Easy Instant Pot Fish (from frozen!)

This Instant Pot fish recipe is the easiest way to cook fish. Not only is it easy, but it comes out tender, flaky, and perfect in less than 20 minutes. It's best served hot with this lemon herb couscous. It can even be cooked frozen!

[This recipe was originally posted in July 2020. It has been updated with new cooking instructions, expert tips, FAQ, related recipes, and ways to repurpose/use up ingredients]

Make Instant Pot tilaipa, cod, or even salmon. This is my new favorite way to cook fish, it's like cooking it in parchment in the oven, but won't heat up your house which is perfect during the summer.

Not only is this Instant Pot fish delicious, and so tender, but it's insanely easy. No need to defrost your fish ahead of time, just plop the frozen brick in the bowl, add toppings, and let it cook. See side dish ideas here.

The only thing to keep in mind with this recipe is that each piece of fish will cook differently. It really depends on how thick the fish is. I like cooking from frozen because there's more of a buffer.

Cooking Instant Pot fish might take up to 20 minutes total, including time to get up to pressure, but that's still a quick dinner, without any planning or thawing, and it's less messy than thawing.

The simple seasoning enhances the mild fish flavor.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the Instant Pot fish recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient, but here's a quick description of what's in this recipe.

• White Fish: such as cod, tilapia, halibut. 4-6 ounces. Cook less if it's a thin fillet.
• Butter: A pad of butter adds lot of rich, creamy flavor to Instant Pot fish.
• Lemon: The lemon slices soften up and get sweeter when you cook them with the fish. I like to squeeze the lemon slices over the fish on my plate. It's delicious.
• Salt, Pepper: you'll need to add a pinch or so of salt and pepper to season the fish. You can always add more when you're ready to eat.
• Water: This fish is essentially steamed here. You'll need to add at least 1 cup to safely use your Instant Pot. There always needs to be liquid inside to cook anything.

Instructions

Scroll down to the recipe card for more detailed instructions. Here's a quick overview + photos to see how to make this Instant Pot fish recipe in general.

1.Pour water in the bowl, place frozen cod, halibut, or tilapia filet on steamer basket. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place butter slice and lemon slices on top.

2. Replace lid, set vent to SEALING. Set to MANUAL, high pressure, and adjust time to 8 minutes if less than 1 in thick, or 12 for 1-2 in thick.

3. QUICK RELEASE pressure knob and remove (flip the vent to venting). Temperature in middle of fish should be at least 140/145 degrees. Serve your Instant Pot fish with rice or herb couscous.

You may need to cook for longer, depending on fish thickness and Instant Pot. That's easy, just reset the timer for 2-3 minutes at a time. It should get up to pressure quickly.

Cook Thawed Fish

Instant Pot fish can be cooked from thaw or frozen, if cooking fresh or thawed fish, cook it on manual for about 2-3 minutes (depending on thickness). While frozen fish needs to be cooked for 8-14 minutes, depending on thickness.

I've really only tested this with white fish, but salmon should take similar amounts of time to cook, depending on thickness.

Great Sides

Serve Instant Pot fish with:

• Apple Cucumber Salad
• Air Fryer Broccolini
• Roasted Broccoli and Mushrooms
• Carrot Cucumber Salad

Storage/Reheating Tips

Store your Instant Pot fish in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Fish should smell good, it might last longer. Reheat in microwave, in container with a dash of water for best results.

Substitutions/Tips

• For best results, use this recipe to make Instant Pot tilapia or cod or halibut.
• You can use any kind of fish fillet in this recipe, like salmon for example. The only thing to keep in mind is cooking time. It will vary based on type of fish, whether it's fresh or frozen, and how thick the filet is.
• Remember that cooking in your Instant Pot takes longer than the cook time states, it takes time to get up to pressure and then to release it. This recipe takes between 8-12 minutes to heat up. About 20 minutes total.
• If fish isn't done, set timer for a couple extra minutes to finish cooking. It usually gets up to pressure more quickly if it's just been used.
• Other great add-ins: Italian seasoning, Cajun style seasoning, other seasoning. Cook vegetables/sides separately.

FAQ

Other good fish recipes:

• Miso Butter Salmon
• Shrimp Foil Packet in the Oven
• Air Fryer Frozen Salmon for One
• Fish Tacos with White Sauce and Orange Salsa
• Jerk Shrimp Pasta

What to do with leftover ingredients

When you're cooking for one, you often have leftover produce, cans of whatever ingredient, etc. Here are a couple ideas on how to use up the leftover ingredients. It'll help you save money by wasting fewer ingredients.

• Lemon: Lemon Pasta Carbonara or Sheet Pan Maple Mustard Salmon
• White Fish (cod, tilapia, halibut): Fish Tacos with White Sauce and Orange Salsa, or swap the salmon out in How to Bake Salmon in Parchment.

Did you make this Instant Pot fish? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!

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