How to cook frozen dumplings in Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, microwaved or steamed on the stove to tender. Best way of steaming chicken pork or vegetable dumplings.
I will share how to cook frozen dumplings in Instant Pot and several different other ways here. Don’t have a proper steamer basket like you see at Japanese restaurants? No problem, we don’t either. Just one of many easy Instant Pot recipes we have shared over the years on our site. Enjoy. (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Frozen Dumplings
You can find these at the store pretty frequently now. They come in a variety of sizes but bite size like this are the most common. Different shapes with similar fillings work pretty much the same way too. Some are called won tons and are just shaped differently.
The longer version can be steamed like these or crisped like we did with our air fryer potstickers. All of them are pretty healthy lunches and can be found filled with chicken, pork or vegetarian versions. No matter what type you choose the cook time will be the same.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
The only difference would be if yours were quite a bit larger than these, but not by much. If you find yours are double this size I would increase by 1 minute only, it doesn’t take long. If defrosted ahead of time I would decrease timing by 1 minute, it’s that simple.
Cooking Frozen Dumplings
1. Boil 1 c. of water in a pot and set 4 wadded up pieces of foil inside with a plate on top of that. Rub olive oil on plate and place frozen dumplings on top with a lid on your pot to steam to tender.
2. In a microwave, place pcs. in a bowl filled with hot water submerging them. Cover with a plate or vented plastic wrap and heat for 3-4 minutes until tender.
3. Use our instructions below to steam Instant Pot frozen dumplings perfectly using a vegetable steamer basket.
No, there won’t be enough wet circulating wet steam using this hot air machine. You can use a pressure cooker though and we will explain that method below.
You will just need some way of keeping these off the bottom of the pot, I will share a few options below.
Ok so I shared above how to do this on the stovetop and steaming dumplings in microwave. You could use a pan too. Bring to a boil 2 inches of cold water or chicken broth and set Chinese dumplings inside. Spoon boiling water over the top until water has evaporated mostly, remove and enjoy. Pan frying would be last on my list as I think pressure cooked turns out best by far.
Frozen Dumplings in Ninja Foodi
Below are instructions for using either an IP, Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi pressure cooker. It doesn’t matter the brand but with the Foodi there are two lids, you will use the one that is not attached for this one.
- You will need some sort of steamer basket with holes in the bottom ideally.
- a vegetable steamer works as well
- if you don’t have either you could use a plate that fits inside with a ramekin turned upside down underneath it to elevate
- You just set them inside with a light spray of olive oil on it so they don’t stick and it only takes a few minutes to cook all the way thru. The liquid below is important, could be water or broth. The latter will add a bit of flavor but doesn’t make a huge difference.
How to Steam Frozen Dumplings in Instant Pot
- Pour your cup of water, broth or chicken stock into the inner pot. Lower trivet with steaming basket on top into pot. Spray inside of basket with olive oil spray so they don’t stick.
- Place frozen dumplings in one layer into basket. Close the lid and seal steam valve shut.
- Cook mini sizes like this on high pressure for 3 minutes followed by a quick release.
- Homemade or thawed, cook the dumplings for only 1-2 minutes
- Bite sizes like are in Instant Pot chicken and dumplings would take 0 minutes to steam
- Use tongs to lift out of basket and enjoy with some sauces
Instant Pot Chicken Dumplings
It doesn’t matter what meat you have inside. If you have made them from fresh that is great too. I would change the timing from 3 to 2 if your meat inside isn’t cooked, or just 1 minute if you’ve precooked the insides and just need to steam the dough.
Dumpling Sauce Ideas
To make dinner more fun you could offer a few others too. Soy sauce is a given but ponzu is great as well as trying something new like bang bang sauce. Our Panda like sweet and sour sauce is great too.
Can you Fry Frozen Dumplings?
If you want to deep fry dumplings in this state you could, but I don’t like submerging any food in oil personally. You would just add the dumplings for a few minutes and lift out with a slotted spoon. Check internal temp and once dumpling is cooked thru, dot on a paper towel to absorb oil and enjoy.
Steaming Dumplings from Frozen
I don’t think you need anything beyond maybe a dipping sauce once these are done. Store bought already has the meat and seasonings, no need for additional salt and pepper. If made yourself, bravo, you can still steam them this way. Just adjust heat to less, or if the meat is already cooked and you just want to warm the outside dumpling you could set to saute.
With the liquid at the bottom and basket inside you will still create a decent amount of steam with the lid left off. The biggest difference with this method is the top won’t get as much heat as the bottoms. Still works, just won’t get as warm at the top is all.
How Long to Steam Dumplings in Instant Pot
You can see how well these turned out for us here, bite size take just 3 minutes and are really nice especially with kids so they can pop them right in. Especially if you have picky eaters at home, finger foods are always more enticing. Larger ones like our sweet potato dumplings may need 1 extra minute though.
You may be surprised at what they begin to like if you introduce new foods on a regular basis to them. “Just one bite” was required of mine for years and now they are very experimental eaters because they have learned that you just never know, and some of those weird things actually taste amazing.
See how you can steam tamales in Instant Pot too. That could be your next cultural night, Mexican food of all kinds….I mean talk about delicious too right?
How to Cook Frozen Dumplings
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 8 dumplings, frozen
- 1 c water
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- Pour cup of water into the inner pot. Lower trivet with steaming basket on top into pot. Spray inside of basket with olive oil spray so they don't stick.
- Place frozen dumplings in one layer into basket. Close lid and steam valve shut. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes (2 min if homemade or defrosted) followed by a quick release.
- Use tongs to lift out of basket and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
