Instant Pot Creamy Beef and Shells

Instant Pot Creamy Beef and Shells is a super delicious pasta recipe. Made with simple ingredients, this is a fabulous one-pot meal! This pressure cooker creamy beef and shells recipe is a favorite!

 

Instant Pot Creamy Beef and Shells

Today's recipe is all about comfort food! Pasta surely falls into that category, and this pressure cooker shells and beef recipe is amazing! Creamy and satisfying!

Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot® is super easy, and very convenient. There is no pot of boiling water to deal with (also no draining), and you can toss everything into the pressure cooker and let it do its magic!

Can I use a different ground meat?

Absolutely! I often use ground turkey in place of the beef. When I do that I use a good low sodium chicken broth in place of the beef broth.

You can also use ground chicken. I would use a bit of olive oil to brown the ground turkey or chicken.

What can I use in place of marinara sauce?

If you can, use marinara sauce. However, if you can't, then use tomato sauce and 2 Tbsp tomato paste. You will also want to increase your seasonings a bit.

What if I don't have the medium shell pasta?

The 2 most important things about cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is to go by the weight, and cook according to size/heartiness of the pasta.

You can use the same weight (12 oz) of elbow macaroni, but it is a less hearty pasta so you will only cook it for 4 minutes instead of 5.

The general rule-of-thumb for pasta cook times is to cook for half of the time that the box instructions say to. If it says cook for 9 minutes on the stove, cook for 4 or 5 in the pressure cooker.

Can I make Instant Pot Creamy Beef and Shells without meat?

Yes! In that case you will just add the onion, then layer the pasta, broth, seasonings, and marinara sauce. Then cook per the instructions.

Follow with the cream and parmesan.

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Instant Pot Creamy Beef and Shells

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Pressure Building

8 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Instant Pot Creamy Beef and Shells is a super delicious pasta recipe. Made with simple ingredients, this is a fabulous one-pot meal!

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pressure cooker creamy beef and shells recipe

Servings: 8

Calories: 483 kcal

Author: Sandy Clifton

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs Ground Beef
• 1 sm Onion, diced
• ¼ - ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional, for some heat)
• 3 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Pepper
• 3 cups Beef Broth, low sodium (or 3 tsp beef bouillon and 3 cups water)
• 1 (12 oz) box Medium Shell Pasta*
• 1 (24 oz) jar Marinara Sauce

To Finish

• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

1. Turn on the Sauté setting. Then add the ground beef. Cook, breaking up the meat, until about halfway done. Then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion turns translucent..

2. Add the red pepper flakes (if using), Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well.

3. Pour in the broth and stir.

4. Add the pasta in an even layer. Don't stir it. Gently press the pasta into the liquid.

5. Pour the marinara sauce over the pasta, covering it all. Don't stir it.

6. Turn off the Sauté setting. Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
   

7. Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 5 minutes. High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.

8. When the cook cycle has finished, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the steam/pressure.

9. When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.

10. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Let the pasta sit for a few minutes to cool a little and thicken.

11. Serve hot!

Recipe Notes

*If you want to use a full pound (16 oz) of pasta, just increase the broth by 1 cup, add 1 more tsp of the Italian seasoning, and add more heavy cream to taste.