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Instant Pot Creamy Taco Pasta is a creamy, cheesy, delicious dinner ready in about 30 minutes. It’s like a beefy Mexican Mac and Cheese.
If you’re looking for an easy dinner recipe made with ground beef and pasta with a little south-of-the-border flavor, you’re going to love this delicious Instant Pot Creamy Taco Pasta. It’s one of my family’s favorite Instant Pot recipes, and it’s also a reader favorite and popular on Pinterest!
Taco pasta is like homemade Hamburger Helper, only better! It’s super kid friendly. And since it’s a one pot dinner made entirely in the pressure cooker, there’s hardly any clean-up!
I don’t think you can ever have too many easy ground beef recipes, especially Instant Pot ground beef recipes. I probably make ground beef in the Instant Pot for dinner once a week, so I try to prepare it a different way each time.
How to Make Creamy Taco Pasta in the Instant Pot
This easy taco pasta is based on one of our favorites — one pot taco pasta. It’s basically a combination of taco meat and pasta, and it’s perfect for those days when you can’t decided between Italian and Mexican food for dinner.
To make taco pasta in the Instant Pot, you start out by browning a little ground beef. When the meat is no longer pink, you add your seasonings. I like to make my own homemade taco seasoning mix, but you can easily use a packet if that’s what you prefer.
Then, you layer a box of uncooked pasta shells, water or beef broth and some salsa over the beef. Next, pressure cook it all for only 4 minutes. You can add a minute if you like your pasta softer.
After the pressure cooking is done, you stir it all up and add a little sour cream and cheese. The sour cream adds a creamier texture and a tangy flavor to the pasta, and it’s what we would normally add to our tacos. And of course, you have to have cheese!
I use a combo of cheddar and Monterey jack, or just Colby Jack. But, you could use all cheddar if you prefer.
Grating your own cheese works best since many packaged shredded cheese varieties contain cellulose to prevent caking. Some people find this makes melted cheese a little gritty, although I’ve used Kirkland’s shredded cheese without any problems.
Beef it Up
For extra beefy taco pasta, you can use 2 pounds of beef but keep the amount of pasta the same. You can add a little more taco seasoning for extra flavor if you want and maybe more sour cream and cheese if needed.
By the way, you can use frozen beef if you forget to thaw some out! Just cook a pound of frozen beef for 10 minutes or 2 pounds for about 20, and it should be thawed enough to crumble up.
If you want to make taco pasta with corn or canned black beans, go for it! Just throw them in before pressure cooking, and you’ll have a hearty, one pot meal!
Add Toppings
You can add as many of your favorite taco toppings over the pasta. Try:
- Homemade guacamole
- Spicy Pico de Gallo You can never have too many taco toppings, right?!
- Chopped jalapeño peppers
- Sliced radishes
- Diced tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Crushed corn chips or tortilla chips
Instant Pot Taco Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or use taco seasoning instead of spices
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onions
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1-pound box medium pasta shells, uncooked
- 4 cups water or beef broth
- 1 ½ cups chunky tomato salsa
- ¼ cup sour cream use 1/2 cup for extra creaminess
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
Instructions
- Hit SAUTE on the Instant Pot, and when it reads hot, add the olive oil. When it reads hot again, add the ground beef, and break up meat with a flat spatula
- When meat is no longer pink, add the sea salt, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onions and pepper, and stir until well coated.
- Hit CANCEL, then add the pasta shells, water and salsa. Do not stir. Cover, then turn valve to sealing position
- Hit PRESSURE COOK for 4 minutes, and when pot beeps, hit CANCEL, and do a gradual quick release
- When pin drops, carefully remove lid, and gently stir pasta. Stir in sour cream and cheeses until well combined and serve immediately
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looking for more Instant Pot ground beef recipes?
- Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef
- Easy Instant Pot Hamburgers
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
- Instant Pot Mom’s Best Chili
Recipe was originally published in 2018 and updated in 2020
My family loved this easy Instant Pot creamy taco pasta. I hope you enjoy this easy dinner as much as we do!
Any ideas on what to substitute instead of salsa? Or can I just eliminate all together? Picky eaters, here 😉
You could use a can of diced tomatoes if you want to keep the spice level down. Or, you could omit it and let people add salsa later. The idea is to make a taco-flavored pasta, so go with whatever works for your family. 🙂
Have you ever halved the pasta by chance? Would you just use half the water as well? It looks so good, but a pound of pasta means we have leftovers for days. 🙂
We have a big family, so I’ve never halved the pasta, but you definitely can. Just use enough liquid to cover the pasta — 2 cups should be fine. 🙂
Super yummy, loves by my 11yo twin boys!
That’s wonderful, Diane! So glad your family liked it! 🙂
I’ve never used Gluten Free pasta in my instant pot.
Unfortunately that’s how I have to eat now. Has anyone used it???
This recipe sounds so good!
I haven’t used gluten free pasta in the Instant Pot, but I’ve heard people say that Barilla brand works well.
I know this was posted awhile back now, but my son has celiac disease, so we use all GF pasta. I’ve had success with Barilla, but we really like Tinkyada. In my experience it gets less mushy than other brands we’ve tried.
I used a brown rice & cauli pasta and it turned out great!
This is so wonderful! Will make again and again!
Thank you!
Thanks, Patricia! It’s one of our favorites, too! 🙂
About how long will it take for my instapot to come up to pressure?
It really depends on what size Instant Pot you have, but usually it’s around 10 minutes. My 6-quart pressurizes faster than my 8-quart.
I want to make this really soon, I just got a 6 quart instant pot. Would the liquid ratio be the same? Thanks.
Yes, the amounts stay the same for both the 6 and 8 quart. 🙂
What does a gradual quick release mean? I am pretty new with the instapot.☺
Instead of turning the release valve all the way, use kitchen tongs or a wooden spoon to turn it in short bursts. Sometimes, the pasta water sprays when you do a quick release and makes a mess, so a gradual release helps with that. 🙂
If I was going to use 3 lbs of ground beef to make this for a party how would you increase the other ingredients? If I did everything times 3 I think the liquid would overpower it.
Right now, there is more pasta than beef, so I don’t know if you want to triple everything. I think I would try adding maybe a box and a half of pasta and add enough water to cover the pasta. You can always add more salsa and cheese at the end. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Making this tonight. Sounds delish.
It’s one of our favorite dinners. Let me know how you like it! 🙂