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How to Cook Meat in the Instant Pot

June 24, 2017 by Tiffany Davis 31 Comments

How to cook meat in the Instant Pot. Since the day I brought the Instant Pot in my house it became my favorite kitchen tool. Not only is it fast, it infuses flavor into everything it cooks! My favorite thing to cook in my Instant Pot is meat; I’ve never been disappointed with my meats being pressured cooked. I’ve included a printable cheat sheet so you when you need to cook meat in the Instant Pot it can be right on your fridge for reference (see link at the bottom of this post).

How to Cook Meat in the Instant Pot

If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, I highly recommend one. But you should be able to use these cooking meat tips with most electric pressure cookers. I cook so much more than meat in mine and I’ll be sure to write up more references in the near future. I make the best cooked carrots, mashed potatoes and beans of all sorts in my Instant Pot. I’ve yet to be disappointed with anything, well except the first time I made rice in it; but that rice failure was more of user error than anything.

Right now, we are in the middle of another hot summer in Phoenix. I love that I can make a great pressure cooked dinner without heating the house up too.

Be sure to check out the recipes I’ve included under each meat section.

How to Cook Meat in the Instant Pot

The cook times listed here are based on fresh, not frozen, meats. I have listed frozen times where applicable. Remember, when considering cook times, you need to add time for the Instant Pot to get pressurized and when done cooking some will need a slow release (versus opening the valve) which will also add time.

Beef

I recommend when cooking beef that you allow for a natural, slow, release of pressure. I find that when you open the valve for a quick release the meat tends to be tougher.

  • Pot Roasts – 30 – 40 minutes
    (that will cook it but I do add more time to my roast for that falling apart goodness)
  • Stew Meat – 15 – 20 minutes
  • Ribs – 25 – 30 minutes
  • Ground Beef, frozen – 25 minutes
    (see tips here)

Check out Instant Pot Beef Stew and Instant Pot Roast Beef

Chicken How to Cook Meat in the Instant Pot

  • Whole – 6 minutes per pound
  • Boneless – 8 minutes
  • Boneless, frozen – 12 minutes
  • Bone-In – 10 – 15 minutes

Check out Instant Pot Orange Chicken and Salsa Chicken Tacos

Turkey

  • Boneless Breast – 15 – 20 minutes
  • Bone-In Breast – 25 – 30 minutes
  • Legs – 15 – 20 minutes

Check out Turkey Breast in Gravy and State Fair Turkey Drumsticks

Pork

  • Ham, re-heat boneless fully cooked – 6 – 7 minutes
  • Ham, shoulder – 25 minutes
  • Roast, butt – 45 – 50 minutes
  • Roast, loin – 55 – 60 minutes
  • Ribs – 20 – 25 minutes
  • Chops – 5 – 6 minutes

Check out Honey Glazed Ham and Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Rabbit

  • Whole 25 – 30 minutes
    (will fall off the bone)

Check out Instant Pot Rabbit Soup

Fish

  • Whole – 5 – 6 minutes
  • Whole, frozen – 7 – 10 minutes
  • Fillets – 2 – 3 minutes
  • Fillet, frozen – 3 – 4 minutes

Check out 10 Minute Salmon and Instant Pot Fish Chowder

Duck

  • Whole – 25- 30 minutes
  • Cuts, bone in – 12 – 15 minutes

Check out Braised Duck with Potato and Duck Confit

Cook Meat in the Instant Pot – Free Printable Reference Sheet

Be sure to check out my other Instant Pot Recipes!

  • Brussels Sprouts in 3 Minutes
  • Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Kitchen Stories, Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. trbobitch says

    November 21, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    On what setting?

    Reply
  2. Whitney says

    December 26, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    What setting am I using? Poultry button for poultry? Pressure Cooking? I just got this machine and am confused on what settings I should be using. Love the chart, I’ll be referencing this often. Thank you and Merry Christmas

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 27, 2017 at 4:31 am

      It depends on the meat itself.

      Reply
      • Annie says

        January 5, 2019 at 4:25 pm

        What is the difference between using the meat/ stew setting and the
        Pressure cook setting?
        When do you use either one?

        Reply
        • Tiffany Davis says

          January 6, 2019 at 8:54 am

          The meat / stew is just a pre-setting but I find I’m using the manual more often.

          Reply
  3. Emily says

    January 29, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    Are the shorter times per pound? Like boneless chicken? You listed whole chicken per pound above it but want to make sure that’s a per pound time. Thank you

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      January 30, 2018 at 5:53 am

      Boneless chicken generally takes less time than bone-in. But I don’t adjust much for weight.

      Reply
  4. Kristina says

    January 31, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    I have some thin cut pork boneless chops that I’ve marinaded. Do I just sit them in the bottom of the inner pot? Forgive me- this is my first time to use it. also- can I use my leftover marinade liquid as the liquid in the pot or does it need to be the half cup of water?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      February 1, 2018 at 6:30 am

      You can or you can put them on the trivet. I always use 1 cup of liquid and the leftover marinade should be fine because you’re cooking it.

      Reply
  5. Alyce says

    July 23, 2018 at 3:04 pm

    Sausages? Like… Polska Kielbasa, Brats ?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      July 24, 2018 at 5:07 am

      Both!

      Reply
  6. Alyce says

    July 29, 2018 at 10:45 am

    I can’t depend on these cook times because, for instance, you state that pork loin roast should be cooked for 55-60 minutes. For WHAT weight? 1 lb? 2 lb? 3 lb? The cooking time for a pork loin roast on the Instant Pot website states 20 min. per pound. Are you saying I should cook a 1 lb pork loin roast for 60 minutes, 3 times the amount of time that the Instant Pot website states?

    Reply
    • Lynn Beumer says

      September 6, 2018 at 1:49 pm

      I keep lookingfor the answer too. One site says ” Depending on the size of the pork, we used about 2 pounds, the pork cooked in about 30 minutes. For us that timing always resulted in a delicious and juicy pork roast. ” Does that mean 15 minutes per pound?

      Reply
  7. Jecica says

    December 5, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    What about boneless pork ribs? How long do you cook that in the instant pot?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 7, 2018 at 4:37 am

      45 minutes on manual, high pressure. Do a natural release of the pressure (not quick), which will take about 15 minutes.

      Reply
      • Amanda B says

        October 10, 2019 at 2:55 pm

        DO you cook with the floater on the sealing or venting selection?

        Reply
        • Tiffany Davis says

          October 11, 2019 at 3:44 am

          Sealed and it is best to let it naturally release.

          Reply
  8. Kimberly says

    December 13, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    Would a 1 lb frozen beef roast take the same time as listed or less?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 15, 2018 at 5:26 am

      I would cook it the same about of time and make sure you do a natural release (NOT QUICK) for a tender roast.

      Reply
  9. jeannette says

    December 26, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    I just got my first instant pot…gift for xmas.
    I have no idea what, how, when…

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 27, 2018 at 5:48 am

      Try doing the water test and then some “boiled” eggs. You’re going to love it!

      Reply
  10. Susan says

    October 28, 2019 at 6:43 am

    Your post is such a time saver. Thank you.
    Any recommendation on cooking a whole game hen (or two)? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      October 29, 2019 at 4:47 am

      I am so glad. I would think you could use the guides for whole chicken for the game hen, as long as it fits in the pot.

      Reply
  11. jb says

    December 4, 2019 at 6:32 pm

    Does it matter the number of pounds on the pork or beef roasts for the cook time?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 5, 2019 at 3:20 am

      Not unless it is very small. If it fits in the IP you’re using, it is pretty standard in my experience.

      Reply
  12. Arlan Koppendrayer says

    December 10, 2019 at 5:19 pm

    Can I use brandy when cooking meat in my instantpot?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 11, 2019 at 4:09 am

      I honestly don’t know. I have never tried that myself.

      Reply
  13. Facebook smith says

    May 15, 2021 at 8:42 pm

    If you cut the recipe in half do you also cut cooking time in half?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      May 16, 2021 at 5:52 pm

      No, maybe just a few minutes.

      Reply
  14. Jeanette says

    November 17, 2021 at 7:08 pm

    Can I heat a precooked turkey breast in the Instant pot? I want to be able to have it come out moist for Thanksgiving.
    If you think it’s possible to do that, would you please include the time and settings? I so appreciate it!

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      November 19, 2021 at 10:58 am

      I’m sure you could but I’m not sure about the settings for that. I’ll look around and see if I can find you any help.

      Reply

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