Instant Pot Hobo Meals are easy foil packet dinners made with seasoned ground beef patties, sliced potatoes, green beans, and butter. Everything cooks together in the Instant Pot for a hearty, all-in-one meal with easy cleanup.
I remember making hobo meals with my dad when we went camping. He would wrap hamburger patties, potatoes, and vegetables in foil and cook them over the fire. I still love those simple dinners, and making them in the Instant Pot brings back those memories without needing a campfire.
Why I Love This Recipe
About the Ingredients ⭐
- Ground Beef: Makes hearty hamburger patties for each packet.
- Egg: Helps hold the patties together.
- Breadcrumbs: Keep the patties from falling apart.
- Garlic and Onion Powder: Add flavor to the beef.
- Parmesan Cheese: Adds a savory, cheesy flavor.
- Potatoes: Cook alongside the beef for a filling meal.
- Green Beans: Add a vegetable to each packet.
- Water: Creates steam for pressure cooking.
- Butter: Adds flavor to the potatoes and vegetables.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
How to Make Instant Pot Hobo Meals
Prepare the Beef: Mix the ground beef, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, Parmesan cheese, and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Form into 4 equal patties.
Prepare the Foil Packets: Lay out 4 large pieces of aluminum foil. Cut the potatoes into thick slices.
Fill the Packets: Divide the potatoes, beef patties, and green beans evenly among the foil sheets. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each packet.
Seal the Packets: Fold the foil tightly around the ingredients, sealing each packet completely.
Prepare the Instant Pot: Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside. Arrange the foil packets on the trivet.
Pressure Cook: Secure the lid and cook on High Pressure for 35 minutes.
Release the Pressure: Carefully perform a quick pressure release. Remove the packets using tongs, open carefully to avoid the hot steam, and check that the beef reaches 160°F before serving.
Tips I Found Helpful 🩵
- Slice the potatoes evenly so they cook at the same rate.
- Seal the foil packets tightly to keep the juices and butter inside.
- Arrange the packets on the trivet so they stay above the water.
- Open the packets carefully after cooking. The trapped steam will be very hot.
How to Store Leftovers 🩵
Store leftover hobo meals in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Remove the food from the foil packets before storing.
Reheat in the microwave or oven until heated through. You can also freeze the cooked beef patties for up to 3 months, but the potatoes may change texture after freezing.
More Hobo Recipes
Easy Instant Pot Hobo Meals
Instant Pot Hobo Meals are foil packet dinners filled with seasoned beef patties, potatoes, green beans, and butter.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 egg
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 potatoes, thickly sliced
- 2 cups green beans
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Mix the ground beef, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, Parmesan cheese, and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Form into 4 equal patties.
- Lay out 4 large pieces of aluminum foil and cut the potatoes into thick slices.
- Divide the potatoes, beef patties, and green beans evenly among the foil sheets. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each packet.
- Fold and seal each foil packet tightly.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside. Arrange the foil packets on the trivet.
- Secure the lid and cook on High Pressure for 35 minutes.
- Carefully perform a quick pressure release.
- Remove the packets with tongs and open carefully to avoid the hot steam. Check that the beef has reached an internal temperature of 160°F before serving.
Notes
Cut the potatoes into evenly sized slices and seal the foil packets tightly. Use caution when opening the packets, as hot steam will escape.
The 35-minute pressure cooking time is from the original recipe and has not been retested.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 753Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 17gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 190mgSodium: 558mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 10gSugar: 8gProtein: 45g
Could these be frozen either before or after cooking? I am cooking for one and would love to eat 1 and freeze 3.
As someone who makes our own tinfoil/hobo dinners frequently, I wouldn’t recommend freezing the veggies. However, it’s easy to take ONE portion of seasoned, ready-to-cook hamburger from the freezer and toss it into the foil. Most people always have potatoes on hand, and a small bag of baby carrots or frozen green beans could be added. Much easier. 🙂
I was also wondering if these could be made up, wrapped and frozen to cook later. How would the time differ?
Thanks
Do you just stack the packages one on top of the other??
Do you add a tbsp of butter to each packet? I see it calls for butter but not listed in directions.
Butter is in the ingredient list but not in the instructions….I’m assuming 1 Tbsp butter in each packet?
Would it be possible for you to include email as a way to share? Thank you!
can you fix a chicken hobo meal in an instant pot
Question. I’m a single person and would probably be cooking no more than 2 patties with potatoes and veggies. How should I adjust cooking time? Love your recipes btw! 🙂
Is 35 minutes right? That seems like a crazy long time in an IP.
I just made it now for supper. I pressure cooked it for 8+8+6+4+4= 24 minutes. Before it was done. I cooked it in stages just to see how much time it really needed.
This looks so good! I need to try it!!
I love that this has made IP so much easier for me.
I’m guessing the butter goes on top of everything, it didn’t say. Also I had to use two pots because 4 foil packs would not fit in my 6qt. Can’t wait to try!
Hi, I lve your recipes to the Instant Pot, I have one, and sometimes when I fix something especially meat, they just don’t come out the way the cook books says, I made a roast and I did the cooking time just as it said, and the meat would not pull apart like the book said, instead of pulled beef , mine was take a knife and slice it!!!! help please and keep posting.
My burger was over cooked and the potatoes were underdone . It seems everyone else had good luck oh well . It had good flavor
You just gave me a great idea! These would be such a great thing to make ahead of time before camping. Then all you have to do is take them out and put them over the campfire or on a grill to heat them up. Less mess in the kitchen well camping.
Made tonight and perfect! I have 4 kids, very busy, 16 down to 4 years old. I will most definitely be freezing beforehand and then cooking.
I used sliced potatoes and sliced carrots with my hamburger patties. The potatoes were almost cooked but the carrots were almost raw. If I were to make them again, I would add at least another 15 minutes to the cook time.
Absolutely would love to have Insta pot dump freezer meals Would save me a lot of time thank you in advance
Trying tonight
I followed the recipe as written. The only thing I did differently is add 1 TBSP butter per packet as I think that’s what was intended with the recipe, even though it’s not in the instructions, just the ingredients. I sliced baby gold potatoes and they were done perfectly at 35 minutes. My only change in the future will be to add more green beans per packet as we didn’t feel there were enough. I may also try different veggies. It was a surprisingly yummy recipe! Usually I have to make a lot of changes to recipes I find online-this one doesn’t need any (except to add the butter in the directions!) Thanks for a really good and simple recipe.