How To Cook Frozen Ground Beef In The Instant Pot [Video]
How To Cook Frozen Ground Beef In The Instant Pot Pressure Cooker in just under one hour. Use the beef to make tacos, stuffed peppers or serve with pasta.
This is a super easy and handy recipe to make in the IP. Also, feel free to watch the short video tutorial attached below. Serve it over some freshly cooked white rice for a complete dinner!
Ground Beef In The Instant Pot
Cooking Frozen Ground Beef In The Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker is one of the easiest things you can do. Let’s face it, most of the time the hardest part of dinner is when you realize that you forgot to thaw the meat.
It happened to me so many times when I had great plans and ideas of how delicious dinner would be only to realize that my meat is still rock frozen in the fridge. But the night can be saved with these easy tips on how to cook frozen ground beef in the instant pot with only 2 ingredients, one of which is just water!
Also, feel free to season the meat as you like, and serve it over rice or pasta. It goes well pretty much on anything. I like serving it over rice, pasta, or tacos!
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Can I use frozen ground meat in the instant pot?
Absolutely! It is a time saver and so easy to make, you only need two ingredients: water and beef. While I would highly recommend staying away from cooking frozen meat in the microwave or boiling it on the stovetop or cooking it in the slow cooker.
Because the cooking time takes too long. Also, the beef becomes over-cooked on the outside and under-cooked in the center, and the texture just isn’t the same. The pressure cooking method, however, is the one that I found the most success with.
What do I need to cook frozen ground beef in the Pressure Cooker?
- Main Ingredients are – beef and water, yes only two ingredients!
- Trivet or Steamer Insert – the Instant Pot comes with a trivet, but if you don’t have one, you can use a steamer insert.
- Pressure Cooker – I have the 6 quarts Instant Pot Duo and I love it.
- Seasoning – to season the beef after its cooked, I used Taco Seasoning.
How to cook ground beef in the Instant Pot?
This is a super simple and easy recipe to follow, no matter if you are using fresh or frozen meat. For the frozen version, the cooking time will be increased. Also, watch the short video tutorial attached for a quick guideline. The general steps are as follows:
- Add water: Add about a cup of water to the pot. Then, add the trivet.
- Cook the beef: Place the frozen beef on the trivet, and close the lid. Cook on HIGH pressure for about 25 minutes, followed by natural pressure release.
- Crumble the meat: Once cooked, open the lid and using a fork, crumble the beef, and add seasoning.
- Serve: Enjoy it over tacos, pasta, or rice.
Can I brown frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot?
I got this question from a few readers and that’s a no-no. Do not attempt to brown frozen beef. While the beef has the most amazing flavor when browned, you do not want to try that with frozen beef. I really liked the taste of simply cooking the frozen beef in the pressure cooker and after that crumble it and add some spices to it.
Another way to make the beef even more awesome is after you crumble it, just cook it on the stove for a few extra minutes with sesame oil. Add a little soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes and chopped green onions for an Asian twist.
If you don’t want to dirty another pot, quickly rinse the pressure cook pot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and brown the beef. Be careful not to overcook it.
How does the beef taste after cooking it in the Pressure Cooker?
After crumbling it, I like to add some spices, to add more flavor to the beef. It tastes just like you would cook it on the stove. If you find the beef to be a bit fry, after you crumble it, you can mix in 1-2 tablespoons of beef broth or chicken broth.
It tastes absolutely amazing. I like adding taco seasoning to my crumbled beef, as well as pepper flakes, and about 1 tablespoon of beef broth. After mixing well, you get some delicious taco beef.
Looking for more easy Instant Pot Recipes? Check my collection here these out:
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- General Tso in the Instant Pot
- Mongolian Chicken – a quick and delicious family meal.
- Mongolian Beef – made healthier with less sugar, oil and not deep-fried.
- Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken – made with juicy pineapple and sweet bell pepper.
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Total time: 35 mins
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup water
- Salt and Pepper
- Taco seasoning (optional)
Instructions
- Place a trivet or steam basket inside the pressure cooker pot.
Add one cup of water or the minimum liquid requirement for your pressure cooker. I used a 6 quarts pressure cooker.
Add frozen ground beef on top of the trivet, no need to break it down. If you have longer pieces that don't fit, break them in 2 so you can place them on the trivet.
- Place the lid and lock it, make sure to close the sealing valve.
Select 35 minutes of pressure cooking on high.
- Once the program is done, do a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release, after that open the valve to release the remaining pressure.
- Using an instant read kitchen thermometer, take the temperature of your meat, it should be about 160F.
- I also like to poke the center and see if its still raw, if the meat is still undercooked:
Option 1: just close the lid back, seal the valve, and cook for another 5 minutes oh high pressure with a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release, check again and repeat if necessary.
Option 2: discard the liquid, select sauté mode, once hot add one tablespoon of oil, add the beef, break it down and brown it until done. Season with salt and pepper.
If you used Option 1: Once the beef is done, remove it with tongs and add it to a large bowl.
Use a wooden spoon to crumble it, season with salt, pepper and taco seasoning if using. If the beef seems a bit dry, add 1 tablespoon of warm beef broth and mix.
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