I am one of those people that can’t cook hamburgers normally. Cooking a burger on the BBQ results in hockey pucks. Dry, and super not tasty. I had to come up with a way to make hamburgers that actually tasted good, using indoor tools. As my husband is really busy during the summer and can’t BBQ for me much. Additionally, we like to be able to enjoy Hamburgers year round, and in Alberta BBQing in the winter just ain’t that fun!
So I figured out a way to cook my hamburgers INSIDE using my ALL TIME FAVORITE kitchen tool. My Ninja Foodi. I know the recipe title says Instant Pot. They are basically the same, and I just happen to own the Ninja Foodi TenderCrisp (pressure cooker and more) rather than the Instant Pot brand pressure cooker.
I took my all time favorite marinade as well. Tweaked it a bit, and turned it into the yummiest BBQ sauce.
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Tried and failed past methods of cooking burgers indoors
When I first started playing around with cooking hamburgers indoors, I would cook them in a 9×13 pan in the oven. It took FOREVER, was WAY messier, and just wasn’t great. Maybe I will be able to dig up a photo of this method….
I have also pan fried burgers then put them into the crock pot to get SAUCY all day long. This method of course wasn’t that bad. They cooked up more similarily to a regular BBQ. But it was a MESS. If you want to cook a decent amount of burgers you gotta use a pan like this,
Which doesn’t fit in the dishwasher well, and you have to contend with grease splatter etc. I don’t like messes. Not to say I don’t like pans like this, they have their place!
I actually cooked up around…I want to say 35 hamburgers for my daughter’s baptism supper (for our families) using the pan fry method. I would cook 5 or so at a time both on the stove and in the baking sheet in the oven. Then transfer them to the crock. Everyone LOVED my marinade (which is actually originally given to me from my older sister, thanks!) but I didn’t want to tell them how hard it was to cook them all!
I was SO thrilled when I tried this out one day, and found out how darn easy it was! I won’t look back! Especially since it gives me another reason to use my favorite kitchen tool!
Ninja Foodi TenderCrisp: A beginners guide, and some reasons WHY I love it. I also have other recipes linked in it! Check it out here
How to make Easy Hamburgers in a Pressure Cooker
- Insert Reversible Wire Rack into Cooking Pot. Place frozen patties on rack. Dump prepared Beef Broth over the patties.
- Close pressure cooking lid, seal and set to HIGH pressure for 10 minutes.
- Prepare Marinade in large bowl while Burgers are cooking.
- Let Ninja manually release pressure for 5 minutes. Then quick release remaining pressure
- Remove hamburgers with tongs, placing on a plate. Remove wire rack from cooking pot

Ingredients for Easy Saucy Hamburger marinade
- Spread some marinade on the bottom of the cooking pot. Mixing in with the leftover beef broth in the bottom
- Dip each hamburger one by one into the marinade, then place into the cooking pot
- Replace pressure cooking lid, move seal to VENT position. Slow cook on LOW for 4 hours
- Enjoy with your choice of bun, or lettuce wraps and your favorite burger fixings!
Thanks for checking it out!
Let me know below what you think when you try them!
Ninja Foodi TenderCrisp: The Beginners Guide
Love enjoying Hamburgers year round, without the BBQ? This recipe includes a saucy marinade to really make these burgers next level, juicy and flavourful. Prepped in 5 minutes, ready to enjoy after a quick pressure cook then finished with savory juice infusion during 4 hours of slow cooking. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Easy Saucy Instant Pot Hamburgers
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
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