Instant Pot Cheeseburger Pasta is a quick weeknight dinner that comes together easily in the Instant Pot. An easy dinner that the kids will love to eat that is packed with cheesy goodness. You can also add a little veggie to the meal for extra nutrition. My Instant Pot Pineapple Upside Down Cake would be a perfect way to follow-up this quick dinner!
Note that this recipe was recently updated in May 2019 with new pictures and content.
What is cheeseburger pasta?
The wonderful invention of boxed macaroni and cheese was introduced by Kraft foods in 1937. In 1971, in response to a meat shortage and escalating meat prices Betty Crocker introduced ‘Helping Hand’ later to popularly become known as Hamburger Helper. Originally introduced with beef, this was followed a year later by Tuna Helper. Rated as one of top five fad foods of the 1970’s this dry meal kit was perfect for people who had little cooking skills or limited time to prepare dinner that went a really long way. If you’d like to read more about this popular meal-kit option that exists today in many different flavors head over to Food Processing.
Prepare the cheeseburger pasta
Dice one onion, and turn the Instant Pot on to the saute function. This would be a good time to add some veggies like mushrooms to the pasta if you like. Add the onions to the pot with some olive oil with the sliced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. If you don’t like mushrooms you can always substitute with another vegetable. If you use frozen just be sure to add them in at the same time as the beef broth below.
Add the ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until no longer pink.
Drain off excess grease. Add the cream cheese, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, and pasta. Any pasta with a max cook time of ten minutes should work for this recipe. Seal the Instant Pot, and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes then do a quick release (slowly – mind the pasta as you might have some extra liquid try to come out when releasing the pressure so you can release in short bursts if needed). Add the Colby Jack and Velveeta cheese with the unsalted butter to pot, set to saute to melt. Serve immediately, or store leftovers in an airtight container for up to one week.
If you enjoyed this Instant Pot Cheeseburger Mushroom Pasta you may like Instant Pot No Fail Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, Instant Pot Quick Easy Shrimp Scampi, or Mom’s Rainy Day Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup!
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 onion diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 16 ounces Cavatappi pasta or any 10-minute cook pasta
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 4 ounces packets of Velveeta cheese
- 2 cups Colby Jack cheese shredded
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 4 cups unsalted beef broth
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Dice onion, and slice mushrooms. Mushrooms can be substituted for another vegetable if you like. If using frozen vegetables then add with beef broth below. Turn on Instant Pot to saute function, add olive oil to pot for cooking. Add the onion and mushrooms then cook for three minutes.
- Add garlic, cook for thirty seconds then add beef. Add seasoned salt, and salt/pepper to taste. Cook until no longer pink.
- Add beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, pasta, cream cheese, and hot sauce to Instant Pot. Close and seal lid. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, and then do a quick release according to the manufacturers instructions. I recommend since it is pasta, to release in short bursts.
- Add Velveeta cheese, Colby Jack Cheese, and unsalted butter, then stir until melted and combined. Serve immediately, or store leftovers in an airtight container for up to one week.
I’m the writer, photographer, recipe developer, and one of the many taste tester’s at Monday is Meatloaf. I live in a sleepy Florida town on the out-skirts of the Tampa Bay metro area. Growing up I got the opportunity to see a lot of great family cooks in action, but I didn’t delve into the culinary world until later. My blog focuses on simple cooking techniques that maximize flavor across a variety of cooking disciplines that are totally do-able for the home cook.
I don’t have an Instant Pot, but I do have a pressure cooker and a slow cooker. I know I for sure can adapt this delicious recipe to work in one of those. The combination of pasta and mushrooms is one of my favourites.
This can definitely be adapted and I love mushrooms as well. Can’t get enough of them! 😊
Mealtime nostalgia here. Totally reminds me of the hamburger helper my mother made when I was growing up. Yay. I loved it then and I’m sure I’ll love it now….plus I will get to discuss with the kiddos. Always looking for more recipes for the insta-pot. Thank you.
You’re welcome! So glad it gives you a chance to share memories with the kids! I hope you enjoy it!
I love cheeseburger mac. The 3 cheeses in here are speaking to me. Can’t wait to try this, thanks for sharing this!
I love it too! You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
I love using my IP for quick pasta dishes. This cheeseburger mushroom pasta is mouthwatering! I am all for your use of cheeses here!! So delicious!
I love using it for pasta dishes too! It’s definitely a cheesy dish!
Great recipe! This looks and sounds like the most comforting pot of comfort food I could ever ask for. I love that there’s cream cheese, colby, and velveeta together. And another vote for the Instant Pot! I love mine and need to make this recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Win for the Instant Pot! 🙌🏻 It’s definitely a reflection of my love for cheese!
This looks like the most hearty, delicious comfort food EVER. So cheesy and rich — I know my husband and daughter will LOVE this! I don’t have an Instant pot, but I think I can figure it out without one. Thanks for the inspiration.
Definitely is delish! A real crowd pleaser for the family!
Yum, this looks amazing. I just got and Instant Pot so I’m collecting recipes. Definitely adding this one and checking out your no fail buffalo chicken meatballs!
Thanks, it’s so yummy! I hope you enjoy both! 😊
Thanks for the great instant pot recipe! We love mac and cheese and I’m learning love my instant pot, so this would be perfect to try. The extra meatiness of this recipe with the ground beef plus the mushrooms sounds like an umami bomb. Can’t wait to try it. 🙂
It’s definitely yummy, and we love our mushrooms! Hope you love it!
I use my IP quite a bit but I’ve honestly never really thought of doing a pasta. I’ll have to give it a go some time (especially if cheese is involved, because c’mon, who doesn’t like cheese?!). Cheers!
Pasta and cheese is great! Hope you like it!
Oooh… pasta + cheeseburger, my son would go crazy for this! We’ve never made pasta in the Instant Pot before. This looks like a great place to start.
This looks like such a perfect weeknight comfort meal! I’m always looking for more ways to use the Instant Pot. It’s such a great way to put a fab meal on the table even when you’re short on time and low on energy. I’m all over this idea!
Totally quick and a bit healthier than the box version!
I’m always looking for new Instant Pot meals and this one looks so comforting! This sounds so perfect for a busy night, especially when it’s cold during the winter. Who wouldn’t want to cozy up to a bowl of cheesy deliciousness at the end of a long day?!
I know right! This comes together so quickly that it makes weeknight cooking a breeze. Definitely full of cheesy goodness.
I just made this and it is awesome. I have a question, though. My pasta is a little more al dente than I’d like because I have a problem with things burning to the bottom of my pot when a recipe has a thick sauce. I got a “burn” error about 2 minutes into the 4 minute time. Any ideas how to prevent this from happening? I have the bigger IP, and I followed the recipe exactly as written.
Emily I did just revise this post and changed up the directions a bit. I’m so glad you enjoyed it though!