Instant Pot Frozen Hamburgers

Hamburgers are one of my favorite things to eat. When done right, they are juicy, flavorful, and all around awesome. I love a well-seasoned, perfectly cooked, juicy burger. My favorite burger joint is a place called Clarke’s CharBroiler, which has a ton of choices to make your perfect burger. I don’t go there often because it’s spendy, but it’s delicious. It’s also a fairly quick drive to and from the office.

My recipe for burgers from frozen works pretty well and can be increased, if needed.

Jump to the Equipment List. Jump to the Ingredient List. Jump to the Recipe Instructions.

I enjoy burgers so much, that I’m pretty sure both kids came out the womb craving ground beef patties. I largely ate burgers, pizza, ice cream, and hot dogs while pregnant. I tried to eat right, but the cravings were real. So I decided to enjoy myself and eat burgers. When else could I eat what I wanted (within reason)? I was totally eating for two. Yes, excuses, I know.

As my kids grew up to be somewhat picky eaters, we could agree that one thing they would probably always enjoy is a burger. But think about the expense of going to the golden arches to get an OK burger. The time, money, and gas it takes to pick up a Happy Meal for the littlest one and a “Quarter Pound” for the big one. Making sure that the burger is plain, which isn’t just without cheese. Not to say that McDonald’s doesn’t have a place in their lives – after all, it’s a thing I do with them when we go to see the doctor – but when I learned how to make an Instant Pot burger from frozen, the game changed dramatically.

First of all, I will mention this. I love my Instant Pot. I will do my best to figure out how to cook everything in it. I know it’s ultimately impossible, but you can’t blame a girl for trying, and I’m sure gonna try. This appliance has changed my cooking life and added confidence in the kitchen, something I never had before.

That being said, I was skeptical about pressure cooked burgers. Why not throw it on the grill or make it on stove? Well, for starters, I don’t mess much with the grill; sometimes I just don’t want to stand there flipping burgers. Secondly, cleaning up the splatter after cooking on the stove is just a pain. I don’t like my stove much because it’s electric and I prefer a gas range. I also don’t like how long it takes to cook frozen burgers on the stove. After all, I don’t have a whole lot of room to work with on the stove, so I inevitably do one burger at a time, which.takes.forever. Not conducive to a quick meal.

Then, I read a post on the Instant Pot Community Facebook page about cooking fresh burgers for 10-15 minutes in the Instant Pot. I was intrigued. So I decided to give it a try with frozen and see what I came up with.

I haven’t had a bad Instant Pot burger yet. My kids devour theirs nearly every time. My husband is a believer and suggests it as a quick meal.

In fact, last night, we were at a loss last night for quick dinner options. We looked at each other after a minute and said “burgers.”

We were eating within 35 minutes.

I think it’s safe to say that this recipe is a keeper. Read on for the recipe and let me know what you think!

Equipment List:

• Instant Pot – I used my 6-quart. The size pot depends on how many burgers you want to make.
• Trivet with legs – the one that came with my pot is perfect
• Aluminum foil

Ingredient List:

• Frozen burger patties – I used 1/4 pound burgers from Costco
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Or, seasonings of your choice
• Condiments, lettuce, tomato, buns (or lettuce wraps if you’re going no carb)
• 1 cup water for the inner pot

Recipe Instructions:

• Tear a piece of aluminum foil just over 12″ long. Place a frozen patty directly in the middle.
• Season liberally and to your heart’s content.

• Wrap each burger by loosely folding the foil over.
• Add one cup of water to the inner lining of the Instant Pot.
• Place trivet inside the pot.
• Stack the foil-wrapped burgers on top of each other in the pot. This allows the burgers to retain as close to a circular shape as possible during the cooking process. *Note that the ones in the middle will be fully cooked, but slightly pink in the middle.

• Lock the lid in place and set the steam release valve to sealing.
• Press the manual/pressure cook/meat button and using the +/- buttons, adjust the time to 18 minutes. (If you stack and don’t want any pink, go with 20 minutes).
• About five minutes before the cooking cycle is over, prepare your toppings and condiments.

• Assemble your burgers.
• Enjoy!

How do you like your burgers? Let me know what sides you like with your burgers in the comments below!

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Buen provecho! – Sami B.