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Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef

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Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef is an easy pressure cooker dinner recipe made with ground beef and pasta in a tomato cream sauce. Perfect for busy days!

instant pot creamy shells and beef on a white plate

If you’re looking for an easy Instant Pot recipe made with ground beef and pasta, you’re going to love this delicious Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef. It’s like homemade Hamburger Helper, and it’s super kid friendly. Best of all, it’s a one pot dinner, so there’s hardly any clean-up!

Update! Shells and Beef is without a doubt, one of my most popular recipes. I first made it in 2017, and you all love it — check the comments for the rave reviews! So, I just added better pictures and tips to make this recipe even better as of June 2020!

Also, note that this is the original — a lot of people loved it so much that they created their own recipes. That’s great and all, but this one’s the real deal. Promise!

bowl of pasta shells and ground beef in creamy sauce

Have you bought an Instant Pot yet? I’ve been seeing so many Instant Pot recipes on Pinterest and just about everywhere lately, so of course I was curious. I finally gave in and bought one of these modern pressure cookers on Cyber Monday — I got a smokin’ deal!  And friends, let me tell you, that I’m definitely in love!

If you’ve never made dinner or anything else in a pressure cooker, it can be tricky at first. There’s definitely a learning curve here! But once you get the hang of it, you’re going to love cooking with your Instant Pot!

I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with different Instant Pot recipes, and I was able to convert some of my favorite one pot dinner recipes to pressure cooker dinner recipes. Yea — Go me!

This Creamy One Pot Shells and Beef  is not only one of my family’s favorite ground beef recipes, but it’s also one of the most popular recipes on the blog. It’s basically just pasta, beef and marinara sauce, along with a little bit of cream. It’s super easy to make on the stove, but I had to change some things to make it work in the pressure cooker.

And in case you’re wondering — Yes, you can make pasta in the Instant Pot! You just have to make sure that you also add enough liquid to make it all work!

How to Make Ground Beef and Shells in the Pressure Cooker

You start off by sauteing an onion in the Instant Pot, and then, you add some lean ground beef. I buy lean or extra lean ground beef, so I don’t remove the grease. But, you can definitely remove the grease if you want to.

Next, add your seasonings. Then, you add your uncooked shell pasta, some marinara sauce and water.

You have to make sure that the pasta and everything else is completely covered with water and sauce. You don’t need to stir it all together, ( in fact, don’t stir it yet!) but you can push it all down with a spatula or spoon, just to make sure the liquid is covering the pasta.

instant pot creamy shells and beef in pressure cooker before cooking

Next, you use the pressure cooking function. Pasta cooks in the Instant Pot for about half the time it cooks on the stove. A good rule of thumb for cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is to cook for half the time recommended on the package.

I set the timer to 5 minutes, which gives you a softer texture, but you could do 4 minutes for firmer pasta or even 6 minutes for even softer pasta.

It takes about 10 minutes or so for the pot to come to pressure, and then, the Instant Pot starts cooking and counting down the minutes until the pasta is done

When 5 minutes are up, do a quick release by turning the valve to release. Be sure to wear an oven mitt or use a spoon to be on the safe side. Remove the lid, stir in the cream and Parm, and you’re done!

instant pot creamy shells and beef in pressure cooker

One of the best thing about cooking with an Instant Pot is that you don’t have to babysit a pot on the stove. Just let the pressure cooker do the work, and come back when the time is up!

It’s quick and easy to prepare, and dinner is made in just one pot for easy clean up! My family loves the texture of the pasta, too.

In fact, my kids couldn’t get enough of this creamy shells and beef! They literally ate it all up! If you like it, You might also want to try Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta and Instant Pot Creamy Sausage and Shells.

shell pasta and beef in tomato sauce a white serving bowl

Tips for Cooking Pasta and Meat in the Instant Pot

  • Make sure pasta and meat are completely covered by liquids
  • Don’t stir the mixture before pressure cooking
  • Cook pasta for about half the cook time on the box of pasta
  • Add milk or cream at the end, right before serving

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Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef Recipe

instant pot creamy shells and beef on a white plate

Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef

Dee
Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef is an easy one pot dinner made entirely in the pressure cooker. It’s like homemade hamburger helper, with ground beef and pasta in a tomato cream sauce and very kid friendly!
5 from 85 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
pressure time 10 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Course Main
Cuisine American
Servings 10
Calories 254 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 1-pound box medium shell pasta
  • 1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Turn Instant Pot to saute setting, and wait for the display to turn to HOT
  • Add olive oil and onions, and cook until slightly soft
  • Add ground beef, break up with spatula, and cook until no longer pink, stirring frequently to make sure it doesn’t stick to pot
  • Season with sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder, and  hit CANCEl
  • Add shells over ground beef, then add the marinara sauce and water. Do not stir, but press lightly with spoon to ensure pasta is completely covered with sauce and water
  • Place lid on Instant Pot, close, and make sure vent is set to SEALING position
  • Hit PRESSURE COOK for 5 minutes, or half the cooking time on the box of pasta 
  • When pressure cooking is done, do a quick release, then remove lid and hit CANCEl to turn cooker off
  • Stir in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese, and serve

Video

Notes

Recipe can be made in the 8 quart and 6 quart Instant Pot or similar electric pressure cookers without changing times or amounts.
I use Barilla brand marinara sauce or RAO’s pasta sauce and Barilla pasta in this recipe.
You can add another 1/2 to 1 cup water for a thinner sauce or more cream at the end.
If you double the ingredients, cook time remains the same. Updated 6/20
 

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 15gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 436mgPotassium: 245mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 620IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 155mgIron: 1mg
Keyword instant pot beef and shells, instant pot creamy shells and beef, instant pot ground beef and pasta
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instant pot creamy shells and beef on a plate with parsley

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Susan Christiansen says

    I have made this for my family at least a half a dozen times! It is easy to put together and has turned out amazing every time! Definitely a go to favorite! Thanks for this recipe!!!!

    Reply

  4. Gary says

    5 stars
    My daughter recommended your recipe to us when she bought me an Instant Pot for my birthday. My wife and I loved it and we especially like that the leftovers will give us another meal. The only thing I found was to get the right shell consistency we had to steam it on high for 9 minutes. I might try an extra 1/2 cup of water as you recommend next time to see if that changes anything.

    Reply

    • Dee says

      Happy Birthday! I’m glad you liked the recipe! It might also be the brand of pasta — I usually use Barilla, but some brands look a lot thicker, so that might be why yours needed some extra time. Thank you so much for writing in!

      Reply

  5. Kaitlyn Chapman says

    5 stars
    Great recipe, turned out soo good! I made some changes as follows… I chopped my own fresh garlic instead of garlic powder and sauted into beef and onions when they were almost done cooking. I added 1 cup of water to deglaze pot, then added noodles(didnt have shells so used rotini), the rest of the water and 1 jar of pasta sauce(fire roasted tomato). Once it was done cooking I didnt have heavy cream so improvised and mixed 3/4c each 10% cream and whole milk I had on hand and 1/2c parm and 1/2c shredded mozzarella cheese. Delish!

    Reply

  6. Joanne says

    I’m going to try this with bulk Italian sausage and fat free half n half since I dont have the heavy cream on hand.

    Reply

  11. Johanne says

    5 stars
    This is a good, and precise instant pot recipe that WORKS! Many of them out there that dont. The only thing i changed was cooking 4 minutes, rather than 5 , because i make ahead of time, and reheat in oven later.
    Thanks.

    Reply

  15. Jennifer says

    5 stars
    Second time making this… this is so easy to do! Makes great leftovers and best of all the 3yr old ate it haha . I did alter it a little. I’m not a fan of Italian seasoning and the first time it was a lot so this time used half. Didn’t have any heavy cream so used 2% milk- which I’m sure my waste will appreciate haha and used tillamock cheddar instead of parm. All in all still great! Thanks 😊

    Reply

  16. Lisa Fornal says

    5 stars
    This was wonderful. I changed the type of pasta and used grated parmesan cheese instead of shredded. It was rather soupy when done so I opted to let it thicken naturally before serving.

    Reply

  17. Amber says

    5 stars
    My family loves this simple yet tasty meal! I use bow tie pasta only because my daughters prefer the shape. 🙂 I serve with salad and garlic bread. Thank you for your recipes!

    Reply

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