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Instant Pot Easy Tin Foil Dinners

potatoes, peppers, carrots, and onions in a tinfoil packet with sauce on the side

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4.6 from 5 reviews

Easy, quick, and no fuss Instant Pot Tin Foil Dinner packets!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey (I like 80/20 or 85/15 for this) 
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 small russet potatoes, sliced thin (peel before slicing if desired)
  • 2 cups sliced peppers and onions (frozen works great) 
  • 2 cups thinly sliced carrots

Special Sauce (double if you like a lot of sauce)

  • 1 cup yogurt or mayonnaise (or half and half)
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup pickle relish
  • 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon chipotle hot sauce or your favorite hot sauce

Instructions

  1. Tear 4 pieces of tin foil (not heavy duty).  They need to be approximately 18×12 inch sheets.  Lay them out on the cupboard. 
  2. To a medium size bowl, add ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, egg, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; mix just until combined.  Form into four patties.  Place one patty in the center of each piece of foil.
  3. Equally distribute the potatoes, peppers, onions, and carrots on top of each patty.  Season vegetables generously with salt and pepper or steak seasoning.
  4. Bring up the two long sides of foil so edges meet.  Make small folds with the foil until it reaches the food.  Fold one of the short ends until it meets the food; repeat on the opposite side.  You’re basically creating a leak-proof packet so the juices stay inside as it cooks.
  5. Add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker pot.  Place a short trivet inside.  Layer foil packets inside.  I try to layer two side by side, then top them with the final two.  If your packets are too full to do this, just layer them in as well as you can, trying to keep the top side facing up if possible.
  6. Secure the lid and cook at high pressure for 25 minutes.
  7. While the meat and vegetables cook, prepare the Special Sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
  8. When pressure cooking is complete, use a quick release.
  9. Remove packets and gently unfold the edges to open.  Check meat to make sure it’s cooked through.  If not, refold and return to pot for another five minutes.

For easy cleanup, serve food right in the foil topped with Special Sauce (or whatever sauce you like)

Notes

  • This recipe is for 4 packets.  I’ve fit up to 6 packets in a 6 quart pressure cooker at a time, but I did make the burgers slightly smaller.
  • Most grocery stores carry frozen sliced peppers and onions.  They work great for these packets.
  • Feel free to mix up the vegetables.  Green beans, peas, tomatoes, etc.  Use what you have on hand!
  • The Special Sauce is amazing, but you can also serve it with condiments like ketchup, mustard, ranch dressing, etc.
  • These can be prepared up to one day ahead of time and stored in the fridge until ready to cook.  To keep potatoes from oxidizing and turning a gray color, soak the sliced potatoes in cold water with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar for 10 minutes before assembling the packets.
  • Do not use heavy-duty aluminum foil.  It will need a longer cook time than regular foil.