This is the best 5 minute Instant Pot chili mac recipe that you and your kids will love! A classic old fashioned goulash style dinner packed with ground beef and noodles with that chili flavor you love. Dump all the ingredients in and have a complete meal done in less than 15 minutes total, it’s a family favorite.
This easy 5 minute Instant Pot chili mac recipe rocks! We have three kids which means macaroni is always in the house. We’re also huge chili lovers so it would only be reasonable to combine the two to make an easy dinner idea, that’s what we did and made this! So easy to do and a perfect addition to our long list of Instant Pot recipes here. (originally posted 3/17)
Of course we added cheese to the top when it was done, everything is better with lots of cheese. Packed full of meat, beans, and the pasta they love it was a new favorite you can make in a traditional pressure cooker too. Here’s how easy it is to make.
We have made this 5 ingredient dump chili recipe for years and years.
It is so simple and perfect to use in this cheesy chili mac recipe.
I just added macaroni noodles and enough water for them to cook all together in the Instant Pot and it only took 5 minutes to cook!!! Seriously the easiest pasta pressure cooker meal ever.
If you don’t have this fun kitchen appliance it is genius I tell you and I use it every night…that’s why I have so many recipes to share. lol
This is what you’ll need to make our easy Instant Pot chili mac recipe
- Ground beef – this is how to defrost Instant Pot frozen ground beef in case you forgot to thaw it out the night before. 😉
- Onion
- Diced tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Red Beans
- Elbow macaroni noodles
- 1 pkg. chili seasoning (can use a pkg. of taco seasoning instead…still great)
- Chili powder
- Cheese (to top with, optional but so yummy)
Here is a video showing you how I make Instant Pot chili mac
It is a really easy meal that is inexpensive and quite healthy too.
You can spice it up or add as much seasoning you’d like to this basic recipe but we like it this way! My kids love it and it is a warm comfort food that’s perfect when it’s “chilly” outside or really year round.
I love my Instant Pot especially during the summer when the last thing I want to do is turn on my oven when it is 100 degrees outside!
Looking for more cheap Instant Pot recipes?
Instant Pot Chili Mac Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 can diced tomatoes 15 oz
- 1 can tomato sauce 8 oz.
- 1 can red beans 15 oz
- 1 c elbow macaroni uncooked
- 1 c water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pkg. chili seasoning packet or 1 tbsp seasoning salt, or 1 pkg. taco seasoning
- 1 tsp chili powder optional - more or less depending on spice level desired
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute and add olive oil, onions, and ground beef.
- Brown meat until cooked. Turn off IP.
- Add all other ingredients and stir. (can use 1 tbsp. seasoning salt or for best flavor add instead 1 packet of chili or taco seasoning packet)
- Turn IP to manual, pressure, high, for 5 minutes (3 if you like noodles more al dente). Close steam valve.
- When done do a quick release and carefully open lid. Serve topped with cheese!!
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This is such an easy and simple family recipe! Love it!
Glad it’s a fave for you too.
I didn’t realize you can make pasta recipes in the Instant Pot. So excited to try!
Your narrative mentions adding water. Your recipe does not. Do you add
water before cooking?
Yes in the recipe it states water, you add when it says add all other ingredients.
I’m cooking this as we speak, but mine keeps sticking to the bottom and saying “burn”. I followed the directions exactly! And idea what’s going on?
Trying this now with venison and normal stove top recipe. Similar to yours but tomato juice.
Oh let me know how it turns out, hope to have some venison ourselves soon.
If you increase the servings to you pressure cook it longer?
For this one it should be fine to double it and turn out the same, just don’t ever fill more than 3/4 of the way full in your pot.
Hi. I never leave reviews but your chili mac recipe is our all time favorite! Our teenager asks for this at least once a week. We dont change a single thing. Thanks for the best family meal recipe ever!
Thank you for sharing!! I love hearing positive reviews.
I made this tonight for our family of 6 and it was a huge hit! We eat gluten and dairy free so I used the Barilla gf elbow pasta and it worked perfectly. We also didn’t even miss the cheese. Thank you for a delicious new family favorite recipe!
Do you have instructions for making this on the stove or in the crock pot? I’ve already started sharing your recipe with friends and some don’t have an IP.
So glad you loved it!!
Made this tonight-it’s a keeper!
So glad!
This sounds so yummy
as a 85 year old widower the instant pot and pinterest are the greatest. I have no patience for slow cookers I want something that at 4 or 5 or 6 o’clock that I can fix in a hurry not think at 10 in the morning what I will want at 6 that evening. This recipe fits me to a tee. if I can do it. my wife with her 50 years of cooking would have had a ball with this.
I love reading this so much! As a mom with a million things going on, I can so relate to being able to throw something together at 4-5 o’clock and the Instant pot does the rest for me. If you haven’t made this recipe yet, I can attest that its delicious and my family loves it. Wish we could have you for dinner, so glad even men cooking for themselves love the instant pot and pinterest! It’s the greatest!
This is going to be a go to meal for my family for sure
Awesome!
I wasn’t able to get it to print. But it sounds great!
Hmmm, what did it do/say?
This had great flavor, but mine stuck to the bottom. I followed the recipe except for draining the beans. I wonder what happened? I only high pressured in IP for 5 minutes and when I immediately went to do the steam valve release, no steam!! I made sure it was in the right position too before pressure cooking. This is the first time this has happened to me when using Instant Pot…
I have learned when cooking pasta put the pasta on top and do not stir. Make sure it’s covered in liquid though.
I just bought my Instant Pot, and this is my very first trial recipe. It was a big success ! Yeah!!!! Noodles were not overcooked, it’s perfect! I trust you completly and tonight, I’m making the butter chicken 😀
OH yeah!! Let me know what you think of the butter chicken too…I have A LOT of recipes to choose from!
Silly question….do you drain the grease from the hamburger before adding the other ingredients?
I drain mine even when I use lean ground meat.
Quick and easy I did drain the beans .
Great recipe for a family
V
Do you drain the beans or is liquid needed for pasta?
It’s really up to you, would work fine either way.
How long should I set it for if doubling the recipe?
I don’t recommend doubling as you don’t want to go over 3/4 full in the pot. If you have an 8 qt and it isn’t over that then I would probably keep time the same.
The ingredient list calls for a chili seasoning packet, the directions say taco seasoning packet. I would imagine both are good! But it was a bit confusing! 😉
I don’t like any prepackaged spice packets, I used garlic sliced very thin, chili powder, cumin powder and some ground pepper. Don’t add salt. Never add salt! Plus used fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
Yum! The only kind of tomato sauce I had in the pantry was El Pato spicy tomato sauce, which gave this super quick dish a nice kick. Will definitely make this again!
I have a glute intolerance. Would the GF elbow pasta work well with this recipe. I am finding out that it is not always just an easy 1 to 1 swap.
Yes
This was a hit, home run, we love it, Thank you, from Texas,
How large a can of diced tomatoes?
Do you drain the can of tomatoes ?
I didn’t but if you wanted it a bit thicker you certainly could.