A Cowboy’s Supper (Instant Pot Recipe)–an easy, 10-ingredient, one pot meal with ground beef, potatoes, beans, rotel, corn and cheese.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

A Cowboy’s Supper (Instant Pot Recipe)
This one pot meal might become a favorite at your house! It’s got easy to find ingredients and it comes together quickly. It’s got beef and beans for a cowboy flair. It is hearty and will keep your little cowboys and cowgirls happy and full for hours. Plus you can choose whether to make it earlier in the day in the slow cooker or later in the day with your Instant Pot.
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Ground Beef–I used a lean ground beef and did not have to drain off any grease because it was really lean to begin with. You can also use ground turkey for this recipe.
- Onions–hate dicing onions? Me too! Lately I’ve been buying frozen diced onions. There is about 2-3 cups of diced onions in the bag and I buy them on sale for a dollar each. Try it! They work great for my Instant Pot meals.
- Ranch dressing mix–I’m not talking about ranch dressing. I’m talking about the powdered mix. I like buying a big container of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix at Costco. I use it for all sorts of recipes. Some ideas are Instant Pot Ranch Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Ranch Chicken Taco Rice, Instant Pot Wife’s Delight, Instant Pot Beef and Cheddar Ranch Potatoes. It adds lots of flavor to recipes! If you prefer you can make your own from scratch.
- Rotel—Rotel is the name brand of canned tomatoes with diced green chiles. They come in original, hot or mild. They add lots of flavor to different dishes such as the famous rotel-velveeta dip.
- Chili beans–Chili beans are something you’ll find in the canned good aisle at your grocery store. I use the Bush’s brand. They are pinto beans in a mild chili-spiked sauce. If you can’t find chili beans, look for ranch style beans. Or if you’re really in a pinch you can just use a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans (you may need to add more seasonings if you go this route).
- Corn–I used a couple cups of frozen white sweet corn. I prefer frozen corn over canned corn. It seems to have a sweeter flavor and better plumper texture.
- Cheese–I used sharp cheddar cheese that I grated off the block. You can use another type of cheese if you’d rather. Try monterey jack or pepper jack cheese!
- Instant potatoes–dehydrated potato flakes serve as a way to quickly thicken this dish. If you don’t have these on hand, you can leave them out. The dish will just be a bit runny. You can also use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the dish.

More One Pot Meals with Potatoes…
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website? Search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc. Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Instant Pot Church Supper Hotdish
Instant Pot Lazy Sunday Dinner
Instant Pot Dolly Parton’s 5-Layer Dinner
Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?
Receive FREE daily Instant Pot recipes and tips in your email box. Sign up by filling out the gray form below. Other ways to follow: join the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes Facebook group and subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share Instant Pot stuff with you weekly.


A Cowboy’s Supper (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Recipe)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An easy, 10-ingredient, one pot meal with ground beef, potatoes, beans, rotel, corn and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup diced onions
- 4 Tbsp dry ranch dressing mix, divided (I use Hidden Valley)
- 1 cup beef or chicken broth (or 1 cup water + 1 tsp better than bouillon)
- 1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, cut into cubes (peeled or unpeeled)
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles)
- 2 cups frozen sweet white corn
- 1 (15 oz) can chili beans
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2–3 Tbsp instant potatoes
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up*. Add in the onions. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain any excess grease. Stir in 2 Tbsp of the ranch dressing mix.
- Pour the broth into the pot and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the potatoes. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbsp of ranch dressing mix on top of the potatoes. Dump the rotel, chili beans and corn on top of the potatoes. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- To thicken stir in 2-3 Tbsp of instant potatoes.
- Stir in the cheese.
- Scoop into bowls and serve.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Brown the ground beef and onions in a pan on the stove. Drain excess grease. Add meat and onions into slow cooker.
- Stir in ranch dressing mix, potatoes, rotel, chili beans and corn.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until potatoes are tender.
- Stir in the cheese.
- Scoop into bowls and serve.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Make in the 8 quart with no changes. Halve the recipe in the 3 quart pot.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*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.
Looks tasty! Quick question: broth only needed for IP version, right?
yes that’s right!
This is SO delicious Karen!! My husband and I devoured 2 bowls for dinner. I followed your recipe exactly until I got to the frozen corn. I thought I had 2 bags but I had none. I did however have a can of white & golden corn so I drained it and tossed it in with the cheese. Lord have Mercy this dish is tasty! Thanks for helping me fool my family into thinking I’m a good cook!
★★★★★
Haha Sandi! I fool my family too!!! I am not a chef but I do know how to make easy tasty meals.
Can it be thickened with something else? The idea of instant potatoes doesn’t thrill me.
Sure! You can use a cornstarch slurry!
I’m going to try this recipe; sound wonderful. Being diabetic, I always substitute potatoes with rutabagas. They taste great and take on the flavor of the entire dish.
★★★★★
I’m not familiar with rutabagas! I’ll have to try them out! They must have lower carbs? That’s a good idea!
Turnip 🙂
Is there a way to make it with less sodium? Do you have to use the ranch seasoning? I know that tends to have alot of salt.
I would make your own ranch dressing mix and control the salt there. https://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix/