Instant Pot Dinner in a Dish–saucy ground beef casserole topped with mashed potatoes and a bit of cheddar cheese. A complete dinner all in one dish.
Instant Pot Dinner in a Dish
I came across a recipe entitled dinner in a dish and I was intrigued. What is dinner in a dish? Could it be “dinner in an Instant Pot” instead? That’s how my brain works these days. I’m always thinking “could this be made into an Instant Pot recipe?” After reading through the recipe I learned that it was similar to a recipe my mom used to call shepherd’s pie when I was growing up. Basically it is a beef casserole that’s topped with mashed potatoes and baked.
My version of the recipe allows the potatoes to cook in a steamer basket* at the same time as the beef. And if you have an air fryer lid you can cook the entire recipe all in the same pot. (If you don’t have an air fryer lid you can use your oven.)
I was surprised at how well I liked this dish. The combination of the creamy cheesy mashed potatoes with the beef and peas was delicious. This is pure comfort food and it tastes so good on a cold, dreary February day. I would recommend making this Instant Pot Dinner in a Dish for dinner this week!
More Ground Beef Recipes You’ll Like…
Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie Casserole
Instant Pot Total Dude Casserole
Instant Pot Garlic Beef Enchiladas
Instant Pot Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie
Instant Pot Church Supper Spaghetti
Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?
Receive FREE daily Instant Pot recipes and tips in your email box. Sign up by filling out the gray form below. Other ways to follow: join the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes Facebook group and subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share Instant Pot stuff with you weekly.
Print
Instant Pot Dinner in a Dish
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A saucy ground beef casserole topped with mashed potatoes and a bit of cheddar cheese. A complete dinner all in one dish.
Ingredients
Equipment needed: steamer basket and air fryer lid (optional)
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, washed and cut into cubes
- 1 (12 oz) bag frozen peas
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Get peas out of the freezer and set on counter.
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté. When the display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onions. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess grease. Stir in the kosher salt and black pepper.
- Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Dump in the tomatoes, ketchup and Italian seasoning. Don’t’ stir.
- Place the potatoes in a steamer basket*. Place the steamer basket on top of the beef/tomatoes. It will get dirty on the bottom, it’s okay.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 8 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid. Remove the steamer basket from the pot. Pour the potatoes into a bowl.
- Pour the peas into the Instant Pot and stir. Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting to heat the peas through. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Mash the potatoes well and stir in the milk and butter, until melted. Salt and pepper the potatoes to taste.
- Air fryer lid option: Scoop and smooth the potatoes over the top of the beef/peas. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the potatoes. Put the air fryer lid on top and turn it on 400° F for 5 minutes. Oven option: Pour the mixture from Instant Pot into a 9×9 inch baking dish. Scoop and smooth the potatoes over the top. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 400° F.
- Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1* and Mealthy CrispLid.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot/Air fryer lid
*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.
Delicious. Definitely will make again. Next time I will add the potatoes directly to the meat mixture.
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Janice!
Not bad although your Mom should have called it a Cottage Pie. The name has fogged over the years and it is difficult to get Mutton nowadays. Ironically I eat Cottage/Shepherds Pie with Chips (Fries I think) and Peas with very finely diced Carrot instead of the Peas in the filling. So, meal in a Dish for me????. I also prefer my potato topping without the cheese, just me, and the potatoes are only rusticly mashed just enough to take the lumps out. I have seen somewhere putting Scolloped potatoes to cover but I haven’t done that yet, though I mean to.
This is a very good comfort food. Very easy to eat Makes an excellent sandwich if you have nay couth like me.
Splash of Worcestershire Sauce (pronounced Wus-ta) goes well with the mince.
Sorry I pronounce “Yosemite” Yo-cess-see-mite. 🙂
I make the Stove Top version regularly.
I love the idea for adding Wus-ta!! 😊
Now this is hearty, warm comfort food. The beef broth, browned beef and tomatoes infused into the potatoes, so very good. I always cook with a bit of wine for subtle heartiness and used a 1/4 cup of Cabernet when deglazing. I had to use up two carrots that I didn’t want to waste that gave a sweetness to cut the tomato acidity. By no means adding to a recipe is changing a recipe and there is not one single item I would change here, it’s all a matter of personal taste. This is so easy, delicious and quick to make, it’s on the menu three days from now. Karen, I’ve posted before how grateful I am for your detailed instructions and your new recipes with step-by-step photos, but I could hug you (Covid, you know!) for adding directions to use the air fryer crisp lid. Please, please keep adding this step to your wonderful recipes. Thank you!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the nice review!!