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.
A friend told me about this recipe when I was searching for something to do as my first IP attempt. It was so great! The whole family loved it! I followed the recipe exactly.
I usually don’t take the time to leave reviews for things but I am going out of my way to say TRY THIS!!
I’ve made this recipe probably 5 times and it gets better each time. I use ground turkey instead of beef, substitute chicken stock for water, and go heavy on the seasoning. It is so good!!
Quick, easy AND freezes well. You won’t be disappointed.
Just made this. Made exactly how the recipe reads. I did add another minute to cook time after reading the comments. It was perfect and didn’t have one problem with the pot like others. I would definitely make this again.
How can this be frozen in dump and go fashion?
Followed the recipe exactly and kept getting a burn error. I made sure the bottom was scraped.
Used Penne Pasta since this is what I had on hand. Also used jar Alfredo instead of the heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Cooked 6 minutes and did 10 min NPR. perfect!
Burned. Tried sauté in separate pan and burned again.
This recipe turned out wonderful. I decided to pressure cook for 6min though based on previous comments regarding the noodles not being done- worked perfect. I also let natural release for about 12min, QR after to save time and it didn’t change anything with how this turned out. I also used mozz just because it’s what I had.
I did this recipe for first time and followed these alternate instructions. Turned out great!
This recipe is for an instant pot is there directions for using a slow cooker?
Tried this for the first time tonight….my wife and I loved it. The pasta was under cooked after the 5 minute cook time but I didn’t taste it until after the cheese was mixed in. I put the instant pot on “Saute” and stirred it continuously for 1-2 minutes. I then put it on “Keep Warm” and continued stirring for another minute. I turned the pot off and placed the lid on, letting the pasta sit until it was just right. I had to let the pot soak because cheese was stuck to it. I’ll try 6 minutes next time and test the pasta before adding the cheese. This is destined to be a family favorite. Thanks!!