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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Such a good quick and easy recipe. Super easy to make. Absolutely love it. Will be in the rotation of meals.
This is only my second try with the IP and I was so excited to try this recipe after all the great reviews. I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with a burn notice twice 🙁
Ultimately I gave up and put the IP on sauté, added another cup of stock and stirred constantly for 10 mins to cook the noodles. In the end it was delicious but I was bummed it did not go to plan and that it took much longer than anticipated to get the meal to the table.
Does anyone have the nutrition facts on this?
So good and super easy to make!
Can I make this on the stove?
Great meal! I did need to add some garlic powder, onion powder and Tony’s to the meat mix and then some spice again after cooking but awesome! Next time, I’ll season the meat a little more when browning. I used pasta shells too. Thank you!
This is SO good. We’ve already made it several times just in the past couple months.
If you added sliced raw carrots, for example, with the marinara sauce, do you know if they would come out tender following the recipe as written?
I tried it… I cut two medium carrots into a large dice and added them with the onions. I cooked both for 4 minutes instead of the 2-3 as directed. I followed the directions for the rest of the recipe and the carrots turned out great!
This is the first recipe I tried in my instant pot, and I keep coming back to it. I couldn’t stop laughing at how fast and easy it was, and it made me fall in love with the IP.
I don’t have access to fresh basil where I live. I have an Asian oregano plant, so I throw that in. I’d love to know what it the dish should really taste like, but we love it as is. There’s so much flavor. I now keep shell pasta permanently in stock and turn to this when I need something quick. Thank you!
I was initially concerned that this recipe would end up tasting like something a certain “Chef B” sells in a can. But I was very pleasantly surprised to find out I was all wrong. The sauteed onion and garlic and beef stock helps infuse the pasta with rich flavor you can’t get with conventional boiling, and the finish with (hopefully you grated it yourself) Parmesan and fresh basil elevates this dish from the typical something-I-threw-together-after-work fare. My only deviation from the recipe was substituting rigatoni, which turned out to be a great choice for the hearty sauce.
Superb! Made the insta pot ground beef & pasta and wanted to ask if I doubled recipe, would cooking time be double?
No it wouldn’t need adjusted. Pasta should only cook a certain amount of time. It will just take longer for it to come to pressure for the increased volume.
made this on a whim! but made with bowtie pasta. There were no left overs. Delicious and easy to make. Saves time for those moms on the run.
That’s the idea! Thanks for sharing, Beth!
I don’t have a review as yet. Making it for first time tonight. I have a question. Can this be done in an 8 quart pressure cooker. Thank you.
Daniel Liberato
Hi Daniel! When using an 8qt Instant Pot, the timing should stay relatively the same. It would just take a little longer for it to come to pressure. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I followed this recipe to a T and got the “burn” warning. I took everything out of the pot, deglazed it, and tried to finish cooking the pasta (per instant pot directions under the burn warning). I got the burn warning again and just called it quits. What did I do wrong? The flavor was good, but the pasta obviously was t cooked through.
I keep getting the burn warning too 🙁 I’ve tried it layering the ingredients, stirring the ingredients, and adding extra beef stock. I can’t figure out what I’m doing.
I just let it simmer and the past cooks OK.
It tastes good and no one has died yet.
Any suggestions?
Ive made it twice now too and also get the “OvHt” warning both times. The mince is catching on the bottom on the pan. I didn’t use “campanelle” pasta (used “fusilli” instead) – would that be it?
Any suggestions welcome, as I’d like to cook this more often.
Thanks.
Dahlish
I made this last night. I doubled the recipe and added mushrooms. I used a ground beef and pork mix. This was DELICIOUS! So easy to make. Needless to say I’ll be making this again and again and again…..
We love hearing that, Brenda! The addition of mushrooms sounds so good!
Mixing all the ingredients together with a thick sauce (tomato or marinara) will give you a burner error. Follow the recipe but dump the marinara in last on top of the dry noodles.
I’m going to try this idea, as I’ve made this recipe a few times and some of it always burns even if I deglaze the pot. So you’re saying the beef and broth is on the bottom, then the noodles, then the marinara on top of the noodles without stirring anything? Will the noodles cooked if they aren’t fully submerged? Thanks!
Brenda said she doubled the recipe. Was the cooking time double or the same? I made this last night and it was super good!
I love this recipe so much!
I have literally made this once a week (maybe more? ha!) for the last month. So easy, so fast, delicious – one pot- no heating up the kitchen…. I need more recipes like this! thank you
Thanks so much, Patsy! It’s so convenient and quick!
If I halve each of the ingredients, And follow the directions you laid out, can I do this in a 3 quart Insta Pot? I’m very new to this, so any tips are appreciated!
Yes, when using a 3qt or “mini” Instant Pot, the general rule of thumb is to divide the recipe in half with the same cook time. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Good luck, Catie!
What texture is the pasta with a 5 minute cook? If I like it more al dente should I do 4 minutes?
In my experience, the pasta is al dente after 5 minutes but you can always set it to 4 minutes, check and add an additional minute, if needed. Hope that helps!
I just bought my Instapot Ultra today and this is the first recipe I made. It came out perfectly!
I’ll admit I skipped the onion and basil because I had everything else on hand already – it was still scrumptious! This was a perfect recipe to make a believer out of a newbie and I will be making it again.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing, Holly!
My family loves this recipe! Thanks for an easy and tasty meal! I do have a question: if I wanted to make this meatless would I need to adjust any of the other ingredients? Thanks!
Hi Tiffany! We’re so glad your family loves this recipe!
I would keep the ingredients the same without the meat, but as always, please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications.
Hi there. I just made this and was a fabulous meal. I also order the meatless version. But, I used chopped portabella mushrooms sautéed with the onions and garlic and continue recipe as directed. It was delicious!!!
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!!