Instant Pot Ground Beef Pasta is an easy dinner that can be on the table in about 30 minutes! Beef & pasta are a always dinnertime win!
Why We Love Instant Pot Ground Beef Pasta
- Instant Pot Ground Beef Pasta is a one pot wonder! Super easy to whip up and ready in 35 minutes start to finish.
- Think of this as a leveled-up Instant Pot spaghetti, but with short pasta.
- This pasta is always in the clean plate at our house. We like to serve up a salad and some garlic bread on the side for a complete meal that’s a breeze to whip up on busy weeknights.
- Since you only need an Instant Pot to cook and a cutting board for the garlic, this recipe is awesome for college kids or beginner cooks.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Instant Pot Pasta
PASTA: We’re using farfalle pasta (also called bow-tie pasta). It’s fun cook with and my kids love to eat it. You can use almost any short pasta you like for this recipe – penne, rotini, elbow macaroni – and the cooking time will stay the same.
SAUCE: The sauce for this dish is made of beef broth, pasta sauce, and some Parmesan cheese. It’s rich and hearty and will help the pasta cook perfectly.
SEASONINGS: To boost the flavor of this dish, we’re adding in garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Nothing fancy, just classic pasta happiness.
How to Cook Pasta in an Instant Pot
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Set your Instant pot to sauté and add in the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, cook the ground beef until it’s browned and cooked through. Add in the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for 1 more minute.
STEP 2 Add the beef broth and pasta to the pot and stir everything together. Pour the pasta sauce on top and DO NOT stir. (This will prevent burn alerts.)
STEP 3 Look the lid in place, set the vent to sealing, and cook on high pressure (manual setting) for 4 minutes. Quick release the pressure once the cooking time is up. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. I like to sprinkle some more parmesan and some chopped parsley on top too.
Tips & Tricks
- Using lean ground beef gives this meal and hearty taste and you don’t have to worry about draining any grease from the hot Instant Pot vessel.
- If you want a rosa style sauce (or for the sauce to just be creamier) add in 2 ounces of cream cheese once the past is cooked and stir until it’s melted in. Then add the Parmesan cheese and season everything.
- To freezer leftovers: Pour the cooled leftovers into a freezer-safe container and freezer. To reheat, pop the pasta in the microwave and heat. Or transfer the pasta to a baking dish, cover with foil, and reheat at 350 degrees F until heated through.
Instant Pot Pasta Recipe FAQ
Can you put raw beef in an Instant Pot?
You absolutely can put raw beef into an Instant Pot. One of my husband’s favorite dinners is this Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Pot Roast.
The key is to consider the other ingredients and the cooking time. For this recipe, you want the ground beef cooked first so it has a nice texture and won’t still be raw when the pasta is done cooking.
For larger cuts of beef, like a roast, they can go in raw or seared on the outside since they’ll cook for a longer time and usually by themselves.
How long does pasta cook in an Instant Pot?
It’ll take about 4-5 minutes to cook pasta in an Instant Pot, plus the time to come up to pressure.
What is the ratio of water to pasta in an Instant Pot?
You’ll need 2 cups of water for every 8 ounces of pasta as a general rule when cooking pasta by itself.
That being said, you can also use different types of liquid, instead of water, to cook the pasta. You can also add pasta to things like soup, or complete pasta dishes with more liquid and it’ll be just fine. This recipe uses 3 cups of beef broth and 24 ounces of pasta sauce (6 cups total) and is awesome.
The idea is that there needs to be enough liquid for the pasta to absorb and for the pressure cooker to work properly.
Other Recipes You May like
Instant Pot Ground Beef Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 pound farfalle pasta
- 24 ounces pasta sauce
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded, plus more for garnish
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot on to the sauté setting and pour in the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the ground beef and cook until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be sure to break up the meat as it cooks.
- Add the garlic and Italian seasoning to the beef and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the beef broth and pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Then add in the tomato sauce – DO NOT stir.
- Lock the lid in place, turn the valve to sealing, and set the pot to high pressure (manual setting) for 4 minutes.
- When the cooking time is up, carefully turn the valve to quick release the steam. When the pin drops open the lid and add the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Stir to combine and serve warm.
Notes
- Almost any type of short pasta can be used – penne, rotini, fusilli, elbow macaroni. The cooking time will remain the same.
- It is important to leave the tomato sauce on top without stirring to avoid burn notices.
- To freezer leftovers: Pour the cooled leftovers into a freezer-safe container and freezer. To reheat, pop the pasta in the microwave and heat. Or transfer the pasta to a baking dish, cover with foil, and reheat at 350 degrees F until heated through.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
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