Uncle Tony’s Casserole

Uncle Tony’s Casserole–a creamy Instant Pot pasta recipe with ground turkey or beef, tomato sauce, cheddar cheese, and sour cream.

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Uncle Tony’s Casserole

This recipe reminds me of a homemade version of hamburger helper, except it’s made in the Instant Pot and tastes so much better. The small pasta shells are perfect because they catch all of the creamy tomato sauce. The ketchup and red wine vinegar brighten up the sauce and keep it from tasting too heavy or flat. This is an easy one to sneak vegetables into. Try stirring in spinach or shredded zucchini at the end or adding diced mushrooms while browning the meat. (Recipe adapted from Uncle Tony’s Casserole on Facebook). Skyler wasn’t home when I made this but he LOVED the leftovers the next day!

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Ground turkey–or ground beef
• Dried minced onion–or 1/2 cup diced onion
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic powder
• Chicken broth–or beef broth
• Small shells–or elbow macaroni, penne, fettuccine
• Tomato sauce
• Sugar
• Ketchup
• Red wine vinegar–or balsamic
• Sour cream
• Shredded cheddar cheese–or colby jack cheese

Steps

Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the turkey/beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt, pepper,  Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot. 

Sprinkle in the shells. Pour the tomato sauce evenly over the shells. Add in the sugar, ketchup and vinegar.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Stir in the sour cream and cheese.

Serve and enjoy!

Notes/Tips

• Serve with a green salad, spinach salad or caesar salad. Corn works well on the side also.
• If you want extra vegetables you can stir in spinach at the end or add mushrooms while browning the meat.
• Ground beef will give the dish a richer flavor while ground turkey keeps it lighter.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3, 4 or 8 quart pot.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze portions for later, although the texture of the sour cream sauce may separate slightly after thawing. Stir well while reheating.
• Other recipes you can make with sour cream are Instant Pot Easter Bunny Potatoes and Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies.

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for. 

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.