Instant Pot Steamed Cheeseburgers–juicy burgers with melty cheese cooked in your Instant Pot!
Each week in 2020 I’m sharing a recipe inspired by one of the 50 states. So far I’ve covered…
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- See all the state recipes in one place
If you have an idea for a state I haven’t covered yet please email me [email protected] –remember it’s a recipe that has to be made (at least in part) in the Instant Pot.
Today’s recipe is inspired by the constitution state, Connecticut. Connecticut is called “The Constitution State” because it adopted the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut in 1639. Many consider this to be the United States’ first written constitution. Only two states are smaller than Connecticut in terms of area. Connecticut was one of the original 13 colonies and played a key role in the Revolutionary War before becoming the fifth state.
Instant Pot Steamed Cheeseburgers
What do steamed cheeseburgers have to do with Connecticut? According to Wikipedia, “A steamed cheeseburger, also referred to as a steamer or cheeseburg, is a hamburger topped with cheese that is cooked via steaming and originally only served by restaurants in central Connecticut in the United States. Despite it now being available elsewhere, it is still difficult to find outside this area.”
If you’re addicted to the charred taste of a burger cooked on a grill you may not love the taste of a steamed burger. But if you can appreciate a juicy, moist burger you’ll love these Instant Pot steamed cheeseburgers.
Steaming and Instant Pots go hand in hand. So when I found out about steamed cheeseburgers I knew that they would be a good fit for the Instant Pot. You simply drop the burger patties on top of a trivet or in a steamer basket and let them steam for a bit. You can do this by using the saute setting and boiling the water or you can use the pressure cook setting and walk away from the pot. After the burgers are cooked through you’ll top them with a thick slice of cheddar and let it get all melty and delicious.
My favorite part of burgers, in general, is all the toppings! I love tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, mustard, mayo and ketchup. Greg is a meat, cheese and bun type of person (eat the salad on the side, he says). My personal view is that a burger isn’t worth eating if it doesn’t have a tomato on it. However you decide to eat Instant Pot steamed cheeseburgers I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Instant Pot Steamed Cheeseburgers
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 16 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
Description
Juicy cheeseburgers made in your Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 1 onion cut into thick, chunky slices
- 4 thick slices of cheddar cheese
- 4 hamburger buns
- Optional toppings: pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, mayo
Instructions
- In a bowl combine beef, Worcestershire, onion powder, tomato paste, salt and pepper.
- Divide mixture into 4 balls. Gently flatten into patties about ¾ inch thick.
- Pour 1 cup of water into Instant Pot. Place a trivet* in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the onion chunks on top of the trivet evenly. Gently place the patties on top of the onions.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes. Then release any remaining pressure and open the pot. Check that the internal temp of the patties is at least 160°F.
- Place the cheddar slices on top of the patties and then cover the pot and let the cheese melt for about 60 seconds. Open the pot and place patties on top of buns and serve with toppings If desired, serve burgers with a few of the onion slices on top.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Use an 8 quart pot with no changes.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Since this is about steamed burgers. Can you steam a white castle hamburger in an instant pot? If so could you provide how to do it?
I would pour 1 cup water in bottom of pot. Add a trivet into Instant Pot. Place hamburger on top of trivet. Pressure cook for 1 minute with a 5-10 minute natural pressure release.
I’ve been steaming burgers(albeit frozen) burgers for 15 years. I was a a head cook in an elementary school feeding 600 kids. I found that cooking them in the oven really dried them out. I started putting them in the steamer and they were so much better. They were precooked so no worries about being done. Bonus was I didn’t have trays and trays of dirty pans to scrub. Never thought to do this when I got my Instant Pot. Can’t wait to try this.
★★★★★
So cool! I love hearing about this.
I went to the States’ recipe page to see if I could find Connecticut – knew right away it was this one! 🙂
lol! It seems this is the place to get a steamed cheeseburger.
Is that 1 minute cook time at high or low pressure?
I used high pressure.
How are there no comments about steamed hams here?
https://youtu.be/4jXEuIHY9ic
came here to say that.
Poor Greg! No tomato? Seriously??? Salad is not a salad w/o tomato, burger is not a burger w/o tomato. That is “Basic Cheesburgers 101”. What are we going to do with that boy? Can’t wait to try this tomorrow night, sounds delicious. Will come back & do stars. (YOU get 5 stars just for posting the recipe)
Haha Kim! I know! We disagree on how a sandwich/burger should look. I just can’t believe he would put meat on a bun and eat it. Mine needs all the pickles, tomatoes, mustard, ketchup to make it worth it for me!
Ain’t that the truth? Too delicious & too easy. THANKS for all YOUR hard work so it’s EZ for us!!
★★★★★
Thanks. On my list for this week.
You’re welcome!
Oos what did I mlss. Am I cooking for 1 mlnute or 10 min. The time it takes to come to pressure will make the cook time 10 min. Perhaps. Then 5 min nat rel.?
That was a typo! I just corrected it. 1 minute cooking time with 5-10 minute NPR.
Hi Karen!
Love your recipes!!
Can you use frozen beef patties?
If so what would the times be? Thanks❤️
Hi Jenny, I haven’t tried it yet with frozen beef patties. I would start with a 3 minute pressure cook time. Test for doneness with a digital thermometer. I bet it will be cooked through by then. Good luck and please let me know how it goes.
What do you put on the bottom of the trivet if you are allergic to onions? Would potatoes work?
I am also allergic to onions and I was just going to leave them out.
You can just leave them out 😊
Could I swap ground turkey or chicken for the beef, do you think?
Yes I’ve tried ground turkey and it was great!
Thanks!