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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.
Do you put the cheese on these before or after cooking?
You can, and it gets very melted. If you do, then maybe slice the cheese thicker.
Try putting the cheese in a ramekin at the same time you steam the burgers. I saw a burger place that did steamed burgers in little trays and they also did the cheese in a separate tray.
Great tip! Thank you!
I did mine stuffed, so the cheese inside the burger, jucy lucy style. Turned out great!
Are the hamburgers fully cooked?
Hi Joan, yes they are. If you like a pink in the middle burger, you will ned to adjust the time. With all of the e-coli scares and such, I opted to make the recipe be for a fully cooked burger. Thanks for your question!
You indicate to press the manual button which is high pressure and you also talk early on that you steam them. So I’m not sure if they are steamed using the steam function or cooked at high pressure using the manual button. Thanks.
Hi Karen. Yes, the Pressure Cook/Manual button cooks the under pressure, and since they are wrapped, they steam under pressure. Either way, in that environment they would be steamed. I hope that makes sense. When I steam using the actual Steam function, I will be very clear as to the method/setting so you will not have to guess! Thank you for your question.
I have always heard to never use Quick Release when cooking meat because it will cause the meat to lose their natural juices. What would happen if you did try the natural release? Would it end up overl cooking the meat. Thanks so much for the recipe. I can’t wait to try this!
Hi Marilee, you could do a NR if you want to. Since the burgers are wrapped in foil, the moisture won’t be sucked out of them. You will let them rest in the foil while you get the fixings ready, so that will be enough.
I am going to try these this weekend. One more question, do you think can i do a few chicken burgers in there – same size for the same amount of time? Thanks in advance!
Chicken burgers may not take as long as the beef.
Hi, if you double or triple the recipe do you increase cooking time?
Thanks!
No, only if you increase the size of the burger patties.
Can you stack burgers on top of each other?
Yes, you can make several at once.
Do you think you could do this with frozen patties?
Yes! Try the 15 minutes cook time, and add more time after that if you need to.
If I double the recipe, do I need to adjust the time?
No, same time. Only adjust time if you make the patties larger or smaller. See cook times in the instructions.
Such an amazing idea!! I’m thinking about getting an instant pot, looking at recipe ideas, so keep them coming. I will definitely try this!