Instant Pot Hot Dogs

This is how to cook Instant Pot hot dogs. A cheap and easy dinner you can make in bulk in a few minutes. Plump and juicy, when done these are ready for all the fixings. You can use fresh or it’s a great way of how to cook frozen hot dogs too.

In just ONE minute you can cook Oscar Mayer weiners that are plump and ready to be smothered with your favorite toppings! It’s seriously one of the easiest Instant Pot recipes we make every single week after school.

Hot dogs and kids just kinda’ go together. They are an easy meal for lunch or dinner and perfect during the summer when you’re outside and have friends over. There are several methods of heating them up and now there is another using your pressure cooker.

We started by making these Instant Pot brats and sauerkraut. My husband loved those, but the kids just wanted some good old fashioned hot dogs so we kept experimenting until they were perfectly plump and juicy.

The sausages we used for that were uncooked so they took a bit longer. They tasted amazing using beer, we used water to cook/steam these. If you want to know how to cook frozen hot dogs it isn’t much different other than separating them first, then follow this timing.

Since our Instant Pot hot dogs are precooked I knew it wouldn’t take long at all. I first started with these traditional wieners we found at the store for $.99, you know the kind. They were fatter than regular cheapo hot dogs but that didn’t matter as far as the timing was concerned, they just plumped up more.

Regular hot dogs you buy in the store traditionally don’t have a casing around them, meaning the outer “skin” you would see on a traditional sausage, so they don’t take much more than a minute. Both are just a few favorite Instant Pot kids recipes for sure.

What you Need to Cook Hot Dogs in Instant Pot

Really you can cook a bunch of them using this pressure cooker hot dog method, just throw them in and set the timer. I mean it is the same idea as slow cooker hot dogs with little to no prep except that it takes a mere fraction of the time.. WAY easier than waiting for water to boil on the stovetop like I used to do! You just need hot dogs with casings, like old fashioned Traditional hot dogs at the store.

And you will need some sort of liquid, water is the easiest of them all but doesn’t offer any flavor to it. Instead I would use a can of beer! I am not a beer drinker but love them this way, what a wonderful flavor they give to this dish.

Can you cook frozen hot dogs?

Yes, I just change the timing from 1 to 2 minutes and tell you that to achieve the optimal result you will need to separate them. You can do this easily by removing from the package and running under cool water. Use your hands to pull them apart and then put into the pot with your liquid to steam to tender.

How do you make a dirty hot dog?

That means you add seasonings into the liquid. That makes it look cloudy but adds a ton of flavor. A great way to make them spicy if you like or an added punch with cumin or garlic. Add into liquid if desired for flavor are garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and/or cumin.

Can you bulk cook hot dogs?

Remember, you are really just warming them up so it doesn’t take long whether they have a casing or not. If you cook just 1 package of traditional store bought skinny hot dogs you just cover them with just enough liquid to cover them and 1 minute is sufficient.

If you are cooking Instant Pot hot dogs in bulk you may increase pressure cook time to 2 minutes. Use enough water to go about halfway up the pile of hot dogs. Do not fill past 3/4 mark inside pot. Cook on low pressure for 2 minutes, or 1 minute on high pressure followed by a quick release

You are really just steaming them so they don’t all need to be submerged. If you’re adding some flavor to the water then add the water, sprinkle in your garlic powder or whatever, stir, and then add your hot dogs.

Other hot dog recipes you’ll love

We have a recipe for air fryer hot dogs, frozen hot dogs in air fryer you can try, and pressure cooker corn dog bites too!

Want some crisp to them? Try our fun air fryer pigs in a blanket recipe too. You can see them here and are a kid favorite.