Beef Enchilada Pasta in the Instant Pot

Making beef enchilada pasta in the Instant Pot is a quick and easy dinner! This cheesy, hearty meal of pasta, beans, and beef will become a family favorite!



INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups rotini (about 8 oz, or half a box)
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 10-oz can enchilada sauce
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/4-1/2 cup of water (if needed)
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the insert pot of an Instant Pot, brown ground beef using the Saute setting.
2. Once beef is cooked, drain excess grease if necessary and return beef to insert pot.
3. Add pasta in a layer on top of the beef. DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle chili powder and cumin over the pasta.
4. Pour enchilada sauce and beef broth over the pasta. DO NOT STIR. Use a spoon to press down any pieces of pasta so that they are fully covered with liquid. If necessary, add 1/4-1/2 cup of water to ensure that the pasta is just barely covered with liquid.
5. Add beans on top. DO NOT STIR.
6. Close lid and set vent to the sealed position. Select a 4 minute cook time at high pressure. Once cook time is complete, allow a natural release for 5 minutes, followed by a quick release of remaining pressure. Once pressure has released and valve has dropped, carefully remove lid and stir.
7. Add in shredded cheese, stirring until melted. Contents will be somewhat soupy initially, but the liquid will thicken and become more sauce-like as the cheese melts and the mixture cools a bit more.
8. Serve, topping with additional shredded cheese if desired.

NOTES

• You can adjust the spiciness to your taste. I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to the spice, so I used mild enchilada sauce. You can choose medium or hot if preferred.
• Feel free to change up the type of beans (or omit them), depending on what you have on hand. Kidney beans or pinto beans would also work well in this dish.
• I used mild cheddar cheese, but you can use pepper jack to increase the heat. Medium cheddar or Colby Jack would also be fine choices.
• Feel free to use a different pasta. Stay away from the teeny tiny pastas (like orzo or those little stars), but other short pastas would work fine (penne, farfalle, macaroni, etc.). I generally look at the cook time on the box, cut it in half, then take off another minute to find the cook time for high pressure (so if the box says to cook for 8 minutes, you'll cut that in half to 4, then take off one more minute, for a 3 minute cook time at high pressure). If your result includes a half minute, just round up.
• Don't have chili powder or cumin? Use 1.5 Tbs of taco seasoning!
• More often than not, I shred my own cheese, because I find that it melts a little bit better. However, you can definitely use pre-shredded cheese as well.