Instant Pot Sloppy Joe Casserole

This Instant Pot sloppy joe casserole recipe is my kids favorite dinner. All the best flavors of your favorite sandwich but with pasta instead of a bun. Packed with flavor and a family friendly dish.

Our newest dinner idea was a real hit with the kids. It was so easy and I dare say it was almost better the next day! I have made this in the oven and now are able to add it to our Instant Pot recipes round up to share with all of you! (affiliate links present)

I don’t know if it is because my family came from the midwest but there is something about a casserole for dinner that just hits the spot. You too should try to combine a few of your favorite dishes with noodles or rice to make a one pot meal like this.

Just like our Instant Pot sloppy joes, it has a short cooking time and thickens a lot as it sits. So if you want a small bowl of really thick mixture of goodness just let it sit and cool for 5-10 minutes. Top with cheese and love. In a Foodi the only difference is to use the lid that is not attached.

Ingredient Notes

I usually always use some loan Ground beef but to make it just a little bit spicy I will use 1/2 lb. of this and 1/2 lb. of spicy ground sausage instead, you could use ground turkey for a lower fat alternative but it won’t have as much flavor to be honest.

I will use some sort of small noodles like these spirals but you could use shells too. I will use whatever shape I have in the pantry or what is on sale, point blank. For the sauce I will just use some Manwich, I used a large can this go around so there was enough liquid. For homemade you’d follow our sloppy joes recipe sauce.

You will also want some Water or beef broth though to thin out the canned sauce or else you will get the dreaded burn notice if it is too thick.

Onions can be diced fine or left out entirely, as well as any color of Bell Pepper is optional as well but makes it a bit heartier with more texture as well as adding veggies into the meal.

And a can of Diced tomatoes, I like petite diced in the can, makes it a bit chunkier for more of a casserole type of dish. You can add a bit of chili powder for some heat if you like, or red pepper flakes work.

Variations

Since our first go around I have created a copycat not so sloppy joe sauce recipe which is more homemade than this canned version. It is thicker though so more broth would need to be added to account for this.

with frozen ground beef

Now this uses fresh or defrosted meat. You could use any type of ground meat you prefer, I like half beef and half spicy sausage myself to add a bit of heat. In the event that you needed to follow our Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef directions you would want to do that first, drain, break up pieces and continue with directions below.

with elbow macaroni

As for the noodles I will use whatever shape I have in my pantry. Medium sizes are best for the cook time of 3 minutes so they stay just a bit al dente but still tender when cooked in the sauce under high pressure. Shells and spirals are usually what I have on hand. Small macaroni may need 2 minutes instead but that depends on preference.

spicy

You could make this spicy with a pinch of dice jalapenos, more chili powder, red pepper flakes or dry Sriracha. I would start with a smaller amount, taste when done and adjust to your liking as it is hard to tone it down if you’ve added too much.

If you wanted to make it like our Jiffy sloppy joe casserole with cornbread I would just bake some muffins in oven with medium heat until fluffy on the side and serve together. I usually serve this as is with just some shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top but that is up to you.

Do you have to boil noodles first to make a casserole?

Not in this case. When using a pressure cooker as long as the pasta pieces are gently submerged into the liquid below it will “boil” in the sauce. That is the magic of this multi function pot. One thing you do want to remember though is to not stir. Hard raw noodles on the bottom will likely trigger the burn notice. If making slow cooker sloppy joes with noodles you would need to boil and fold in at the end.

How do you doctor up sloppy joes?

Add noodles like we did here!! Think outside of the box when it comes to this comfort food. Yes the base is sauce and meat but beyond that dice up some onions, bell peppers or even add a bit of sweetness with a sprinkle of brown sugar and pineapple tidbits if you like! Love spice? Add some Sriracha. OR serve open faced like our Texas Toast sloppy joes.

Can you boil noodles in Manwich?

You can and it gives them a lot more flavor than just water. Here we show you how it is done in a pressure cooker but you could do it on the stove in a pot too. Add a bit of water to thin it out, submerge your noodles when it starts to bubble and boil until al dente! Gives your penne or elbow macaroni a ton of flavor.

Other Instant Pot recipes you’ll love

• You can leave out the onion and bell peppers but they soften nicely as they cook. They also give it a nice flavor and texture to this Instant Pot casserole.
• Instant Pot stuffed pepper casserole is a deconstructed version of this meal with a thick tomato sauce, rice and peppers
• Cheesy Instant Pot chicken parmesan casserole is a fave.
• Pressure cooker lasagna casserole is super yummy and way easier to eat than with big floppy noodles.

There are 5 of us and whenever I can come up with a dinner everyone likes that’s less than $20 it’s a real winner. Like I said, the next day I had a bit of leftover and warmed it up in the microwave. It was really flavorful! This is now our list of favorite Instant Pot dinner recipes. Just high pressure and serve in no time.