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Instant Pot Hamburgers are juicy and delicious. You can get juicy, tasty hamburgers with a pressure cooker. Instant Pot Burgers are very easy to make.
Originally published 4/18/2018
Instant Pot Hamburgers
So, what in the world made me think to cook a hamburger in my Instant Pot? I was craving my husband’s famous potato packets, and I was sad because it’s still too cold to break out the grill. Then I thought hey, I can make those in my Instant Pot!
If you are from Connecticut, this may not seem the least bit strange. But to many people, a steamed burger sounds just plain weird.
In some parts of the country, anywhere with a “White Castle” restaurant, steaming is just another way to make a juicy hamburger or cheeseburger.
You have to use a higher fat content to get that really juicy Instant Pot Hamburger (or any burger).
Instant Pot Hamburgers are pretty simple to make. Once you make your meat mixture, form the hamburger into patties, wrap them up, and cook them in the pressure cooker.
When making hamburgers in the Instant Pot, you can add any spices and flavorings you like to the meat mixture, including onion, garlic, Worcestershire, etc. Just make them your own!
Serve your hamburgers with some tasty Coleslaw or Sweet Potato Steak Fries.
Tips for making hamburgers in the Instant Pot
- When making the burger patties, the thicker the patty, the longer the cook time. So if you like a very round patty, it will need to cook a couple minutes longer than a thinner patty.
Likewise, if you like a very thin patty, you may need to reduce the cook time a little. - Making a thumb sized indent in the center of one side of the burger patty helps reduce puffing up as well as shrinkage.
- You can make a “Juice Lucy” style of patty by making the patty into 2 thin patties and placing a thick slice of cheese in between them. Yum!
I like to make up a big batch of InstaPot hamburger patties when the kids come to visit. I love how easy it is, and since the recipe can be doubled or tripled, I can feed the whole gang!
Stay tuned for Paul’s famous potato packets, they are simple, and so tasty!
Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
Instant Pot Barbecue Beef
Instant Pot Lasagna
Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes
Instant Pot Hamburgers
Ingredients
Hamburger Meat Mixture #1
- 1 lb Ground Beef (I use 80% - 85% lean)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ cup Onion, finely chopped or grated (or 1 Tbsp dehydrated onion or 1/2 tsp onion Powder)
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika (optional)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
Hamburger Meat Mixture #2
- 1 lb Ground Beef (I use 80% - 85% lean)
- 1 1 oz Packet of Onion Soup Mix (mix with the meat)
Fixings (use whatever you like!)
- 4 Hamburger Buns
- Cheese Slices
- Tomato Slices
- Lettuce
- Mayo
- Ketchup
- Mustard
Tools You'll Need
- 4 pieces Aluminum Foil or Parchment Squares
- 6 qt or 8 qt Pressure Cooker
- Trivet (metal rack for bottom of pot)
Instructions
- Add 1 ½ cups of water to the inner stainless liner of the 6 qt pressure cooker (Use 2 ½ cups for the 8 qt).
- Place the trivet in the pot also.
- Mix all of the hamburger meat mixture ingredients together in a bowl with the meat.If making Version #2, mix the soup packet with the ground meat.
- Divide the meat mixture into 4 equal (4 oz) patties, 3 (5 oz) patties, or 2 (8 oz patties). press your thumb into the center of each patty to make an indentation.
- Wrap patties in foil or parchment. The wrapping and cooking under pressure is what steams them.
- Stack the wrapped patties on the trivet in a staggered pattern. Then place the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button, or dial and then the +/- button or dial to select:12 minutes for 4 oz patties (7 minutes for a touch rare*)14 minutes for 5 oz patties (9 minutes for a touch rare*)16 minutes for 8 oz patties (11 minutes for a touch rare*)Cook times may vary based on the thickness of the patties and how many are cooked at one time.High pressure.
- When the cook cycle is finished, let the pot sit for 7 minutes before releasing the pressure. Release the pressure/steam (that means turn the steam release knob to the Venting position right after cooking is finished).Or, if you do a Quick Release, let the burgers rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Carefully remove the patties from the pot using tongs. Then unwrap them on a plate to catch the drippings, and make up your hamburger with all of your favorite fixin's!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made 4 4 Oz burgers wrapped in parchment paper. When I took the burgers out of the paper they fell apart. How do I prevent this from happening?
Maybe pressing them together more firmly before cooking? I’m not sure.
Hi Sandy,
I just searched for a recipe and your recipe sounds amazing!
If I do 3lbs of burgers can i stack them to cook all at once?
I have an 8qt pot.
Thank you,
Shannon
I think that should work.
Do you recommend freezing the patties in the foil packets? What cook time do you think would work?
Just add a few minutes to the cook time.
Made these just as directed. 4 ounce Pattie’s, 93% beef. Delicious
I had 8- 4 oz patties in parchment paper, 14 min then QR. They were raw where they were contacting each other and I’m not sure what went wrong. I double checked the time.
The rest of my dinner was ready when I noticed, so I threw them in the broiler.
Did you wrap them individually?
A really great way of cooking a burger to keep it nice and Juicy (although I used a top quality shop brought 6oz burger).
I finished mine with a quick sear in a grilled pan just to add some caramelised and a nice criss-cross pattern 🙂
Would it be wise to fry the hamburger patties for 3 min per side and then wrap them up before you place them in the instapot
You could, however, a reverse sear (browning after cooking) may be better to maintain a crust.
This is a winner–the only way I’ll make hamburgers from now on. I’ve used it 3 times & all were delicious! When hubby asks for them to be done that way I know it’s a success. I did the last ones from frozen & cooked 15 minutes with about 5 min. NR–opened packets & added a cheese slice, Re-closed packet to let cheese melt while I fixed buns. So juicy & tender. Used 85/15 most of the time. They look brown when they’re in the bun so it works for me. Definitely 5-star rating.
Could you do this with ground turkey and what leanness would you recommend?
Thanks
Yes, and I recommend the 85/15.
Could you cook frozen patties and how much longer would it take?
Just add a few minutes to the cook time.
Love this for regular sized burgers but wondering if it would work with mini slider sized burgers and how the time would be changed? Could i wrap 2 or 3 together or would i need to wrap each little one individually?
You can wrap a few together. I would reduce the time by a few minutes. Maybe do one set and see how they turn out.