Instant Pot Amish Shipwreck Casserole–an old fashioned frugal recipe to clean out your kitchen that comes together quickly with the help of your Instant Pot.
Note: the OVEN instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Amish Shipwreck Casserole
Shipwreck casserole may have gotten its name from sailors throwing together whatever ingredients they had left to create a meal. Or maybe it came from the fact that when you spoon this dish onto your plate, the layers of ingredients fall all over each other creating a messy looking shipwreck. Even though your plate may look disastrous this easy casserole recipe is delicious.
This hearty, old-fashioned meal is quite versatile and you can mix and match ingredients to make it your own. Try adding in extra layers of veggies. Or leave out ingredients that you don’t care for.
You can add shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top of each portion. I liked adding a little bit of hot sauce to the top of my portion. The leftovers freeze well too so you can enjoy this on another night down the road when you don’t have time to cook. Try reheating the leftovers in your Instant Pot using the pot-in-pot method.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Seasoned salt–I used Lawry’s brand
- Black pepper
- Minced dry onion–or 1 cup diced onion
- Beef broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Tomato juice–or V8
- Converted rice (like Ben’s in the orange box)–or long grain rice or jasmine rice
- Baby carrots–or peeled and cut carrots (use fairly large chunks)
- Ranch beans–or chili beans (like Bush’s)
- Russet potatoes–or red or yellow potatoes (skins on or off)
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning–or make your own
- Smoked paprika–I like buying it in the bulk section at Winco and refilling an empty spice jar*
- Salt and pepper
- Fire roasted tomatoes–these just add a lot of flavor! If you can’t find fire roasted tomatoes you can use regular crushed or petite diced tomatoes or a can of condensed tomato soup.
What is converted/parboiled rice? Don’t confuse parboiled rice with pre-cooked or minute rice. Parboiled rice has been processed in its husk by soaking, steaming, and drying. As a result, all the nutrients from the husk are absorbed into the grain before it’s removed. The starch content alters in the process, making cooked parboiled rice less sticky than regular white rice. The rice kernels aren’t clumpy and glued together instead they are more separated. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice. I also find converted rice in the bulk section at Winco.
Steps
- Brown meat: Turn Instant Pot to sauté. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Turn off sauté setting.
- Deglaze pot: Stir in the seasoned salt, pepper and onion. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Layer in ingredients: Pour in the tomato juice. Sprinkle in the rice. Then layer the following ingredients on top without stirring: carrots, beans, potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika and a little salt and pepper. Finally top the potatoes with the tomatoes. Don’t stir, this will keep layers intact and prevent the burn error message.
- Pressure cook: 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 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Serve: Scoop deep to get all the layers. Serve and enjoy! I like mine topped with some shredded cheese, sour cream and some hot sauce.
Tip on how to drain grease: Tilt the Instant Pot to one side while holding the ground meat against the other side with a wooden spoon. This should make most of the grease pool on the tilted side. Lower the Instant Pot down, the meat should stay to its side and the grease on the other. Place a couple paper towels into the grease and use the spoon to sop up the grease. Discard the paper towels.
Notes/Tips
- This is a hearty meal that I usually just serve by itself. But you can serve it with a side dish of vegetables or salad and some freshly baked French bread.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. For the 3 quart pot you will need to cut the recipe in half.
- You’ll need a vegetable peeler*, cutting board* and knife* to slice the potatoes. I love this paring knife*. It stays sharp and it is so inexpensive.
- 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 is gluten-free!
- Other recipes you can make with tomato juice are Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup and Instant Pot Easy Does It Spaghetti.

More Amish Recipes to Love…
- Instant Pot Amish Beef Noodles
- Instant Pot Amish Friendship Soup
- Instant Pot Amish Country Casserole
- Instant Pot Amish Chicken
- Amish White Bread
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.

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Instant Pot Amish Shipwreck Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
An old fashioned frugal recipe to clean out your kitchen that comes together quickly with the help of your Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp minced dry onion
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup tomato juice or V8
- 1/2 cup raw converted rice, long grain rice or jasmine rice
- 1 cup baby carrots
- 1 (15 oz) can ranch beans or chili beans
- 1 pound (16 oz) Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into half inch rounds
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Turn off saute setting.
- Stir in the seasoned salt, pepper and onion. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Pour in the tomato juice. Sprinkle in the rice. Then layer the following ingredients on top without stirring: carrots, beans, potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika and a little salt and pepper. Finally top the potatoes with the tomatoes.
- 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 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Scoop deep to get all the layers. Serve and enjoy!
Oven Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the ground beef. Drain and season with seasoned salt, pepper and stir in the onion.
- Layer ingredients into a 9×13 inch pan in order: potatoes, garlic powder, Italian seasoning smoked paprika, lightly salt and pepper the potatoes, carrots, ground beef, rice, beans, tomatoes, tomato juice/broth.
- Cover with foil and bake for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Serve and enjoy! Sprinkle with shredded cheese, if desired.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Amish Heritage.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot or Oven
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I made this tonight it was so good I used black beans and diced tomatoes so easy to make thanks Karen
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the 5 stars Brenda!
Saved the dreaded BURN! I followed the directions and layered without stirring but I also got the dreaded burn. I saved it by opening, scraping the bottom with a spatula and replacing the lid. I set it to ‘low sautee’ for 10 minutes and resting for about 7 minutes. It came out fine. Both of my Instant Pots have low, medium and high settings for sautee – I press the sautee button again to get the desired level. I would use 1 cup broth next time and hold off on the tomato juice until the end if needed.
★★★
Tried to make this tonight in my 6qt InstantPot and I kept getting the burn notice even though there appeared to be enough liquid. I even kept the juices from the chili beans and tomatoes in. I think If I try the recipe again, I’ll have to put more broth in it, or try making it in the oven
I’m sorry! That is a bummer. Did you layer the ingredients as stated without stirring?
Yes I did. There was nothing at all stuck to the bottom of the IP and I still got the burn notice.
How would this be done in a slow cooker? How would it be layered and how long would it need to cook? Thanks
No rice in the oven recipe???
I thought it was an interesting combination of ingredients. I had to make a couple of adjustments due to not having the called for ingredients. I didn’t have any tomato or V8 juice so I added another 1/2 cup of beef broth. I also didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes, so I used Original Rotel. I liked it; my husband thought it had a little “kick” which was surprising since we both use the hot taco sauce. Go figure! My adult daughter who has heartburn problems thought it definitely had “kick,” which did not surprise me. I think next time I make it, I will try the mild version of Rotel.
★★★★★
I bet it was the Rotel that spiced it up!
Since the Rotel was the original, I am pretty sure it was, but it was still good and even better as leftovers last night.