Big Montana Casserole–cheddar, beef, beans and potatoes all made in your Instant Pot or Crockpot.
Big Montana Casserole
Today’s recipe is a meat and potatoes all-in-one-pot type of meal that fills you up and tastes super yummy. It’s got ground beef, red potatoes, tomatoes, great northern beans and cheddar cheese. You can make this in your Instant Pot in a few minutes or let it simmer for hours in your slow cooker.
This recipe has been adapted from Amish 365. The author states, “This Big Montana Casserole recipe originates from the Amish community in Rexford, Montana and was given to me when I visited about 10 years ago.”
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Onion–yellow or white
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Chili powder
- Water
- Better than Bouillon beef base
- Red potatoes–or yukon gold, peeled russets
- Diced tomatoes–crushed tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Great northern beans–or navy beans
- Cornstarch
- Cheddar cheese–sharp or medium
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, pepper and chili powder.
Pour in the water and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Stir in the beef base. Turn off Instant Pot.
Evenly add in the potatoes.
Dump tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans on top. Don’t stir.
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.
In a small bowl stir together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of water until smooth. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot and it will thicken almost immediately. Turn off Instant Pot.
Sprinkle the cheese on top. If you have an air fryer lid you can quickly melt the cheese (or if not just let the pot sit on warm until cheese melts).
Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a green salad, roasted vegetables, fresh fruit or corn on the cob.
- This recipe is gluten-free.
- To make this recipe dairy-free leave out the cheese on top.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 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 red potatoes are ohana potatoes and sugar mountain casserole.
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.
Big Montana Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Cheddar, beef, beans and potatoes all made in your Instant Pot or Crockpot.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp Better than Bouillon beef base
- 20 oz red potatoes, cubed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15 oz) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
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 onion. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, pepper and chili powder.
- Pour in the water and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Stir in the beef base. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Evenly add in the potatoes. Dump tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans on top. Don’t stir.
- 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.
- In a small bowl stir together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of water until smooth. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot and it will thicken almost immediately. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top. If you have an air fryer lid you can quickly melt the cheese (or if not just let the pot sit on warm until cheese melts).
- Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, pepper and chili powder. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the water, beef base, potatoes, tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans. In a small bowl stir together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of water until smooth. Stir the mixture into the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until potatoes are tender.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top and let it melt.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
More Instant Pot beef and potato recipes…
Mom’s Secret Casserole
Ground beef with vegetables in a rich gravy, topped with mashed potatoes and melty cheese…all made in your Instant Pot!
Lone Star Casserole
Beef, bacon, mushrooms and vegetables in a savory sour cream sauce ladled over mashed potatoes.
Missouri Casserole
This Instant Pot meat, onions and potatoes dish is an old fashioned recipe that has been updated.
Appalachian Burgoo
Beef stew meat, sausage and potato soup with tons of flavor. Make it in your Instant Pot or Crockpot.
*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.
So I combined this recipe with your RoadRage casserole ,including the spices😬 and made a Big Montana RoadRage Casserole in my slow cooker!😅
It was delicious and we had it with a big chunk of crusty French bread and there was nothing left!
Thankyou for your tasty recipes I shall definitely be back to try more!
that’s funny! I love driving in Montana because there’s hardly any traffic! No road rage for me! haha!
I must admit I’ve never been to Montana and from pictures I’ve seen it feels like it’s quite a serene and peaceful place to visit 😁but it was very fun and really tasty combining these 2 recipes in fact the pot was scraped clean and definitely no leftovers once everyone had been fed and gone back for seconds! And instead of crusty bread to scoop up all the delicious sauce I made fresh buttermilk biscuits from scratch and that tray had nothing but crumbs left too!😁 Thankyou for 2 extremely delicious recipes they are definitely on the menu rota for another time whether separate or combined!🤪😆🤗
I’ve made this before and now I’m making it again I loved it so much! I added the recipe to my list of favorites!
Thanks for the 5 stars Matt!
I added more chili powder and a teaspoon of cumin and a little cayenne to spice it up. It works great.
GOOD plan Matt…I love that.
can you use another type of potatoes?
thank you
yes you can. Try yukon gold or peeled russets
Followed recipe to the letter … Very good !!!
Thanks for the 5 stars David!!
Very bland recipe. I won’t be making it again.
I appreciate you giving it a try. Everyone’s taste preferences are a little different, and this one is meant to be a more mild, family-friendly recipe. You could definitely bump up the flavor with extra seasoning, spices, or even a little hot sauce if you prefer something bolder.
My brother and I really enjoyed this! my only question is that when you reheat this after freezing do you need to add some type of liquid?
you could add in a bit of broth to help reheat it. Maybe a quarter cup
The flavor was fantastic! And I love how easy it was to make.
Thanks so much Sara for the 5 stars!
absolutely yummy!!!! I made it in the nuwave with ground turkey and using the beef broth. The second time I made it I doubled the recipe AND cut up boneless chicken breast very small (smaller than stir fry) and used the vadalia chopper for even size potatoes and onions. Easy and fast. this is a winner winner.
Love these ideas JoAnne!
I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much but thought I would give this a try – it was Delicious! And so easy! My whole family enjoyed it and even had 2nd and 3rd helpings. I made it in my Instapot. The only adjustment I made was using 3/4 C beef broth because I didn’t have BTB Beef Base, and I tossed in an extra potato because it didn’tseem like enough formy family. The recipe doesn’t specify what size to cut the potatoes so I cut them 3/4 to 1 inch and they were perfectly done. A nice French bread would have been perfect to scoop up the gravy but I didn’t have any and salad would have been a nice side to round out the meal – I will do that next time – there will definitely be a next time!
I’m so happy you all enjoyed this! Thanks for the 5 star review 🙂
Thank you very much for your delicious recipes and ideas.
Please don’t stop, nutritional recipes and affordable, I love.
You’re welcome Lisa! Thanks for being here 🙂