This one-pot dinner brings all the cheeseburger flavors, like seasoned ground beef and melty cheese, all together in the Instant Pot for a fast, no-hassle meal. Everything simmers right in the pot, so cleanup is just as easy as serving it up. It’s creamy and comforting without needing a bunch of steps. Perfect for a busy weeknight when you want something hearty, cheesy, and satisfying. Inspiration from The Kitchn! My family absolutely loves this one.
Ingredients Needed
- butter
- ground beef – I used 93% lean
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- ketchup
- yellow mustard
- red wine vinegar
- pasta – I recommend short, dry pasta, like cellentani or cavatappi
- water
- kosher salt
- cheddar cheese – I used medium sharpness. You can buy it pre-shredded, but I strongly recommend grating your own. They put a powder on grated cheese to keep it from sticking that sometimes impacts melting and makes dishes like this not as smooth and creamy.
- half and half
How to Make Cheeseburger Macaroni
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Set Instant Pot to saute; melt butter.
- Add ground beef; cook until browned and broken up.
- Turn off heat; stir in onion powder, garlic powder, ketchup, mustard, and vinegar.
- Add pasta, water, and salt; stir to submerge pasta.
- Pressure cook on manual for 5 minutes; quick release.
- Stir in cheese and half-and-half until smooth.
- Cover loosely, let sit 3 minutes, season, and serve.
Storage & Other Tips
- Untested Non-Instant Pot Directions
- This is one of the only Instant Pot recipes we have where I’ve never tried making it another way. Usually we like to offer an alternative cooking method because I know not everyone has an Instant Pot, but I haven’t ever made it another way, so I feel uncomfortable giving you very specific directions. However. If I were to make this on the stovetop, I would cook the pasta in salted water while the beef is browning. Before you drain the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Add the ketchup and seasonings to the beef, combine, add the cheese and half and half, and then if you need to thin things out, add the pasta water, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
- Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 – 4 days.
We haven’t tested it ourselves so we can’t guarantee it’s success, but we’ve posted an hypothetical, untested procedure in the recipe card notes.
Short noodles like elbow, cellentani, or cavatappi hold up well under pressure. If using smaller pasta, you may need to tweak the cook time slightly.
Yes! Ground turkey works just fine, just keep in mind you might need a bit more butter to cook it in, and seasonings to boost the flavor.
You can buy it pre-shredded, but I strongly recommend grating your own. They put a powder on grated cheese to keep it from sticking that sometimes impacts melting and makes dishes like this not as smooth and creamy.
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound ground beef, lean I used 93% lean
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 pound short dry pasta like cellentani
- 4 cups water
- 1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, medium freshly shredded
- ½ cup half and half
Instructions
- Heat an electric pressure cooker to the sauté setting. When hot, add the butter, stirring until it melts.
- Add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, until it's cooked down and broken into pieces. Turn off heat and add the onion and garlic powder, ketchup, mustard, and red wine vinegar. Stir to combine.
- Add dry pasta and combine. Add water and salt. Stir, trying to keep as much pasta as possible under the water. Use the manual setting to cook for 5 minutes. When done, use the quick release on the pressure cooker. Remove the lid and turn off the power.
- Add the shredded cheese and half and half. Stir until smooth. Lightly cover and let sit for 3 minutes. Season to taste and serve.
Questions & Reviews
We made this last night and it was DELICIOUS! We subbed ground turkey for the beef and 1% milk for the half and half. With salt and pepper it was yummy!
I’m anxious to try this on my grandchildren. Can this recipe be doubled in the instant pot? Thanks for your answer in advance.
I’m not sure…I think it might be over the limit line in my 6 quart pot if I doubled it, but I’m not sure about the larger pots.
We tried this last night and the flavor was great! But I did something wrong – maybe someone can help me figure it out? It went well until I stirred the cheese and half and half in… the cheese kind of stuck the meat together instead of melting all the way into the sauce… it ended up getting wadded into these stringy meat-cheese chunks and the sauce was still thin. Any hints about how I can fix this next time? Many thanks!!
There are a couple of possibilities…
-Next time, I would add the half and half first and make sure that’s combined and then add the cheese.
-Did you grate your own cheese or did you use pre-shredded cheese? The pre-shredded cheese doesn’t mix or melt very well.
-What’s your altitude? I’m wondering if higher altitudes need to add a bit more water because I have a little water left in the pot that helps make things smooth and creamy, but I’m basically at sea level.
Let me know on the altitude thing and I’ll keep thinking!
Thanks for the ideas Kate! We’re at 4500 feet; I did still have a little water left in the pot, but maybe not enough? I shredded my own cheese, too – I agree that the pre-shredded stuff just doesn’t work right. 🙂 I will try using a little more water and/or adding the half and half first next time and see how it goes. Thanks!!
So I’m late to this conversation, but I’ve made this lots of times (it’s a favorite!) and I’ve had the clumpy meat-cheese chunks a couple times—pretty sure it’s when I use the store brand cheese! Never ever happens when I use Tillamook sharp (that I grate on my own)!
My kids are picky about pasta and sauces — I was desperate today and only had 15 min to prep. This was so so easy and so flavorful!! My kids loved it!! Thank you thank you. Adding it to the rotation
I’m so glad you guys loved it! ????????????????❤️
So this is a first for me. I was scrolling IG while waiting to pick up my kids from school and ran across this recipe. I already had hamburger defrosted, but just wasn’t feels by like grilling hamburgers the I had planned. Quick trip to the store for noodles and dinner is done. Perfect meal for the first day of fall. Very yummy!!
❤️❤️????????????????
Call I just omit the red wine vinegar?
I tried it without the first time and it needed something a little extra. You could add some pickle juice or regular white vinegar, though!
Definitely trying this recipe!
This looks amazing!!! Do you typically use high or low pressure for this meal? I’m fairly new to insta pot and pressure and pasta scare me. Haahaa!
I don’t have the option to choose on mine, so I would just say high pressure. Very scientific answer, right? ????
Hi, this looks super toddler friendly! I can’t wait to try it. Do you think it would work as well with ground turkey for a beef-avoiding family?
I think it would!
Hot Meat Noodles…lol!! I am going to make this TODAY when my high schoolers come home for lunch!
Awesome!!!! Let me know what they think!