How To Cook Frozen Ground Beef In The Instant Pot

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.

How To Cook Frozen Ground Beef In The Instant Pot 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!

Can I use frozen ground meat in the instant pot?

Yes, absolutely! It is a time saver and so easy to make, you only need two ingredients: water and beef. While I would highly recommend to stay away from cooking frozen meat in the microwave, boiling it on the stove top or cooking it in the slow cooker, as the cooking takes too long making the beef 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.

Can I brown frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot?

I got this question from a few readers and thats 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 to just cook it on the stove for a few extra minutes with sesame oil, 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, careful not to over cook it.

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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.

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.

Looking for more easy Instant Pot Recipes? Check my collection here these out:

• Instant Pot Orange Chicken – my most popular Instant Pot recipe that even 2 year olds love!
• Instant Pot General Tso– another amazing take on a classic Chinese recipe.
• Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken – a quick and delicious family meal.
• Instant Pot Mongolian Beef – made healthier with less sugar, oil and not deep fried.
• Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken – made with juice pineapple and sweet bell pepper.
• Instant Pot Honey Lemon Chicken – heathy and very flavorful.
• Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken – another delicious dump and cook recipe.

Here is a step-by-step video of how to cook Frozen Ground Beef in the Instant Pot:

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5 from 4 votes

Servings: 8 People

How To Cook Frozen Ground Beef In The Instant Pot

Prep Time:

5 mins

Cook Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

35 mins

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.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup water
• Salt and Pepper
• Taco seasoning optional

Instructions

1. Place a trivet or steam basket inside the pressure cooker pot.

2. Add one cup of water or the minimum liquid requirement for your pressure cooker. I used a 6 quarts pressure cooker.

3. 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.

4. Place the lid and lock it, make sure to close the sealing valve.

5. Select 35 minutes of pressure cooking on high.

6. Once the program is done, do a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release, after that open the valve to release the remaining pressure.
7. Using an instant read kitchen thermometer, take the temperature of your meat, it should be about 160F.
8. 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.

9. If you used Option 1: Once the beef is done, remove it with tongs and add it to a large bowl.

10. 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.

Calories: 288, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 80mg, Sodium: 77mg, Potassium: 306mg, Protein: 19g, Calcium: 2%, Iron: 12.2%

Author: Catalina Castravet

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

All images and text © for Peas and Peonies, LLC.

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