Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper–with just a little more effort than making a boxed meal you can have a homemade creamy tomato basil beef pasta meal. And with the help of your Instant Pot it takes just a few minutes.
Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper
When I was growing up my mom would always make homemade foods. She never used processed boxes of stuff. However one time when we were camping at Yellowstone she made a box of hamburger helper on the camp stove. I was probably about 8 years old and I still remember it. I thought it tasted so good! Haha!
Isn’t it funny how kids love their white wonder bread, twinkies, pasta roni, boxed mac and cheese etc.??? They’d choose that over homemade food that actually tastes good.
A while ago I tried to make a bunch of boxed foods in the Instant Pot just to see if I could. One of them was hamburger helper. I tried it after I made it and it was not good. Overly processed and just gross. It looked good but every time I tried a bite I was disappointed.
This recipe for instant pot homemade hamburger helper tastes 1000 times better than the boxed stuff. My family and I couldn’t get enough. We were all sad that I didn’t double the recipe. The funny thing is that it doesn’t take much more time than using the boxed stuff. It’s a little more effort but well worth it.
This pasta reminds me a little of lasagna. It has the ground meat, the tomatoes, the creaminess and the cheesiness. I’d way rather make this than lasagna since it takes a lot less effort! And I’m all about efficiency. Add the ingredients of this instant pot homemade hamburger helper to your shopping list and make it for dinner this week. I know you’ll love it!
More recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Parmesan Pasta
Instant Pot Creamy Turkey Sausage Penne
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper 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.
Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
With just a little more effort than making a boxed meal you can have a homemade creamy tomato basil beef pasta meal. And with the help of your Instant Pot it takes just a few minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 8 ounces (1/2 pound) cavatappi noodles, uncooked
- 1 3/4 cup beef broth (or 1 3/4 cup water + 2 tsp better than bouillon beef base)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- Optional: 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 1/2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the beef. Break it up with a spoon (I use this tool*). Add in the onion. Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and basil. Brown the beef and saute the onion.
- Once the beef is browned, add in the uncooked pasta. Then pour the broth over the top. Dump the canned tomatoes over the top. Don’t stir.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes.
- Once the time is up let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting.
- Remove the lid and stir in the sour cream and mozzarella. If you want to thicken up the sauce you can stir in a cornstarch slurry (stir the cornstarch and milk together until smooth and then stir it into the pot). Salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
Notes
You can easily double this recipe. Just double all the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
I used 90% lean ground beef so there was no grease to drain off. If you’re using ground beef that’s not quite as lean you may need to drain off some of the grease. You can also use ground turkey for this recipe.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
To make gluten free: Substitute for gluten free noodles. Check the broth for wheat. Swanson’s Organic Beef Broth says gluten free and no msg right on the front of the box. Reduce the IP cook time by one minute when using GF pasta.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
- Calories: 609
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 1118 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Protein: 43 g
Keywords: instant pot
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Made this as a double recipe today. It came out really yummy. I used the frozen cubed garlic. I’m always looking for ways to get veggies in meals so I put some zucchini in right before pressure cooking. It pretty much disintegrated. Any tips for adding veggies? I’m totally fluid with my crockpot but the instant pot still baffles me.
★★★★★
for tender veggies like zucchini and peppers you’ll need to add them after the food is pressure cooked. They’ll cook quickly with the steam and heat of the food.
Karen
You nailed it, spot on. So good it instantly took me back to my childhood! Wow you rock👍
★★★★★
no you rock! thanks!
So good!!!!
Glad you liked it Sarah!
This was the first of 5 recipes I made for the week and my husband ate 2 big plates of it. I recommend this to anyone! It’s so good!
★★★★★
This was a hit! I used an Italian blend cheese & my kids loved it. Easy & quick week night meal
★★★★★
Glad you liked it!
We found the meal to be bland and the noodles over cooked. Will not attempt this again.
Can I use whole wheat pasta? Thanks
yes!
Great recipe! My 3 year old son loved it. We do not have a pressure cooker so I made it on the stove, and it was super simple for a week night dinner. Thanks!
Awesome Amber! I’m so glad you could make this recipe work for you 🙂
This recipe looks so yummy!
Can I freeze this meal?
yes!
I made this recipe tonight and it was fantastic! I subbed the pasta for another that we had on hand and Greek yogurt for sour cream and it was great! Next time I’ll try it with ground chicken!
★★★★★
I love your recipes and my instant pot. My husband must eat gluten free and the pasta just doesn’t hold up as well as wheat pasta. How can I make these pasta recipes work?
I’ve heard that gluten free pasta disintegrates. But I haven’t tried it myself so I don’t know! I would be nervous!!
I love this recipe! My family loved it too! I used Rotel for the tomatoes and it was quite yummy!
★★★★★
Do you have a crockpot version of this recipe? Please? Thank you!
no, mostly pasta gets weird in the crockpot. you could definitely make this on the stove though.
CAN YOU USE ANOTHER TYPE OF PASTA? THANK YOU
Yes you can. Rotini, cellentani, penne or macaroni would all be good.
CAN YOU USE GREEK YOGURT INSTEAD OF SOUR CREAM
Yes, I don’t think it would taste as good but it will still work.
I made this with Greek yogurt and it was fantastic! 🙂
Have you tried this recipe in a slow cooker? Wondered if everything the same just longer cooking time. Looks delicious
No I haven’t. Pasta gets weird in the slow cooker. I would just make it on the stove if I didn’t have an instant pot.
We made what could only be called a blonde version with ground turkey and chicken stock and it was amazing! It will definitely make the meal rotation. Thanks for another great recipe!!
★★★★★
Nice Leslie! I like your ideas. I will have to try that next time.