The 5 Best Frozen Foods to Cook in Your Instant Pot

There is a lot to love about the Instant Pot, and if you snagged one on Amazon Prime Day you probably already know what I’m talking about. But the one feature that makes cooking more convenient above all else is the ability to use the pressure-cooking function to cook foods straight from the freezer. That’s right — no defrosting necessary. Here are five foods that can be cooked from frozen in your Instant Pot.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Chicken breasts, thighs, and drumsticks can all go into your Instant Pot straight from the freezer, whether they’re bone-in or boneless. Because chicken is relatively lean, particularly chicken breast, it benefits from cooking directly in stock or a sauce, like chicken cacciatore. The liquid keeps the chicken moist and juicy and infuses extra flavor.

Get a recipe: 30-Minute Pressure-Cooker Cacciatore Chicken

Ground beef is another meat that can be cooked in the Instant Pot straight from the freezer. After adding about one cup of water to the bottom of the insert, fit a metal trivet or steamer basket inside your Instant Pot, and place the frozen meat on top. Set the timer on high pressure for about 20 minutes, then use the quick release to release the pressure. Add the meat to a bowl and break it apart with a spoon. You can stir the meat into pasta sauce, mix it with spices for tacos or burritos, or use it for stuffed peppers.

It doesn’t matter if they’re homemade or store-bought, if there are rock-hard meatballs in your freezer, you can cook them even faster using your Instant Pot’s pressure-cooker feature. The key is using a steamer basket. Add about one cup of water to the bottom of the insert, arrange the meatballs in the steamer basket inside the Instant Pot, pressure-cook on high for five minutes, and use the quick release to release the pressure.

Use the pressure-cooker function and a frozen block of soup or broth will be ready to eat in no time. Add frozen soup straight into the Instant Pot insert, set the timer to high pressure for five minutes, and then release the pressure using the quick release method.

Take out your Instant Pot and there’s no need to defrost those salmon fillets in the freezer. After adding about one cup of water to the bottom of the insert, fit a metal trivet or steamer basket inside and place the fish on top. Set the timer on low pressure for one to three minutes, depending on thickness, and then use the quick release to release the pressure. Remove the skin before eating, or quickly crisp it in a hot skillet on the stovetop.

Your turn! What are your favorite frozen foods to cook in your Instant Pot?