remove a package of ground beef from the freezer and it’s time to make dinner that I most appreciate the Instant Pot’s ability to cook from frozen.
Instead of thawing as quickly as chicken breasts do, a block of ground beef can take up to an hour. Now, instead of altering my dinner plans, I simply add some water and frozen ground beef to the Instant Pot, then walk away while the meat cooks and defrosts, preparing it for use in our pasta sauce, tacos, enchiladas, empanadas, nachos, and other dishes.
How long does it take to cook frozen meat in the Instant Pot?
Depending on the meat, the Instant Pot will take a certain amount of time to cook frozen meat.
I have discovered that it is very simple to adjust the cooking time for frozen meat if you are using the Instant Pot recipe booklet that has a cooking time chart at the back.
Usually frozen meat will take about 1. 5 times as long as fresh meat to cook. For instance, cooking chicken breast at high pressure takes 8 minutes for fresh chicken breast and 12 minutes for frozen chicken breast.
Can you cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot?
Since frozen ground beef doesn’t thaw evenly in the microwave and few people actually remember to take meat out of the freezer the day before to thaw, the Instant Pot makes it possible to cook frozen ground beef.
Not me, that’s for sure.
It takes around 20 minutes to cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot. If your ground beef blocks are particularly thick, it will probably take a little longer.
I freeze my ground beef in flat, 1-1. The Instant Pot needs 20 minutes to cook 5 inch thick blocks almost completely.
You can cook it through for a few more minutes, but I find that if it’s still a little pink in the middle, it’s easier to crumble and break up.
After the pressure cooking cycle is finished, breaking it up and finishing the cooking only takes a few minutes with the saute function.
How to make Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef:
- Your frozen ground beef blocks’ size and shape will affect how long it takes to cook them in the Instant Pot. Blocks that are 1-1. 5 inches thick will take about 20 minutes. If they are 2-3 inches thick, extend the cook time by 3-5 minutes.
- With this recipe, your ground beef will be nearly cooked through. Before continuing with your recipe, complete the saute function and break up the beef block.
- After pressure cooking, the Instant Pot liquid will contain beef fat, so be careful not to pour it down the drain. The fat will solidify after being chilled for a few hours, making it simple to remove and discard.
Here are some great recipes to use your cooked ground beef in:
Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef
When you forget to thaw your frozen ground beef, the Instant Pot comes in so handy and makes dinner so much easier!
- 1 pound frozen ground beef
- 1-1 1/2 cups water
- One cup of water for a 6 quart Instant Pot and one and a half cups for an 8 quart Instant Pot should be added to the inner pot after removing the Instant Pot’s lid.
- Place the trivet atop the water; it should be barely visible above the water’s surface.
- On top of the trivet, place a one-pound piece of frozen ground beef.
- Place the Instant Pot’s lid on top and lock it in place. The valve should be adjusted so that it is in the sealing position.
- Press the pressure cook button and set the timer for 20 minutes (or 20 minutes of manual high pressure). About 10 minutes will pass before the Instant Pot reaches pressure, at which point the timer will begin to run.
- Move the valve to the venting position to quickly release the pressure after the pressure cooking period has ended. When all the pressure is released, remove the lid.
- Remove the trivet and throw away the Instant Pot’s liquid, leaving the ground beef at the bottom.
- The beef will be nearly cooked, with a small amount of pink still present in the middle. The beef should be cooked in the Instant Pot using the saute setting while being stirred and broken up until it is thoroughly browned and crumbled. This will only take about a minute.
- Continue with any recipe that calls for browned ground beef.
I press my ground beef flat so that it is an even 1 inch thick before freezing it in 1 pound portions. 5 inches. The beef that has been frozen in this manner is nearly fully cooked after 20 minutes of pressure cooking, with a small amount of pink still present in the middle that can be easily finished with the Instant Pot’s saute button. Beyond this point, I don’t like to cook it because it gets tough to crumble and break apart.
If the slab of 2-2 frozen ground beef is particularly thick, 5 inches instead, I would advise extending the pressure cooking time by 3 to 4 minutes. Otherwise, the meat will be quite raw in the middle and require additional sautéing time to complete the browning.
If you prefer, you can cook two pounds of ground beef in the same manner; just place them on the trivet side by side (or slightly stacked if they don’t fit side by side). The pressure cooking time will not change.
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Based on the ingredients used, nutrition information is estimated and may not be exact.
Hello, my name is Stacey, and I share easy, family-friendly recipes that anyone can prepare.
BEST HACK EVER: Cooking Frozen Meat in the Instant Pot
FAQ
How long do you cook frozen meat in the Instant Pot?
Well, as a reminder, frozen meats will take 50% longer to cook than thawed A thawed roast, for instance, needs to be cooked under pressure for 15 to 20 minutes per pound. , whereas a frozen roast needs to be pressure-cooked for 22–30 minutes per lb.
Can you cook beef from frozen in the Instant Pot?
Since frozen ground beef doesn’t thaw evenly in the microwave and few people actually remember to remove meat from the freezer the day before, using the Instant Pot to cook frozen ground beef is fantastic. It takes around 20 minutes to cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot.
How long to cook 3 lb frozen roast in Instant Pot?
Put the pressure cooker’s frozen beef roast, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder inside. Add beef stock all around the roast, then sprinkle horseradish on top. Instead of 20 minutes per pound, cook at high pressure for 30 minutes. ) For a 3-pound roast that would be 90 minutes.
How long does it take to pressure cook frozen beef?
Place the frozen beef on the trivet and cover it to cook it. For one pound of beef, cook at HIGH pressure for about 20 minutes; for two pounds, cook at HIGH pressure for 23 minutes. After that, followed by 5 minutes natural pressure release. Next, do a quick pressure release for the remaining pressure.