“Don’t Touch!” Casserole–seasoned ground beef, cabbage and egg noodle casserole with melty cheese on top.

“Don’t Touch!” Casserole
Do you have those dinners that your spouse/kids are always picking at? This is one of those! Greg is always coming up to the pan and trying to pick out the large chunks of beef and the melty cheese on top. I tell him, “get a plate and scoop some up!” Stop trying to pick off all the good stuff off the top! Lol! He is infamous for “picking.” One time he picked off almost all the pecans off a pecan pie. Although I don’t know that he would remember that if you asked him…that was fairly early on in our marriage. Anyhow, you might be slapping some greedy hands and telling them “don’t touch the casserole!”
This is a delicious cabbage, egg noodle and beef casserole. You’re going to love how the cabbage stretches the noodles quite a bit and you feel like you’re eating a big dish of pasta. This recipe freezes well if you have leftovers. It does make quite a bit. So you may have leftovers if you’re not feeding a crowd. You can also cut the recipe in half if you don’t have a big group to feed.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Onion
- Seasoned salt–I used Lawry’s brand
- Black pepper
- Beef broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Egg noodles–or another type of pasta like rotini or macaroni
- Cabbage–I used half a head of green cabbage
- Marinara sauce–or spaghetti sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Shredded cheddar–or mozzarella cheese
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and onions and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.

Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of the seasoned salt and the black pepper. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.

Add in the egg noodles.

Add in half of the cabbage. Pour the spaghetti sauce and Worcestershire sauce over the cabbage evenly.

Then add the rest of the cabbage on top. Sprinkle the cabbage with the remaining 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Stir.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and use an air fryer lid to melt the cheese (350 for 3 minutes) or scrape the mixture into a 9×13 inch pan and bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!


Notes/Tips
- Serve with garlic bread and fresh fruit.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 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.
- This recipe makes quite a bit. You can easily halve the recipe by cutting all ingredients in half (except the broth) and using the same cooking time.
- Other recipes you can make with the other half of cabbage are Father-In-Law’s Soup and Panda Express Chow Mein.

More Instant Pot Ground Beef Recipes…
Cobre Valley Casserole
A ground beef casserole with rice, refried beans, picante sauce, green chiles and more.
Road Trip Casserole
A hearty dish of ground beef, cubed potatoes, bell pepper and cheddar cheese. All made in one pot…your Instant Pot. With just a 2 minute pressure cook time this recipe could become a new family favorite!
Jean’s Casserole
A mixture of seasoned ground beef, pinto beans, sweet corn, nacho cheese sauce and picante sauce served over a bed of rice. An easy nacho casserole that has a lot of flavor!
Taking a Nap Casserole
Instant Pot Taking a Nap Casserole has rice, ground beef, black beans, salsa, green peppers and cheese. Add the ingredients into the pot and take a nap while everything cooks.
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.


“Don’t Touch!” Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Seasoned ground beef, cabbage and egg noodle casserole with melty cheese on top.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 tsp seasoned salt (divided)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup beef broth
- 8 ounces uncooked egg noodles (or another type of pasta)
- 6–8 cups chopped cabbage
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and onions and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.
- Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of the seasoned salt and the black pepper. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the egg noodles. Add in half of the cabbage. Pour the spaghetti sauce and Worcestershire sauce over the cabbage evenly. Then add the rest of the cabbage on top. Sprinkle the cabbage with the remaining 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir. Sprinkle the cheese on top and use an air fryer lid to melt the cheese (350 for 3 minutes) or scrape the mixture into a 9×13 inch pan and bake at 400 for 5 minutes. 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.
Cooked this ove rthe wekend,. turned out GREAT! I dropped the salt, and changed the beef broth to Lower Sodiuum Beef Broth. Sorry for the change of your recipe, but I am on a lower salt diet.
★★★★★
So glad you could make it work for you!
this turned out delicious, just added cheese and it melted, great recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Sheila!
Hi Karen, how can I fix this recipe if I dont have an instant pot? I would love to make this if I could use stove top and then oven for cooking,
Loved it. Added some minced garlic after the onions were cooked, Used ground chicken in place of ground beef. Saw no need to bake in oven. I just sprinkled the cheddar cheese on each plate. This makes a lot.
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Sharon!
I wasn’t sure how this was going to be, but we loved it! I had half a head of cabbage I needed to use. It ended up being a perfect fast and easy weeknight meal. Next time I may dish up before melting cheese on top or use your casserole dish suggestion. Thank you!
So glad you like it Suz! And yes so perfect if you already had half a head of cabbage that needed to be used.
Is there a crockpot/ slow cooker version …? I signed up for crockpot recipes as well . even when using the filters looking for crockpot recipes I still get Instapot recipes?.
Hi Helen, this recipe won’t turn out well in the slow cooker. Usually noodles don’t work great in the crockpot. As for the recipe filter, if you scroll down to the recipe card (even if it entitled Instant Pot something) it says Instant Pot Instructions and Slow Cooker Instructions in the instruction section of the recipe. I hope this helps!
I would also like to know if this can be made in the crockpot.
★★★★★
Hi Monica, this recipe won’t turn out well in the slow cooker. Usually noodles don’t work great in the crockpot.
Can this be made in a crock pot? I signed up for crock pot recipes.
Hi Judy, this recipe won’t turn out well in the slow cooker. Usually noodles don’t work great in the crockpot.
Even if applied toward the end of cooking, like the last 8 to 10 minutes?
You could certainly experiment with it! I bet that might work.
Do you have to make this in an insta pot or can you make it in the oven or in a Dutch oven?
Hi, Pat, I’m sure it could be adapted for the oven or the dutch oven with a few tweaks! I haven’t tried it myself so I’m not exactly sure. If you do give it a try let me know how it goes!
I love it! A totally appropriate name for this dish. I have a “picker” at my house as well. I have found, though, that my fly swatter works way better than just saying “don’t touch!”
Will be back with stars asap.
Haha the fly swatter! Thanks hilarious!