Instant Pot frozen ground beef can be thawed and cooked in no time at all. If you’re forgetful like me, thawing frozen ground beef has never been easier!
If you’re like me and need to know how to make Instant Pot frozen ground beef so it’s defrosted in under 25 minutes, I’m going to show you how. Added to our list of 101+ easy Instant Pot recipes and pressure cooker tips it’s something I use on a semi weekly basis and now am sharing it with all of you. 😉 (originally published 1/19, affiliate links present)
We cook a lot of frozen meat in Instant Pot…because I tend to be forgetful. 😉
If you need easy Ninja Foodi recipes, you can use that pot instead.
Let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then LIKE our IP Facebook page for new ideas daily.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook to grab too.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot. It is easier to clean and will avoid the burn message too.
- For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have and use for all recipe creations.
I love thawing frozen ground beef in my pressure cooker because it’s keeps it’s juiciness, drains out all the fat.
- Since I am forgetful I no longer have to worry if I’ve forgotten to take it out of the freezer the day before!
Instant Pot frozen ground beef
- Yes, forgetfulness happens often. So I started by explaining how to cook frozen meat in an Instant Pot in this pressure cooker frozen whole chicken post.
- All of this is for “those days” when everything seems to slip your mind. Now there are NO worries because you can go from a rock hard block of frozen meat to juicy dinner in no time at all.
I use ground beef in the Instant Pot at least 2 times each week to make and create new recipes.
Whether I mix it with other ingredients to make Instant Pot turkey meatloaf or make meatballs to throw in our Instant Pot Italian Wedding soup, there’s always something I can make with a pound of ground beef.
This year we made the big move from CA to ID and out here a lot of families buy meat fresh from local farms and we did as well.
- A large freezer now lives in the garage and is packed with meat in bulk that will last us the entire winter.
After we purchased a quarter of a cow recently I started cooking with beef even more so I needed a way to figure out how to go cook frozen ground beef in no time.
- This works for frozen ground turkey too of course.
We have a list of Instant Pot beef recipes here and will share info. as I experiment with other frozen beef cooked in the pressure cooker, but am just focusing on Instant Pot frozen ground beef right now.
- When it comes to pressure cooker frozen meatballs you can really just throw them right in with some sauce and they will be just fine.
However with a larger piece of ground beef you really need to thaw it out first, and then cook it the rest of the way on saute as you would normally with a pound of fresh ground beef.
If you are TOTALLY new to the pressure cooking world you should first read this post on how to use an Instant Pot.
Then come back, that will help you a lot to just understand how it works and the basic buttons I use.
How to thaw Instant Pot frozen ground beef
You just use a trivet (this is my favorite one with handles)! It makes it a bit easier to lift out when it’s done.
Thawing ground beef in a pressure cooker
This method drains almost ALL of the grease and fat away from the meat. It ends up at the bottom of the pot (seen below). SO you get leaner ground beef to cook.
- It’s a great tip to have in case you forget to thaw it out the night before.
- You can thaw ground beef in about 20 minutes versus overnight.
I honestly have been doing this for quite some time. But since it’s such a simple thing I ignored the fact that I hadn’t written a post about it. Now I’m sharing this tip with all of you.
I think other than saving me a ton of time it saves those days when I’m forgetful. Dinner is saved!
Typically I buy 80/20 ground beef. When we bought a cow earlier this year though I didn’t know what those were. For the most part they are rather lean.
- However I’ve always had an issue with draining the fat well and in the past.
- I’ve poured the cooked ground beef into a strainer, and turned on the hot water to rinse it.
Now it’s done for me!!
Look! The fat drains away from the meat using this Instant Pot frozen ground beef method.
Combined with the water you add to the bottom, now you just dump it before you turn it to saute. Fat is gone!
Instant Pot frozen ground beef
Here are quick directions but I also have a printable recipe card at the very bottom for you as well.
Time needed: 15 minutes.
Frozen ground beef in Instant Pot
- Water
Pour 1 c. water into your pressure cooker. Place a trivet inside at the bottom, high enough so meat doesn’t touch water.
- Add meat
Put your pound (or up to 2 lbs. really) on your trivet.
- Defrost
Close your lid and steam valve. Set to high pressure for 5 minutes.
Do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes so it will take about 20 minutes total. Lift out trivet with meat on it. Drain pot.
It is a lot quicker to defrost and then cook than Crockpot ground beef.
Pour out liquid and fat that has accumulated inside your Instant Pot
- Place thawed ground beef back into your pot
- note: there will be a thin outer layer of meat that will be cooked, raw and thawed inside
- Cook as you normally would, had this been fresh ground beef.
Add taco seasoning and anything else to make the Instant Pot casserole or dinner recipe you want
Now you can make our Instant Pot taco meat in no time at all starting with a rock hard pound of frozen beef! OR follow these directions for air fryer ground beef (thawed) and add seasoning packet at the end.
- Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni
- Pressure cooker meatloaf and potatoes are cooked at the same time here!
Our Instant Pot chili is probably the most popular since you just need 5 main ingredients
Here are a few of our favorite Instant Pot ground beef recipes to make once this is done!
- This flavorful Instant Pot taco casserole is amazing and a kid fave
- Try this Instant Pot hamburger potato casserole
- We love these taco bowls too.
Then make our pressure cooker stroganoff casserole with your meat tonight!
Now you don’t only have to make a pressure cooker recipe once you’ve thawed your meat.
You can make things like this smoked burgers recipe or crockpot lasagna casserole too, the possibilities are endless!
- If you need to know how to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot I have for you
- Here are free printable Instant Pot cooking times sheets so you know how long each item takes to cook.
- This is how to cook frozen Instant Pot shrimp as well. We love seafood so that has been helpful.
I am working on sharing a way to defrost meat in the slow cooker too and will share a link once that is figured out to perfection.
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***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉
Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef up to 2 lbs.
- 1 c water
Instructions
- Pour 1 c. water into your Instant Pot and lower a trivet down.
- Place 1-2 lbs frozen ground beef on your trivet.
- Close your lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Do a natural release for 10 minutes. Lift out ground beef and drain liquid in your pot.
- Cook your thawed ground beef as you wish. Note: the outside layer will be lightly cooked, inside will be thawed and raw which will need to be cooked further to complete your recipe
Video
MClaraha says
Thanks for saving my dinner! As a word of caution, don’t pour the grease and water down the drain! The grease will coat your pipes as it cools.
Daniele says
I am so so so new to this pressure cooker thing. So I have a question. Instead of just thawing the meat could you go a head, throw it in there frozen, cook hamburger all the way till done, then drain the fat & grease from it, & now you have hamburger to do whatever you want with or maybe use it for a couple meals for the week? Sorry if it’s a bad, terrible thing! I’m a beginner.
Gina G says
Just set the time for about 20 minutes. Mine was completely done from frozen.
wxp says
i presume you slit the wrap on the bottom before defrosting, allowing the grease to drip out.
The Typical Mom says
You take all of the plastic off first, do not cook plastic.
Karen says
You are a LIFESAVER. I never ever have defrosted meat at the right time. Then I get the “blank mind” what do I cook face and proceed to order delivery. You have redeemed me as “I swear I can cook” wife and mom 😂😂😂😂🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️😂😂😂
Linda McNeil says
Justine: Step 4 says “Do a natural release for 10 minutes.”…..dumb question; but does this mean a natural release AFTER 10 minutes. It may not take 10 minutes or may take more time to natural release, so this instruction is not clear for me!!! Love my IP.
The Typical Mom says
Natural release means when timer beeps and is up, don’t touch it. Allow time to count up to 10 before releasing remaining steam out of steam valve on top.
Cookilicious says
Thanks for this insightful post!
stephanie says
This worked great didn’t even need to wait to thaw out the ground beef.
Cathleen says
I am sure everyone is looking to defrost some meat these days. This is so perfect, I am SO glad I bought an Instant Pot. It can do everything 🙂
Marie-Charlotte Chatelain says
I am the worst when it comes to remembering to take things out of the freezer ! This comes at a perfect time !
Anita says
This is such a neat trick. Forgetfulness happen to me too, and this trick is definitely for me. 🙂
LadyDi4613 says
Love, love, love the spaghetti!!! I do cook the pasta separate because my husband doesn’t like pasta. But he LOVES the spaghetti. Can you tell me if you can cook chili (without beans) about the same way. I took the 2 alarm out of the pantry and thinking about trying it. I also have a chili recipe I might try as well. Maybe you can give us an Instant pot Chili recipe unless you already have one here and I didn’t see it. Is it possible to be able to go straight to the recipes. I am reading so much before the recipe I probably missed how to go straight to the recipe. So sorry if I didn’t see that part. LOVE your recipes!!! SO GOOD!
Danielle says
Im assuming that I can use the same instructions for Ground Turkey or Chicken. My apologies if I have missed this comment some where in the instructions or blog post.
The Typical Mom says
I haven’t tried those but imagine it would be the same
MsSally says
I use really lean ground beef. I want to make meatloaf so I don’t want any of the meat precooked so I’m thinking of trying your method with the meat wrapped in foil. Do you think this would work?
Pilar Svendsen says
I tried using this technique tonight and while it did thaw the meat it created a cooked exterior around the block. Any advice?
The Typical Mom says
Yes it is essentially steaming the meat to defrost it so the outer layer will be cooked, the inside will be thawed and raw needing to be cooked according to your recipe.
Mike M says
But this just thaws the meat. When you actually sauté or cook it, you generate most of the grease. So this results in your food still being full of grease. Did I miss something?
Hilary says
Ok, dumb question…. I did what you said word for word and it didn’t just thaw the ground beef but it cooked it too. Did I do something wrong?
Pilar says
I had a similar experience and am wondering too.
Toni says
Just a little note that you should not pour grease down the drain– :). Check your water treatment center website for guidelines.
AAAND… Thank you so much for posting how to thaw frozen beef in the Instant Pot!
Sarah Richardson says
I’m a little confused. It looks like in one spot, it says 20 minutes and another it says 10-15. Which is it?
The Typical Mom says
Sorry about that, had a typo in 1 area. 10 minutes works well when we use a 1 lb. block of frozen ground beef.
Sarah Richardson says
I commented with this question and then immediately put it in for 10 minutes. That was perfect.
The Typical Mom says
Glad it worked for you too!
Melisa says
I’m extremely new to the instant pot so this might be a dumb question, but when you say set it to high pressure, is that after pushing the “pressure cook” button? i get so confused with a ton of INSTANT POT RECIPES i find because majority of them say to push the “manual” button, but i must have the newer version since my instant pot doesn’t have one. I have the Instant Pot 9-in-1 Duo Plus so i just get confused as to what most recipes ask for, as well as instruction videos or “How to” blog posts if it is using a different model than the one i have because it will say push either manual or pressure, which are usually located in one of the center buttons but i dont have a manual button at all and the only “pressure” button i have is located on the left all the way at the bottom as “pressure cook”? I hope this makes sense?
The Typical Mom says
Yes the newer versions don’t have a manual button and many auto set to high pressure. There isn’t a way to adjust to low so you just press pressure.
Megan says
Maybe a silly question, but when do you season the beef? After it’s thawed i would assume?
Does it obtain the same flavor and taste as if you had seasoned it fresh? Thanks!
The Typical Mom says
I season it after I do this process. I break it apart once it isn’t frozen any longer, season, and proceed with Instant Pot recipe I am making or following.
Katie Bellew says
I live in ID too! Been here since I was a teenager. I love my instant pot!
The Typical Mom says
OH yeah!!!
Rose says
I’m forgetful. This works great! Enough said.
The Typical Mom says
lol you and me both
Andrew B says
If you’d like to save an additional 20 minutes of time and own a microwave, consider purchasing the Pampered Chef large micro-cooker and the mix-n-chop. My wife and I received 2 of these for our wedding in October and have never thawed or cooked meat traditionally since. It takes 10 minutes to fully cook 1 pound of frozen beef in the microwave using it. We’ve even done up to 2 pounds of meat in it still cooking in less than 15 minutes. Only step is to take out about halfway through cooking time, drain the grease through the easy drain lid, and chop up the beef using the mix-n-chop before continuing to cook. We’ve loved ours so much that we’ve given them as gifts this Christmas season. Lot easier than the instapot with half the cleanup.
Jenny says
I love the mix n chop!! It works really well!
AMY says
But the microwave kills all the nutrients.
Jenne says
Yes! It truly does. I’m a fan of PC, but nothing comes close to my IP. Nothing.
Jillian says
Oh my gosh, this was an absolute life-saver for dinner tonight! Will definitely use this method again and again!
The Typical Mom says
Yeah!!
Liz says
This worked perfectly! I never seem to get the ground beef out of the freezer in time. Thank you!
The Typical Mom says
So glad!!
Nellie Tracy says
I can always use tips and tricks for safe cooking/thawing of raw meats. Love this!