Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef is pure comfort food. This easy Instant Pot dinner recipe is so creamy and cheesy. Pasta shells and ground beef are cooked in a tomato sauce and then Parmesan cheese, cream, and cream cheese get mixed in. Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef is a little like homemade Hamburger Helper, only much, much better.
Made from simple ingredients, it is perfect for a busy weeknight meal and is sure to be a family favorite.
How To Make
To make Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef, first use the saute mode to cook a pound of lean ground beef and a chopped onion. Then add your flavors- dried Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes plus a tablespoon of tomato paste.
Once the ground beef is no longer pink, pour the uncooked pasta shells on top. Pour a jar of spaghetti sauce and 3 cups of water over the shells. Press the shells down into the liquid, but do not stir. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
The pasta soaks up so much flavor cooking this way rather than just being boiled in water and then mixed into sauce.
After pressure cooking, do a manual release. Stir in 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of heavy cream, and 2 ounces of softened cream cheese.
This Instant Pot recipe is so easy and so delicious. Your family will be fighting over the leftovers.
★★★★★
What readers are saying
This quickly became a family favorite. The kids could probably eat it every day and be happy. Leftovers are good for lunch the next day. And it’s very easy to improvise if I’m out of an ingredient or 2.
Variations and Substitutions
- Make is spicier. Double the amount of crushed red pepper flakes.
- Use ground turkey or ground Italian sausage instead of ground beef.
- Mix in 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- To make it vegetarian, use Impossible Beef.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Mississippi Roast
- Instant Pot Crack Chicken
- Instant Pot Swiss Chicken
- Instant Pot Caesar Chicken
- Instant Pot 3-Packet Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
Watch the video below to see how to make Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef
Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow or sweet onion,, diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (16-ounce) box medium pasta shells,, uncooked
- 1 (24-ounce) jar pasta sauce
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese,, cut into chunks and softened
Instructions
- Add olive oil to the inner pot of an Instant Pot. Turn on “Saute” mode. Add onion and cook until starting to get soft.
- Add ground beef and cook and crumble it with a wooden spoon until no longer pink. Turn Instant Pot off.
- Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes and tomato paste and stir.
- Pour shells on top of ground beef mixture.
- Pour pasta sauce and water on top of shells. Do not stir, but press shells down into liquid with the back of a spoon.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is in “sealing” position. Set to Pressure Cook on HIGH for 5 minutes.
- Do a manual pressure release and when the pin drops, remove the lid. Stir in Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally posted June 6, 2018.
Recipe adapted from Meatloaf and Melodrama
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
i just made it and came out perfectly. I used a different type of noodle since I didn’t have shells handy. Crowd pleaser and good left overs. comfort food.
I’m going to make this tonight without an instant pot. I’m nervous about the outcome, will it cook the same. ?
Delicious and easy. I used ground turkey instead of beef and spiced it up with red pepper flakes.
Did the noodles end up getting really soft? I’m an al dente sort of noodle lover.
I just followed the recipe minus the 3 cups of water….cooked the pasta separate.
Would this work with milk or 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream?
Half-and-half would work fine.
Stove-top conversion??
Just made this in my instant pot…it is so easy and tasty!
I don’t own instant pot yet but this recipe looks delicious! How can I make it without a instant pot?
How can this be made without an instant pot?
It can be made in a regular pot just fine. Just be vigilant for burning, as it goes south quite quickly. However, it is just as delicious.
I have an insta-pot but not with pressure cooker option. What setting and how long?? Thank you!
I could be wrong so I hope, if i am, someone will chime in. On my instant pot duo it’s the “manual” button in place of the term “pressure cook”. Hope this helps 🙂 I had to search through videos to find this out since the manual isn’t very detailed in explaining.
I have the crock pot pressure cooker/slow cooker combo and it suggested using the beans/chili option and set your pressure to high or low and set the timer. Hope this helps! I just tried this recipe tonight—still in the pot actually. Noodles didn’t cook at all after the initial 5 min time, so I turned it on for another 5 min, and am doing the natural release as I’m assuming that’s what manual release is, because the other option is Quick Release. We’ll see how it turns out!