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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If you make this yummy pressure cooker shells and beef recipe, please leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Creamy Beef and Shells is a super delicious pasta recipe. Made with simple ingredients, this is a fabulous one-pot meal!
- 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
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
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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..
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Add the red pepper flakes (if using), Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
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Pour in the broth and stir.
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Add the pasta in an even layer. Don't stir it. Gently press the pasta into the liquid.
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Pour the marinara sauce over the pasta, covering it all. Don't stir it.
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Turn off the Sauté setting. Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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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.
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When the cook cycle has finished, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the steam/pressure.
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When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.
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Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Let the pasta sit for a few minutes to cool a little and thicken.
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Serve hot!
*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.
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Soni
Easy to make and family loved it!
Deena C. Stokes
My daughter, who recently graduated college and moved back for a short time before relocating for her job, only eats fish and chicken. Made this with ground chicken, chicken broth and elbows (following the rest of the recipe) and it is outstanding. Prior to her coming home we made it with ground steak but the chicken is actually better. And so much better the next day.
David
Such a great recipe! My wife and I loved it. Thank you for sharing Sandy! Used homemade Marinara and replaced the Parmesan with strong cheddar because it’s what I had on hand and it turned out great, 10/10 will definitely do this again.
Deena
So super good! We all love it! I cook 6 mins because can only find large shells.
Christina
So creamy and delicious! I followed the recipe almost exactly except I used rigatoni (my store didn't have a box of shells) and used a tomato basil pasta sauce (I was in a rush and couldn't find marinara). It was so yummy! Definitely adding this to my regular rotation.
Lori Thomas
This recipe was so delish! I recommend going on the high end for the red pepper flakes, sometimes I put in a tad more. It doesn't make it super hot or anything but I like the tiny kick flavor it gives. I love regular spaghetti or rigatoni with meat sauce but I really love this one too as it changes things up a bit!
Kendra C
My boys and husband loved this dish. It is now in our regular rotation. Thanks for this easy and budget friendly meal 😊