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May 11, 2018

Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo

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Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo–an easy one pot meal that has a lot of Mexican flare. Orzo pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with ground beef, taco sauce and black beans. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and shredded cheddar are stirred in later to create a family friendly and flavorful meal.

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Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo--an easy one pot meal that has a lot of Mexican flare. Orzo pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with ground beef, taco sauce and black beans. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and shredded cheddar are stirred in later to create a family friendly and flavorful meal.

Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo

I’m on a quest to find and make the best one pot meals. I love the idea of having your whole meal–protein, carbohydrate and vegetables all in one pot. This one is a keeper! Kids and adults will love this orzo with all the flavors of tacos.

Some recipe notes:

Beef–I used ground beef but you could totally use ground turkey or ground chicken too.

Orzo–Sometimes I buy it in a box with the other pastas but this time I bought it in the bulk section at Winco for a dollar a pound. I have yet to find whole wheat orzo on the shelf. I wish!

Black beans–feel free to use whatever kind of beans you want. I like black beans for this recipe but kidney beans or pinto beans would work well also. Or if you are beans adverse then leave them out all together.

Cheddar–I used cheddar but you can also use a mexican blend of cheese.

Taco Sauce–find this with the other Mexican foods at your grocery store. I like the mild green sauce but if you want a little heat you can use the red medium sauce.

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo--an easy one pot meal that has a lot of Mexican flare. Orzo pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with ground beef, taco sauce and black beans. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and shredded cheddar are stirred in later to create a family friendly and flavorful meal.

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Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo--an easy one pot meal that has a lot of Mexican flare. Orzo pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with ground beef, taco sauce and black beans. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and shredded cheddar are stirred in later to create a family friendly and flavorful meal.

What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?

To make Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly.  It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo--an easy one pot meal that has a lot of Mexican flare. Orzo pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with ground beef, taco sauce and black beans. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and shredded cheddar are stirred in later to create a family friendly and flavorful meal.

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Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo


★★★★★

4.3 from 3 reviews

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 minute plus 5-10 minute NPR
  • Total Time: 8 minute
  • Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
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Description

An easy one pot meal that has a lot of Mexican flare. Orzo pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with ground beef, taco sauce and black beans. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and shredded cheddar are stirred in later to create a family friendly and flavorful meal.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
  • 2 1/3 cup uncooked orzo
  • 1/2 cup green taco sauce (or you can use green enchilada sauce)
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
  • 3 Tbsp taco seasoning
  • 3 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 5 green onions, diced
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 (2.25 oz) can sliced olives, drained (optional)
  • 2 cups grated sharp cheddar
  • Diced or sliced avocado, for serving
  • Sour cream, for serving

Instructions

  1. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the beef. Break it up with a wooden spoon and brown it. Add in the onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Drain off excess grease, if there is any.
  2. Deglaze the pot with the chicken broth/water. Sprinkle in the orzo, green taco sauce, black beans and taco seasoning. Don’t stir.
  3. Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When the time is up let the pot sit there for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
  4. Stir in the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, olives and cheddar. Season with additional taco seasoning and salt and pepper, if needed.
  5. Scoop into bowls and top with diced avocado and a dollop of sour cream.

Notes

I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.

Recipe adapted from Jo Cooks.

  • Category: Beef
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
  • Calories: 372
  • Sugar: 2 g
  • Sodium: 697 mg
  • Fat: 16 g
  • Carbohydrates: 30 g
  • Protein: 25 g

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*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.

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo--an easy one pot meal that has a lot of Mexican flare. Orzo pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with ground beef, taco sauce and black beans. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and shredded cheddar are stirred in later to create a family friendly and flavorful meal.

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39 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Beef, Instant Pot, Pasta, Mexican Tagged With: one pot meal, 1 minute

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Patsy says

    May 15, 2021 at 12:07 pm

    Good recipe! Next time I will decrease the pasta and increase the meat a bit. We served it with Catalina Dressing, Corn Chips, side of red onion, feta and more cheddar, etc. The next day, we ate it cold and my daughter added sunflower seeds for more crunch. Very good cold, as well.

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 17, 2021 at 1:50 pm

      I like all those ideas!

      Reply
  2. Kent says

    January 16, 2020 at 7:11 pm

    Do I leave the ground beef in the entire time or does it need to be removed before deglazing or adding other ingredients? Sorry, noob here.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 18, 2020 at 7:04 pm

      No problem! You can just leave it in there and scrape the bottom of the pot.

      Reply
  3. Cathy Williams says

    December 14, 2019 at 10:51 pm

    Made this tonight for supper. Had to leave the cilantro out for hubby (he’s one that the cilantro tastes like soap) but added it to my bowl along with sour cream and diced avocado. Also had some bite size tortilla chips so ate some by spoon, some by dipping the chips in it. It’s a keeper for us.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 16, 2019 at 5:42 pm

      Yum sounds great!

      Reply
  4. Kayleigh says

    October 10, 2019 at 10:44 am

    Could you use red taco sauce instead of green?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 10, 2019 at 10:54 am

      yes you can!

      Reply
  5. Leanne says

    October 1, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    My family loves this recipe. I want to double the recipe as I have the 8 quart. Would I double the broth/water as well? and what about the cook time? Would that change?

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 2, 2019 at 12:46 pm

      Hi Leanne, read this: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/

      Reply
  6. Ashley says

    January 4, 2019 at 5:29 pm

    How would I do this if I wanted to use shredded (not ground) chicken instead of ground beef?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 4, 2019 at 9:28 pm

      Is the chicken cooked already?

      Reply
  7. Lea Hartmann says

    October 16, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    I just made this. It’s great! My hubs loved it!
    But since I have an Instant Pot Duo Mini. It’s only a 3 qt. So, I had to make it in two batches. Being that it it’s just my hubs and I, we have quite a bit left over.
    My question is… Can I freeze some of it??

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 17, 2018 at 5:04 am

      You could try. I’m not sure how well frozen pasta does. I know lasagna freezes fine but I’m not sure about orzo.

      Reply
  8. Jenny says

    September 27, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    Can in use ground chicken instead of beef?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 29, 2018 at 5:01 pm

      yes of course! i’m sure that would be really tasty. I really love ground chicken. THe problem for me is that I can never find it that easy at the store.

      Reply
  9. Cms says

    September 15, 2018 at 2:23 pm

    I want to make this soon so I can also have it for week day lunches at work. It sounds delish. However, 2 1/3c of orzo seems like so much pasta! Can I use less? If I do will it be too soupy and therefore need to decrease the broth?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 17, 2018 at 1:44 pm

      You could halve all the ingredients and make a half batch. That’s what I would do if I were you!

      Reply
      • CMS says

        September 20, 2018 at 7:42 am

        I did make this and decreased the pasta to 1c and the water to a little over 2c and it turned out great without changing or halving any of the other ingredients. It made enough for my Sunday dinner and 4 weekday lunches. It has such a great flavor and it’s going to taste even better on those cold winter days. I’m going to reduce the pasta even more next time to 1/2c and I think it’ll be just fine.

        I happen to have access to Wegman’s so I buy their whole wheat orzo all the time but DeLallo has a great whole wheat line of pastas that are just as good! Here’s a link – https://www.delallo.com/shop/delallo-organic-whole-wheat-orzo-pasta. You can also buy it on Amazon here – https://tinyurl.com/y7bblkdo. (I’m not an Amazon affiliate.)

        Anyway, I’m loving your recipes and I’ve subscribed. Can’t wait to try more!

        ★★★★★

        Reply
        • Karen says

          September 20, 2018 at 11:08 am

          Thank you so much!! I will definitely check for those whole wheat orzos. That would be a game changer.

          Reply
        • Safija says

          November 18, 2019 at 1:43 pm

          thanks, whole wheat pasta is zero points on the ww purple plan, will have to get some 😋

          Reply
  10. Courtney Hanson says

    August 22, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    How long do u set time for white rice?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 23, 2018 at 9:29 am

      rice would be 1.5 cups water to each 1 cup of rice. 8 minutes for short grain and 3 minutes for long grain.

      Reply
      • Lara says

        February 25, 2021 at 7:39 pm

        Would that be 8 minutes pressure time with the 5-10 minutes of natural release?

        Reply
        • Karen says

          February 26, 2021 at 10:56 am

          yep!

          Reply
  11. Diana Brashear says

    August 21, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    What about using rice instead of orzo?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 21, 2018 at 4:58 pm

      what kind of rice? just white rice?

      Reply
  12. Joanna C. says

    July 26, 2018 at 1:39 pm

    Is like to make this with strips of steak. I’m wondering if I can sauté them inside the instant pot leave at the bottom and cover with the rest of the ingredients?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      July 26, 2018 at 1:57 pm

      Yes, I believe that would work well.

      Reply
  13. Marlene says

    June 14, 2018 at 3:28 pm

    Could this be made ahead and served as a cold salad?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 14, 2018 at 4:40 pm

      Sure I don’t see why not!

      Reply
      • Marlene says

        June 14, 2018 at 6:30 pm

        Thank you for your quick response. This was one of the first recipes I made with my new Instant Pot and it was amazing. In fact, every one of your recipes I have tried since getting the pot (mid May), has been a winner. Thank you!

        Reply
        • Karen says

          June 19, 2018 at 1:50 pm

          YES!!!

          Reply
  14. Sherry says

    May 16, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    Wegmans has whole wheat orzo. It is their own brand.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 17, 2018 at 8:44 am

      Hi Sherry, thanks for the suggestion! I don’t have a Wegmans by me. BOO!!!

      Reply
  15. Kathi says

    May 11, 2018 at 12:40 pm

    Do you think you could substitute Risoto for the Orzo?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 12, 2018 at 10:00 pm

      Do you mean arborio rice?

      Reply
      • Ellyn says

        June 18, 2021 at 11:26 am

        I would like to use Arborio. Ratios please

        Reply
        • Karen says

          June 19, 2021 at 8:39 am

          It’s a 2:1 ratio of water to rice and high pressure for 5 minutes with a quick release (move valve back and forth to prevent foaming)

          Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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