Instant Pot Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese
by Chungah
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Homemade hamburger helper! Quick, easy, budget-friendly, and tastes SO much better than the boxed mix. A family (and childhood) favorite!
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Reasons to make cheeseburger mac and cheese in the Instant Pot
- Homemade hamburger helper. This tastes like that childhood favorite, made with better flavor and fresh ingredients. We’re talking real cheese, less preservatives, and less sodium.
- One pot convenience. With the help of the Instant Pot®, everything comes together in a single pot, even the uncooked pasta, making clean up an absolute breeze.
- Perfect for busy weeknights. With its fast cook time and hands-off cooking, this is one of the most handy recipes to have in your back pocket for those hectic weeknights. Not to mention, an instant hit for both kids and grown ups!
- Budget-friendly. This dinner comes together very economically using affordable pantry staples.
key ingredients for instant pot cheeseburger mac and cheese
Beef
80/20 ground beef is best, providing the most flavor and juiciness. For leaner options, opt for 90/10 ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey.
Onion, bell pepper and garlic
For flavor boost! This is always our go-to during those busy nights, cutting down prep time even more.
Seasonings
We’re calling in pantry staples here – paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.
Beef stock and tomato sauce
These are the liquids to keep everyone happy and saucy for all the rich, deep flavors.
Pasta
Elbow macaroni is a classic, quintessential choice, trapping in all the sauce with every bite.
Cheese
Opt for freshly grated cheese for the best taste and texture, melting more smoothly for that dreamy, silky, creamy-cheesy goodness.
Heavy cream
Add your finishing touches with heavy cream, making the sauce even more rich, velvety, and creamy.
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite meat. Ground beef, chicken or turkey will all work very well here.
- Freshly grated cheese goes a long way. Pre-packaged shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that can lead to gritty and grainy mac and cheese.
- Use melty cheese. Sharp and medium cheddar cheese are classic choices for homemade hamburger helper, but other melty cheeses can also be used such as Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, American Cheese, or Pepper Jack.
- Sneak in some veggies. This is a great recipe to sneak in some extra nutrition and veggies for those picky eaters including leafy greens such as spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
what to serve with cheeseburger mac and cheese
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Easy Garlic Parmesan Knots
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Best Chicken Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground chicken or ground turkey can be used instead of ground beef.
Mushrooms, peas, carrots, broccoli, zucchini or leafy greens (ex. spinach) are all great additions.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Absolutely! We have a recipe for that here.
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- ½ green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 12 ounces elbow macaroni
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
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 bell pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, paprika and oregano until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in beef stock, tomato sauce 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 cheese and heavy cream until cheese has melted, about 1-2 minutes; stir in parsley.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery. As always, I only partner with brands that I love and truly believe in, allowing me to create more quick and easy recipes to get us through the week without breaking the bank. All opinions expressed are my own.
This came out so delicious! Great instant pot recipe!
This absolutely amazing. I’m wondering if it can be doubled in an 8 quart?
I make this all the time and it’s a true household hit. I made the mistake and made a different recipe last time and it was terrible. I’m so glad I found ole faithful. I’ll be bookmarking it immediately!
Tried it tonight. So easy and convenient recipe. The texture was perfect, not watery at all. I had the opposite, after the 5 minutes pressure coooking and the quick pressure release I put the cheese and cream and noticed that the macaroni had sticked to the bottom. Luckily there was no burned taste. Merci !
Hi. I followed every instruction with the exception of the type of cheese. I used cheddar.
After releasing the pressure and removing lid, I added cheese and heavy cream.
What I have is a soup. This was not my goal.
I used 12 0z macaroni.
It’s in the fridge and I ordered a pizza for tonight’s dinner.
Should I boil another 12 oz of macaroni? Would that resolve or help?
I appreciate your help.
Sharon
This is my favorite instant pot recipe! I’ve shared it with many friends, and we all love it. It’s fantastic!
omg i love this recipe so much it’s super easy and quick to make! it’s also so good me and my whole family love it!!
OUTSTANDING ! Followed recipe exactly, finished dish fantastic. But… you do have a tendency of putting together many marvelous creations. Easy to make, clear concise instructions and OMG it’s made with real food and is healthy too! What a concept. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
This was so easy and so good! My whole family loved it, including my very picky son.
Basically it’s like leggo’s tomato puree.
Married to an American but live in Australia 🙂
For some reason it was soupy. We followed the directions. Any ideas?
Substituted cream cheese for cream. Oh so good.
I’m in Australia. What do you mean when you say a can of tomato sauce? Is it pasta sauce, passata, tinned tomatoes? Thanks……
In America a can of tomato sauce is just cooked tomatoes-very similar to a Marinara sauce only there’s no additional flavors added. It’s just tomatoes that have been cooked down into a sauce. You could substitute pasta sauce or marinara.
Basically it’s like leggo’s tomato puree.
Married to an American but live in Australia 🙂
I love this recipe, I do a slighter version, with 99% ground turkey breast, and chicken stock, I leave out the cream all together and I use sharp cheddar, my husband loves it, the toddler loves it, and it’s Easy!!!!
So easy and delicious! I sautéed the beef, onions and green peppers in a separate pot, easier to drain the grease. Made the rest as written! Kids devoured it!
Delicious! I used a 160z box of pasta & increased the rest of the ingredients by 1/3. I used 20Oz jar of marinara sauce & 3 1/2 cups of beef broth. The whole family loved it! I’m new to the Instant Pot… but use it almost every night since I got it. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Amazing!! My husband and I loved it! So good and seriously so easy!!
Amazing!! My husband and I loved it! So good and seriously so easy!!
This was a hit at our house! So easy to do in the Instant Pot. Followed your recipe to the letter. After some googling found that 12oz of macaroni was roughly 3 cups.
Thank you!
Great recipe! You are basically making homemade hamburger helper but for a weeknight easy meal that teens love, you can’t beat it!
Can this be used with vegetable stock vs beef? I have 4 containers left of vegi stock and would like to use it.
Of Course…. sounds good!!!