Instant Pot Fish

I don’t know about you but we are big fans of fish cooked in an Instant Pot in our house! Let us show you how to make this and then you should go on to try our other easy one pot meals for your family too.

We have created a bunch of easy pressure cooker fish recipes lately because they cook it to flaky perfection every time. You can cook another dish such as vegetables together, but separately, using these steamer insert pans or with a trivet / vegetable steamer basket.

If you are going to use your Ninja Foodi brand of multi-cooker you need to use the lid that is not attached to get it to tender. If you wanted to add a bit of a crisp on the outside when done you could add a pat of butter and air crisp with the lid attached at 400 for 2 minutes too.

Ingredient Notes

I used 2 pieces of tilapia but you could use other filets that will fit and not have to be folded into your pan or trivet. The pans are great at keeping the moisture in and when it’s done cooking and resting in the bit of olive oil you poured on top the flavor is pretty amazing.

Personally I think fish comes out great when it is steamed with just a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt and spices. I did the same thing with the mix of vegetables I cooked in the larger of the two pans and they were great and just tender enough without being too mushy.

Cooking them in separate pans but in your pressure cooker at the same time keeps the flavors of each in tact but allows you to walk away while they steam to perfection.

Can you add vegetables?

Yes, that is what is great about these pans. You can dice baked potatoes to the bottom or include slices of zucchini or yellow squash. Onions and bell peppers slices are great choices as well.

How Long to Cook Fish in Pressure Cooker

If you’ve never tried to pressure cook fish it is a game changer!! So flaky and tender with very little prep work or attention you need to give it along the way. Just set it and forget it until the timer goes off. 6 minutes for fresh fillets is about right if set on a trivet. In stackable pans it is 28 minutes.

How Long to Cook Frozen Fish in Pressure Cooker

You can do this too!! You just need 8 minutes for frozen fillets. We have done this with our Instant Pot frozen tilapia similarly and believe it or not the cook time is basically the same. Since the fillets are rather thin, as long as they are separated from one another they can steam to flaky buttery bites.

We can even make Instant Pot frozen salmon all the time too!

Tips for Success

If you do not have this insert pan you can alternatively cook Instant Pot fish this way: Put some water into your pressure cooker Place a trivet / steam rack at the bottom (make sure water isn’t touching bottom of rack). Place your fish fillet on steam rack

Sprinkle seasonings on fish. Use whatever you’d usually season it with. Close lid and steam valve. Set to high pressure for a few minutes (size of fish and variety will vary timing but this works well for a piece of salmon). We typically cook a 3/4 lb. piece of fresh salmon for 4 minutes and it is perfect Do a quick release

Other easy fish recipes you’ll love

If you’re looking to cook fresh or frozen Instant Pot shrimp we have info on that as well as our recipe for Instant Pot shrimp alfredo.

Have we convinced you that it’s worth getting an Instant Pot AND that this is the best way to cook fish??!! I hope so. The only close second that gets raving reviews is our smoked salmon recipe that is amazing but does take a lot more time to make and cook. SO if you’re looking for the best way to make Instant Pot fish this is it! Here’s the printable recipe and a video: