Name: Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef; 1 green bell pepper (diced); 1 yellow onion (diced); 3 cups dry elbow noodles; 3 ¼ cup water; ½ teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon dry mustard; ¼ teaspoon pepper; 1 tablespoon butter; 3 ounces cream cheese; ¾ cup milk; 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

Jump to Recipe

Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni is an easy, family friendly meal you can throw together in one pot in under 20 minutes. You’ll never believe that you can have the creamiest cheeseburger mac on your table so fast with such little clean up! Perfect for busy weeknights!

Back to school season is here.

That means the lazy nights grilling and lingering outside watching the sun set are a thing of the past until next summer.

Instead of relaxing outdoors for hours, now I am back to shuttling my kids from place to place after school and trying to make sure everyone does their homework.

Plus, you know, I’ve heard it’s good to feed them so I have to get dinner on the table too.

This Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni is perfect for making a delicious, no fuss dinner on the busiest back to school nights.

It’s comfort food for when the weather finally starts to cool off that I am ok making it in what’s left of the summer heat and humidity because I don’t have to heat up my kitchen to make it.

Can you really make pasta in the Instant Pot?

Pasta purists will say no, but I will shout from the rooftops a resounding YES!

It’s totally unnecessary to cook the pasta separately for this.

And since it cooks right in the Pot with the beef, the pasta acts like a sponge and soaks up all that flavor.

Plus the pasta gives off its starch in the liquid which will help make the macaroni and cheese super creamy and luxurious.

It’s one of the biggest pros in my opinion of one pot pasta meals.

Ingredients

To make this you’ll need:

Ground beef– I recommend using a leaner ground beef so the pasta isn’t too greasy.
Veggies– Diced green bell pepper and diced yellow onions
Noodles– Uncooked elbow macaroni
Water
Spices- Onion powder, dry mustard, and black pepper
Butter
Cheese– Cream cheese and sharp shredded cheddar cheese
Milk– I recommend using whole milk over low fat milk.

How to Make

Like other Instant Pot meals, this Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni is so easy!

Start by turning the pot to saute mode.

Put the inner liner in the pot and cook the onions, bell pepper and ground beef until the ground beef has browned.

Drain any grease out of the pot.

Then add the noodles, water, spices and butter to the Instant Pot inner pot, putting it on top of the ground beef mixture.

Make sure all the noodles are all submerged in liquid.

Secure the lid on the Pot and set the pressure valve to seal.

Cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes.

After the Pot beeps, do a quick pressure release.

Remove the lid and stir in the cream cheese and cheddar cheese to melt with the pasta.

Finish it by adding in the milk a little at a time.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Storing Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.

What about the dairy? I thought you couldn’t put milk in a pressure cooker.

While it’s true you shouldn’t cook with milk in the Instant Pot because according to Delish it may curdle or scald, there is an easy work around for cooking with milk in the Instant Pot.

Just stir the milk and other dairy products in at the end of the cook time after you release the pressure.

The carry over heat from the pasta and the other ingredients will be enough to melt the cheese and warm the milk through without any potentially disastrous side effects.

And the cheese and dairy will still thicken up perfectly in the process.

Tips and Tricks

Save yourself even more time by buying a blend of diced peppers and onions in the produce department of the grocery store.
Feel free to play with the seasoning. This is delicious with a teaspoon of hamburger blend added in or a touch of garlic powder.
Don’t substitute different noodles for this. The cook time may change.

Other Easy Instant Pot Meals

Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni is a yummier version of homemade Hamburger Helper that you can make in one pot.

Serve it up and watch the entire family happily enjoy!

Looking for other easy Instant Pot meals?

Try these:

If you’ve tried this INSTANT POT CHEESEBURGER MACARONI, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!