Read on for tips on how to use this Instant Pot Ground Beef as well as instructions on how to pressure cook frozen ground beef!
From Frozen to Cooked
I have made this mistake more times than I care to admit. If you go to prepare dinner and realize you have forgotten to thaw out your ground beef, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
As you most likely know, it is NOT safe to thaw meat out at room temperature, but what about safely cooking ground beef from frozen in an instant pot?
It works like MAGIC!
The Instant Pot can easily cook frozen ground meat in the same way that it can cook frozen chicken breast and pot roast.
How to Pressure Cook Frozen Ground Beef
- Fill the inner pot’s bottom with cold tap water. For a 3 or 6-quart instant pot, use 1 cup, and 1 5 cups for an 8-quart model. then put inside the inner pot on a metal trivet or rack.
- Place your trivet on top of the frozen ground beef, then close the vent and seal the pot. Make sure the frozen meat is free of any plastic, Styrofoam, or other packaging. Alternatively, until you can remove the packaging, run under cold water.
- Place the lid on the inner pot and seal. For a slab of frozen meat that is an inch thick, set the pressure cooker to high and cook it for 20 minutes.
- After the cooking time is up, wait for the pressure to naturally release for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature; it must be at least 160 degrees. If not, seal once more and cook for an additional two to three minutes. To troubleshoot the issue of why your meat would take longer to cook, see my notes at the end of the article.
- Carefully take the meat out of the pressure cooker and put it in a sizable mixing bowl.
- Throw away the beef’s cooking water and drained fat.
- Break up the ground beef with a spatula and proceed with any recipe that calls for browned or cooked ground beef.
How To Pressure Cook Fresh Ground Beef
When preparing fresh ground beef in your pressure cooker, you have two choices. For a hands-off method of cooking ground meat, you can choose to steam the beef or use the saute function.
Option 1: Saute the Meat
The Instant Pot’s saute function is very similar to stovetop browning of the meat.
- On the Instant Pot, select the saute option, then select Adjust to return the heat to its regular setting.
- Let the Instant Pot heat for 2-3 minutes. Some models indicate Hot when heated, while others do not, but after a short while, you can start sautéing the meat.
- Add a few teaspoons of oil and allow it to heat for one minute.
- As the ground meat browns, add it to the cooking process and stir occasionally.
- Turn the Instant Pot OFF once the ground beef is thoroughly cooked, which takes about 6-7 minutes.
- Drain off any excess grease and then use as desired. This is excellent for instant pot recipes for Beef Stroganoff, Chili, and Hamburger Helper.
The method is great if you are using it to start another recipe that you will finish in your Instant Pot. However, it seems silly to get out your pressure cooker if you are just sautéing your meat (you can do that on the stove).
Option 2: Steam the Meat
- Fill the inner pot’s bottom with cold tap water. For a 3 or 6-quart instant pot, use 1 cup, and 1 5 cups for an 8-quart model. then put inside the inner pot on a metal trivet or rack.
- 1-2 pounds of ground beef should be placed on your trivet. Close the vent knob and seal the appliance. To ensure even cooking, form your meat into a thick patty or brick. Just the way meat comes in the Styrofoam tray.
- Set to high pressure and cook for 6 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release for 5 to 10 minutes after the cook time has ended before performing a quick release of any remaining pressure.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature; it should be at least 160 degrees. If not, seal once more and cook for an additional two to three minutes. To troubleshoot the issue of why your meat would take longer to cook, see my notes at the end of the article.
- When the meat is finished cooking, carefully remove it from the instant pot, chop it up, and use it as you would for any recipe calling for ground beef.
- Remove liquid (and beef fat that has drained) from your Instant Pot base.
FAQs on Instant Pot Ground Meat
The cooking times would remain the same and this would work perfectly for any ground meat, including pork, chicken, or turkey.
HA! I wondered that too. And for a while I hesitated to run my test for fear that I would be wasting ground beef. But let me assure you that the texture of the ground beef cooked in this manner is fantastic. It is not at all mealy, mushy, or watery; it is soft but still firm. Nothing in the meat is crispy or overcooked; everything is cooked to perfection.
Tastes delicious, with no difference in taste.
Yes, that moisture does indeed allow your instant pot’s pressure to rise.
Yes, the trivet accomplishes three tasks: it prevents the meat from becoming watery or scorching, and it allows the fat to drip off the meat as it cooks.
Yes, but for even flavoring, I think it is best to season the ground beef after it has been broken up and pressure cooked.
Troubleshooting and Timing for Instant Pot Ground Beef
- I tested this recipe using ground beef that was frozen in 34 to 1-inch blocks (not tubes) that weighed 1 and 2 pounds each. You must extend the cooking time if you plan to prepare meat from a frozen tube. I would start by increasing the time to 25 minutes.
- More than 3 to 4 pounds of frozen meat shouldn’t be cooked at once, in my opinion. As a result of overcrowding, your Instant Pot would take a very long time to reach pressure. This is not only time-consuming, but it might also be dangerous if you have frozen meat sitting around for a long time before cooking.
- For frozen meat, extend the cooking time by 5 minutes per pound for 3–4 pounds of meat.
- Before cooking, make sure to completely remove all packaging from frozen meat; you don’t want any wax, paper, or lining on the meat.
- This recipe for frozen ground beef in the instant pot has never taken more than 11 minutes to reach pressure in any of my tests. The average time was 7 minutes.
- Pro-Tip: To ensure even cooking in the instant pot, freeze your meat in 1-inch thick slabs.
Recipes using Ground Beef
Please leave a comment and star rating below if this Instant Pot method for cooking frozen ground beef saved your dinner.
Instant Pot Ground Beef
- ▢ 1-2 pounds ground meat beef, turkey, chicken, or pork
- For a 3 or 6-quart instant pot, cover the bottom with 1 cup of cold water, and 1 5 cups of cold water for an 8-quart instant pot. Frozen or fresh ground meat should be placed directly on the trivet after adding it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.
- Turn the valve to seal the pressure cooker’s lid.
- If frozen, set the high pressure cooker for 20 minutes; if fresh, for 6 minutes.
- When you’re done cooking, do a quick release of any remaining pressure after letting the pressure naturally release for 5 to 10 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature; it should be between 160 and 165 degrees. If not, seal once more and cook for an additional two to three minutes.
- Carefully remove trivet from Instant Pot. Use a spatula to break up the ground beef into the desired size after discarding the cooking liquid and grease. Use as desired.
- To ensure that the meat cooks evenly, this method works best when the meat is enclosed in a 34 to 1-inch thick brick.
- Cook the meat on high pressure for 25 minutes if it is frozen in tube form. Once the meat has finished cooking, check the interior to ensure that it has reached a temperature of 160 degrees.
- More than 3 to 4 pounds of frozen meat shouldn’t be cooked at once, in my opinion. As a result of overcrowding, your Instant Pot would take a very long time to reach pressure. This is not only time-consuming, but it might also be dangerous if you have frozen meat sitting around for a long time before cooking.
- Before cooking, make sure to completely remove all packaging from frozen meat; you don’t want any wax, paper, or lining on the meat.
- Pro-Tip: To ensure even cooking in the instant pot, freeze your meat in slabs that are one inch thick.
- 20 minutes to cook at high pressure; 5 minutes to release the pressure
How to Cook Ground Beef in the Instant Pot – Perfect for Beginners!
FAQ
How do you brown meat in an Instant Pot?
It’s true that the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker can brown meat quite well. The “Sauté More Function” in the Instant Pot was used to brown this chuck roast. The flavorful brown bits at the bottom of the pot are there for a reason.
Can you brown beef in a pressure cooker?
The electric pressure cookers from Instant Pot are great for browning meat and sautéing vegetables. Consumer research revealed that you’ll almost certainly always use the lowest setting for sautéing vegetables and the normal setting for browning the majority of meats.