Cook Frozen Ground Beef Instant Pot

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Learn how to cook frozen ground beef in the pressure cooker in just 25 minutes and dinner time will be stree-free.

Cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot, so you never again have to worry when you forget to take meat out of the freezer.

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I am a meal planner. I plan out each night's dinner at the beginning of the week, and I do my best to stick to the plan…but it doesn't always work out as I intended.

Whether you yourself are a meal planner or not, you've probably spent more than one evening staring at an open fridge, wondering what to make for dinner.

Perhaps you don't plan, or as sometimes happens to me, your plans went awry and the fresh ground beef or chicken you need for dinner is still in the freezer.

Not all hope is lost!

After I learned How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot, I was ready to explore how to cook frozen ground beef in the pressure cooker.

One of the best things about an Instant Pot is its ability to cook foods that are frozen.

However, there are some misconceptions about how that is done. You can't just toss a block of frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot with a pile of other ingredients and expect dinner to be ready in a few minutes.

You have to cook the Instant Pot frozen ground beef separately before continuing with your recipe, but the good news is that you can cook Instant Pot frozen hamburger in just a few minutes.

It's still a huge time saver, and this method has saved dinner on more than one occasion when I've rushed off early in the day and forgotten to thaw the ground beef. You can make so many delicious meals this way!

Favorite Instant Pot Ground Beef Recipes:

• Delicious Pressure Cooker Chili
• Instant Pot Beef Enchilada Pasta
• Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
• Easy Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
• Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna

Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef

We love ground beef, and I make Instant Pot ground beef recipes at least once a week. Almost every recipe starts with sauteed hamburger, so if you know how to sauté in the Instant Pot, you can easily make every recipe on my list of favorites.

That's all fine and dandy until you come home and realize the ground beef is still in the freezer, right?!

Popping the frozen beef into the microwave often results in cooked edges and a frozen center. Using the slow cooker isn't an option because it takes too long and the meat will be at an unsafe temperature for too long.

Thankfully, the Instant Pot does the trick!

So grab that package of frozen meat, and I'll show you how to have tender, cooked hamburger meat that's ready to be made into a delicious meal for you and your family with this convenient way to rescue dinner on your busy days!

How to Cook Frozen Ground Beef In The Pressure Cooker

It's really easy to cook Instant Pot frozen ground beef. This is the easiest way to get consistent results!

Ingredients You'll Need:

• Water
• Frozen Ground Beef

How to Make It:

(Full printable recipe is available below)

Remove the ground beef. First, you'll grab a package of frozen ground beef and remove all of the packaging. If anything is sticking, just run the beef under cold water for a moment and it will peel right off.

Cook the beef. Next, you'll pour a cup of water onto the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the frozen hamburger on top of the trivet. Close and seal the lid and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes, followed by a 5-minute natural release.

Check for doneness. Next, when the cooking time is complete, you'll perform a quick release of the remaining pressure and open the Instant Pot. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature has reached a minimum of 160F.

Break apart the cooked beef. Last, you'll carefully lift out the trivet and set it aside while you pour out the cooking liquid from the bottom of the pot.

Dump the cooked beef into the pot and use a wooden spoon or potato masher to break up the cooked meat. At this point, you can continue with your chosen recipe as directed, just as if you had browned the beef using the Saute function.

Can I Add Seasonings to the Frozen Beef Before Cooking?

I recommend waiting until after cooking to add the seasonings, because you'll be discarding the cooking liquid. So adding things like taco seasoning or sauce for sloppy joes doesn't really make sense at this point.

If you're making a soup or something and want to use the cooking liquid, you can, but I discard it because of the grease that's in it.

Then, I add seasonings, and a little water if needed, after I've crumbled the cooked ground beef.

Notes and Adaptations:

• If your meat is frozen in a different shape than the approximately 1-inch thick rectangular package (such as in a thick block or round tube), your cook time will likely be longer.
• While you can perform a quick pressure release after cooking, I prefer using at least a 5 minute natural release when pressure cooking meat. This is because the extreme temperature changes associated with a quick release can make the meat tougher. If you aren't in a hurry, you can also perform a full natural release.
• You can follow the same method for a pound of ground turkey or ground chicken, too!
• Even if the internal temperature has reached 160F, it's possible that you may still have some pink/bloody areas in your beef, as you can see in the photo on the left below. You can drain the cooking liquid and use the Saute function to finish browning the meat as you crumble it, or you can close the lid and pressure cook for a couple more minutes (that's what I usually do if needed).

Recommended Equipment:

• Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker
• Trivet
• Potato masher

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 37 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 lb frozen ground beef

Instructions

1. Add water to the insert pot of your Instant Pot and set the trivet in place.
2. Remove all packaging from the frozen ground beef, including any absorbent pads that may be stuck to the bottom. If needed, rinse the frozen beef under tap water to loosen any packaging.
3. Place ground beef on the trivet. Close lid and set the vent to the sealed position.
4. Select a cook time of 20 minutes at high pressure. When the cook time is complete, allow a 5 minute natural release of pressure, followed by a quick release of any remaining pressure (alternatively, you can allow a full natural release).
5. Check the internal temperature of your beef using a thermometer. The internal temperature should be at least 160F. If needed, close lid and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Lift out the trivet with ground beef. Discard cooking liquid. Return beef to the pot and use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break the beef apart.

Notes

• If your meat is frozen in a different shape than the approximately 1-inch thick rectangular package, your cook time will likely be longer.
• Even if the internal temperature has reached 165F, it's possible that you may still have some pink areas in your beef. You can drain the cooking liquid and use the Saute function to finish browning the meat, or you can close the lid and pressure cook for a couple more minutes.
• I prefer using at least a 5 minute natural release when pressure cooking meat, as the extreme temperature changes associated with a quick release can make the meat tougher. If you aren't in a hurry, you can perform a full natural release.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 206 Total Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 5g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 67mg Sodium: 70mg Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Protein: 20g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.

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Source: https://marginmakingmom.com/frozen-ground-beef-in-the-instant-pot/

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