Easy Instant Pot taco casserole with ground beef is full of flavor and cheesy! Stir in sour cream for a creamy pressure cooker pasta made in just 10 minutes. Your whole family will surely love this flavorful dinner and itโs delicious the next day.
This has been made with ground sausage too and items I had in my pantry! I honestly couldnโt believe how tasty it came out, especially since I made it on the fly but even my kids gave it 2 thumbs up!! One of our favorite Instant Pot recipes for sure. (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Taco Pasta Recipe
Before I added all the cheese and sour cream I scooped a portion out for my husband who needed a dairy free Instant Pot recipe. You can make this as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe too or in your Crockpot Express.
He even said without cheese (the best parts if you ask me) it was still packed with flavor. You can use any shape of noodles you like, or whatever is cheap is what I do.
Letโs start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then LIKE our IP Facebook page for new ideas daily.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook to grab too.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot. It is easier to clean and will avoid the burn message too.
- For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have and use for all recipe creations.
If you love pasta recipes you are going to love this 3 minute pressure cooker version for sure. Itโs one of our favorite Instant Pot casseroles. ๐ You can surely just jump to recipe below but I did do a pretty lengthy step by step video you can watch so you donโt miss a beat. If you want to take this over the top use spicy sausage.
If youโre concerned it might be too hot add 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1/2 pound of spicy ground sausage. I am telling you that is the best combination that we have found. It adds just a bit of saturated fat but the flavors with just that added bit make it out of this world amazing to eat.
This is one of our cheap Instant Pot recipes because you can make this Instant Pot taco casserole for about $15 or less and feeds 5-6 people! Itโs done in under 20 minutes too.
Ingredients
- Ground beef โ 80/20 hamburger is just fine or ground turkey could be used. I donโt drain it but you can if you choose to
- Small noodles, we used rotini or use any small/medium pasta shells
- Shredded cheese, I like Mexican blend cheese that is already shredded
- Diced tomatoes โ I like petite tomatoes
- Tomato sauce to thicken sauce up
- Beef broth is better than water for liquid
- Onions diced are a nice add in
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- Can of diced green chiles is a good additional add in too
Substitutions
Letโs be honest, I buy whatโs on sale yโall. ๐ If Rotel is cheaper than diced tomatoes I will use that and you get a little spicy with that change too which is kind of nice. If you do like heat you can use half Jimmy dean spicy ground sausage and half beef to make this too.
You can choose any type of small pasta. If you like elbow macaroni noodles then use those, we chose rotini which are this fun spirally shape that the kids like. At the end I put a dollop of sour cream and more cheddar cheese on top.
Sometimes I stir in the sour cream but it depends on whether everyone wants it included in their bowl. Totally up to you but I like it creamy taco pasta style personally. You can use your Ninja Foodi to make this too, either pot works. Directions are the same as below.
with Frozen Ground Beef
And in case you are starting with Instant Pot frozen ground beef, hereโs how to thaw it out. You would need to follow these steps first, drain and continue with steps below.
If you donโt have a taco seasoning packet then just add (I didnโt have one and this is what I used)
- 1.5 tsp of:
- Lawryโs seasoning salt
- Garlic salt
- Chili powder
How to make Taco Casserole in a Pressure Cooker
- Turn your pot to saute and add your olive oil, hamburger and diced onions.
- Brown ground beef until it is no longer pink, stir in taco seasoning packet, then turn off.
- Pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef broth, do not stir.
- Sprinkle in uncooked pasta and gently submerge into the liquid, do not stir.
- Seal pressure cooking lid and set to high pressure for 3 minutes followed by a quick release. 2 minutes cooking time if you like your noodles al dente
- Remove the lid and stir contents.
- Then sprinkle cheese on top and put lid back on ajar so it can melt and dish can thicken for 5 minutes.
- Stir in sour cream if you want it in the whole dish, or serve with a dollop on top of each bowl with a side of tortilla chips or corn tortillas.
You could make a variation of chicken taco pasta by stirring in some precooked rotisserie / leftover chicken diced up at the end before you sprinkle on the cheese. This will give it time to warm up. I hate wasting any food so I do this if that is the protein I have on hand that needs to be used up. Know what I mean. ๐
Other Quick Pasta Recipes Youโll Love
After you make this be sure to try some of our other Instant Pot pasta recipes our kids love:
- Instant Pot sloppy joe casserole is something new to try, creamy like this one too if you add sour cream
- Add hot cheesy pressure cooker chicken parmesan casserole to the list for next week, itโs always a winner for dinner
- Iโd try this Instant Pot enchilada casserole next if you love Mexican style recipes
Thereโs a video in this postshowing you how I make it: Feel free to print the recipe below and keep it with your other favorite recipes. OR just come back and visit us every time you need the ingredients and step by step. We love โseeing youโ so thereโs that. ๐
Sure to be your familyโs next favorite meal ever, let us know what you think below once you enjoy a bowl yourself.
Instant Pot Taco Casserole
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1.5 tsp seasoned salt, I use Lawryโs (if using 1 taco seasoning packet then skip these seasonings and just add that)
- 1.5 garlic salt
- 1-2 tsp chili powder, depending on spice level
- 14.5 diced tomatoes, petite diced is best
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1 3/4 c beef broth
- 2 c noodles, small, we used rotini
- 1.5-2 c cheese, Mexican blend shredded is best
- 1/2 c sour cream, optional
Instructions
- Put your Instant Pot on saute and add your olive oil, ground beef, spices (or taco seasoning packet) and diced onions. Brown meat until pink is gone. Turn pressure cooker off. Can drain if you desire, or not.
- Pour in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and beef broth, do not stir.
- Pour in uncooked noodles and gently press down so they are submerged into the liquid, do not stir.
- Put lid on Instant Pot and close steam valve.
- Set to pressure high for 3 minutes.
- Do a quick release.
- Sprinkle 1.5 c cheese on top and put lid back on to warm cheese and allow to melt for at least 5 minutes, 10 is better to allow sauce to thicken as well.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top or put 1/2 c. sour cream into pot and stir for a creamy taco casserole style meal! Will thicken more upon standing.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What if I choose to use yellow rice instead of noodles. How long would it take in the instant pot?
I have tried this with our IP hamburger casserole, search that in the search bar to try
I love that your recipes are quick and delicious!
I made the Instant Pot Taco Casserole tonight and it was a huge hit! It is surely a keeper recipe and I will be making this often! Thank you and most people enjoy reading life stories along with recipes as long as having the ability to Jump to the recipe. Some people are just mean!
Thank you again!
We love this! So much that we want to double it! Any idea of a time for that??
Youโd need an 8 qt. so it would fit for sure. Donโt change the time, just double ingredients.
Thank you!!
I double it in the 6qt, same time
This was very simple and delicious! I appreciate the dump style dinners when Iโm busy! I was skeptical of the 3 minute for the pasta so I hit 4 minutes and let it sit for a few before release (more because i was outside and forgot) my pasta was still a little al dente but held up well and wasnโt mushy thank goodness. I used Ditalini pasta because thatโs what I had and I really liked the shape and texture for this recipe. I may adjust time for other size pasta since I donโt love mine super al dente. I didnโt read the recipe size of the tomato sauce and used a bigger can so it needed a little more spice at the end but the spice level was perfect for the kids and was still delicious for us (Mom and Dad added a little heat โ chili pepper!). It wasnโt too much tomato flavor and a little saucy so Iโll probably make it this way again. Overall really great idea for a recipe and one Iโll keep!
Yay for a winner for dinner
So Full of Flavor and Easy! I LOVED this and will def be making again!
Oh yay!!
Actually I am getting ready to make just adding Cilantro because I am addicted !!
Go for it!
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ This was very good!! I used elbow macaroni because thatโs what my daughter and her friends picked out. Very good and filling!! I never sautรฉed ground beef in my IP, so if itโs your first time pay attention because it gets hot fast. I wish I had made some cornbread with itโฆwill definitely be cooking again. I canโt wait to try some of your other recipes!!!
So glad it was a hit!
We just need ingredients and instructions. Not your life story. Good meal though
Mean
Mean comment not necessary. Canโt wait to try more of your recipes.
@J, u can literally jump to the recipe & not read anything so why would u say that?? U took 5min out of ur life to b mean so congrats! Ur life must b miserable to do so. I hope ๐ u get happiness in ur life soon.
@J, Something you arenโt aware of, J. Itโs 2023 and what are you doing reading a recipe page in the first place? Makes absolutely no sense if reading stories isnโt your thing (which most recipe sites do have)
Since you arenโt aware, there is a plethora of recipe software (free and paid) where you copy the recipeโs URL and paste it in the app. It will skip past all the reading and snatch the title, ingredients, and instructions for you.
I use Paprika3 โ and I can snatch a recipe within 3 seconds and it is complete.
Then, if you have children you want to pass along your favorite recipes you use in rotation, the app will do so in a way where you donโt have to bore them with YOUR stories because I am sure they donโt want to listen to them. Just hand them the recipes and tell them to shut up and donโt ask questions!!!
Cheers.
My daughter is gluten-free. Can you use gluten-free pasta in the instant pot?
@Tara, Even though the texture is quite similar, gluten-free pasta tends to be starchier and expands more while cooking, therefore it needs a little extra cooking liquid. As a rule of thumb, add an extra 1/4-1/2 cup or so. Be sure to use al dente times, like this recipe calls for. There are some brands that donโt do well when you use the stove-top. It it doesnโt do well on the stove-top, most likely it may not do so in an instant pot. But, you can always do the gluten-free pasta by itself as a test and go from there.
Can this taco casserole be made in 3q mini.
You would need to cut the recipe in half