Instant Pot Happiness Casserole–one bite of this beefy tortilla casserole and you’ll know why it’s named happiness casserole! It’s fast and easy to make, has easy ingredients and tastes so good.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below
Instant Pot Happiness Casserole
It might not be the prettiest but it sure is tasty (lol that’s half the food that I make on this blog)! With beef, chili powder, cumin, jalapeno, beans, Ro-tel, tortillas and cheese it makes a perfect weeknight Tex-Mex meal. Through his first mouthful of this dinner Greg suggested that the name of this casserole should be happiness casserole.
How to make this tortilla-beef casserole…
- Start by heating up your Instant Pot* by pressing the sauté setting (MORE). Brown a pound of ground beef, some onions and a diced jalapeno (don’t worry it’s not spicy). You can also use ground turkey in the place of ground beef.
- Deglaze the pot with some chicken or beef broth. Scrape the bottom of the pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Layer the seasonings, beans, Ro-tel and cream of mushroom on top of the meat (no stirring). This will help prevent the burn error message.
- Cover the Instant Pot and lock the lid into place. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When the time is up you can let the pot sit for a few minutes or you can use a quick release.
- Stir in tortillas that have been cut into squares. I stacked the tortillas on top of each other and used a knife to cut mine. You can also just tear the tortillas. I used white corn tortillas but I think you could have great results with yellow corn tortillas or flour tortillas as well. If you’d rather you can forego the soft tortillas and serve this (it will be stew-like consistency) over crunchy tortilla chips instead.
- Stir in the cheese. I used cheddar but try using Mexican blend or pepper jack (or whatever you like).
- Scoop onto plates or in bowls and enjoy with avocados and sour cream on top.
You’ll also like these other Instant Pot Recipes…
Instant Pot King Ranch Chicken
Instant Pot Doritos Chicken Casserole
Instant Pot Western Meal in One
Instant Pot Macho Nacho Casserole
Instant Pot Loaded Frito Taco Soup
Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans and Rice
Want More Tried And True Instant Pot Recipes?
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Instant Pot Happiness Casserole
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
One bite of this beefy tortilla casserole and you’ll know why it’s named happiness casserole! It’s fast and easy to make, has easy ingredients and tastes so good.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 diced jalapeño
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup beef or chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel (I used mild)
- 1 (15 oz) can ranch style beans, undrained
- 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup (Campbell’s brand)
- 16 (5 inch) white corn tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté (more) setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onions and jalapeños. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain any excess grease. Stir in the salt.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Then layer chili powder, cumin, Rotel, beans and creamy of mushroom soup on top. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Cut or tear the tortillas into one inch squares. Stir the tortillas into the pot. Stir in the cheese.
- Scoop onto plates and serve topped with sour cream and diced avocados.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Brown the ground beef with the onions and jalapenos for about 5 minutes. Drain excess grease. Stir in the salt, chili powder and cumin.
- Cut or tear the tortillas into one inch squares.
- Layer the following ingredients in your slow cooker 2 times: meat mixture, beans, Rotel, cream of mushroom soup, tortillas and then cheese.
- Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4 hours.
- Scoop onto plates and serve topped with sour cream and diced avocados.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*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.
This sounds tasty! Can it be made in a 3 qt pot or does it need to be cut in half? (For us single folks).
★★★★★
I bet it will fit!
I’m not a big fan of corn tortillas, so I was wondering if I could use flour tortillas instead?
I used white corn tortillas but I think you could have great results with yellow corn tortillas or flour tortillas as well. If you’d rather you can forego the soft tortillas and serve this (it will be stew-like consistency) over crunchy tortilla chips instead.
Has anyone checked Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup lately? The last ones that I got (Costco) had MSG in them. The lady at the return counter was shocked as well.
Could you cut down on the broth so that it would be less soupy if you don’t put the tortillas in it? I would like it thicker since I would rather use tortilla chips on top.
I think it will have a hard time coming to pressure and possibly give you the burn message if you cut down on the liquid.
Thanks. I was afraid that would be your reply. 😁
When completed just use the sauté function again to cook down longer till its less juicy and desired consistency
Yeah, this one doesn’t have much eye appeal. The avacado, cheese, & sour cream helped brighten it up a bit. 😊
lol!
What are ranch style beans?
Look for them with the canned beans/baked beans. I haven’t purchased them, but see them all the time
Ranch style beans are typically made with pinto beans in a chili gravy. They are similar to baked beans or “pork and beans,” but are not sweet like baked beans, and they don’t normally include bacon or pork
Here’s a visual…
https://www.walmart.com/grocery/ip/Ranch-Style-Black-Beans-Canned-Beans-15-OZ/10291833
You can also use beans that are labeled “chili beans” with the sauce (not chili but chili beans).
Hi Karen, I can’t wait to make this. I do have a question. With the Crock Pot version, do you add the broth? And also, I’m guessing you layer the ingredients twice? Thanks for any help you can give me. Have a wonderful, blessed & safe Memorial Weekend.
★★★★
you are right. No broth for the slow cooker version and yes layer twice.
Do you think flour tortillas would work?
I used white corn tortillas but I think you could have great results with yellow corn tortillas or flour tortillas as well. If you’d rather you can forego the soft tortillas and serve this (it will be stew-like consistency) over crunchy tortilla chips instead.
This sounds like everything delicious that we like, all combined! We’ll give it a go, I have almost all the ingredients on hand!
★★★★★
It’s tasty! I hope you like it Debbie!