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!
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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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After seeing your response about the alcohol, I looked into it as well and it seems the best way to burn off the alcohol is to bring to a boil. Is there a way to convert this recipe to stove top? I have a 5 year old and am worried the IP version doesn’t burn off enough of the wine. TIA
I would recommend using a non-alcoholic substitute if you are concerned about the alcohol content. Hope that helps, Kelly!
Question-does alcohol burn off in an instant pot? The vapors aren’t being released while cooking so curious as to how much alcohol would be left in the dish?
So the amount of alcohol remaining depends in part on the cooking method – stovetop, Instant Pot, slow cooker, etc. I just read about a study showing that it can take longer than 2.5 hrs for all the alcohol to be cooked out of food to which wine or some other alcoholic beverage has been added.
Unfortunately, there’s not entirely much research with cooking off alcohol in the IP right now but I would recommend using a non-alcoholic substitute if you are concerned about the alcohol content. Hope that helps, Crystal!
I followed all the directions but it burnt before even reaching pressure… I scraped and tried again and it still burnt… Not sure what I did wrong!
I’m so sorry to hear that, Meagan! Are you using a 6-qt Instant Pot?
I just got an instant pot for Xmas and burned not sure what I did wrong, I followed the instructions,
We also got a burn warning twice, although it was still delicious. I will try next time to layer. But maybe the recipe should not say “stir” if layering is needed to avoid the burn.
Hi there! Beautiful recipe! Question, if I want to double the portion on meat and pasta, should I double everything else as well? Thank you!
Yes! 🙂
What if I dont have marinara, insyead i havr tomatoe paste? Can I use it somehow?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This recipe truly was super easy and delicious! I have been loving all of the instant pot recipes and this is another regular rotation option!
Isn’t it so easy?! We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed it so much, Lana!
Another delicious recipe , even better the next day.. Please keep the instant pot recipes coming!!!!
We will keep them coming, Robin! 🙂
Totally forgot about dinner and used this recipe to whip up another damn delicious winner for the family. 3 generations – including our 1 you grandson – enjoyed this meal with a salad. Thank you for saving dinner!
PS – we love following you and Butters in your daily travels!
Aw we love that! Glad this one was a winner for you, Laura!
Just made this yesterday and it tastes amazing! All the flavors go so well together! Super easy to put together quickly and I bet it will store nicely in the freezer (if we don’t eat it all first).
What are the nutritional facts on this recipe?
Hi Jenn! So glad you liked this dish! 🙂
Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
Thank you for the great recipe!! 🙂 I didn’t have wine or beef broth on hand so I subbed in chicken bone broth. Also tossed in some baby spinach salad mix, and a few dollops of mascarpone cheese in addition to fresh basil.
Those sound like great modifications, Cari! Thanks for sharing!
Can this recipe be doubled in a 6qt instant pot?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
So impressed how well this turned out. Noodles were cooked to perfection! Will be making this again My only complaint is I hate how the food is burned at the bottom of the pot! How can this be prevented? ☹️
I find it is best to deglaze the pan as best as possible with the wine in step #3:
3. Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
I love ground beef, but my girlfriend doesn’t so I am not allowed to cook ground beef any more. Any way to substitute turkey?
Absolutely!
Would love to try this recipe. Unfortunately I have an 8 qt Instant Pot and I know that the amounts etc” would not work for me. How do I adjust this recipe to work in an 8 qt?
Hi Anne! 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.
This was so good and made my apartment smell wonderful. The only change was that I put fresh basil and oregano in before I pressurized, help to infuse the flavors!
What a great idea, Laura! Thanks for sharing!
Another winner- thanks!!
Thank you, Bernadette!
Looks like Beef-a-roni that I love after a beer buz. I would need to add more vegetables.
This looks delicious, and definitely falls into my scope of ‘comfort food’. I love a meaty meaty sauce!
Also – any recipe that calls for 3/4 of a pound of ground beef is going to get laughed at and modified to take the entire pound. I’d never throw away 1/4 pound for any reason! At least saute it up for a quick taco snack the next day.
This was so easy and so tasty! I’ve also used the same recipe on my stovetop with excellent results – and a slightly longer cook time to allow the wine & stock to reduce. Only change I made once, was reducing chopped basil and adding two tbls of parsley. The fresh herbs were the perfect touch!
Thanks for sharing, Kersten!