How do you adjust Instant Pot recipes for frozen meat?

Bargain for at least 10 extra minutes for the pot to come to pressure when using frozen meats . Sometimes up to 40 extra minutes, depending on what you are making.

Can you cook frozen ground beef without thawing it?

Raw or cooked meat, poultry or casseroles can be cooked or reheated from the frozen state . However, it will take approximately one and a half times as long to cook. For example, if fresh meat takes one hour to cook, the same meat cooked frozen would take 1 1/2 hours.

How do you cook frozen ground beef?

Stovetop Preheat your skillet on medium heat. Add your favorite cooking oil (olive and avocado oil are great options). Place one pound of frozen ground beef in the skillet. Sear for four minutes, then flip the block and scrape the cooked beef off with tongs or a wooden spoon. ... Add your seasonings or sauces, and enjoy! May 3, 2021

Can I cook diced beef from frozen?

A: Yes, meat products can be cooked straight from frozen , although you must ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked through before serving. The meat must reach a core temperature of 70°C for at least 2 minutes to destroy any harmful bacteria.

Can you use frozen ground beef for tacos?

Yes, you can use frozen ground beef for tacos . However, there are a few steps you'll need to take to safely thaw the meat and prepare it for use. Here's what you can do: Thawing: The safest way to thaw frozen ground beef is in the refrigerator, allowing it to thaw slowly over several hours.

Can I cook taco meat from frozen?

Yes, you can cook frozen taco meat directly without thawing it . However, keep in mind that it may take longer to cook compared to thawed meat. Make sure to adjust your cooking time accordingly.

How long to cook frozen ground beef patty?

Place frozen, seasoned patties onto the hot cast-iron pan. Cook 3-5 minutes on each side, then flip. Continue flipping until a nice crust has formed — about 15 minutes . Remove from the pan and serve on your favorite bun!

Does frozen meat take longer to cook?

It just takes longer. Generally, you should add 50% more to the cooking time if cooking frozen meat instead of thawed. If frozen, thawed meat that would cook for 20 minutes should be cooked for 30 minutes.

What happens if I cook frozen ground beef?

Basically you end up thawing it as you cook it. Layer by layer as the outside thaws you can use a spatula to scrape the cooking layer off so the lump of ground beef gets smaller and smaller until it is all nicely browning in the pan.

How do you know if frozen ground beef is OK?

“ Outside, ground beef should look nice and pink ,” says Dr. Craggs-Dino. “Sometimes, the inside may look a little brown, and that's OK, too. But if it's starting to turn a funky gray — inside or out — then you know something is a little off.

How do you defrost frozen ground beef quickly?

You're going to want to put your ground beef in a bowl. or in your sink and cover it with cold water. Water is a better conductor of heat, thus speeding up your thawing time. And remember, you should always use cold water. to avoid any bacteria growth. that may have been present before freezing.

How do you adjust the cooking time for frozen food?

If it's still frozen, as a general rule, add 50% to the cooking time . Thus a casserole that takes 1 hour to bake when fresh should take about 1.5 hours to bake from frozen.

How many minutes per pound to cook a frozen roast beef?

How Minutes Per Pound. Cooking frozen roast beef takes about 50% longer than cooking unfrozen roast beef. You should cook medium-rare roast beef for about 30-35 minutes per pound, and medium roast beef should be cooked for about 40-45 minutes per pound .

Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef

The Recipe Rebel / Dinner

written by Ashley Fehr

4.82 from 11 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings 10 servings

Jump to Recipe

Last updated on June 3, 2020

This Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef is the easiest way to do weeknight dinner! No thawing the meat, no extra pots — just throw it in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker, cook and season! This taco filling is perfect for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or taco salad and great for prepping ahead!

PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER

Happy Thursday friends! I’m jumping in here for yet another Instant Pot recipe, and we’re still sticking with the basics: how to make Instant Pot taco meat from frozen ground beef!

Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef - The Recipe Rebel (2)

I’ll admit, when I first heard about people cooking frozen ground beef in their Instant Pots, I wasn’t convinced. I mean, how can that even work? Wouldn’t it cook into a big solid block??

But after my success with cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, I was pretty determined to give it a try!

(Looking for more easy Instant Pot recipes? Check out these Instant Pot Baked Potatoes or this Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup!)

Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef - The Recipe Rebel (3)

Friends, I have a 3 month old, a 3 year old, and a 5 year old. I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I’ll be honest, spending a lot of time running around like crazy not really getting anywhere. If I actually remember to take some meat out to thaw in the morning, it’s some kind of miracle.

If the 3 month old makes it into real clothes for the day, it’s also some kind of miracle.

So learning to cook meat from frozen is one of the first things I knew I had to do with my Instant Pot! It’s a game changer you guys.

You can absolutely just use this recipe and not add the taco seasoning. You can make sloppy joes, or spaghetti sauce, or just about anything where you need cooked ground beef and weren’t exactly prepared for dinner that night 😉

Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef - The Recipe Rebel (4)

Tips and Tricks for Making this Instant Pot Taco Meat from frozen ground beef:

I usually cook two pounds at once, and they are frozen into square blocks. They are pretty thick, so even if your meat is in a slightly different shape it shouldn’t take any longer. If you have more than one pound frozen together, you will want to add 5 minutes or just cook longer on saute at the end.
Because I am going to saute it with the seasoning in the end anyway, I’m not that concerned about it being completely cooked through after pressure cooking. I would rather have it a little easier to crumble and a little pink yet in the inside, then totally dried out and tough.
It’s going to take a little time and muscle to scramble the meat — use a hard metal or wooden spoon and just go to town. Had a bad day? This is a great way to get some of that anger out! 😉

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Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef

written by Ashley Fehr

4.82 from 11 votes

Save

Review

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Cuisine American, Mexican

Course Main Course, Salad

Servings 10 servings

Calories 130cal

Ingredients

▢ 1 1/2 cups + ½ cup water
▢ 2 lbs frozen ground beef frozen in 1 lb blocks
▢ 3 teaspoons ground cumin
▢ 2 teaspoons garlic powder
▢ 2 teaspoons paprika
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
▢ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
▢ 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

Pour the water into your Instant Pot (mine is a 6 quart) and add the trivet or a cooking rack.
Add the ground beef, side by side, on top of the trivet.
Set the Instant Pot to Manual, high pressure, for 18-20 minutes (18 if your blocks are thinner, 20 for thicker blocks in the middle).
At the end of the cook time, turn the Instant Pot off. Do a quick release and drain the water from the Instant Pot (I like to use my trivet to hold the meat in the pot as I dump out the water).
Using a strong metal or wooden spoon, crumble the ground beef. This will take a few minutes! It’s okay if your beef isn’t cooked right through as we’re going to be cooking further.
Turn the Instant Pot to saute and add the ½ cup water, cumin, garlic, paprika, salt, onion powder, black pepper and cayenne and stir until thoroughly combined, adding an additional ¼ cup water if necessary.
Serve immediately, refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

This recipe will work just as well with fresh ground beef! Set the Instant Pot to Manual, high pressure, for 15 minutes and then crumble on saute as per the recipe.

Nutrition Information

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[simple-recipe:8823a]

Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Tonya Weekley says
January 23, 2024 at 6:31 pm
Nailed it! Thank you for posting!!
Reply
- The Recipe Rebel says
  January 23, 2024 at 9:53 pm
  Thanks Tonya!
  Reply
Janet says
August 7, 2023 at 10:52 am
So I use your method for cooking the ground beef for my lasagna. Perfect! Here’s a tip – I put my raw chopped onions (from my lasagna recipe) in the instant pot water under the trivet. After cooking, I strain them as I pour the water into my gravy/fat separator. Then I have my cooked onions and good beef broth to use in the recipe instead of water – extra flavor without the fat! Just started following you and am loving your insight on recipes!
Reply
- The Recipe Rebel says
  August 21, 2023 at 9:31 pm
  Hi Janet! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
  Reply
Lindy says
April 5, 2023 at 8:05 pm
Yes I did use it to cook frozen hamburger meat but after first step turn the hamburger into chili using a preboxed chili mix. Turned out great thanks for the recipe for cooking frozen hamburger.
Reply
- The Recipe Rebel says
  April 10, 2023 at 3:59 pm
  Glad it worked out for you Lindy!
  Reply
InstaNewbie says
February 1, 2022 at 4:48 pm
Why do we need to drain the water?
Reply
- The Recipe Rebel says
  February 4, 2022 at 7:37 pm
  Hi! It’s something I prefer. The water in the bottom will include fat so I like to remove it and add clean water. Hope this helps!
  Reply
tanyatissaaratchy@gmail.com says
January 12, 2021 at 4:57 pm
Are you able to add the saute time to your recipe? I had to look in the comments to see what you suggested to others. Our family love taco nights!
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  January 14, 2021 at 2:19 pm
  Time is not as important as doneness. First, you will crumble the beef. It will take however long it takes 🙂 Then you will add in the spices and cook and stir until it is combined.
  Reply
Patricia says
December 28, 2020 at 7:38 pm
Hi I have a question do I use the same amount of time for one pound of meat? I’m looking forward to trying this!! Your frozen chicken breast recipe was life changing and I’ve been recommending to everyone!!! Thank you
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  January 4, 2021 at 3:26 pm
  Thanks Patricia! Yes I would use the same cook time — I hope you enjoy it!
  Reply
Carol says
August 21, 2019 at 5:31 pm
Made it today it worked well only change I made was to add beef bullion and no salt. It was quick easy with less clean up than normal.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  August 26, 2019 at 10:21 am
  I’m so happy to hear that Carol!
  See Also
  24 Rich Risotto Recipes
  Reply
  - April Crawford says
    August 12, 2021 at 10:02 am
    I’m new to the instapot and was actually given one second hand. It doesn’t have the trivet. Will this method work without it? I take care of anywhere from 4-8 grandkids on any given day and I struggle to have dinner ready for grandpa when he gets home.
  - Ashley Fehr says
    August 16, 2021 at 1:11 pm
    I would see if you can find a trivet on Amazon or somewhere secondhand. They really do come in handy! I think it would probably work without but I’ve never tried. You may be able to just prop it up with something else that is pressure cooker safe.
- Claudia says
  January 13, 2020 at 8:14 pm
  When did you add the beef bouillon? With the water out with the taco seasoning?
  Reply
Hilary says
March 25, 2019 at 5:57 pm
Can you do this with only 1 lb of ground beef? If so, how would the recipe/method change?
Reply
- Hilary Caron says
  March 25, 2019 at 5:58 pm
  Also- I’m brand new to InstantPot- is there a good technique for draining out the water?
  Reply
  - Ashley Fehr says
    April 1, 2019 at 11:29 am
    No problem! You can definitely do it with one pound! To drain the water I usually put the trivet over top of the meat to hold it in the bottom, then dump to drain
Luis says
March 20, 2019 at 6:30 pm
With fresh ground meat do I just put it in the pot or do I still use the trivet and water?
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  March 25, 2019 at 10:36 am
  If you’re using fresh ground beef you can just saute and completely skip any pressure cooking!
  Reply
Tod Sackella says
January 9, 2019 at 7:17 pm
Great recipe! Used tonight when I forgot to thaw out the ground beef and it turned out terrific! Thanks so much for posting.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  January 11, 2019 at 10:19 am
  I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Tod!
  Reply
Karen says
January 2, 2019 at 8:17 pm
I put 2 pounds of frozen meat in the pot for 20 minutes. It was mostly cooked, but I could still break it up easily. It didn’t take long at all to break up and it had finished cooking by then. I drained the water, added the spices and fresh water. It was so easy! Thank you! I will definately do this again.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  January 7, 2019 at 12:03 pm
  Thanks Karen! I’m so glad it worked out well for you!
  Reply
Raquel says
July 29, 2018 at 1:19 pm
How do you reheat this after you freeze it.?
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  July 31, 2018 at 3:57 pm
  You can thaw in the fridge and microwave or reheat it on the stove top pretty easily.
  Reply
Ray says
April 5, 2018 at 3:23 pm
How long do you sauté for.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  April 6, 2018 at 10:20 am
  Until the meat is cooked and has absorbed the spices. Probably about 4-5 minutes.
  Reply
Andrew Mayer says
March 27, 2018 at 11:52 am
I tried this last night.
I love the concept, but I think you’re overcooking the meat a bit, especially since it’s going to need to be sauteed with the spices. I also like to add some onions, fresh garlic, and bell pepper.
I’m going to try it with 10 minutes and see what happens.
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  March 31, 2018 at 9:18 am
  You can definitely adjust as you like 🙂 I like it to be thawed enough in the middle that I can easily break it apart!
  Reply
T Sieracki says
February 24, 2018 at 3:05 pm
Thank you for this post! My instant pot just arrived so I was eager to try it out. Tacos were on the menu so I decided to give this recipe a try. Worked like a charm. I was nervous at first because my ground turkey blocks were too big to lie side by side so I had to stack them. After the 20 minutes of cooking, I opened the pot and where they were touching was still pretty pink. But like you mentioned, I switched to sauté and it finished cooking while breaking the turkey into crumbles. I ended up pulling some out before adding the seasoning for a future meal. So happy with the results!
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  February 26, 2018 at 2:58 pm
  Yay! I’m so glad to hear that!
  Reply
Jennifer Stevens says
February 21, 2018 at 3:07 pm
I don’t have the rack, is it possible/ok to do this without the rack?
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  February 24, 2018 at 10:19 am
  I don’t think it’s a good idea to place the frozen ground beef right on the bottom of the pot. Maybe you have something you can put it in or on to keep it off the bottom?
  Reply
- Amy says
  October 2, 2018 at 2:09 pm
  A steamer basket works well if you don’t have the Instant Pot rack.
  Reply
  - Ashley Fehr says
    October 3, 2018 at 10:59 am
    Thanks for the tip!
Susan cox says
February 18, 2018 at 9:31 am
Do you put the trevit under or over the meat while cooking?
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  February 19, 2018 at 10:38 am
  You just follow the recipe as written.
  Reply
  - Carole says
    December 27, 2018 at 1:23 pm
    If you put the trivet UNDER the meat to cook it, how do you use the trivet to keep the meat in the bowl while you’re dumping ova eh water?
  - Carole says
    December 27, 2018 at 1:25 pm
    oops- out the water! not ova eh water! ha
  - Ashley Fehr says
    January 2, 2019 at 1:32 pm
    I just put the trivet on top to drain! I cook with it under though 🙂
Joanna says
February 14, 2018 at 8:58 pm
Use a potato masher to break up the meat 🙂
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  February 16, 2018 at 5:46 pm
  That’s a great idea! Love it!
  Reply
Danielle says
February 8, 2018 at 2:25 pm
Another great way to use my Instant Pot! And I NEVER remember to take ground beef out to thaw. It’s like some kind of mental block, I had no idea you could use an Instant Pot (never considered it). Love that I came across this!
Reply
- Ashley Fehr says
  February 12, 2018 at 10:40 am
  Yes! So hard to remember!
  Reply

Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

Tips and Tricks for Making this Instant Pot Taco Meat from frozen ground beef:

Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition Information

Meet Ashley

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