Instant Pot Taco Pasta—all the yummy flavors from tacos in a bowl of pasta. An easy weeknight dinner recipe that doesn’t take much time to get on the table.
Instant Pot Taco Pasta
This pasta is pure, delicious comfort food. I wanted to eat it all! Luckily I didn’t and had leftovers for lunch the next day. I loved the guacamole on top and wanted to lick my plate clean. Mix up your pasta and taco nights and make this Instant Pot Taco Pasta.
Some things I’m thinking about sort of related to the recipe…
Avoid the burn message: Whenever I stay “don’t stir” in my recipes it’s because I don’t want something touching the bottom of the pot that will cause a burn error. In today’s case, I’m trying to not let the tomatoes touch the bottom of the pot. If you want you can read more about why the burn error message occurs.
Beef trick: I read a tip from a wonderful reader of 365 Days. She told about a great way to store ground beef. When buying a large amount of ground beef you separate it into 1 pound increments. Then mash the beef down into thin patties. Store the mashed 1 pound patties in between layers of parchment paper and in a big ziploc bag in the freezer. Then whenever you need a pound of ground beef it is much easier to defrost because it’s so thin.
Sweet Mini Peppers: I bought a bag of those colorful mini peppers from Costco and they are so tasty! So sweet and delicious. They don’t have many or any seeds on the insides either. I used 3 mini peppers for this recipe and they were perfect.
Taco Seasoning: I buy a big container of taco seasoning from Costco typically but sometimes when I’m feeling less lazy I make my own from scratch. Here’s the recipe I use…
To make a batch of taco seasoning, add the following ingredients in an airtight container and shake to combine. Use about 2 Tbsp per pound of meat.
- 10 Tbsp chili powder (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp ground red pepper
- 2 Tbsp cumin
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp black pepper
Try these other favorites…
Instant Pot Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?
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Instant Pot Taco Pasta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
All the yummy flavors from tacos in a bowl of pasta. An easy weeknight dinner recipe that doesn’t take much time to get on the table.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 3 Tbsp taco seasoning
- 3 3/4 cups beef broth
- 1 pound pasta (macaroni, cavatappi, rotini and penne all work)
- 1 (14.5 oz can) crushed tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch (optional)
- 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), cored and diced
- 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
- 1 (14 oz) can of corn, rinsed and drained
- 1 (4 oz) can sliced olives, drained
- 1 cup grated cheddar
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (MORE). When the display says HOT add the ground beef and break it up*. Add in the taco seasoning. Brown the ground beef until no pink remains. Drain off any excess grease.
- Deglaze the pot by pouring in the beef broth and scraping the bottom of the pot.
- Add in pasta and use a spoon to even it out into one layer that is almost all covered with liquid. Evenly pour the crushed tomatoes over the top, don’t stir.
- Cover your Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes on high pressure. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid. If your pasta has too much liquid you can make a cornstarch slurry to thicken it. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 Tbsp of water, until smooth.Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly.
- Stir in the peppers, cilantro, corn, olives, cheddar and tomatoes. Scoop into bowls and top each serving with a dollop of sour cream and guacamole.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- 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.
Another winner! Your Instant Pot recipes are a proven fav in my household!
★★★★★
thank you thank you!!!
why is the pasta amount in lbs and the rest of the recipe in cups???? this is really irritating as I have no idea how much 1 lb of pasta is in cups!!! Makes me not want to use any of your recipes as it’s too time consuming to have to look this stuff up when you just want a quick meal… hence using the instant pot in the first place!
I do it that way because every pasta is a different shape. By measuring it you can be more accurate. 1 pound of pasta is usually 1 box of pasta so you won’t have to measure.
Made this recently and we loved it. My Dad will eat anything with corn in it and so I knew this would be a winner. Really appreciate having the taco seasoning recipe too. I have used it for other recipes since making this one and I’ve found it’s a great blend to have on hand. I actually had every single ingredient in my spice rack already too. Perfect!
★★★★★
Yep! Me too, I always have the stuff to make taco seasoning if needs be.
Hi Karen. I have been watching your Channel for a couple of months now. I love you recipes. Question. Could I use a can of tomato paste instead of tomatoes? My husband doesn’t like tomatoes.
You could use 3 Tbsp of the paste, that should be plenty.
My husband and I really like this fast, simple recipe. It doesn’t take much time and you can customize it to your personal taste. We are watching our fat so we added a little shredded cheese afterward in our bowls, not the whole pan. We used whole wheat rotini for the pasta. We will add a can of black beans for the future as well, so there are 2 Abs Diet power foods(whole wheat pasta & beans). I had a bit of sour cream on mine. It makes a lot for us empty nesters, so it would be good when the kids are visiting as well. I also put some Mrs. Dash Southwestern Chipotle seasoning on my serving. As for the person who said you can just have tacos or Hamburger Helper, tacos require more dirty dishes and longer time for that flavor, and I can’t stand HH mixes myself. Who doesn’t have time for an IP dish that takes 5 minutes once it comes to pressure?? Keep those recipes coming! Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Lisa, thanks for sharing your tips and ideas for taco pasta! I love the sound of chipotle seasoning! yum yum! 👌
We all loved it, very good and easy! And I like the fact that you can use different things you have on hand to change it up.
Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Colette! 😊
I must confess… didn’t follow the recipe to the “t”. I sauteed chopped sweet yellow onion with the bell peppers (used what i had on hand… a little red and green) this was after i had to defrost the ground beef. I didn’t have crushed tomatoes but a can of rotel and about 1/4 cup of salsa. Added the seasoning at last minute (I forgot about it!!). Was a bit juicy but not enough to do the corn starch. Added cilantro and frozen corn as instructed. Added the cheese to the individual bowls. Very tasty. Would have again! Thank you Karen! Love your videos and recipes!
★★★★
Thanks Sue! Your version sounds awesome!
JDawg, that is just rude, no one is telling you to make this if it doesn’t sound good to you don’t try it, everyone has different taste.
Karen, I love your recipes
No. You know what goes great with taco flavoring? Tacos! I think Hamburger Helper is already doing this if you want to save yourself some time and you’re craving some chili powder pasta, although you will still have to add the sour cream (gross!). I don’t know how far into the 365 days of crockpot we are, but it might be time to shut it down and take a break.
No, JDawg, if you do not like 365 days, why not unsubscribe? Many readers & I have found some family favorites on this site so there is no reason to suggest taking it down. If you do not like any recipe found on the web, skip it. If you make it & do not like it, then rate it & comment; but quit being a rude poster. Also, I love sour cream as a topper for many things especially Mexican dishes. My daughter doesn’t so she may add some ranch dressing instead.
Linda
Jeez Dawg, this is America. No ones putting a gun to your head and forcing you to make these recipes. If you don’t like them the internet is filled with some others you might. Damn Dawg, your family must love having you at the family BBQ. :/
Dawg – Didn’t your mother tell you that if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all?!! I love Karen’s recipes, and this is a twist on a classic. Thank you, Karen, for the fun ideas! Love your site.
JDawg…it may be time for you to have a Snickers because you’re sounding kind of hangry right now. Unless you are always this rude to people? You do not have to be here, you do not have to comment. If these recipes aren’t what you’re looking for, keep looking elsewhere.