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This Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta has only 6 ingredients, cooks in about 30 minutes, and is so delicious! This pressure cooker cheesy taco pasta is one of my most popular Instant Pot pasta recipes! This is a great beginner Instant Pot recipe.
Originally Published 9/1/2017
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Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
When you first get your Instant Pot, you are going to want something delicious and fairly simple to make in it.
This Instant Pot Taco Pasta recipe is a good one because it gets you familiar with the sauté function as well as the pressure cook function.
Every time I cook pasta in my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, I am grateful that this wonderful appliance exists!
Pasta in a Pressure Cooker?
Yes! Pasta cooks up very well in the Instant Pot. The key is the liquid to pasta weight ratio. Since you don’t drain it, the liquid is absorbed by the pasta, so you need to use the correct amount.
The rule-of-thumb is 1 cup of liquid to 4-ounces of pasta. It is best to weigh it. Food Scales like this one are so useful.
It is great to cook the pasta in broth and have it soak up all of that liquid flavor. I love that you don’t have to drain it!
Creamy, cheesy Instant Pot Taco Pasta is my favorite of all of my Instant Pot pasta recipes.
Is Instant Pot Taco Pasta Spicy?
- Instant Pot Taco Pasta is so easy to make, and has so much flavor!
- The flavor for this pasta dish comes from salsa and my homemade Easy Taco Seasoning (or use the packet from the store).
- It will be as spicy as your salsa and your taco seasoning, which is normally mild to medium. Use a hotter version or add red pepper flakes while browning the meat for a spicier result.
Don’t Forget the Fixin’s
Garnish with Taco fixin’s, or serve as is. Either way it will be a hit with the family! Some favorite garnishes are:
• Avocado chunks
• Corn chips
• Extra shredded cheese
• Hot Sauce
• Finely diced onion
• Cilantro
• Sour Cream
Watch the Video for Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta Recipe
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
Instant Pot Chili Mac
Instant Pot Pizza Pasta Casserole
Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage
If you make this pressure cooker Taco Pasta recipe let me know! Just leave a comment with a star rating below. I’d like to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef or Lean Ground Turkey (80%-93% lean)
- 2 ½ Tablespoons Taco Seasoning (see my recipe for homemade, or use 1 packet of store bought)
- 1 (16 oz) Container of Salsa
- 16 oz Pasta Shells*, medium (or use 16 oz rotini)
- 4 cups Broth, (low sodium beef or chicken)
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese (I use 1 cup Monterey Jack and 1 cup sharp Cheddar)
Instructions
Brown the Meat
- Turn pot on to Sauté mode.
- When display reads Hot, add the meat (use a little olive oil if using ground turkey). Cook until mostly done.
- Add the taco seasoning, stir and finish cooking meat.
- Add the salsa and broth. Stir with wooden spoon and scrape the bottom of the pot to get up all of the browned bits (deglaze).
- Put on a glass lid (or any lid that fits. If you use the pressure cooker lid, make sure it is on Venting). Let the broth heat up and start to simmer.
- Add the pasta and stir.
- Cancel the sauté mode.
- Put the pressure cooker lid on and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
Pressure Cook
- Press the Manual (or Pressure Cook) button and use the +/- button to select 5 minutes for softer pasta, 4 minutes for more al dente (or half the time on the pasta package directions).
- When cooking cycle ends, turn off the pressure cooker.
- Do a controlled Quick Release of the pressure/steam. I like to start it in smaller bursts until I am sure no sauce will be spewing from the steam release knob. Then I turn the knob all the way to Venting, and let it release the remaining steam/pressure.
- When the pin in the lid drops, and it is safe to open it, do so with the lid facing away from your face.
- Give the pasta a good stir, add the cheese, stir again, and serve.
Garnish with any of these, if desired:
- Avocado, Jalapeño, Sour Cream, Tortilla Chips, Cilantro
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make This Pressure Cooker Taco Pasta Recipe
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This turned out sooo good! I threw this together for lunch and my kids loved it. I even made it vegetarian by swapping the meat for frozen black beans I had on hand. It worked great! Thanks!
That’s great, Clarissa! So glad the kids liked it, that’s always a plus! Thanks for your nice review!
I expected this one to be great and I was not disappointed. I keep frozen browned hamburger meat in the freezer so this is a very quick recipe to make with that. The other slight variations I made were that I used Mexican blend cheese instead of the individual types and used beef broth instead of chicken.
Very tasty!
Hi Donnie! Thank you for the nice review. I’m so glad this recipe worked for you!
Sounds awesome, but it’s just my husband and me so if I cut it in half, do I cut all the ingredients in half? Or just the pasta and the liquid. I’m using a 6 qt. instant pot. Thanks!!
Hi Linda, yes, you would cut all of the ingredients in half. The cook time remains the same.
Needing to feed a large crowd. Do you think you could double this recipe? If so, would you cook the same amount of time or add some?
Hi Courtney, I think in the 6 quart you could make half again as much, but I’m not sure about doubling it. The quick release could spew starch from the vent. If you do, do a controlled quick release and that will reduce the risk of the volcano!
Omg, this is my new favorite Instant Pot recipe! My mom made it and raved about it to me so I had to try it right away, and I’m so glad I did! Absolutely delicious and so easy. Thank you for the recipe!
I canNOT believe how yummy this was! I’m not very skilled in the kitchen (!) and am new to the instapot world. This recipe killed it! So Delish. And with the easy homemade taco seasoning?!? Amazing. Add avocado to the top – finished it perfectly. Thanks for keeping the instructions simple and clear!
Hi Jodie! Yay! I’m so glad you liked this Taco Pasta recipe! We love it, and so easy. Thank you for your review!
Any thoughts on using frozen ground turkey? Or should I thaw it out?
Thanks!
Hi Heidi, I use ground turkey (93% lean) often for this recipe! I do thaw it first.
Do you think you can do this recipe without the cheese at the end? My husband does not like cheese but want to try something different instead of plain tomato sauce and ground beef.
Yes, it’s still very tasty without cheese. It will be a little thinner/saucier.
I don’t add cheese to the pot, I add it to the dishes once it is served. I find it makes clean up of the pot easier. lol I’ve made this several times and my family all love it.
I would like to half recepies and cook in 3 quart inst.pot. would I half cooking time?
Hi Anna, no you normally would not reduce the cook time, unless the cut of meat is smaller/thinner.
Any tips on how to recreate without an instant pot? Sounds delish!
Cook the meat mixture in a pot on the stove. Cook the pasta in a separate pot. Then mix them and add the cheese.