Ground Beef Instant Pot Tacos

Instant Pot tacos with ground beef and salsa are a go-to weeknight meal. Simple, kid-friendly, and so delicious. Best of all, they take less than 30 minutes, and you can prep taco toppings while the pressure cooker does all the work.

Our taco obsession is well-known and hardly unusual. We love a good chicken or black bean filling, these paleo ground pork tacos are always a winner, and lately we’ve been really into these vegan walnut chorizo tacos, as well. But these simple ground beef tacos might be the most classic favorite of all.

Cooking taco meat in the Instant Pot is super fast, and the pressure cooker magically intensifies the flavors.

Related: Easy Ground Chicken Tacos

Instant Pot taco ingredients

It’s all about taking advantage of the Instant Pot’s unique cooking mechanics to add flavor. Generally, when cooking in the Instant Pot, you need to add a certain amount of liquid to help it come to pressure and cook properly. You might as well add that liquid with flavorful ingredients, rather than simply water.

For this recipe, we’re adding tons of flavor with:

• Pico de gallo or any other salsa you love – fresh or jarred is fine.
• Green chilies – the kind that come in a small can. I usually use mild, but you can always turn up the heat.
• Taco seasoning and a pinch of salt.

That’s it! I’ve been making this with my homemade taco seasoning, and heck yeah… it is so good, and so easy.

I usually use store-bought salsa, because if I’ve gone to the trouble of making homemade pico, I kind of just want to eat it with chips.

How to make taco meat in the Instant Pot

Brown the meat for a few minutes using the sauté function, stir in the remaining ingredients, and cook on high pressure for 7 minutes. That should give you just enough time to warm some tortillas and prep your toppings!

After the 7 minutes is up and you do a quick release of the pressure, you may find that the taco meat is a little too saucy. I used to just serve it this way with a slotted spoon, but have since realized that turning the Instant Pot back to sauté for 1-2 minutes helps everything come together perfectly.

If you’re feeling ambitious, whip up some ridiculously soft homemade tortillas and get ready for the praise to come pouring in. We also love corn-wheat blend tortillas from Trader Joe’s and always keep them on hand for ultra-easy taco nights.

Can I make Instant Pot tacos with frozen ground beef?

Yes! You’ll want to add the frozen beef to the Instant Pot together with all of your seasonings, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, instead of the 7 otherwise called for in this recipe.

Be extra sure to sauté the mixture for a minute or two after releasing the pressure, since the meat will not have the additional flavor and browning effect from a pre-pressure cooking sauté.

Can I use ground turkey or chicken?

Yes, both ground turkey and ground chicken work well in this recipe. You may be able to skip the final sauté step entirely, as those meats tend to give off less liquid while cooking than beef.

With a simple filling this delicious and easy, you’ll want tacos any and every night of the week.

Serving suggestions

We love these tacos best plain and simple, which is another reason they make such a nice quick family meal. Of course, you can go as simple or as fancy on the toppings as you like.

• Shredded cheese
• Shredded lettuce
• Chopped tomatoes
• Chopped red onions
• Shredded red or green cabbage
• Pico de gallo or blender salsa
• Guacamole or chopped or sliced avocados
• Fresh cilantro

Recommended Equipment

If you try these Ground Beef Instant Pot Tacos, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.

You can also FOLLOW me on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER for more great recipes and ideas!

This post was originally published May 2, 2019, and has been updated with new photos, more helpful text, and a recipe tweak.