How to Cook Frozen Ground Turkey in the Instant Pot
Cooking ground turkey from frozen is my favorite way to cook meat in a pressure cooker. The pressure the Instant Pot creates infuses the seasoning into the meat. Less mess, less time, more flavor.
Servings: 4
Calories: 170kcal
Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt
- Instant Pot Trivet
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey extra lean
- seasonings optional, can be found in post
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Place frozen meat in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add seasonings to the top of the meat now. 1 lb ground turkey seasonings
- Pour water over the top of the turkey. 1/2 cup water
- Close and lock the Instant Pot and turn the pressure valve to sealing.
- Pressure cook High for 15 minutes.
- Once your cook time is complete quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
- Set your pot to saute and use a spatula to crumble your meat.
- Add any (optional) extra seasonings now and saute until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- If making a dish that requires tomato sauce, such as chili, you can add that to the top of your ground turkey when it's frozen. Don't put tomato sauce on the bottom of your pot under the meat–you'll get the burn warning. When adding tomato sauce, don't leave the liquid out–you need that too.
- Sometimes I think the seasonings are absorbed into the meat a bit more when cooking this way, so you might want to add extra seasonings to your meat after it's sautéed.
- This method isn't necessarily faster than thawing the meat in the sink, but I love that pressure cooking is something I can walk away from for a bit and allow to cook on its own.
- While this is a quick way to defrost and cook the ground turkey, it's not the same as defrosting in the fridge. For example, you won't be able to make turkey burgers or meatballs with this meat after defrosting because it cooks the turkey at the same time.
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- Weight Watchers: When using extra lean ground turkey each 4 ounce serving counts as 0 2025 Points | 0 2023 Points | 0 Blue Plan Points | 1 Green Plan Point | 0 Purple Plan Points
- 21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix: Each 3/4 cup serving counts as 1 Red Container.
- 2B Mindset: In addition to this meat, fill your plate with 75% FFC for a complete breakfast. Fill your plate with 50% veggies and 25% FFC for a complete lunch, or add 75% veggies for a complete dinner.
Nutrition
Calories: 170kcal | Protein: 21g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 242mg | Vitamin A: 83IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg