Skip to Content
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Perfect Instant Pot Frozen Salmon

Instant Pot frozen salmon recipe so your rock hard piece of fish will come out flaky and perfectly cooked in just a few minutes. Yes we have made fresh fish in an Instant Pot, but when I’ve completely forgotten to defrost my fillets this timing comes in really handy. Use with Ninja Foodi pressure cooker too.

A close-up of a piece of cooked salmon on a plate with herbs and a lemon slice, prepared perfectly from frozen in an Instant Pot. A fork is placed into the flaky, pink meat, highlighting its texture.

Instant Pot frozen salmon has never been easier to cook using your pressure cooker! In less than 15 minutes total you too can have flaky fish for dinner with some lemon butter on top. One of our favorite healthy Instant Pot recipes here on The Typical Mom blog. (affiliate links present)

Ninja Foodi Frozen Salmon

Can you make this in your Ninja Foodi too?? Of course you can!! Any brand will do. I have a Crockpot Express too and it works basically the same without the air fryer function.

Just follow the directions below on how to cook frozen salmon if all you have a bag of frozen fish on hand. That way you too can have a flavorful dinner tonight.

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:

For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.

A white Instant Pot with a Star Wars theme sits on the kitchen counter, ready to tackle your favorite beef arm roast recipe. The digital display glows "On." Next to it lie a patterned cloth and some green onions, all against the backdrop of blue kitchen cabinets and a stovetop.

Pressure Cooker Frozen Salmon

We these tips on how to cook frozen meat helps you make a wonderful meal for your family too. Just because it is straight out of your freezer doesn’t mean dinner is ruined, it isn’t. I can cooked all sorts of things rock hard to fork tender all the time and nobody knows the difference. 😉

Even with beef we have cooked frozen roast in Instant Pot to perfection which is way thicker than this. Believe it or not you can shred when done and almost just as good as if it were tender first off.

Can you cook salmon from frozen?

Absolutely!! We will show you how to cook frozen salmon so that it’s just as tender and flaky as thawed fillets! You can even follow our air fryer frozen salmon instructions if you have that machine.

salmon

You can find pretty much any type of frozen fish in your local grocery store. If you love Instant Pot tilapia the timing is pretty much the same as you’ll find below. There are a few tips I’ll share to get it perfect.

Instant Pot Frozen Salmon Ingredients

  • Frozen salmon fillets
  • Fresh lemons
  • Water
  • Seasonings
  • Butter is optional but yummy

Tips

  1. Choose fillets that are similar in size so they cook evenly
    1. middle pieces will be thicker than the ends, cook them together accordingly
  2. Do not overlap your pieces when you cook them together
    1. you want the steam to hit all sides or the piece underneath will be underdone
  3. When cooking fish in an Instant Pot you will want to season the tops as well as the water underneath
    1. many times I will add a bit of salt and pepper once it is done too

I follow this same tip when making air fryer fish too really

frozen salmon instant pot

Is frozen salmon still good for you?

Yes!! Frozen salmon is good and keeps it’s great taste for up to four months in your freezer. As long as it’s properly frozen inside freezer bags with the air sucked out it will still have great flavor when cooked. Of course you can thaw fillets overnight and make smoked salmon which is amazing.

  • We’re here to teach you how it’s done from rock solid frozen to tender though.
  • Canned wild salmon is also an excellent and economical choice, there’s no need to cook that though.

How to Cook Salmon from Frozen in Pressure Cooker

  1. Pour water, slices of lemon from 1 piece of fruit and some fresh parsley at the bottom.
  2. Place trivet inside with your frozen fillets in the Instant Pot on top, with skin side facing down.
  3. Top with lemon slices from 2nd piece of fruit as well as any seasonings you like.
  4. you can add a pat of butter to the top too for a buttery smooth flavor
  5. Close lid and steam valve and set to manual high pressure for 5 minute cook time followed by a quick pressure release
    1. timing will vary slightly depending on how thick your pieces are and how “done” you like them.
  6. Season with salt and pepper with a squeeze of lemon juice on top and enjoy!
Three salmon fillets, freshly seasoned and topped with herbs and slices of lemon, are arranged on a grill rack. Perfectly prepped and ready for the instant pot, even if they started from frozen.

Don’t have frozen salmon? Want to make defrosted Instant Pot salmon in your Instant Pot tonight?? We have instructions for that too. They’re very similar directions and quite frankly comes out almost identical to this one.

Is sockeye salmon better than pink salmon?

Sockeye salmon contains higher omega-3 levels really, that is the main difference. As far as which one is better it probably depends on whom you ask.

Does freezing salmon destroy Omega 3?

Freezing, baking, broiling or steaming fish will cause minimal loss of the omega-3 fatty acids they contain. Blackening salmon by high temperature sauteeing could also lower it a bit.

What side dishes go with fish?

We personally love a mixture of Instant Pot steamed vegetables served with this. A side of Instant Pot white rice is always a winner too. For a great semi homemade garlic pull apart bread, follow our recipe here.

How long does it take to thaw frozen salmon?

For quick thawing just place frozen fish package in cool water for approximately 20 to 30 minutes just until contents are flexible. Once it’s thawed, immediately cook or refrigerate your piece. If you haven’t punctured the package you can keep in your fridge to cook later too as an option. Prior to cooking, do not allow fish to reach temperatures above 38 degrees F for best results.

Pressure Cooker Salmon

Doesn’t this just look amazing??!! I know you’re thinking about where you could grab some for dinner tonight. If you want to buy fish in bulk you usually will save a bit of money at stores like Costco or Sam’s Club.

How to Steam Frozen Fish

  • Pour a cup of water into the bottom of your pressure cooker. Add lemon to this as well if you like that flavor. You’re essentially going to be steaming your frozen fish. Lower down a trivet now.
  • Place frozen salmon fillets on to trivet with any seasonings you’d like on top. A slice of lemon and butter on top now makes it really moist and flavorful.
  • Close lid and steam valve and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes with a quick release when done.
  • Lift out and plate with Ninja foodi rice or pasta.

Try this and our best baked salmon to see which one you prefer. The biggest difference is when it’s thawed you can add dry rub liberally so it will stick. It is a bit pricier at smaller chains and organic supermarkets for sure but sometimes buying in bulk comes with compromising pieces too.

I find they’re not as firm once defrosted and/or cooked. Your choice. Love salmon fresh or frozen cooked this and and want more easy and healthy electric pressure cooker recipes? You can cook salmon in the air fryer too! We love it that way with this dry rub we share here, it’s a great cooking method to use.

salmon recipe
Why is salmon so expensive?

Wild salmon is expensive because supply exceeds demand, pretty simple really. Alaska has done a great job managing their commercial salmon fisheries so in most cases they have a pretty healthy and abundant amount year round.

Is it safe to eat salmon every day?

Although it is often recommended to eat fish regularly as part of a healthy diet, there’s an ongoing debate about whether farmed or wild is best. The American Heart Association but they do definitely recommend eating at least two 3.5 ounce servings of fatty fish like salmon every week. SO I would deduce that means twice a week is perfect.

Before you go I want you to sign up for my free newsletter!! You will get all my new recipes emailed to you a few times a week that will help with meal planning for the week.

Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!

Looking for more easy family recipes and tips? LIKE The Typical Mom Facebook page because we share all our new creations there every single day. And follow me on Pinterest for more inspirations! 😉

***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉

the typical mom
instant pot frozen salmon
Print Pin
5 from 4 votes

Instant Pot Frozen Salmon

Instant Pot frozen salmon recipe so your rock hard piece of fish will come out flaky and perfectly cooked in just a few minutes. Game changer y'all!
Course Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword fish, frozen, instant pot, pressure cooker, salmon
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 149kcal
Author The Typical Mom

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb salmon 4-5 frozen fillets
  • 2 lemons sliced, seeds removed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 c water
  • fresh parsley diced
  • 2 tbsp butter optional, sliced

Instructions

  • Pour cup of water with 1 sliced lemon and a few sprigs of fresh parsley into bottom of pot. Place trivet inside now.
  • Put 4-5 frozen fillets on rack without overlapping pieces. Season tops with pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and diced fresh parsley.
  • Slice 2nd lemon and put 1 slice on top of each fillet, remove seeds before placing on top.
  • If you want a buttery flavor cut a thin slice of butter and place underneath each lemon slice, optional step.
  • Close lid and steam valve, set to high pressure for 5 minutes followed by a quick release.
  • Remove and serve immediately for best results. (timing will vary slightly depending on thickness of fish and how "well done" you like your fish)

Video

Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Frozen Salmon
Amount Per Serving (2 oz)
Calories 149 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 46mg15%
Sodium 661mg29%
Potassium 361mg10%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 198IU4%
Vitamin C 29mg35%
Calcium 21mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Instant Pot Frozen Salmon
instant pot frozen salmon
5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)
Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Diane K

Saturday 8th of January 2022

Can't wait to try this one! I love all of your recipes; so flavorful and easy to follow. Thank you!!

The Typical Mom

Monday 10th of January 2022

So glad

Todd

Wednesday 22nd of December 2021

Prices are high because demand exceeds supply. Supply exceeding demand leads to lowering prices

mary cocans

Tuesday 20th of July 2021

I just stumbled across your blog and wanted to say that I really enjoy reading your blog posts. By all means, I will subscribe to your feed and I hope you will post back soon. Many thanks for the useful information.

jeannie

Saturday 29th of August 2020

Would love to see the comments on this recipe

Joan

Monday 7th of December 2020

Is the time the same for one filet?

Grace

Friday 20th of November 2020

I made this today because I forgot to take the salmon out of the freezer. The recipe is so simple and the salmon came out wonderful. I did in fact add the butter under the lemon slices, and then I poured some of the liquid in the pot over the fish before serving. I will definitely use this recipe again!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.