So let me tell you about this Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni. Sara and I were talking about how we wanted more Instant Pot one pot meals, easy weeknight dinners, all that. Since I wasn’t super comfortable with cooking pasta in the Instant Pot, I started reading all sorts of resources and stumbled into a cheeseburger mac and cheese in this post. I was simultaneously revolted and intrigued. Nothing about it sounded good to me, but I’m in a phase of life where I’m trying new things like saying no to dip powder at the nail salon when I don’t really want it and cancelling subscriptions I don’t use and trying recipes that sound weird.
the verdict
Well. I tried it. My family loved it, but I had to do some tweaking (like adjusting the recipe, not using meth. Also, guess who’s watching Breaking Bad again.) So I made it again. And my family loved it even more. You guys. This is their favorite thing. There are never leftovers. They can’t stop talking about it. I make all sorts of fancy things for them and this is all they want. In their love, they’ve given it a new, special name: Hot Meat Noodle. And I’m not gonna lie, it’s freaking delicious.
how to make it
You’re going to need a pound of pasta (I love everything about cellentani in this recipe), some butter, a pound of lean ground beef (I use 93% lean), onion powder, garlic powder, ketchup, mustard, a little red wine vinegar, and some half and half.
You’ll also need 3 cups (about 12 ounces) of medium shredded cheddar cheese. 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.
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 (just set the Instant Pot lid on the pot but don’t secure it) and let sit for 3 minutes.
Season to taste and serve with additional cheese if desired.
hypothetical non-instant pot directions
Now…this is one of the onlyInstant Pot recipes 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 Instant Potseasonings 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.
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni (aka "Hot Meat Noodle")
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound lean ground beef I used 93% lean
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 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 freshly shredded medium cheddar cheese
- 1/2 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.
