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Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef is an easy pressure cooker dinner recipe made with ground beef and pasta in a tomato cream sauce. Perfect for busy days!
If you’re looking for an easy Instant Pot recipe made with ground beef and pasta, you’re going to love this delicious Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef. It’s like homemade Hamburger Helper, and it’s super kid friendly. Best of all, it’s a one pot dinner, so there’s hardly any clean-up!
Update! Shells and Beef is without a doubt, one of my most popular recipes. I first made it in 2017, and you all love it — check the comments for the rave reviews! So, I just added better pictures and tips to make this recipe even better as of June 2020!
Also, note that this is the original — a lot of people loved it so much that they created their own recipes. That’s great and all, but this one’s the real deal. Promise!
Have you bought an Instant Pot yet? I’ve been seeing so many Instant Pot recipes on Pinterest and just about everywhere lately, so of course I was curious. I finally gave in and bought one of these modern pressure cookers on Cyber Monday — I got a smokin’ deal! And friends, let me tell you, that I’m definitely in love!
If you’ve never made dinner or anything else in a pressure cooker, it can be tricky at first. There’s definitely a learning curve here! But once you get the hang of it, you’re going to love cooking with your Instant Pot!
I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with different Instant Pot recipes, and I was able to convert some of my favorite one pot dinner recipes to pressure cooker dinner recipes. Yea — Go me!
This Creamy One Pot Shells and Beef is not only one of my family’s favorite ground beef recipes, but it’s also one of the most popular recipes on the blog. It’s basically just pasta, beef and marinara sauce, along with a little bit of cream. It’s super easy to make on the stove, but I had to change some things to make it work in the pressure cooker.
And in case you’re wondering — Yes, you can make pasta in the Instant Pot! You just have to make sure that you also add enough liquid to make it all work!
How to Make Ground Beef and Shells in the Pressure Cooker
You start off by sauteing an onion in the Instant Pot, and then, you add some lean ground beef. I buy lean or extra lean ground beef, so I don’t remove the grease. But, you can definitely remove the grease if you want to.
Next, add your seasonings. Then, you add your uncooked shell pasta, some marinara sauce and water.
You have to make sure that the pasta and everything else is completely covered with water and sauce. You don’t need to stir it all together, ( in fact, don’t stir it yet!) but you can push it all down with a spatula or spoon, just to make sure the liquid is covering the pasta.
Next, you use the pressure cooking function. Pasta cooks in the Instant Pot for about half the time it cooks on the stove. A good rule of thumb for cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is to cook for half the time recommended on the package.
I set the timer to 5 minutes, which gives you a softer texture, but you could do 4 minutes for firmer pasta or even 6 minutes for even softer pasta.
It takes about 10 minutes or so for the pot to come to pressure, and then, the Instant Pot starts cooking and counting down the minutes until the pasta is done
When 5 minutes are up, do a quick release by turning the valve to release. Be sure to wear an oven mitt or use a spoon to be on the safe side. Remove the lid, stir in the cream and Parm, and you’re done!
One of the best thing about cooking with an Instant Pot is that you don’t have to babysit a pot on the stove. Just let the pressure cooker do the work, and come back when the time is up!
It’s quick and easy to prepare, and dinner is made in just one pot for easy clean up! My family loves the texture of the pasta, too.
In fact, my kids couldn’t get enough of this creamy shells and beef! They literally ate it all up! If you like it, You might also want to try Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta and Instant Pot Creamy Sausage and Shells.
Tips for Cooking Pasta and Meat in the Instant Pot
- Make sure pasta and meat are completely covered by liquids
- Don’t stir the mixture before pressure cooking
- Cook pasta for about half the cook time on the box of pasta
- Add milk or cream at the end, right before serving
Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef Recipe
Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1-pound box medium shell pasta
- 1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce
- 3 cups water
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting, and wait for the display to turn to HOT
- Add olive oil and onions, and cook until slightly soft
- Add ground beef, break up with spatula, and cook until no longer pink, stirring frequently to make sure it doesn’t stick to pot
- Season with sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder, and hit CANCEl
- Add shells over ground beef, then add the marinara sauce and water. Do not stir, but press lightly with spoon to ensure pasta is completely covered with sauce and water
- Place lid on Instant Pot, close, and make sure vent is set to SEALING position
- Hit PRESSURE COOK for 5 minutes, or half the cooking time on the box of pasta
- When pressure cooking is done, do a quick release, then remove lid and hit CANCEl to turn cooker off
- Stir in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese, and serve
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Easy Instant Pot Ground Beef and Pasta Recipes
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
- Instant Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Cheeseburger Mac
- Instant Pot Creamy Taco Pasta
More Favorite Pressure Cooker Recipes
- Mom’s Best Instant Pot Chili
- Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken
- Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
- Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
My whole family loved this. I didn’t have any cream, but added some softened ream cheese and it came out delicious. Thanks!
That sounds delicious, Brett! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
My son who is a very picky eater asks me to make this almost weekly. It’s cooking right now! I add a can of sliced olives and corn to it and it’s amazing!
That’s awesome, Tami! Thank you so much! 🙂
I made this tonight for my girls who would only eat certain food. They loved this! And me too! I added a little milk instead of heavy cream and it still turned out super delicious. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
Thank you so much, Irene. So glad your family enjoyed it! 🙂
I used rotini because that’s what I had, and just used maybe 1/4 cup of cream, if that… And it was delicious!!! Thanks!
I’m glad you liked it, Katrina! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Super yummy! Substituted half and half instead of heavy cream and it was delicious. Will be making this again!
Awesome, Stacey! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
This was one of my first meals I ever made in the Instant Pot and it was SO delicious! My son is a picky eater and he devoured a huge bowl full. Making this for dinner tonight and I love how it makes so much because I love the leftovers 🙂
I’m all about leftovers! Thanks so much, Liz. I’m glad your family likes it! 🙂
I made this tonight using what I had in the pantry. All 8 children ate it without complaint, and most loved it. Even the little guy who “hates pasta.” I’ll have to double it next time to have leftovers. I’ve made a very similar recipe in a skillet but this was so much easier. No stirring involved! I look forward to checking out your other recipes. This was my first time here. Thanks!
So glad everyone liked it, Michah! Thanks so much! It’s one of my kids’ favorite dinners. 🙂
Made this tonight- and Yes! it does make a lot but I love to have leftovers. I used 1/2 & 1/2 and 2% milk and I used a mix of parmesan and Trader Joes Toscano dusted with cinnamon (don’t knock it til you tried it). It came out perfect and that cheese gave it an amazing unique taste. I am going to try it with sausage next time. Used Barilla traditional sauce and Barilla med. shells. Thanks for the recipe
So glad you liked it, Jen! That cheese sounds amazing. I need to get some of that!
I just tried this recipe tonight. It was the first recipe I tried in my instant pot. I loved it. So good. I will definitely be making it again.
So glad to hear this, Whitney. Thanks so much! 🙂
Both my kid and husband loved this! Very easy and delicious, definitely a keeper.
Thanks, Kendra. I’m so glad your family liked it! 🙂