Make perfectly cooked Instant Pot Ground Beef using fresh or frozen ground meat!
Forget to thaw out your ground beef to make Taco Meat, Homemade Sloppy Joes, or Instant Pot Hamburger Helper? No worries! Use the Instant Pot to cook up any type of frozen ground meat and get dinner on the table quickly!
From Frozen to Cooked
If you go to make dinner and realize you have forgotten to thaw out your ground beef--YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I have done this more times than I care to admit.
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!
Just like the Instant Pot can cook frozen chicken breast, and frozen pot roast, The Instant Pot can be used to cook frozen ground meat effortlessly.
How to Pressure Cook Frozen Ground Beef
- Pour cold tap water into the bottom of the inner pot. Use 1 cup for a 3 or 6-quart instant pot and 1.5 cups for an 8-quart model. Then place in a metal trivet or rack inside the inner pot.
- Place the frozen ground beef on your trivet, and seal the instant pot closed with the vent closed. Be sure all plastic, styrofoam, or any other packaging is completely removed from the frozen meat. If not, run under cold water until you can remove the packaging.
- Place the lid on the inner pot and seal. Set to high pressure and cook for 20 minutes for a 1-inch thick slab of frozen meat.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Check the temperature with a meat thermometer--it should be at least 160 degrees. If it is not, seal again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. *See my notes at end of the post to troubleshoot why your meat would need longer to cook.
- Carefully remove the meat from the instant pot and place it in a large mixing bowl.
- Discard the cooking liquid and fat that drained off the beef.
- Use a spatula to break up the ground meat and use it just as you would for any recipe calling for browned or cooked ground beef.
How To Pressure Cook Fresh Ground Beef
You have two options when cooking fresh ground beef in your pressure cooker. You can opt to saute the meat using the saute function or you steam the beef for a hands-off method for cooking ground meat.
Option 1: Saute the Meat
Using the saute function on the Instant Pot is nearly the same as browning the meat on the stove.
- Hit the saute function on the Instant Pot and then hit Adjust to change the heat to normal heat.
- Let the Instant Pot heat for 2-3 minutes. Some models display Hot once heated, some do not, but after a few minutes of time, you can begin to saute the meat.
- Add in a couple of teaspoons of oil and let the oil heat for 1 minute.
- Add the ground meat, and allow to cook, breaking the meat up into small pieces as it browns.
- Once the ground beef is cooked thoroughly, which takes about 6-7 minutes, turn the Instant Pot OFF.
- Drain off any excess grease and then use as desired. This works great for recipes like Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff, Instant Pot Chili, or Instant Pot Hamburger Helper.
A note to this method--it seems silly to get out your pressure cooker if you are just sauteing your meat (you can do that on the stove), but if you are using it to start another recipe you will finish in your Instant Pot, it is a great method to use!)
Option 2: Steam the Meat
- Pour cold tap water into the bottom of the inner pot. Use 1 cup for a 3 or 6-quart instant pot and 1.5 cups for an 8-quart model. Then place in a metal trivet or rack inside the inner pot.
- Place 1-2 pounds of ground beef on your trivet, seal the instant pot, and be sure the vent knob is closed. Be sure to form your meat into a thick patty/brick so that the meat cooks uniformly. Just the way meat comes in the Styrofoam tray.
- Set to high pressure and cook for 6 minutes.
- Once cook time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release for 5 to 10 minutes, then do a quick release of any remaining pressure.
- Check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer--it should be at least 160 degrees. If it is not, seal again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. *See my notes at end of the post to troubleshoot why your meat would need longer to cook.
- Once your meat is cooked, carefully remove it from the instant pot and break it up and use it as you would for any ground beef recipe.
- Discard liquid (and fat that drained off beef) from your Instant Pot Base.
FAQs on Instant Pot Ground Meat
YES! This would work perfectly for any ground meat like pork, chicken, or turkey and the cooking times would remain the same.
HA! I wondered that too. And I was hesitant to try out my test for a while due to the fear I would be WASTING ground beef. But let me assure you, the texture is amazing on ground beef cooked this way. It is soft but still firm--it is not mealy, mushy, or watery at all. There are no crispy brown bits in the meat, instead, everything is cooked perfectly.
Tastes delicious, with no difference in taste.
Yes, that moisture allows the pressure to build up in your instant pot.
YES!! The trivet does 3 things: prevents the meat from getting watery, prevents the meat from scorching, and allows the fat to drain off the meat as it cooks.
Absolutely! However, I find it is best to season the ground beef after it has been pressure cooked and broken up for even flavoring.
Troubleshooting and Timing for Instant Pot Ground Beef
- I have tested this recipe out with 1 and 2 pounds of ground beef that was frozen in a ¾ to 1-inch block (not a tube). If you want to cook meat from a frozen tube, you will need to increase the cooking time. I would start by increasing the time to 25 minutes.
- I would not recommend cooking more than 3-4 pounds of frozen meat at a time. Doing so, would overcrowd your Instant Pot and therefore would cause it to take forever to reach pressure. Not only is this time-consuming, it potentially could be dangerous if you have frozen meat hanging out long waiting to cook.
- To cook 3-4 pounds of meat, increase the time by 5 minutes per pound for frozen meat.
- Be sure to completely remove packaging from frozen meat BEFORE cooking--you don't want any wax, paper, or lining left on the meat before cooking.
- In all my tests, it has never taken longer than 11 minutes to reach pressure for this recipe for frozen ground beef in the instant pot. The average time was 7 minutes.
- Pro-Tip: Freeze your meat in 1-inch thick slabs so that the meat will cook evenly in the instant pot.
Recipes using Ground Beef
If this method for cooking frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot saved your dinner, I would love for you to leave a comment and rating below.
Instant Pot Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds ground meat beef, turkey, chicken, or pork
Instructions
- Cover bottom of the pot with 1 cup cold water for a 3 or 6-quart instant pot and 1.5 cups of cold water for an 8-quart instant pot. Add in trivet and place frozen or fresh ground meat directly on trivet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.
- Put the lid on the Pressure Cooker and turn valve to seal.
- Set to High Pressure for 20 minutes if frozen, 6 minutes if fresh.
- Once finished cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 5 to 10 minutes and then do a quick release of any remaining pressure. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer--it should be 160-165 degrees. If it is not, seal again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Carefully remove trivet from Instant Pot. Discard cooking liquid and grease and break up ground beef using a spatula into desired size. Use as desired.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- This method works best when your meat is in a ¾ to 1-inch thick brick so that the meat cooks uniformly.
- If your meat is frozen in a tube form, start with cooking on high pressure for 25 minutes. Check the middle of the meat after cook time to be sure an internal temperature of 160 degrees has been reached.
- I would not recommend cooking more than 3-4 pounds of frozen meat at a time. Doing so, would overcrowd your Instant Pot and therefore would cause it to take forever to reach pressure. Not only is this time-consuming, it potentially could be dangerous if you have frozen meat hanging out long waiting to cook.
- Be sure to completely remove packaging from frozen meat BEFORE cooking--you don't want any wax, paper, or lining left on the meat before cooking.
- Pro-Tip: Freeze your meat in 1 inch thick slabs so that the meat will cook evenly in the instant pot.
- 7-10 Minutes to get to pressure + 20 Minutes to cook+ Release pressure after 5 minutes.
Barbara Feltman
Why wouldn’t I save the liquid to add to my beef stock recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
You can, it is just really greasy and lacks flavor developed from beef bones or whole pieces of meat.
Neil
You can always put the liquid in a jar in the fridge. Most of the grease will float to the top and harden somewhat. Then, you just have to skim off the fat layer from the top. I've never done a flavour comparison, but I imagine that the resulting liquid still has some flavour. I use it like that.
Heather
Hi: I’’m a new instant pot user... my clear plastic cup doesn’t seem to fit well and also, the highest amount of time that I am able to set my pressure cooker at is 4minutes. I’m trying to make your cooking ground beef recipe. Thanks! Heather
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Heather! Are you trying to set it to read 4:00? That is actually 4 hours. You just need it to read 4. Does that help?
Marie
I had 3 lbs. Ground Turkey in a flat rectangle patty, cooked for 7 min., came out perfect, & thermometer read 161. Mixed it up for a large amount of sloppy joes It was difficult
to get in pan in 1 piece It broke in half & some landed on floor. It came out much easier
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Marie! Sorry it landed on the floor--no fun! But I am glad the cooking time was perfect for you.
Natalie
Hi, can you cook ground beef from frozen using the sauce method? Duping it all in?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Natalie. Do you mean can you cook the frozen beef in sauce? Theoretically, yes. But with some cautions. First, you need to be sure you have thin liquid in your sauce to prevent a burn notice. Second, keep in mind any grease that the meat renders will be left in the sauce. And the meat will still need to be broken up after it is cooked.
Patricia Damon
USED 2 LBS FRESH HB. COOKED AS IN RECIPE. WAY UNDERCOOKED -LIKE RAW AT 6 MINS> HAD TO PUT IN FOR 24 MORE MINUTES!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Patricia, was it in a tube shape or flattened?
Craig
If using method one with fresh ground beef, what do you do with the grease after sautéed? I assuming you strain and discard. Thanks.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Craig, I do strain and discard 🙂
Peri McQuay
All good, but I would cool the water, refrigerate, skim off the fat and use the rich water in soup.
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for that tip Peri!
Sue Pruitt
I've reset the IP with more minutes than I can count! This is my question - Your recipe is for 1-2 pounds. My meat is flat, but when you pile the flat pieces on top of each other, it becomes pretty thick. Do you stand them on their sides or what do you do to keep two pounds of meat flat?
Robin in NC
Hey Kristen! Would this method work for the ground beef that comes ina tube shape rather than the flatter package? Thank you very much.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Robin! It would take quite a bit longer to cook the meat in a tube shape. I would suggest cooking for 25 minutes on high pressure and then using saute to brown and break up and finish cooking if needed.
Robin in NC
You're the best! Thanks!
Sue Pruitt
I think steaming the ground beef looks so simple and less hands-on time instead of sautéing it, which is why I wanted an instant pot. However, in most of your recipes like spaghetti and chili, you use the saute method. Can you tell me why? I was hoping I could just put in a pound of thawed ground beef, add all the other ingredients and pressure cook it all in one step. Would that work? Would it not turn out as good?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Sue! I prefer to brown first to get rid of any excess fat/grease--as I find that unappealing in the final product. However, you can steam your meat and then break up and put in your recipe like chili or spaghetti. OR you can steam meat in the final dish--it just will be greasy and will need to still be broken up.
Tara
What about seasoning the ground beef? Can I throw some seasoning on the frozen meat or after it is cooked?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Tara! I often throw the seasonings in with the frozen meat, but it will need to be broken up and mixed well after cooked, so you can add in afterwards too.
Kati
So I am still new to the IP family. I have heard great things about them just haven’t quite figured it all out yet. When you say to it to high pressure, you hit the pressure cook button on the front then set your pressure and time? I don’t want to sound dumb but there are so many buttons that make it confusing.
Kristen Chidsey
No dumb questions Kati! The Instant Pot can be overwhelming for sure. Yes, to cook on high pressure you hit manual (or pressure cook) and then set your time. Default is typically high pressure. If you have to change your pressure, you would need to hit pressure hit pressure to adjust to high or low pressure. Set your timer on for manual cooking as needed. I address how to use all the functions (and adjust cook time) in more detail in this post: Instant Pot Functions.
Jodie
I just tried this using 1.5 pounds of fresh ground beef. I did 6 minutes and it wasn't done. 3 more minutes and still not done. I just set it for 5 more minutes and fingers crossed it's done. Thoughts?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jodie! I would assume that is because of how thick your meat was. This recipe is for meat that is about 1/2 inch thick. It should be done after the additional 5 minutes though.
Cheryl Palmer
hi - i'm a little scared to try your ground beef spaghetti sauce/chili etc type recipe. i recently had a bad experience. i tried to cook frozen cabbage rolls with copious tomatoe sause. shortly into the cycle, the pot said 'burn'. i stopped it immediately and took everything out of the pot, put a trivet in, piled on the cabbage rolls and again poured on the tomatoe sauce - same result.
don't understand why it did this - there was plenty of moisture in the instant pot.
if i can only cook with food off the bottom and water providing the steam for the pressure, the instant pot is not very attractive to me as i cook a lot of combination dishes.
what is your advice please
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Cheryl! I explain some reasons that Instant Pot get burn warnings in this video. However, I will say that tomato sauce alone will cause a burn notice in some models. I always start with water or stock then add tomato sauce on top of that. For cabbage rolls I would place at least 1/2 cup beef or chicken stock (1 cup for 8 quart) in Instant Pot and then add in cabbage rolls. Top with 1/2 cup to 1 cup tomato sauce and then cook. That should help 🙂
Kit
This is perfect! Such an easy way to prep ground beef for tacos or nachos! Ill try this one with my IP and see how it will work, hopefully it works well. Just in time for my 4th day military diet (feeding window), Ill eat a lot of tacos!
Kristen Chidsey
Good luck with your diet and I hope you enjoy your tacos 🙂
Amanda
Worked perfectly! I always portion and flatten my ground beef as much as I can to save space in my freezer which probably helped with it cooking as quick as it did. I used my immersion blender to break it apart 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
YAY!! And I LOVE the tip about the immersion blender--I am going to try that! 🙂
Kelly G
Thank you! I’ve had my Instant Pot for a year and a half and felt so intimidated. I finally decided to just go for it and your recipe and directions for ground beef are my second time using the Instant Pot (first was replicating Starbucks’ sous vide egg bites). It came out wonderfully! Next time I’ll cook the meat a bit longer - probably 10 minutes for 1 lb rather than 6 but otherwise this was perfect!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY Kelly! I am so glad you had success. And if you need any more IP help, reach out anytime. Here is a beginner post too: https://amindfullmom.com/instant-pot-101/ 🙂
Jsnet
I just defrosted a 20oz PKG of ground turkey using this method. It was totally cooked. Thanks for the great idea. I now have turkey chili in my IP. I set it to saute and broke up the meat, added chopped onion and carrots and cooked for a while. Then I added the sauce and spices and have it set for 25 minutes. Hope it tastes good!!
Kristen Chidsey
Oh yay!!! Dinner saved! I hope you enjoy the chili <3