Instant Pot Shrimp (from frozen)

One of the easiest things to cook is Instant Pot frozen shrimp. All you need is a bag of frozen shrimp a cup of water, and a steamer basket and it’s done in ZERO minutes.

» You might also like this Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo.

Instant Pot Frozen Shrimp is so simple to make that it takes – no I’m not kidding – zero minutes to make. Of course for those of us who use the Instant Pot often, you know there is some pressure building time to account for as well, but the 0 minute cook time definitely saves time when you’re making shrimp.

The other great thing about using the instant pot to cook shrimp is that it’s a set it an forget it method. Set the trivet and steamer basket inside, pour in the water, dump in the frozen shrimp, lock the lid. And voile. It’s done.

Now the only thing left to do is decide what you’re going to use your shrimp for. This is a simple way to make peel and eat shrimp for a party. I think it’s the simplest, most liked appetizer I’ve ever made. You can also use the shrimp for this shrimp fried rice or any of these Instant Pot shrimp recipe.

Ingredients You Need

• Frozen Shrimp – You can use any type of frozen shrimp – peel on or off – raw or pre-cooked. You can also cook as many as you want at one time. There is no need to adjust the cook time. So make 8 shrimps or 2 pounds of shrimp, it’s the same zero-minute cook time.
• Accoutrement – If you want to serve your shrimp with cocktail sauce, a spritz of lemon, or toss it in some butter and garlic. Anything goes.

What Shrimp to Buy

The best frozen shrimp to buy are Extra Jumbo size 16/20 because they are large enough to not get overcooked in zero minutes. Since you can’t go any lower than zero, and you don’t want to make overcooked shrimp, larger is better.

I would caution against using shrimp that’s smaller than size 26/30 “extra large” shrimp. Small shrimp will cook faster than the zero minutes in this recipe and might become rubbery and overcooked. If you need to pressure cook smaller shrimp, I would suggest pressure cooking on low pressure for zero minutes.

Most typical sized shrimp from U15 to 26/30 will cook in the same zero minutes in the Instant Pot. No need to adjust the cook time.

Equipment Needed

Steamer basket with feet – It’s best to use a steamer basket that has feet on it so the foot inside is raised above the level of water in the pot. This is a great one that has a stackable tiered basket so you can cook two different things at once.

I used this steamer basket that doesn’t have any feet on it, so I had to set it on the trivet to keep it out of the water.

Instant Pot – I use a 6-quart Instant Pot Pro. You can use any size of Instant Pot you have – 3, 6, 8-quart. Just adjust the water level per the instructions for your machine.

How to Make Instant Pot Frozen Shrimp

Grab your bag of frozen shrimp.

Set the trivet in the bottom of the inner pot and then set the steamer basket on top of that. This is to elevate the steamer basket so it’s not sitting in the water. If your steamer basket has feet to raise it up, you don’t need the trivet too.

Pour in the cold water. One cup for a 6-quart pot, one and a half cups for an 8-quart pot. Dump the frozen shrimp into the steamer basket.

Lock the lid and set the vent to sealing (if that’s necessary for your model).

Set the cook time to zero on high pressure. When the time is up, do a quick release and carefully remove the steamer basket.

Serve and enjoy.

Why Use An Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot is one of the most useful kitchen appliances you can buy, because it drastically cuts down on the cooking time for developing flavors in soups and stews, getting tough cuts of meat tender, and even baking a cheesecake. If you don’t have one, check out our guide on which one to buy. Also see our guide to How to Use an Instant Pot and the many accessories you can buy for it.

Tips & Suggestions

To set the cooking time to “0” minutes, press the Manual button then press the minus “ – ” button or roll the wheel to the left until the cooking time goes down to zero. Every Instant Pot has this capability.

It’s best to use frozen, raw, peel-on shrimp when cooking from frozen. The shells will help the shrimp cook slower so they don’t become overcooked. Raw shrimp is also the way to go because pre-cooked shrimp really don’t need to be “cooked”, they just need to be defrosted.

Dress up your shrimp with any seasonings you like, toss them in butter and garlic, make individual shrimp dip cocktails, or dip them in cocktail sauce for a simple appetizer.

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