Instant Pot Beefaroni Recipe

Meaty, saucy and comforting Instant Pot Beefaroni is a crossover between pasta Bolognese, goulash and mac'n'cheese. Three family favorites in one dish homemade with simple pantry ingredients, ground beef and elbow macaroni pasta. Takes 30 minutes to put this beauty on the table!

This quick and easy Instant Pot beefaroni recipe is hands done one of our favorite comfort foods. Using fresh ingredients and pantry staples, this homemade version of the childhood classic is SO much tastier and healthier than the canned version. Kids and adults will love this flavorful one-pan dish.

What Is Beefaroni?

You might be familiar with the canned version of beefaroni - elbow pasta in tomato meat sauce. Chef Boyardee Beefaroni is an old-school classic brand served as convenience food. You could eat it cold out of a can or quickly heat it in a microwave.

And while we can't compete with the speed of dishing something out of a can, we can give you a homemade Instant pot beefaroni recipe that wins in flavor, nutrition, texture and presentation. Forget overcooked soft noodles and preserved meat sauce with questionable quality of beef and too much salt and sugar. Make your own - it's super easy, quite affordable and family-friendly!

Ingredients For Beefaroni

• Macaroni pasta – For authentic beefaroni, elbow macaroni noodles are best.
• Ground beef – We recommend using lean ground beef for this recipe (85/15 or 90/10) to avoid the dish from becoming too oily.
• Tomato sauce – You can your favorite tomato pasta sauce such as marinara or Napolitana. We think a tomato sauce that has basil in it works particularly well. You will also need some tomato paste to enhance the flavor.
• Cheese - the final touch is grated cheese to melt over the finished beefaroni pasta. Cheddar, Parmesan, Jack - they all work!

• Herbs & spices - You will get a lot of flavor from garlic, onion powder, paprika, a little cumin, Italian herbs or dried oregano and salt.
• Butter - this is our secret ingredient! A little bit of cubed salted butter is added to the sauce, which makes it luxuriously rich, creamy and delicious.

How To Make Instant Pot Beefaroni

You will find the full list of ingredients, recipe and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below. Here are step-by-step photos to guide along. We used Instant Pot Duo classic 6-quart model. 

• Step 1. Saute ground beef for 4-5 minutes until the meat changes color. Make sure to break the meat apart as much as possible.
• Step 2. Add garlic, herbs and spices and stir through. Cancel the Saute process.
• Step 3. Add 2 cups of water and stir through, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula. This will help to avoid the Burn error.

• Step 4. Once the meat and liquid are well stirred, add the elbow pasta on top, spread but don't stir. Again, this helps to prevent the Burn error as pasta can sometimes stick to the bottom. Don't worry, it will still cook!
• Step 5. Spread tomato sauce and tomato paste on top, do not stir!
• Step 6. Scatter cubes of butter on top of the tomato sauce and lock the lid.
• Step 7. Pressure cook on Manual/Pressure Cook function for 4 minutes on HIGH pressure. Then, once done, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes (leave the pot alone!). Then use the top valve to release the remaining pressure manually (quick release).

• Step 8. Open the lid and stir the contents of the pot.
• Step 9. Leave the pot on Keep Warm setting. Add the grated cheese and cover with a regular glass lid for 5 minutes.
• Serve once the cheese has melted, you can also stir it in or transfer the beefaroni to a casserole dish and melt the cheese under broil in the oven. 

Serve beefaroni with parsley or scallions on top. You can add more grated Parmesan or other cheese once in bowls. A lovely green salad or some steamed veggies will complement the dish well. 

More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

• Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Bake (Only 5-Ingredients!)
• Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Pasta
• Instant Pot Pasta With Tomato Meatballs
• Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Rate This Recipe

4.91 from 11 votes

Instant Pot Beefaroni

This quick and easy Instant Pot beefaroni recipe is hands done one of our favorite comfort foods. Using fresh ingredients and pantry staples, this homemade version of the childhood classic is SO much tastier and healthier than the canned version. Kids and adults will love this flavorful one-pan dish.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 519kcal

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef 450-500 grams, lean, 85/10 or 90/10 fat to meat ratio is ideal
• 3 cloves garlic diced or minced
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons Italian herbs or dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• 1 pound elbow macaroni pasta 450 grams, dry
• 2 cups tomato sauce we used tomato basil sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1.5 oz. butter salted or unsalted, about 45 grams, cubed
• 2 cups grated cheese Cheddar, Jack, Parmesan or mixed
• Scallions for garnish

Instructions

• Press the Saute button and once the pot is hot, add the olive oil and ground beef. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the meat changes color. Make sure to break the meat apart as much as possible. 
• Add garlic, herbs and spices and stir through. 
• Add 2 cups of water and stir through, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula. This will help to avoid the Burn error. Press Cancel to stop the Saute process.
• Add the elbow pasta on top, spread but don't stir. Again, this helps to prevent the Burn error as pasta can sometimes stick to the bottom.
• Spread tomato sauce and tomato paste on top, do not stir! Scatter cubes of butter on top of the tomato sauce and lock the lid.
• Pressure cook on Manual/Pressure Cook function for 4 minutes on HIGH pressure. Then, once done, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes (leave the pot alone!). Then use the top valve to release the remaining pressure manually (quick release).
• Open the lid and stir the contents of the pot.
• Leave the pot on Keep Warm setting. Add the cheese and cover with a regular glass lid for 5 minutes. Serve once the cheese has melted, you can also stir it in or transfer the beefaroni to a casserole dish and melt the cheese under broil in the oven.
• Serve with parsley or scallions on top. 

Notes

• Ground beef can be replaced with ground chicken, pork or lamb meat.
• You can use any type of your favorite pasta sauce but we really like the one that has some basil in it. If you don't have pasta sauce, use canned crushed tomatoes and add some extra salt to the dish.
• Elbow pasta is the traditional shape for beefaroni but you could use penne or fusilli here.
• Store leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days. This pasta tastes delicious once reheated.

Nutrition

Calories: 519kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 877mg | Potassium: 583mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 992IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 241mg | Iron: 3mg

CourseMain

CuisineAmerican

Keywordbeef, Dinner, family dinner, Ground Beef, Instant Pot, one-pot, Pasta

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