Boy Scout Casserole–ground beef, potatoes, corn and cheese. An easy Instant Pot recipe!
Boy Scout Casserole
Remember those foil packets you’d make when you went camping? Usually foil packets have ground beef, potatoes, maybe a few vegetables and a bit of seasoning. This casserole takes some of the flavors of foil packets and makes it fast and easy in your Instant Pot. With just a 4 minute pressure cooking time this dinner comes together a lot quicker than over the fire 😉 I remember half the time we would open the foil packets after what seemed like forever and the potatoes were still rock hard 😂. This casserole has a stew-like consistency and tastes great with a few drops of hot sauce on top.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Onion–yellow or white
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Chicken broth–or beef broth
- Red potatoes–or peeled russets, yukon gold
- Diced green chiles–I used mild
- Corn–or frozen corn
- Cheddar cheese–I like using sharp
- Hot sauce–optional
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the ground beef and break it up. Add in the onions. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in ¾ tsp salt, garlic powder, black pepper and paprika.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add in the potatoes and sprinkle them with the remaining ½ tsp of salt. Then add in green chiles and corn. 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 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Gently stir in the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve topped with a few drops of hot sauce, if desired.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a dinner roll and a tossed green salad.
- Try adding in sliced carrots when you add in the potatoes.
- This recipe is gluten-free.
- 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 smoked paprika are Instant Pot Honey Lime Salsa Verde Chicken and Mississippi Sin 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.
Boy Scout Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5-10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Ground beef, potatoes, corn and cheese. An easy Instant Pot recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
- 1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the ground beef and break it up. Add in the onions. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in ¾ tsp salt, garlic powder, black pepper and paprika.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the potatoes and sprinkle them with the remaining ½ tsp of salt. Then add in green chiles and corn. 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 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Gently stir in the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve topped with a few drops of hot sauce, if desired.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
More Instant Pot Meat and Potatoes Recipes…
Time Machine Casserole
An old fashioned meat and potatoes casserole that’s been updated for cooking in your Instant Pot.
Road Rage Casserole
Ground beef and potatoes with carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes. An easy slow cooker or Instant Pot recipe.
Titanic Casserole
An old timer recipe that’s been transformed into an Instant Pot recipe. With potatoes, beef, cheese, rice, beans and more it’ll fill you up.
Family Feud Casserole
Ground beef, potatoes, green beans, bacon and cheese made in your Instant Pot. A family favorite that may cause a family fight on who gets the last bite.
*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.
Thanks, Karen 🙂. This yielded a comforting, easy dinner tonight. I can see how easily adaptable it could be to tastes and what’s on hand at home.
Had no canned diced Chilis, so subbed with 1/2 cup’s worth mix of finely diced green bell pepper, 1 small whole bird’s eye chili 🌶️ (well minced), and the remainder of the half cup filled with some salsa and the water drained from the canned corn. Flavour and spice level turned out well. Also had no red potatoes, so used yellow-fleshed ones instead.
Yum! Love how you were able to make it with what you had on hand 🙂
this sounds delicious but can it be made in a crock pot?
Can’t wait to try this, Karen! So glad you thought of it, sure brings back memories. We did the same foil packets at Girl Scout camp & everybody remembers the rock hard ‘taters!! I’ll be back with stars, I know hubster will love this one as well.
P.S. We laughed when I read him the recipe. He said, “that’s a good one, Hot Sauce optional….hot sauce is one of the main ingredients in everything at this house!” ;-}
haha! Hot sauce is good!
We could never wait that long for the dinner to cook!
Sounds pretty tasty though I’d sub frozen corn for canned corn – it tastes a whole lot better and much more like fresh corn.
yep it is so good with frozen corn!