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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!

instant pot macaroni beef casserole with cheese in white bowl

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.

ground beef with celery and onions in instant pot

Next, you layer macaroni, water and diced tomatoes. The tomatoes go on top, but don’t stir them into the rest of the ingredients.

macaroni and diced tomatoes in instant pot

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!

macaroni beef casserole in Instant Pot

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.

instant pot macaroni beef casserole on fork

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?

Recipe for Instant Pot Macaroni Beef Casserolee

5 from 8 votes

Instant Pot Macaroni Beef Casserole

By: Dee
Instant Pot macaroni beef casserole is a quick and easy ground beef recipe made in the pressure cooker with beef, pasta, cheese and diced tomatoes.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
pressure time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 24 minutes
Servings: 15

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
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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

Recipe was made in 8-quart Instant Pot electric pressure cooker but can be made in the 6 quart without any adjustments

Nutrition

Calories: 380kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main
Cuisine: American
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Happy Cooking,

 

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Recipe Rating




20 Comments

  1. Alex says:

    Tried this tonight , very easy quick and tasty recipe . Instead of water I used low sodium beef broth .thank you for posting5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      The beef broth probably makes it taste even better. Thanks, Alex!

  2. 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

    1. 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.

  3. Barbara S. says:

    Made for dinner just now,too hot for oven and stove,hubby loved it! Its a keeper and so quick!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thanks so much, Barbara. So glad you liked it! It’s one of my husband’s favorites. 🙂