Pure Nostalgia Casserole

Pure Nostalgia Casserole–an easy, updated Instant Pot version of the old-fashioned chow mein noodle casserole.

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Pure Nostalgia Casserole

Today’s recipe is a blast from the past! Greg’s mom made a version of this casserole growing up and as he ate he said this is “pure nostalgia.” I also remember my grandma making this recipe. I tweaked the original recipe a bit to update the casserole although you’ll still get that 80s dinner feel when you eat this rice and hamburger casserole.

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
• Onion–yellow or white
• Celery
• Chinese 5 spice powder
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Kosher salt
• Beef broth–or water and Better than Bouillon Beef Base
• Low sodium soy sauce–or tamari
• Converted rice–or long grain white rice
• Heavy cream–or half and half or 4 ounces of soft cream cheese or a can of cream of mushroom soup
• Slivered almonds–I buy these in the bulk section at Winco
• Chow mein noodles–these are the dry crunchy noodles used as a topping. I use the La Choy brand.

Steps

Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion and celery. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the Chinese 5 spice, pepper, garlic powder and salt. 

Pour in the broth and soy sauce and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot. 

Sprinkle in the rice evenly. 

Cover Instant Pot and secure lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Stir in the cream and almonds.

Sprinkle with the chow mein noodles. 

(If you’d like you can brown up the top with an air fryer lid for 3 minutes at 400 degrees)

Serve and enjoy. 

Notes/Tips

• Serve with steamed or roasted broccoli. To balance the savory flavors, you can also serve with fresh fruit like pineapple, watermelon, or citrus slices.
• Try adding in a package of frozen mixed veggies, sliced water chestnuts or mushrooms.
• To make this gluten-free use gluten-free soy sauce and don’t add the chow mein noodles.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
• This recipe can easily be halved. Halve all ingredients and keep the cooking time the same. Likewise, this recipe can easily be doubled. Double all the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The chow mein noodles will become soggy so you may want to remove them before refrigerating or freezing and then add fresh noodles when serving.
• Parboiled rice (converted rice) has some advantages over regular white rice. It is less sticky and more separate when cooked, and it retains more of the nutrients found in the rice bran layer because the process doesn’t remove the bran as with white rice. It also has a slightly nuttier flavor compared to regular white rice. I like to buy parboiled rice in the bulk section at Winco. I love using parboiled rice in the Instant Pot.

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More Instant Pot Hamburger Casserole Recipes…

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*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.