Our easy Instant Pot frozen salmon recipe comes out flaky and perfectly cooked in just a few minutes. Yes we have pressure cooked fresh fish, but without thawing instructions come in handy on busy days.
It 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)
We offer these tips on how to cook frozen meat overall to which helps you make a wonderful meal for your family. 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. 😉
Here we will share you specifically how to cook frozen salmon if all you have a bag of frozen fish on hand.
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.
Ingredient Notes
You will want a few serving sized pieces of frozen salmon fillets. I like them cut sockeye salmon into the same size vs. a whole filet because it needs to fit on the trivet.
You will need some water or some sort of liquid of your choice to steam them, broth works too for more flavor. I like to add a few slices of fresh lemons or a splash of lemon juice on top with butter too.
You can use our salmon dry rub if you want to add a lot more flavor. Do so before cooking or when done you could use it as a seasoning.
Things to Remember
Choose fillets that are similar in size so they cook evenly, middle pieces will be thicker than the ends, cook them together accordingly. Do not overlap your pieces when you cook them together, you want the steam to hit all sides or the piece underneath will be underdone.
When pressure cooker fish recipes you will want to season the tops as well as the water underneath, many times I will add a bit of salt and pepper once it is done too
How to Cook Salmon from Frozen in Pressure Cooker
You will want to pour water, slices of lemon from 1 piece of fruit and some fresh parsley at the bottom. Add a trivet inside with your frozen fillets on top, with skin side facing down. Set to manual high pressure followed by a quick pressure release. Cook time won’t change unless filet is whole, if so then add an extra minute. Season with salt and pepper then serve cooked fish.
Ninja Foodi Frozen Salmon
Can you make this as a Ninja Foodi recipe too?? Of course you can!! Any brand will do. the only difference with this multi function machine and others is that you need to use the lid that is not attached to pressure cook. However, then you can also follow our air fryer frozen salmon instructions if you’d rather.
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.
Tips
You will need a cup of water into the bottom of your pressure cooker, but you can use any liquid you want so to add more flavor use broth or even beer. Add lemon to this as well if you like that flavor.
You want to keep meat on a trivet so that it isn’t sitting in the liquid and getting mushy. A slice of lemon and butter on top now makes it really moist and flavorful, I suggest this option before closing your lid. You want a quick release when done so it doesn’t overcook.
The biggest difference with thawed vs frozen is you can add dry rub liberally so it will stick. If you still want those flavors you can sprinkle on top when done.
Instant Pot Frozen Salmon Recipe
Equipment
- 1 trivet
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb salmon , 4-5 frozen fillets
- 2 medium lemons, sliced, seeds removed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup water, or broth
- 2 tbsp butter, optional, sliced
Instructions
- Pour cup of water with 1 sliced lemon and a few sprigs of fresh parsley (optional) 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
I use the same things when making air fryer fish except you don’t need liquid. 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.
What side dishes go with salmon?
We personally love a mixture of 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.
FAQ
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.
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.
The best baked salmon in the oven is here! We have a lot of ways to cook frozen meat in Instant Pot too Jump to recipe and get started!
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.
Can’t wait to try this one! I love all of your recipes; so flavorful and easy to follow. Thank you!!
So glad
Prices are high because demand exceeds supply. Supply exceeding demand leads to lowering prices
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Would love to see the comments on this recipe
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!
OH good!
Is the time the same for one filet?