Instant Pot Macaroni Beef Casserole is a quick and easy dinner made with ground beef, pasta and diced tomatoes in the pressure cooker. This simple, budget friendly meal is perfect for busy days, and even picky eaters love it!
This easy Instant Pot ground beef recipe is based upon one of the Hubs' favorite dinners that his mom made when he was growing up. It's similar to American goulash, and it's super easy. If you're looking for a simple budget friendly dinner, you'll love this Instant Pot macaroni beef casserole!
I'm always looking for easy ground beef recipes, so when the Hubs talked about this hamburger casserole recipe, I wanted to try it. It was Mother's Day weekend, and we were both feeling a tad nostalgic, so we got to talking about some of our favorite childhood recipes.
When the Hubs mentioned this macaroni casserole, I thought it sounded a lot like American goulash, only his family didn't call it that. The original recipe was cooked first in a skillet and then covered with cheese and baked in the oven.
While that sounds like wonderful comfort food, it's a tad warm for the oven right now, so I decided to make a pressure cooker version of the same recipe.
You guys, the Hubs gave this pressure cooker ground beef dinner a double thumbs up. He said it tasted exactly like he remembered, and even my picky eaters liked it. Score another win for mom!
How to make Instant Pot macaroni beef casserole
This recipe starts out like my other Instant Pot ground beef recipes. You brown the ground beef directly in the inner pot, and then you start adding the other ingredients.
like I said, this Instant Pot recipe is super simple, so you just throw in some sea salt, garlic powder and pepper. Then, you add chopped celery and onions.
Next, you layer macaroni, water and diced tomatoes. The tomatoes go on top, but don't stir them into the rest of the ingredients.
Pressure cook everything together for a couple of minutes, add some shredded cheese, and that's it! I was so tempted to add a little extra spice, but as it turns out, you don't need it. This simple ground beef and pasta dinner is tasty enough as it is!
The pasta gets pretty soft, but my kiddos like it that way. So does the Hubs. If you want firmer pasta, you might try cooking it for only 3 minutes.
Do you have to brown the ground beef first?
Since the pasta cooks faster than the beef, I recommend browning the beef on the saute setting before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Looking for more Instant Pot ground beef recipes?
- Instant Pot creamy shells and beef
- Instant Pot creamy taco pasta
- Easy Instant Pot hamburgers
- Mom's best Instant Pot chili
- Instant Pot spaghetti and meat sauce
Recipe for Instant Pot Macaroni Beef Casserolee
Instant Pot Macaroni Beef Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup chopped celery, about 4 small stalks or 2 large
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 16-ounce box uncooked macaroni noodles
- 4 cups water
- 2 15-ounce cans low sodium diced tomatoes, undrained
- 3 cups shredded colby jack cheese
Instructions
- Hit SAUTE on pressure cooker, and when it reads hot, add olive oil and ground beef
- Cook beef until no longer pink, stirring so that it browns evenly. Add the sea salt, garlic and pepper, and stir
- Add the celery and onions, and stir
- Hit CANCEL, then add macaroni, water and diced tomatoes. Do not stir.
- Cover with lid, and turn vent to sealing position. Hit PRESSURE COOK for 4 minutes, and do a quick release.
- When pin drops, remove lid, and stir in cheese. Serve immediately, and top with additional shredded cheese, if desired
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
Happy Cooking,
Alex says
Tried this tonight , very easy quick and tasty recipe . Instead of water I used low sodium beef broth .thank you for posting
Dee says
The beef broth probably makes it taste even better. Thanks, Alex!
Kathy says
I want to make this but forgot to take out my ground beef. Can I use the IP to cook frozen ground beef and how would I go about that for this recipe? Thanks
Dee says
I haven't tried it, but I know people who pressure cook the frozen meat on the trivet for 15 to 20 minutes and then cook the rest of the recipe after that.
Barbara S. says
Made for dinner just now,too hot for oven and stove,hubby loved it! Its a keeper and so quick!
Dee says
Thanks so much, Barbara. So glad you liked it! It's one of my husband's favorites. 🙂
Miz Helen says
What a great Macaroni Beef Casserole, we will love it! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
What a great dish! Seeing your pix make me want to dig right in! Love how the IP makes everything so easy!
Sandra | A Dash of Sanity says
This looks like a great weeknight meal my family will love!
carrie @ frugal foodie mama says
This looks like perfect comfort food to me! 🙂
Anna says
I love IP pasta for busy weeknights! This looks so tasty!
Jacque Hastert says
This dish looks fantastic! My kiddos would actually eat dinner 🙂
Mark says
Looks really good! So I have a tomato allergy ... do you think making this without them would be ok? Would I need to add more liquid as a result of omitting them? It’s so hard finding recipes that don’t require to form of tomatoes -> paste, powder, etc !
Thanks in advance for your time !
Dee says
You could definitely leave out the tomatoes, but it wouldn't have the same flavor. You might try adding beef broth instead of water or stirring in cream after cooking for extra liquid. 🙂
Kimberly says
Lovely beef casserole …Nice presentation!
Dee says
Thank you so much, Kimberly. That's sweet of you! 🙂
I Heart Naptime says
Yum, this looks so delicious! My family would love this!
Dee says
Thank you! My family sure loves it! 🙂
Amanda says
Will be making this for the family tomorrow, this looks so tasty!
Dee says
Awesome! I hope your family likes it!