• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
    • WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY
  • Recipes
    • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
    • Meatless Monday
    • Appetizer
    • Air fryer

The Dinner Bite logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
    • WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY
  • Recipes
    • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
    • Meatless Monday
    • Appetizer
    • Air fryer
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Instant Pot Pressure Cooker » Instant pot fish (frozen Cod)

    Published: Mar 26, 2020 · Modified: Jan 9, 2022 by Ajoke · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Instant pot fish (frozen Cod)

    Skip to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Instant pot cod fish cooked from frozen in an electric pressure cooker in 2 minutes. No more waiting around to thaw your fish for dinner, with this recipe, you can have this quick and healthy dinner from the kitchen to your table under 10 minutes.

    With pressure cooker fish, it doesn’t matter if it is frozen or fresh fillets, you are guaranteed delicious, tender and flaky result always. Serve with boiled baby potatoes, parsley sauce, and steamed veggies.

    Why this instant pot frozen fish is good

    • You only need a few ingredients to make this Instant pot pressure cooker fish.
    • This recipe is easy and quick, you can add any spices and herbs of choice, although I have kept this simple as I served it some homemade parsley sauce.
    • This recipe is healthy as fish is a good source of protein, it is low carb and gluten-free
    • Fish like cod is great for meal prep and depending on what you are planning to pair it with, you can prep a week’s meal under 30 minutes
    • instant pot cod can be served with any other side dish like this instant pot coconut rice, brown rice or Mexican rice. It is perfect with roasted potatoes, boiled baby potatoes, sauteed peas, sauteed broccolini or this creamy garlic mashed potato

    Ingredients

    Frozen fish fillet: I used cod, but you can other types of frozen fish of choice, haddock, halibut, mackerel, tilapia, or salmon

    Salt

    Freshly ground black pepper

    How to cook frozen (cod) fish in an instant pot pressure cooker

    Rinse the fish under cold water briefly to deglaze, this step is optional

    Place the trivet in the instant pot and add 1 cup of water.

    Add the frozen codfish and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Cover the lid of your instant pot securely then turn the valve to the sealing position. Select manual or pressure cook and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes then carefully do a quick release.

    NOTE: If the thickness of your frozen cod fillet is more than ½ an inch, you can increase the cooking time to 3 or 4 minutes. 2 minutes has always worked for me, Alternatively, let the instant pot come to natural pressure for another 5 minutes after 2 minutes on high pressure

    Serve with a lemon wedge, melted butter, and chopped dill or parsley sauce

    Related posts: Baked cod with tomatoes and air fryer cod.

    Tips for cooking fresh fish in an instant pot

    • If in doubt, cook on low pressure instead of high pressure. Depending on the thickness of the fish, 2 minutes on low pressure is great for fish like mackerel and tilapia fillets provided they are not stacked on each other. This 100g frozen codfish cooked perfectly in 2 minutes in high pressure.
    • You can also double this recipe at the same cooking time.
    • Fish or seafood generally doesn’t take long to cook. Let that be your little reminder when steaming/cooking fish in a pressure cooker or on the stovetop.
    • Worried if your fish is not cooked through, use a thermometer, the internal temperature of well-cooked fish should read 140F/70C

    How long to pressure cook fish

    Depending on the type of fish or seafood you are cooking. Use the below as a guideline

    • Whole fresh fish like seabass, trout pressure cook between 4 to 6 minutes
    • Mackerel steaks or whole mackerel  5 to 6 minutes
    • Frozen fish fillet like tilapia, cod, halibut, haddock 2 minutes
    • Fresh or frozen salmon 3 to 4 minutes because of its thickness
    • Fresh or frozen mackerel fillet 1 minute on high pressure or 2 minutes on low pressure

    You can apply the cooking guidelines above to any other electric pressure cooker like pressure king pro or ninja foodi.

    a plate containing steamed cod fish, potatoes and asparagus.

    How to thaw frozen fish fillets

    To the best way of doing it is leaving it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Fish fillets don’t take long to thaw but a whole fish would take longer.

    If I am in a hurry then I put the fillets in the freezer bag and run it under cold water. Do not run it under hot or warm water as it might cook the fish and toughen it and affect the texture before cooking.

    The best, fast and effective way is to use a pressure cooker. I thaw frozen fish instant pot for zero minutes and then use it in soup, stew, sauces, tacos or curry.  I don’t use this method if I intend to fry the fish.

    Can I cook it with vegetables?

    Most instant pot steamed vegetable cooks under 2 minutes. Like this broccoli only need zero minutes and if cooked longer than that can go mushy. Vegetables like carrots if chopped into larger chunks can be cooked on a trivet along with the fish for 2 minutes.

    How to store

    This recipe would store for up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

    More instant pot recipes on the blog

    Instant pot mashed potatoes

    Pressure cooker shredded chicken

    Instant pot Korean beef

    Crispy potato wedges

    If you made this easy instant pot frozen cod recipe, don’t forget to leave me feedback and rate it 5 stars. Tag me @thedinnerbite on Instagram and save away to your Pinterest. Please subscribe to the blog if you haven’t for free new recipes in your inbox

    a plate of instant pot fish .

    Instant Pot Fish (Frozen Cod)

    Ajoke
    Instant pot cod fish cooked from frozen in an electric pressure cooker in 2 minutes. No more waiting around to thaw your fish for dinner, with this recipe, you can have this quick and healthy dinner from the kitchen to your table under 10 minutes.
    4.89 from 36 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 2 mins
    Total Time 7 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, British
    Servings 2
    Calories 82 kcal

    Equipment

    • Electric pressure cooker

    Ingredients
      

    • 200 g Frozen fish fillet cod (2 pieces) haddock, mackerel, tilapia or salmon
    • ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
    • Freshly ground black pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Rinse the fish under cold water to deglaze, this step is optional. If using more than 1 frozen fish, make sure the fish are separated and not clumped together.
    • Place the trivet in the instant pot and add 1 cup of water. I used 6qt IP DUO, If you are using 8qt instant pot, use the minimum water required which is 2 cups.
    • Add the frozen cod fish and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
      two frozen cod fish on a trivet in an instant pot.
    • Cover the lid of your instant pot securely then turn the valve to the sealing position. Select manual or pressure cook and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes then carefully do a quick release.
      NOTE: If the thickness of your frozen cod fillet is more than ½ an inch, you can increase the cooking time to 3 or 4 minutes. 2 minutes has always worked for me, Alternatively, let the instant pot come to natural pressure for another 5 minutes after 2 minutes on high pressure
    • Serve with lemon wedge, melted butter and chopped dill or parsley sauce

    Notes

    Tips for cooking fresh fish in an instant pot
    • You can also double this recipe at the same cooking time.
    • Fish or seafood generally doesn’t take long to cook. Let that be your little reminder when steaming/cooking fish in a pressure cooker or on the stovetop.
    • Worried if your fish is not cooked through, use a thermometer, the internal temperature of well-cooked fish should read 140F/70C

    Nutrition

    Calories: 82kcalProtein: 18gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 635mgPotassium: 413mgVitamin A: 40IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 1mg

    Nutritional data: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients and brands you use. Under no circumstances will thedinnerbite.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.

    Keyword instant pot cod, instant pot fish, instant pot frozen fish
    Tried this recipe?Mention @thedinnerbite or tag #thedinnerbite!
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE RATE IT AND LEAVE ME A COMMENT. USE #THEDINNERBITE OR TAG @THEDINNERBITE ON INSTAGRAM SO I CAN SEE YOUR PHOTOS, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS. THANK YOU!

    1697 shares

    Filed Under: Instant Pot Pressure Cooker, Seafood Tagged With: healthy, quick and easy

    About Ajoke

    Hello, Nice to meet you! Welcome and thanks for visiting my food blog "The Dinner Bite". Feel free to browse through, you are guaranteed nothing here but a yummy experience

    Previous Post: « Pantry Essentials (Stock Your Kitchen on A Budget)
    Next Post: Easy Homemade Parsley Sauce »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amber says

      March 24, 2023 at 6:57 pm

      5 stars
      I have an 8 qt Instapot and cooked 6 pieces of frozen cod in 4 minutes of high pressure and quick release. I used my trivet and then my steamer basket on top of it to layer the pieces of fish so they weren't touching each other. The timing was perfect and deglazing the fish first made a huge difference so the salt and pepper stuck to it and really gave it good flavor without the sauce. I also made the sauce but didn't use parsley - I used garlic powder; garlic & parsley salt; black pepper; Italian seasoning; a tiny splash of lemon because my husband isn't a fan of it; and a bit of parmesan/romano cheese and it was fantastic. I used Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour and it worked out great. Everyone loved the meal - even my 11-year-old twins who put the fish on a roll and said it was the best fish they've ever had. Thanks for another great post!

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        March 25, 2023 at 6:42 pm

        Oh, Amber, your fish sauce recipe is giving!!! Thanks for the feedback, I am glad you and your family enjoyed it.

        Reply
    2. Betsy Hall says

      March 13, 2023 at 4:11 am

      5 stars
      So helpful. I defrosted two pieces of cod, different thicknesses using the 2 minutes cook time. Meanwhile sauteed half an onion in olive oil with salt, pepper and smoked paprika, then added 3 garlic cloves from a garlic press. Added leftover spaghetti with olive oil and the fish, crumbled some dry sage and stirred it all together. Let set for less than 10 minutes. YUM.

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        March 13, 2023 at 12:29 pm

        I am glad you found the post helpful, thank you for sharing how you served it too.

        Reply
    3. Amber P says

      January 26, 2023 at 3:13 am

      This is a go to quick meal in our house.
      We use an 8qt IP with 1.5c water, and depending on the size of the filet (weight and thickness), this method cooks them perfectly in 2-4 minutes. We rub the filets with a taco seasoning before cooking anytime we want to change it up with fish tacos. Tried the parsley sauce, too, it's fabulous!

      Reply
    4. Rob says

      February 05, 2022 at 7:06 pm

      I have a larger family, can the fish be stacked? Need 8-10 pieces. I am using a 8qt instant pot….thanks

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        February 06, 2022 at 10:19 pm

        Hi Rob, I recommend you cook them in batches as stacking the frozen fish might result in uneven cooking. Thanks

        Reply
    5. Sheila says

      February 05, 2022 at 2:12 am

      5 stars
      Came out perfect from a frozen state
      Loved it!!

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        February 06, 2022 at 10:10 pm

        Yay! thank you so much, Sheila for your feedback

        Reply
    6. Amanda says

      January 09, 2022 at 3:54 am

      5 stars
      First time cooking fish in the instant pot. It was great, 2 minutes was perfect (fillets were only 85-100g each). Paired with the parsley sauce was so delicious.

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        January 10, 2022 at 12:28 am

        Thank you, Amanda, I am glad you love it, and thanks for making the parsley sauce too.

        Reply
    7. Nicola Van Hoff says

      November 20, 2021 at 2:57 am

      5 stars
      This turned out great! Cooked 4 fillets for 3 min and came out perfect. Thanks!

      Reply
    8. Rose says

      September 29, 2021 at 1:06 am

      5 stars
      Needed a healthy dinner for one, and remembered I had cod in the freezer. Found this super easy recipe, worked fantastic! Thank you

      Reply
    9. Jan says

      May 30, 2021 at 11:57 pm

      5 stars
      Cooked my frozen thick halibut filets tonight on high pressure for 4 min and they came out perfect and flaky. Will be cooking all my fish like this from now on. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        June 02, 2021 at 12:07 am

        My pleasure, Jan. Thank you for the feedback.

        Reply
    10. Julie says

      April 28, 2021 at 12:15 am

      3 stars
      Frustrated. 2 minutes and cod was still frozen in center. 2 additional minutes and temp was only 120. Added another 2 minutes- hope it’s edible.

      Reply
    11. W says

      February 12, 2021 at 5:24 pm

      I put one cup of water, seasonings, potatoes veggies and frozen haddock in the pot and cook for ten mins high pressure. Quick release. No faff with trivets!

      Reply
    12. DOUGLAS WALTER HASERT says

      January 13, 2021 at 1:04 am

      3 stars
      2 fillets , 5 oz each tried 2 minutes and were still frozen, added 3 more and were over cooked.

      Reply
    13. Boris says

      December 31, 2020 at 8:01 am

      5 stars
      Under tips, you say "cook on low pressure instead of high pressure", but then go on to say that 100g of cod cooked in 2 mins under high pressure... So, what time would you suggest for low pressure?

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        January 02, 2021 at 9:31 pm

        Hello Boris, thank you for calling my attention to this, I meant to write "if in doubt cook on low pressure". Depending on the thickness of the fish, 2 minutes on low pressure is great for fish like mackerel and tilapia fillets provided they are not stacked on each other.

        Reply
    14. Dawn says

      December 03, 2020 at 1:51 am

      5 stars
      Thank you for this recipe! So easy & quick. No need to worry about overlooking it either. Delish!

      Reply
      • Dawn says

        December 03, 2020 at 1:53 am

        Oops-overcooking

        Reply
      • Ajoke says

        December 08, 2020 at 10:14 am

        Glad you liked the recipe Dawn, thank you for your feedback.

        Reply
      • Carolyn says

        March 05, 2023 at 5:23 pm

        5 stars
        I cooked one partial cod fillet, an inch thick, and it came out perfect! Tasted great with tartar sauce. I’ll throw some frozen veggies in next time to create a full meal. Thank you so much!

        Reply
    15. Alyssa Poole says

      September 21, 2020 at 9:52 pm

      Bought frozen cod from Costco and need a quick dinner tonight, can’t wait to try this out!

      Reply
    16. Tessa Zeng says

      June 07, 2020 at 9:17 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks so much for this post! Made dinner last night so much easier to just put a big frozen block of cod fillets right in the instant pot. 2 mins at high pressure was perfect. <3

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        June 07, 2020 at 10:45 pm

        Thank you for your feedback Tessa, happy you found the recipe helpful.

        Reply
      • Kayla Butler says

        November 24, 2020 at 8:49 pm

        Two minutes was not long enough for two filets of fish, it didn’t cook all the way threw from frozen.

        Reply
        • Ajoke says

          November 24, 2020 at 9:07 pm

          Hello Tessa, I am sorry 2 minutes on high pressure didn't cook the cod through for you. My fillet is about 100g each, also my instant pot is 6 quarts. If you do give the recipe a try next time, could you maybe try 3 minutes. Thank you and I do hope you try this recipe again.

          Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! I'm Ajoke.

    It is really nice to meet you! Welcome and thanks for visiting my food blog "The Dinner Bite". Feel free to browse through, you are guaranteed nothing here but a yummy experience.

    More about me →

    Trending Recipes

    • vanilla sponge cakes.
      Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe
    • a grey plate with instant pot cod fish, parsley sauce, baby potatoes and asparagus.
      Instant pot fish (frozen Cod)
    • a plate of salt and pepper chicken.
      Salt and Pepper Chicken Recipe
    • a glass of iced coffee with straw.
      Easy Iced Coffee Recipe

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 The Dinner Bite