Cheesy Instant Pot Taco Pasta
My easy recipe for instant pot taco pasta will quickly become a family favorite, and the best part is that it is also kid-approved! This delicious dinner made with simple ingredients is budget-friendly and ready in just 30 minutes!
I have been making taco pasta for years, but I finally had to try it in the Instant Pot to see how it would turn out. And I was very pleasantly surprised with the results. The noodles are not too soggy or chewy, and the sauce is meaty, flavorful, and with the perfect amount of cheese.
Table of contents
One of the best things about this recipe is how fast and easy it is. And it is so delicious, kids and adults love it. This is one of those fantastic dinners that, once you try it, will quickly become a favorite. I serve this amazing meal with our favorite toppings. I love mine, with sour cream, avocado, salsa, and fresh cilantro.
Why you will love this recipe
- Just one pot: You will not have to clean much afterward since you only use one pot.
- It cooks fast: In just 10 minutes, you can have this cooked and on the table for dinner.
- Everyone loves it: You do not have to worry about making the kids finish their dinner because they will probably ask for seconds. Make extra.
- It’s easy and cheap: With just a handful of inexpensive ingredients, you can serve the whole family for under $20!
What you will need
I make this recipe with pretty basic ingredients; the most essential part is to use the right pasta and not skip the Worcestershire sauce; it’s that secret ingredient that goes perfectly with beef.
- Ground beef—I recommend lean ground beef, preferably 80/20 or 85/15, to keep the grease to a minimum.
- Pasta – I used medium-sized shells, but you can use whatever size you like.
- Shredded cheese – Mexican blend shredded cheese is perfect for this dish.
- Beef broth – Low-sodium organic beef broth with less salt and no additives.
- Garlic and onion – Freshly chopped, give this dish the best flavor.
- Salsa – Make it as mild or hot as you like it, but I usually use chunky salsa with medium heat.
- Taco seasoning – Try my easy recipe for the perfect homemade taco seasoning.
- Worcestershire sauce – The tangy and rich salty umami flavor is just perfect. It is the secret ingredient.
- Red pepper flakes – For just a tiny bit of heat without too much spiciness.
How to make it
This is one of the easiest recipes that I make for my family. I love my instant pot, especially since I can cook everything in one pot in a fraction of the time! This is such a time saver, especially during busy weeknights.
- Sauté setting: First, I select the saute setting and add oil to the bottom of the pot. Next, I dd the beef and cooked it until it was browned. Also, I drain the grease, leaving in just 1-2 tablespoons.
- Veggies and Seasoning: After that, I add onion, garlic, and stir.
- Seasoning: Next, I add Worcestershire sauce, Taco seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for a few more minutes.
- Salsa and broth: Finally, I add the salsa and the beef broth. Using a wooden spoon, I scrape the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot to avoid the burn message.
- Pasta: I add the pasta and stir to combine.
- Pressure cook function: Finally, I cover everything with the lid, lock it, and point the valve to sealing. I pressure cook on high pressure setting for 5 minutes.
- Quick Release: Once done cooking, I immediately do a Quick Pressure Release and, after that, carefully open the pot.
- Add cheese: Afterward, I sprinkle the cheese on top, cover the pot with the lid for the cheese to melt from the residual heat, and stir the cheesy pasta one more time before serving.
- Serve: I top the dish with my favorite taco toppings before serving.
Expert tip
Pressure cooking pasta
Although some cooks say it is a good idea to soak pasta before cooking, I do not do this myself. There is no good reason to do it, and it may make your pasta soggy if it absorbs more liquid. Also, I never use freshly made, refrigerated pasta in the instant pot, it will cook too quickly and it will be soggy.
I specifically recommend medium shells, as they are the perfect size to hold the cheesy taco sauce and keep their shape pretty good. I also do not recommend just placing the pasta on top of the sauce; it may stick together. Just stir it gently to coat it in the sauce before pressure cooking.
More tips to consider
- Use high-quality meat. I prefer organic beef because it has no additives.
- Also, use lean beef for this, or you will get too much grease. If you are using anything below 80/20, you should drain the grease from the pot before you start cooking it.
- Do not skip the browning process. This will keep the juices and seasonings inside where they belong.
- Do not pre-cook your pasta, or you may end up with soggy noodles.
- To keep the pasta from sticking, scrape any beef off the bottom of the pot.
- Also to keep it from sticking, add the pasta last and do not stir. Just push it down slightly so it is in the liquid.
Recipe variations and add-ins:
- Different meat: Instead of ground beef, I also use ground chicken, turkey, or pork.
- Vegetarian taco pasta: Leave the beef and use vegetable broth for a vegetarian meal.
- Add more vegetables: You can add as many veggies as you like. I sometimes add bell peppers and chopped green onions, but you could also add tomatoes and olives.
- To make it spicy: I enjoy spicy food, so when I make this just for my husband and me, I toss in chopped poblano peppers or chopped jalapenos and cayenne pepper.
- Different cheese: Instead of Mexican blend cheese, try it with mozzarella, pepper jack, or cheddar.
- Add beans: To make this an even heartier meal, I like to add some black beans or pinto beans—or both!
- Whole wheat: As an alternative, make this recipe with whole wheat pasta.
- Gluten-free: Just make sure you use gluten-free pasta to make this great recipe. Remember that it will not hold its shape very well after pressure cooking.
Serving suggestions:
There are a lot of fun ways to serve this taco pasta. I prepare a platter with toppings like guacamole, salsa, chopped jalapenos, avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese, and sour cream so everyone can choose their favorites.
I also like it with my delicious chopped Mexican salad on the side, and while we wait for the pasta to cook, we snack on my easy pico de gallo with corn chips. I have strawberry margaritas for the adults and Mexican horchata for the kids.
How to store leftovers:
- Refrigerate: First, let the leftovers cool and after that transfer the pressure cooker taco pasta to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: To freeze, again, let the meal cool first and after that either add it to a freezer-safe container or to a freezer bag. Next, freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw: Finally, plan in advance when ready to serve and that the meal in the fridge overnight.
- Reheat: Best is to reheat the instant pot taco pasta on the stove in a sauce pan and if needed adjust for salt and pepper. In addition, if the sauce is too thick, add a bit of broth.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like making mine with shells because they contain so much cheese and sauce. Every bite you take is packed full of flavors. Another good choice would be elbow macaroni because it also holds a bunch of cheesy sauce. Penne and ziti are also great ideas since they are hollow. Rigatoni and cavatappi are ridged on the outside, so they hold the sauce inside and out.
One thing to remember is that you should not cook your pasta first. It will cook to a perfect tenderness in the sauce with the rest of the food. If you precook it, you will likely end up with soggy pasta. Another reason may be that they are overcooked. If you use a thinner or smaller pasta shape, you may need to check it after four minutes to ensure it does not get overcooked.
If your instant pot shuts off and has a burn warning on it, that means the safety sensors indicate the inner pot is too hot and may be burning. It is a safety feature to prevent fires or explosions. The best way to avoid this is to ensure it has enough liquid and scrape the bottom of the pot after searing the meat or veggies. Also, you can try to not stir your pasta; it will settle at the bottom and may burn.
More Instant Pot pasta recipes:
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Instant Pot Taco Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons Taco seasoning depends how much you like it
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup chunky salsa medium spice
- 2 cups beef broth
- 8 oz shell pasta I used medium shells
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Saute. Once the IP is hot, add the oil and wait for it to start simmering.
- Add the ground beef and let it cook without moving for about 1 minute to get a nice sear. After that, break it up using a wooden spoon as it cooks.
- Once the ground beef has browned, add chopped onion and minced garlic, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add Worcestershire sauce, taco seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the salsa and stir. Add the beef broth and stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pot to remove any bits that stuck to it to avoid burning.
- Add pasta and stir to combine.
- Cover and seal the lid. Make sure the valve points to Sealed. Change the setting to manual and adjust the time to 4-5 minutes on High Pressure.
- Once the Instant Pot beeps to show that it's done, do a quick release by changing the position of the valve to Vent. Carefully remove the cover and stir.
- Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Top with shredded cheese. Put the lid back on, but don't seal. Allow a minute or two for the cheese to start to melt. Stir to combine.
- Serve with favorite toppings: sour cream, fresh salsa, jalapeños, avocado, and cilantro.
Video
Notes
Pressure cooking pasta
Although some cooks say it is a good idea to soak pasta before cooking, I do not do this myself. There is no good reason to do it, and it may make your pasta soggy if it absorbs more liquid. Also, I never use freshly made, refrigerated pasta in the instant pot, it will cook too quickly and it will be soggy. I specifically recommend medium shells, as they are the perfect size to hold the cheesy taco sauce and keep their shape pretty good. I also do not recommend just placing the pasta on top of the sauce; it may stick together. Just stir it gently to coat it in the sauce before pressure cooking.More tips to consider
- Use high-quality meat. I prefer organic beef because it has no additives.
- Also, use lean beef for this, or you will get too much grease. If you are using anything below 80/20, you should drain the grease from the pot before you start cooking it.
- Do not skip the browning process. This will keep the juices and seasonings inside where they belong.
- Do not pre-cook your pasta, or you may end up with soggy noodles.
- To keep the pasta from sticking, scrape any beef off the bottom of the pot.
- Also to keep it from sticking, add the pasta last and do not stir. Just push it down slightly so it is in the liquid.
Made this for dinner tonight. Used ground chx and chx broth. Definitely a Keeper (according to my husband). Delish!!
Made this for dinner last night using leftover chicken meatloaf (cubed) and chicken broth. This was a huge hit – even with my slightly picky healthy eater. Will definitely be making this again!
Can you double the recipe and if so what would the cook time be?
Same time 🙂
Do you drain the grease off the meat once you brown it?
Yes, sure
When doubling this recipe do you double the broth?
yes
Could you use gluten free pasta with this recipe? If so, would the cooking time change?
yes, you can and the cooking time doesn’t change.
I cooked this followed it exactly and loved it however my pasta was still a bit hard and ideas why ?
Add next time one more minute of cooking, sometimes it depends on what brand of pasta you use.
I made this for dinner tonite . It was easy and quick most of all it is delicious!!
Made this recipe today. Pretty darn tasty!! Will definitely make it again. Extremely easy and fast. Total time was like a half hour including prep time.
Glad you enjoyed it Chris.
This was super good. I used a box of 16 oz elbow, so I added one more cup beef stock. It worked perfectly and it fed a family of 5 just fine. (I have big eaters). Thanks for a new recipe to add to our rotation.
Glad you enjoyed it Diane! Thank you for your feedback!
Made this for dinner last night, So good! – what is the Serving size for the Nutrition Facts provided?. Thank you! 🙂
Hi Kylie, glad you liked it. The nutrition facts are provided in the recipe card.
I made this as our first meal in our new IP—pretty much everything went wrong. It flipped the breaker on the outlet, but I thought it just turned off because it was done… then we got it going again and it was steaming around the whole lid (apparently I forgot to put the sealing ring back on the lid after cleaning it!) then I got the burn notice… YET, it magically still turned out pretty good! The pasta was thoroughly cooked and it had great flavor! I imagine it gets even better if you know what you’re doing! 😉
Also, we’re vegetarian, so we subbed veggie crumbles and veggie stock—worked well, in case anyone was wondering about vegetarian options/substitutions!
haha 🙂 well, it gets better, you can find more IP recipes on the blog that you will love!
I don’t have an instant pot. Have you, or anyone else, tried this by just cooking it on the stove?
Here is the stove version https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/taco-pasta/
Made this tonight. A little oily. I would eliminate the canola oil and just brown the beef next time. Otherwise it was very tasty!
We love this recipe and it’s in our normal dinner rotation after the first time I made it. It’s super easy, quick, tasty, and great left over! We usually just add the cheese as a topping with tortilla strips or over a bed of tortilla chips and pico once its cooked and don’t mix it into the pasta.
Yum love the topping suggestions!
Made this for the first time tonight and the results were delicious. I used ground turkey and chicken broth instead of the beef. Also I had penne and therefore used it, I think it may be a little more dense and would have benefited from an extra minute under pressure. For me the two tablespoons of taco seasoning is the way to go.
Next time I think I will try adding in additional vegetables, some combination of diced tomatoes, corn and black beans is what I am thinking.
Thank you for posting a wonderful recipe.
I made this with whatever I had leftover. I didn’t feel like thawing or using frozen ground beef, so instead I chopped up leftover rotisserie chicken. I thought that since I making this with chicken, to use chicken broth, but guess what, I was out, so I used beef broth. I also made this with penne pasta. With a few extra spices (I like my stuff spicy), it turned out soo good!
This is one of our favorite dinners!! If you double the recipe do you double the time?
Same cooking time!
I absolutely NEVER comment on recipes on the internet but this one deserves it! This was amazing. My cooking skills are terrible and I was able to pull this off pretty easily.
I followed the directions PRECISELY but omitted the red pepper flakes as my homemade taco seasoning already had some heat.
When I got to the part of pouring the broth in and the dry pasta shells in, I hesitated a bit. I felt like there just was not enough liquid to make the dry pasta shells wet and I feared having the shells undercooked or crunchy. I poured about another 1/2 cup of beef broth, maybe even an entire cup (to make it a total of 3 cups). I felt like it was the right thing to do because the end result was amazing, I’m still in shock. But, I do feel that 2 cups of broth is a bare minimum and that it still end up amazing if you think it looks like you need to add more broth to cover enough of the dry shells.
I used one package of Kraft shredded Mexican cheese and the package ends up being exactly two cups.
This recipe has been saved for life. Thank you Catalina and thank you Instant Pot inventor! LOL.
I will be experimenting with this recipe and changing over to shredded chicken and chicken broth, only in the interest of reducing red meat intake. Thanks again!
Hi!!! I am so happy that you loved the recipe, thanks for the detailed feedback!
This was a great recipe!!! Every ingredient was spot on. Usually I have to tweek it but not this one!! Fast and easy. Definitely a keeper.
This recipe is a go to for me! I’ve made it as written many times. Sometimes add black beans or corn or green chilies. Last night, I omitted the ground beef, swapped out the beef broth for chicken broth and then added some smoked pulled chicken at the end with the cheese. Every time I get a great meal.
Can I double this recipe for family of 6!! I’m somewhat new to figuring out these recipes on my own. Thanks.
yes, you can easily double the ingredients
This is one of our all-time favorite meals! When in doubt, we go with this! I don’t change a thing about it either. Perfect as written!
I made this recipe last night and it was wonderful. Even my 4 year old ate it. I made it exactly as written. I substituted gluten free veggie rotini noodles. Same cooking time and it was delicious. Next time I will double the recipe for lots of lunch left overs. This one got printed out for a regular rotation.
so happy that you liked it, thank you for the feedback!
Would I be able to make this in the crockpot for a few hours without adjusting ingredients?
No, it will be a different method of cooking it in the crockpot.