Instant Pot Ground Beef and Pasta
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So stinking easy and budget-friendly! The perfect ONE POT meal with a hearty meat sauce. Only 5 min in the Instant Pot!
Featured Comment
why i love this recipe
- One and done meal. Thanks to the magic of the Instant Pot, this pasta dinner comes together so easily with zero babysitting. Even the uncooked pasta cooks right in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, soaking up all the flavors as if it had been simmering for hours on end. This means less dishes, less clean up!
- Speedy budget-friendly comfort food. With its quick cook time and short ingredient list, this is truly the best kind of comfort food without breaking the bank, pleasing the entire family, even the little toddlers.
- Flexible recipe. This is an incredibly flexible recipe, using pasta you already have on hand, or throwing in any lingering greens and veggies (ex. carrots, broccoli, frozen peas and corn) for a heartier meal.
- Freezer-friendly. This freezes beautifully, thawing overnight and reheating over the stovetop for a lightening fast weeknight meal.
Ingredients
Ground beef
Lean ground beef (90%) is ideal here. Note: the fattier the beef, the beefier it will be!
Onion
Yellow, sweet or white onion is great here. Shallots can also be substituted.
Garlic
Garlic powder or garlic puree can also be used in a pinch.
Red wine
Use a dry red such as cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot. Red wine is a great way to deglaze the bottom of the Instant Pot, loosening up all the brown bits (where all the flavor is at!).
Marinara sauce
Since we’re doctoring up store-bought marinara sauce, be sure to use your favorite brand. Rao’s Roasted Garlic is always our go-to.
Beef stock
Beef stock is here to keep things happy and saucy. Always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety.
Pasta
Campanelle pasta helps capture all the meaty saucy goodness in its curves and ruffled edges. Fusilli, cavatelli and gemelli are great options as well.
Parmesan
Finish your dish with a healthy dusting of freshly grated Parmesan. Freshly grated is always preferred, imparting the best flavors and melting capabilities for a smoother, velvety consistency.
Basil
Top with fresh basil or your favorite herbs such as thyme or rosemary.
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite meat. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy), ground beef, chicken or turkey will all work very well here.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your dish. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
what to serve with instant pot ground beef and pasta
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Ground Beef and Pasta: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground pork or ground turkey or even Italian sausage can be used in place of ground beef.
Additional beef stock can be used for red wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
Fusilli, cavatelli and gemelli are great subs.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop.
Instant Pot Ground Beef and Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dry red wine*
- 1 (25-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 ¾ cups beef stock
- 8 ounces campanelle pasta
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Heat olive oil; add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in marinara sauce, beef stock and pasta; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Stir in Parmesan and basil.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this meal tonight and it turned out so well! The pasta ( we used bow ties) was cooked perfectly and my husband loved it.
So tasty
Where do you buy campanelle pasta?
Instant favorite! This felt like a dolled up version of Hamburger Helper, which is totally not intended as an insult! I hate using only half a box of pasta, so I put it all in and increased the wine to half a cup and the broth to 2 cups, and it came out perfect, with plenty of leftovers. Really great!
This is amazing! I was skeptical about cooking pasta in an instant pot but boy was I wrong! We make this 2-3 times per month and it never fails. I’ve tried it with and without the red wine and there’s no question…the red wine is a must! It really adds a depth of flavor. 5 stars!
Great recipe! Needed something quick and to use up a pound of hamburger. I used Prego brand garlic parm spaghetti sauce and whole wheat rotini pasta, that’s what I had, I only used beef broth, no wine. When the 5 minutes cooking was finished, pasta was not done, so I started for another 3 minutes, perfect. Very good taste, everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
I also used garlic/sausage spaghetti sauce.
I did this without the wine and no basil or parmesan but did add in some shredded cheddar.. My bf loved it. Will definitely make again.
After reading some of the reviews I made a couple minor tweaks to this. I used whole wheat pasta & doubled it, only adding one additional minute to cooking (that was perfect, but it may have been the whole wheat that made the extra cooking time work). I also didn’t stir everything before cooking, I dumped the sauce, pasta, and then the broth. I also added a tub of mushrooms on top and then cooked. My 6qt was barely below full so it all fit perfectly. Once it cooked I added about 3 cups roughly chopped spinach for more veggies, mixed it in and let it sit for about a minute to fully wilt. I added a little bit of garlic powder to taste after cooking, but my family really loves garlics so not everyone may like that addition. Because I was craving something creamy and cheesy I also added about 1/2 cream and 2 cups shredded mozzarella with the basil and parmesan at the end. It was delicious and I would definitely make again!!
Thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. Delicious and so easy! We had to substitute vegetable stock for beef stock, as we didn’t have any beef stock and that worked well. Looking forward to trying it next time with beef broth. Thanks for a quick and tasty recipe!
I doubled this recipe. It was incredible. Just wow. I made it for my kids as a quick meal to serve them after school. My husband avoids pasta because of gluten and he’s sensitive to tomato sauce, but he couldn’t help himself to this. It is seriously genius and it’s a staple for this house. I had no idea you could make pasta and the sauce to go with in one pot. Game changer for me. I loathe dishes and you just made me a happy camper. Thank you!
Did you have to cook it longer??
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times, with and without wine and it is always lovely. I do brown the mince in a frying pan separately because I hate draining mice from the instant pot but that’s just personal preference. Will definitely be making it in the future.
This is my favorite cooking website! I have a larger family so always am adding things to recipes to make them go further. For this one, I added a large box of mushrooms, quartered pepperoni slices, pork instead of beef, and a large can of diced tomatoes. I also add a little more liquid and a little more pasta. We call it pizza pasta. Love it!!!
Good call on the mushrooms and tomatoes.
I made this tonight with ground spicy Italian sausage instead of ground beef and a homemade marinara sauce. So, so good, easy and flavorful! My husband absolutely loved it. This is definitely a keeper!
Omg this is delicious and so easy!
The taste is AMAZING! But I haven’t the slightest clue how to cook this in an IP with tomato sauce, without getting thw dreaded “burn” message.
I would just try to make sure the sides and bottom are scraped before pressurizing the Instant Pot. If that doesn’t help, I’m not sure what to do either,
This is GREAT! I’ve had an instant pot for a few years and this is a no brainer easy to make recipe. If you find it a little runny add 10-12 oz of pasta but it’s amazing how the pasta absorbs the liquid. We don’t drink so we used 2 cups of beef broth as suggested. If you wanted to get adventurous you could add all kinds of stuff like green, red and yellow peppers too. I’m going to try doing that next time but this recipe is perfect as is. Very nice!
Wonderful, have made this pasta several time and it always comes out great!
This is the BEST one pot instant pot recipe EVER!!! It takes approximately 5-10 minutes to prep and only 5 minutes in the instant pot! I suffer from migraines and arthritis so I have made a few tweaks such as using gluten free pasta and 12 oz of pasta instead of 8 oz (my family finds that it’s a little soupy). I also have a few kitchen tricks such as using frozen onions, pre-minced garlic and red cooking wine. I find most jarred pasta sauces are a little bland so I add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, oregano and basil for a little extra flavor. I also add mozzarella cheese with the Parmesan cheese at the end. I always keep the basic ingredients on hand for those times when the day runs long because I can throw this together so easily. The ingredients are cheap and easy to find in your local grocery store and keep well as far as storing. Even when I have had to substitute chicken broth/stock the recipe has come out perfect! I will continue to use this recipe and share it with friends and family! Thank you!!!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Thank you for the detailed instructions – it came out perfectly. I made sure the pasta was completely covered by sauce/broth as someone else mentioned in the comments and didn’t stir it before cooking. Kids ate it up!