Instant Pot Poor Man’s Dinner–ground beef, potatoes and mushrooms in a creamy gravy sauce.
Instant Pot Poor Man’s Dinner
I came across a recipe for poor man’s dinner and thought it would make a good candidate for an Instant Pot recipe. The original author states, “Don’t let the name fool you—this dish guarantees “million-dollar taste” with just a few ingredients!” Greg said, this recipe must have been named when ground beef wasn’t so expensive! Haha…it’s true. Groceries are more expensive these days. Watch for the sales!
The original recipe has a can of cream of mushroom soup. My version uses fresh chopped mushrooms and cream and has a few other changes for extra seasoning and flavor. The end result was something that doesn’t look the prettiest but sure does taste good. Skyler made us a side of sauteed broccoli and zucchini to go along with our meal. Mmm mmm!
Ingredients for poor man’s dinner
- Lean ground beef–you can also use ground turkey
- Montreal steak seasoning–you can also use another brand of steak seasoning or make your own from scratch
- Beef broth–or you can use Better than Bouillon Beef Base and water
- Onions–chopped or sliced
- Mushrooms-chopped so kids won’t be as picky!
- Brown gravy mix–I used the McCormick brand
- Worcestershire sauce–for flavor
- Russet potatoes–you can choose to peel the potatoes or keep peels on
- Heavy cream–or half and half or evaporated milk
How to make poor man’s dinner in the Instant Pot
In order to make this recipe in the Instant Pot properly you will layer the ingredients. Don’t stir or you’ll risk the burn error message.
- Brown ground beef: Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.
Tip for draining 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. - Deglaze: Stir in the the steak seasoning. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Layer ingredients: Layer the onions and mushrooms on top of the meat. Sprinkle with the gravy mix. Add in Worcestershire. Layer the potatoes on top of the mushrooms. Don’t stir.
Tip for potatoes: make sure potatoes aren’t stacked on top of each other or they won’t cook properly. Separate the potatoes and scatter into the pot. - Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 2 minutes (or 1 minute for firmer potatoes). When time is up let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Finish up: Stir in the heavy cream. Taste and add more steak seasoning and/or Worcestershire to taste.
- Serve and enjoy.
This recipe can be made in the 3, 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot*.
More Ground Beef and Potato Recipes…
Instant Pot Meat and Potato Casserole
Instant Pot Hungry Man’s Casserole
Instant Pot Total Dude Casserole
Instant Pot Beef and Cheddar Ranch Potatoes
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 Poor Man’s Dinner
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Ground beef, potatoes and mushrooms in a creamy gravy sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup diced or sliced onions
- 8 ounces chopped mushrooms
- 3 Tbsp brown gravy mix
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 20 ounces Russet potatoes, washed and sliced into quarter inch rounds or small cubes
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.
- Stir in the the steak seasoning. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Layer the onions and mushrooms on top of the meat. Sprinkle with the gravy mix. Add in Worcestershire. Layer the potatoes on top of the mushrooms. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 2 minutes. When time is up let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the heavy cream. Taste and add more steak seasoning and/or Worcestershire to taste.
- Serve and enjoy.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
*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.
fairly easy to make. still not used to things being done in 2-3 minutes in the instant pot, but it was. we cubed our potatoes then the gravy, broth, was to runny for us so we smashed up the potatoes a little bit. not all though. ours needed lots of extra seasonings, and we also added corn. 1 pot meal. thanks for the recipe
★★★★
Thanks for the tips and ideas Lorrie!
This is easy delicious 🤤 fast thank you
For sharing. Doing homework to make
To make a awesome dish
Five stars 10 of 10 thanks
Thank you so much!
Greg is so right, nothing “poor” about this meal! Ha! I always like to use lean ground beef or sirloin, so you can imagine the look on my face when I saw the price. Mercy! I bought it anyway & was so glad I did. This was an amazingly easy meal to prep & the taste was equally amazing. Glad you found, revamped & shared this one…and also glad you reworked the canned soup. It’s another keeper for us. YUM!!
★★★★★
Prices are high right now for sure! But cooking at home is still cheaper than going out to eat!
You sure got that right!!! So thankful for your IP recipes. Can usually make something delicious & nutritious right out of the pantry. EZ to make & EZ on wallet!!
I feel like since the pandemic we hardly go out to eat and we have saved a lot of money!
My family and I loved this. My son is gluten free so I used McCormick’s gluten free gravy mix. I also used the entire packet of gravy. Next time I make it I think I will add frozen peas and carrots after the cooking cycle is done.
★★★★★
Cool! I didn’t know they had a gluten free gravy packet. Good to know!
Where’s the slow cooker/crock pot recipe version? Is it the same? Anything extra or omitted for the slow cooker? You did say it was for slow cooker/instant pot. I do not have an instant pot.
Oops sorry. No I don’t have a slow cooker version for this particular recipe!
Another fabulous recipe! I had about 1/2 pound of fresh green beans on hand, so cut them in thirds and added in the layer with the onions and mushrooms. I also used the whole packet of gravy mix….didn’t know what I’d do with the little bit that was left. Fat free half & half was used instead of heavy cream to keep those points and calories low! We will enjoy this again! Thank you!
Your version sounds delish. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Does it have to be a instant pot ? Will this work on a stove top or slow cooker?
I bet you could do the first part on the stove top then bake in the oven until potatoes are tender. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!
That was suppose to say “larger cubes”. I cannot figure out how to edit comments on this site, lol.
★★★★★
Looks delish! Could the potatoes be cubed? Just seems that they would be easier to mix AND eat if they were cubed instead of sliced. Maybe later cubes so that they don’t get mushy? Thanks for the great recipes!
★★★★★
Yes you could definitely do that! I might cook for an extra minute or so with cubes.