This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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 just tried this recipe, but used 95 beef, that’s what I had. I made 4 oz patties and cooked them for 8 min with 1 min NPR and I didn’t let them rest,. The flavor was good, but they were a bit dry. Would less time, like the 7 min help that? Or could you suggest a possible solution when using 90 or 95 beef?
Hi Jeanne, extra lean beef like that will cook a lot differently that 80% to 85% lean beef. I would cut the cook time down next time for sure (or maybe make larger patties). You could also mix in a little olive oil to the meat mixture, if you don’t mind the extra little bit of (healthy) fat. I’m not certain if they will be very juicy, but hopefully they won’t be dry!
When I use really lean meat for burgers, I add a Tbsp or 2 of beef broth. You can use water, a mixture of water and soy sauce, or whatever you like, but I think the broth add nice flavor.
Made this using your recipe guidelines but after burgers were done I put them in some brown gravy for a hamburger steaks. It turned out great and I am a Insta newbie. BTW I used 90/10 hamburger meat….still very juicy. Thank you so much!!!
How would you go about storing extras after cooking? Leave them wrapped and into the fridge or unwrap and let out juices, then re-wrap and store?
I would rewrap them in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge.
Someone asked if the burgers turn out brown, and your response was no, because they are steamed. Then someone posted that they do turn out brown, and the photo shows a browned burger. So, I’m confused!
What I thought they meant was do they get browned. They do darken because the meat cooks. The color will also depend on what you have added to the meat to flavor it. Things like soy sauce, Worcestershire, beef bouillon, etc, will darken the meat. The cooking process will darken the meat also, but the burgers won’t have a browned crust.
do the burgers not just sit in a pool of grease being enclosed and cooked in foil? It looks like the burgers would be fatty/greasy
You dump it out. They didn’t seem greasy to me, just juicy. Maybe do a test of a couple and see if you like them.
I love this idea and can’t wait to try….. have you listed the potato packets yet? I’d love to do them!
I will need to do about 12 burgers for company. By overlapping/staggering the stacking process, would the cook time remain the same as for 4 burgers?
They should. I would leave yourself a few extra minutes. If the burgers aren’t quite done, close the lid and let them rest longer, or turn on the sauté setting to get the water hot again and close the lid. Then turn off the sauté setting and let them rest a few more minutes.
How about parchment? How do you wrap those
As opposed to foil?
Yes, you can use parchment. Just fold a piece over the pattie and roll the edges together towards the center.
When you say stagger, could you elaborate a little more? Like
If I have 4 patties, arrange them so they over lap each other?
Just like with bricks. Offset them a little, if you can. It’s not critical.
As a matter of curiosity, what us the purpose of making an indentation with thumb in center of burgers?
Curious and need to know! ?
The indent helps keep the burgers from shrinking.
And the dent in the middle also helps keep the burger from swelling in the middle.