How to cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot pressure cooker – I will show you just how easy it is to turn frozen ground beef into perfectly cooked meat in about 30 minutes for all of your favorite ground beef recipes.
This post is sponsored by The Beef Checkoff. As always, all opinions are my own.
Why This Recipe Works
It’s 4 pm and you just realized you forgot to take something out of the freezer for dinner. Don’t panic! I’ve got you covered.
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Did you know you can cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot
The pressure cooker is able to cook the meat quickly using steam pressure. The sealed pot builds up pressure which makes steam from the liquid inside. That steam pressure helps the food cook faster. It also forces moisture into the food so meats come out tender and juicy.
How to Cook Frozen Ground Beef in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
This recipe is really quite simple. There are only a few ingredients – frozen ground beef, salt and pepper (I use my homemade House Seasoning Blend for a more complex flavor) and water.
To begin, place a trivet
Next, season the meat on one side, place it, seasoned side down on top of the trivet and season the other side.
Then, add the water to the pot. Set your pressure cooker to cook on high pressure for the designated time and follow the release instructions. (See recipe.)
You can easily tell if the meat is cooked through by using a meat thermometer. It should register at least 160 degrees.
Not sure what temperature to cook beef to? I’ve put together this handy Beef Cooking Cheat Sheet with handy cooking tips, temperatures, cuts of beef and more!
>> Download my FREE Beef Cheat Sheet <<
When the process is finished, you’ll have perfectly seasoned and cooked meat to use in all of your best ground beef recipes.
How to Make Fresh Ground Beef in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
You can also cook fresh ground beef in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. You would simply adjust the cooking time. (See recipe.)
My Best Ground Beef Recipes
Once the ground beef is fully cooked in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, you can use it in a number of easy recipes.
Nutritionally, beef packs a powerful punch of many essential nutrients that help busy families go further when it comes to the chaos of back to school and maintaining overall health.
A 3-ounce serving of cooked lean beef provides:
- Approximately 25 grams of protein, which is essential for building and maintaining muscle mass, as well as helping you feel satisfied after meals
- About 44% of the daily value for Vitamin B12, involved in energy metabolism and brain function
- About 36% of the daily value for Zinc, which helps maintain a healthy immune system – important for back to school!
- About 12% of the daily value for Iron, which is key for transporting oxygen to your muscles
You can learn more about the nutritional benefits of beef here. You can also find more delicious recipes for beef here.
Here are some of my family’s favorite ground beef recipes:
Enter my Beef Back to School Giveaway
To celebrate the Back to School season, we’ve got an incredible giveaway going on this month!
You can enter to win this Beef Back to School prize pack valued at approximately $350. The prize pack includes:
- Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 6-qt. Programmable Pressure Cooker
- $50 Omaha Steaks Gift Card
- Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes with Fewer Calories and Less Fat by Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC
- Two (2) Thermos 16 oz. Stainless King Food Jars with Spoons
- Beef themed swag including an apron, oven mitt, spatula and more!
The giveaway will be open throughout September 2018 and the winner will be notified at the beginning of October. This giveaway is open to US residents residing in the Northeast (this includes residents of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia). All entrants must be age 18 or older.
More Beef Recipes You Might Like
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out all of the Instant Pot recipes for beginners on It Is a Keeper.
⭐ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below! ⭐
How to cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot pressure cooker - I will show you just how easy it is to turn frozen ground beef into perfectly cooked meat in about 35 minutes for all of your favorite ground beef recipes.
- 1-2 pounds ground beef, frozen (if using fresh, see notes)
- 1 teaspoon House Seasoning Blend
- 1 cup water
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Place the trivet in the Instant Pot pressure cooker pot.
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Add the water to the bottom of the pot.
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Season one side of the beef with 1/2 teaspoon House Seasoning Blend.
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Place the beef, seasoned side down on top of the trivet.
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Season the other side of the beef with the remaining House Seasoning Blend.
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Attach the lid to the pressure cooker and ensure that the vent is in the "sealed" position.
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Set to high pressure for 24 minutes (if using fresh ground beef see notes).
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Once cooking is complete, do a quick pressure release and carefully remove the meat from the pot.
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Discard any liquid and fat in the bottom of the pot.
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Break up the ground beef and use in your favorite recipes.
If cooking fresh ground beef, adjust manual cooking time to 6 minutes.
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Kristen says
I love NY steak!
Amanda Whitley says
i like both ground beef and ribeye
Angela Hendricks says
I love cooking with chuck roast because it makes a great stew or pot roast!
Christina Hitchcock says
It’s perfect stew weather!
Tina W says
I like Chuck roast.
Christina Hitchcock says
Me too!
kesha says
Ground beef and Ground sirloin is amazing in a great meatloaf. Our favorite!
Christina Hitchcock says
I love those both too!
Sandy Hemsher says
I still eat beef but not as much as when I was growing up.
dana germain says
I enjoy ground beef because I can make practically anything with it but I also love a good sirloin
Christina Hitchcock says
Both are fantastic in my book!
Lori Mostik says
I like to use a London broil and a good chuck roast. Have been wanting to try an instant pot. I forget to take things out of the freezer too.
Christina Hitchcock says
Both are awesome cuts! I love my IP…it’s great for quick meals!
Brenda Arrington says
Hamburger would have to be our favorite.
Christina Hitchcock says
We love it too!
carol clark says
well hands down flank but i cook with so much hamburger meat its like i know what goes good with it so its a toss mam
LindY G Sherrod says
My fav is ground beef, so many things you can make with it.
Christina Hitchcock says
I agree! So versatile!
Cyndi Nason says
Great recipes. Ground beef is one of my favorites, as is round steak.
Christina Hitchcock says
we love it too!
J says
I don’t go on social media, so thank you so much Christina for giving me a chance! Your not like some other blogs that if you’re not on social media, than tuff luck. Lol. Have a great weekend!
My fav cut of meat is sirloin, but I love chuck roast too! If I was lucky enough to win, I would make a yummy beef stew first bc fall is coming now.
Christina Hitchcock says
I’m so glad you entered! Good luck! 🙂
Renee Goerger says
This is great information because there are so many times that I’ve forgotten to make the ground beef out of the freezer and the defrosting it in the microwave just doesn’t work. I can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks for sharing this!
Christina Hitchcock says
It’s such a time saver!
Helene says
So useful, I was unsure if I could cook frozen beef in the instant pot. Thanks for the cool recipe ideas too.
Christina Hitchcock says
You are so very welcome 🙂
Britni says
I’m always searching for ways to make dinner faster. Thank you
Christina Hitchcock says
This is a real time saver!
April says
I needed this. I am CONSTANTLY forgetting to take meat out of the freezer for dinner. The Instant Pot is a huge life saver!
MaryB says
Ground beef is our go-to but for a treat, we love rib eye.
Christina Hitchcock says
Both are great cuts!
Jamie J says
My favorite cut of beef is the ribeye. I love that ribeye “butter” around the edge!! We eat ground beef at least 4 times a week. It is definitely our go to meat.
Christina Hitchcock says
Ooooh! Yes! That is so good!
Jennifer says
My go-to besides ground beef would be a good beef roast, like a standing rib roast. Mmm Beef!!! I’m from Wisconsin so beef is a staple for us.
Christina Hitchcock says
Definitely one of our favorites too!
Kathy says
Can’t wait to see how well this works.
Christina Hitchcock says
Please be sure to let me know how you make out 🙂
Michele Brosius says
We eat a lot of beef. We live in farm country so we’re able to buy local. My favorite cut of beef is Ribeye. Ground beef is my favorite to cook with, since it’s so versatile.
Christina Hitchcock says
I agree! Ground beef is extremely versatile and budget friendly!
Jenni says
This is such great information to know! This will totally save us from ordering pizza one night! Thanks!
Christina Hitchcock says
YAY! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
ellen beck says
I think my favorite cut is likely sirloin. It really is very versatile . It can be cooked so many ways in so many recipes.
Christina Hitchcock says
We love sirloin too! YUM!
Stef says
Great tip! I don’t always want to take the time to defrost. Life gets crazy!
Christina Hitchcock says
I know what you mean! I’m always forgetting!
Erica D Ardali says
We use ground beef more than any other cut in our house
Christina Hitchcock says
We do too! It’s so budget friendly and versatile!
Natalie says
I love to cook with flank steak because it is so versatile, lean and flavorful!
Christina Hitchcock says
Flank steak is so flavorful!
Stephanie Simmons says
This is sooo helpful! We cook with our IP a lot but I was always unsure of how to cook meat from frozen – thanks for the helpful tips!!
Christina Hitchcock says
It’s a real timesaver!
Sandi says
This is awesome. I always forget to defrost meat and scramble at the last minute to get dinner together. Thank you so much for this!
Rosemary says
I just bought an Instant Pot and I am going to try this tomorrow. Thanks for the great idea.
Kim kopecky says
I have been dying to learn how to use an instant pot.
Christina Hitchcock says
It’s a great cooking tool!
Heather Baker says
I like cooking with ground beef and London broil.
Christina Hitchcock says
Both are so tasty!