Instant Pot Aunt Fannie’s Dinner–a ground beef and pasta recipe with cheese, tomatoes and corn. An easy one pot meal.

Instant Pot Aunt Fannie’s Dinner
Today’s recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from All Recipes. Aunt Fannie’s dinner reminds me a bit of what many call American Goulash. By using your Instant Pot this recipe comes together quicker than the traditional method and you only have one pot to clean at the end of the night. This is an easy recipe with ground beef, pasta, tomatoes and corn. It hit the spot on a Sunday evening!
This recipe makes a lot but if you’re only serving a few people you can easily halve the recipe. We like leftovers (for the hungry teenage boy) so I made the recipe as stated below which makes about 8-10 servings.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Onion–fresh or frozen diced onion
- Garlic powder
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Chicken broth–or 4 cups water and 4 teaspoons Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Medium shell pasta–or elbow macaroni
- Crushed tomatoes
- Canned corn–of frozen corn
- Balsamic vinegar
- Sugar
- Mozzarella cheese
Steps
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. If there is excess grease, drain it off.

Stir in the garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.

Sprinkle in the pasta evenly.

Dump in the tomatoes, corn, vinegar and sugar.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Stir in the cheese.

Serve and enjoy!

Notes/Tips
- We ate this with a green salad and a cup of fresh fruit. It also goes well with garlic bread.
- This recipe makes about 8-10 servings. You can easily cut the recipe in half. Just halve all the ingredients and keep the same cooking time. If you like a more meaty version then use the full one pound of beef even if you halve the recipe.
- This recipe can be dairy free if you forego the mozzarella cheese.
- Other types of pasta can be used such as elbow macaroni, cavatappi, rotini, penne, ziti, etc. To figure out pressure cooking time take the time on the back of the box and divide by two and then subtract 1 minute. For example if it says to boil 10 minutes then you’d divide by 2 (5) and then subtract 1 (4 minutes of pressure cooking time).
- Try adding in some diced green bell peppers with the corn.
- Kick up the flavor with a bit of cayenne pepper or some smoked paprika.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. If you cut the recipe in half you can make it in the 3 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with mozzarella cheese are Instant Pot Caprese Chicken and Instant Pot Spinach And Ravioli Lasagna.

More Instant Pot Beef and Pasta recipes…
Instant Pot Cowboy Spaghetti
Easy spaghetti recipe with bacon, ground beef, Rotel, barbecue sauce and cheese. A hearty pasta dish that comes together quickly with the help of your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Poor Man Husband Casserole
A layered noodle casserole with ground beef, marinara sauce, cheddar cheese, cream cheese and sour cream.
Instant Pot Alphabet Soup
A grown-up, homemade version of your favorite childhood soup. This soup only has a handful of ingredients and is perfect on a chilly day.
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.


Instant Pot Aunt Fannie’s Dinner
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Description
A ground beef and pasta recipe with cheese, tomatoes and corn. An easy one pot meal.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (16 oz) box medium shell pasta
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
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. If there is excess grease, drain it off.
- Stir in the garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Sprinkle in the pasta evenly. Dump in the tomatoes, corn, vinegar and sugar.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the cheese. Serve and enjoy!
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot

*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.
I am a single man and use my instant pot regularly but end up throwing out a lot of food because I follow the recipes and can only eat a particular recipe so many times. Can you post the servings the recipe is for with the recipe and if I cut the amounts do I need to cut the cook times accordingly?
Hi Barney, I would read this article! It should help answer your question: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-halve-instant-pot-recipes/