Once upon a time, I had a genius idea to add seasoned hamburger meat to our Simple 10-Minute Instant Pot Mac and Cheese. This magically and beautifully turned into Simple Cheeseburger Mac in the Instant Pot. And once again, dinner is saved!
Mind you, this recipe is made even easier if I have “worked” ahead and have hamburger meat already pre-cooked and in the fridge ready to pull out as needed. And by “worked” I mean that I open several packs of hamburger meat (usually frozen) and plop it into my Instant Pot where it cooks all by itself for a few minutes, providing our family with several meals worth of pre-cooked meat to use easily in recipes as needed.
If you get an Instant Pot for no other reason, get it so that it will cook your hamburger meat for you. I usually cook 7-pounds at once, and it is such a time and energy saver!
Simple Cheeseburger Mac in the Instant Pot
- 1 pound cooked hamburger meat
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 16-ounces whole grain pasta (any shape)
- 4 cups water
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 cups shredded cheese (we love Colby jack)
- Cook hamburger meat and season with garlic powder and chili powder.
- Stir meat, uncooked pasta, water, butter, and salt in your instant pot.
- Seal and cook on manual, high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure.
- Open the pot and stir in the cream and cheese until melted and creamy.
This recipe is incredibly easy to make, and it is a huge hit with the family! Any time I can make pasta without actually boiling pasta is a win in my book. Fewer dirty dishes, less time in the kitchen, and a delicious meal too!
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Can this be done in a crockpot?
Yes, I’d cook it on low for about 4 hours. :)
This looks so yummy. But I”m allergic — or at very least, sensitive– to milk products. Cooked cheese in this recipe would probably be okay, but I find that sour cream, and whipping creams don’t always agree (though strangely I can cook with milk if it’s baked in). Do you have a tip on how I can make this without the whipping cream? Thanks.
Hmm, I’m trying to think what would help this to be creamy that isn’t a dairy product?? I wonder if you added milk or cream TO the recipe before you cook it? It should work with this recipe, then it will be cooked in and maybe not effect you negatively. :)
Can I do in crockpot or slowly on stovetop? Thanks.
Yes, 4 hours on low in a crock pot. On the stovetop, you’d just need to cook the noodles as normal, drain, and add the other ingredients.