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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.
Just out of curiosity , if NO foil is used (burgers directly on rack) should you then do a COMPLETE NR till the pin drops?!
David, I believe the burgers would cook faster, so probably only a 10 minute NR.
My wife was working late and I needed to cook up something for the kids. I had some ground turkey and a ranch seasoning packet so I gave it a go. They turned out great and the kids loved them(although they had some reservations at first because they weren’t grilled).
Quick, easy and delicious! All I added was a little A-1 to the top of the burger before wrapping in foil. Since I’m doing Keto right now I ate it with shredded sharp cheddar, shredded mozzarella and pico de gallo on top. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these on Monday night using ground turkey (my own burger recipe). They are FANTASTIC! Moist and still moist 3 days later. I’m making burgers and meatloaf in the instant Pot from now on. Thanks for the great idea!
Recipe for your turkey burgers
I am SO excited to try this recipe tonight! I am making a recipe for stuffed chicken burgers with cream cheese, bacon and green onions. Do you think the filling will spill out or no? I seal them really well but don’t want them to leak out.
A little might leak out, just try not to overstuff them. BTW, YUM!
HI Sandy, I was just wondering today if hamburgers are possible in the IP! Timely. Is it possible to cook one burger? What would you suggest for the cooking time? I’m an IP Newbie! Thank you!
Lori
I think you could, though I haven’t tried just one. I would follow the recipe for the size patty you are making and see how it comes out.
What would happen if you used 90% lean hamburger meat? (Watching my weight)
The burgers will just be a little less juicy.
As someone born and raised in Connecticut, steamed hams (ok that was a Simpson’s reference) are an acquired taste…mostly because the truly steamed burgers have a grayish look to them which is a bit offputting.
I am happy to report the meat was appetizingly brown. Now I just need the steam box for the cheese like Ted’s ?
Do these shrink a lot like when you grill or cook them on the stove? I’m just wondering if I should make them bigger than the bun like I normally have to. Thanks!
If you do the step of making a dent in the center, they will shrink less.
What an excellent way to cook burgers! There are only 2 of us, so can I cook 2 in our Mini? The Mini has lower wattage than the 6 qt, so I would imagine I would have to increase the time. Thank you so much for this recipe!