Easy Instant Pot Beef Enchilada Pasta
Making beef enchilada pasta in the Instant Pot is a quick and easy dinner that’s perfect for a busy weeknight.
If you love enchiladas but don’t have a lot of time on your hands, you’ll appreciate the ease of this Instant Pot beef enchilada pasta. This cheesy, hearty meal of pasta, beans, and beef will become a family favorite.
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Mexican-themed meals are a staple in our house because they’re flavorful, frugal, and make feeding a family easy.
Having a variety of meal ideas that utilize the same basic ingredients makes meal planning even easier—if you have cheese, beef, beans, and some seasonings, you can make so many things!
From quesadillas to tacos to burritos and more, there are plenty of options.
One of my favorite easy Mexican-inspired meals to make is this Instant Pot beef enchilada pasta!
It has all of the flavors of classic enchiladas, but without the time and effort required to assemble, roll, and bake them.
It’s one of my favorite Instant Pot pasta recipes, and once you give it a try, I’m sure you’ll see why!
Making Enchilada Pasta in the Pressure Cooker
I love a good shortcut recipe, and this enchilada pasta is a quick and easy meal, complete with tender pasta in a cheesy, spiced sauce with ground beef and black beans.
Creamy and hearty, this is a filling meal that packs a tasty punch! In fact, it’s one of our favorite Instant Pot ground beef recipes.
Not only that, but it’s a pretty frugal meal, too. I’m always looking for budget-friendly meals that still taste amazing, and this one fits the bill.
And since it’s a one-pot meal, clean-up is a breeze!
Want to make it with chicken instead? Check out this Instant Pot chicken enchilada pasta.
More Easy Instant Pot Dinners You’ll Love:
- Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna Casserole
- Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Gravy
- Instant Pot Arroz Con Pollo
How to Make Enchilada Pasta in the Instant Pot
It’s really easy to make this tasty dinner.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground Beef
- Rotini
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Enchilada Sauce
- Beef Broth
- Water
- Black Beans
- Shredded Cheese
How to Make it:
Find the full printable recipe available below
Cook the beef. You’ll start by browning some ground beef in the insert pot of the Instant Pot, using the Saute setting.
Once it’s browned, turn off the Instant Pot and drain the beef if needed and return it to the insert pot.
Add noodles, liquids, seasonings, and beans. Add the pasta on top of the beef.
Sprinkle on some seasonings, add in a can of enchilada sauce, some beef broth, and make sure the pasta is just barely covered with liquid. Don’t stir anything at this point.
Top all of that with some black beans, and resist the urge to stir!
Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position.
Pressure cook. Select a 4 minute cook time at high pressure. Once the cook time is complete, allow a 5 minute natural release, followed by a quick release of any remaining pressure.
At first, when you remove the lid, it will look fairly soupy. That’s normal–more of that liquid will absorb as it cools, and it will thicken into a creamy sauce.
Then, you’ll add in some shredded cheese, stirring until it’s melted.
Allow the enchilada pasta to rest for a few minutes while the sauce thickens up. Then serve and top with additional shredded cheese, if desired!
Notes and Adaptations:
- You can adjust the spiciness to your taste by choosing mild, medium, or hot enchilada sauce 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 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 short pasta, such as shells, 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).
- Don’t have chili powder or cumin? Use 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning instead.
- 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.
Recommended Equipment:
- Instant Pot (I have the DUO60 model, which I love)
- Cheese grater (if shredding your own cheese)
Instant Pot Beef Enchilada Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 1/2 cups rotini pasta (about 8 oz, or half a box)
- 1 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 10- oz can enchilada sauce
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/4-1/2 cup water (if needed)
- 15 ounce can black beans (drained)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In the insert pot of an Instant Pot, brown ground beef using the Saute setting.
- Once beef is cooked, drain excess grease if necessary and return beef to insert pot.
- Add pasta in a layer on top of the beef. DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle chili powder and cumin over the pasta.
- 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.
- Add beans on top. DO NOT STIR.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Equipment
Nutrition
Did you try this recipe?
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Categories:
Beef Recipes, Dinner Ideas, Easy Recipes, Main Dish, Most Popular, Pasta Recipes, Pressure Cooker {Instant Pot},
This enchilada pasta looks and sounds sooooo good! I love all of the ingredients in the recipe and am so excited to make it. Found you on Foodie Friday.
Thank you, Amy! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 🙂
Recipe looks great! Any thoughts on how you’d make this without the beef (ie vegetarian)? Normally I’d just replace the beef with more beans but I wonder if that would stop it from forming the thick sauce. Do you think I should try using refried beans as the bottom layer instead?
Hi Michael! I think it would be fine if you just increase the beans. I wouldn’t use refried beans on the bottom, as I’d be a little worried they would stick and keep the pot from reaching pressure. If you want to use refried beans, I think I’d just stir them in at the end, after the cook time is complete, and let them heat through. Omitting the beef shouldn’t hinder the thickness of the sauce, as it gets thicker partly from the cheese and partly from the pasta absorbing more liquid. Hope that helps!
The whole family enjoyed the meal! II doubled it and next time would add some chopped spinach too and mushrooms.
I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoyed this, Melissa! Love your idea to add some veggies to the dish! 🙂
This was great! I used elbow macaroni, pinto beans, sharp cheddar and added about a teaspoon of salt and an onion. This will be in my regular dinner rotation! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Suzanne! Your tweaks sound delicious–thank you for sharing! 🙂
Would I need to add any cooking time if I’m to double the recipe?
Hi Amanda! No need to increase the cook time! Just make sure it doesn’t exceed the manufacturer’s recommended fill line of your pressure cooker if you double it. Enjoy! 🙂
I made this pasta tonight for dinner, and it was very good! I was cleaning out the fridge and using up ingredients nearing the expiration date, so I sauteed half a Spanish onion diced along with the hamburger. I followed the order for placing the ingredients in the cooker–elbow macaroni, a whole packet of taco seasoning mix, enchilada sauce, beef broth made from Better than Bouillon Premium Roasted Beef, 1/8 cup extra water and then added a can of Goya red small beans and a small can of mild diced green chilies. The timing was perfect! I added three ounces of freshly-grated white cheddar cheese to the pasta and served with a dollop of sour cream. Yummy! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Lynda, your tweaks sound so delicious! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it and that you were able to clean out your fridge at the same time! 🙂
I made this tonight. I added a can of sliced olives when I added the cheese
Great idea, Charlene! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I don’t currently own a instant pot. what would the cook time be if I used a crock pot?
Hi Nicole! I haven’t cooked this in the Crock Pot, but I’d recommend browning the beef in a skillet first, then cooking everything except the pasta in the slow cooker for a few hours, then adding the pasta for the last hour of cooking time. You may need to add more liquid, since there will be some evaporation over time with the slow cooker. At the end, once the pasta is cooked, add in the cheese and stir until melted. Enjoy! 🙂
My very picky husband LOVES this dish! I add a can of corn after it’s done before I add the cheese. It’s very good with pepper jack cheese, too.. I serve it with olives and sour cream on the side.
Hi Michelle! I’m so glad to hear that it’s been a hit in your home! Great idea to add some corn and garnishes to dress it up a bit. And I love the idea of pepper jack cheese for a little bit of a kick! 🙂
We love this recipe! It’s on regular rotation! Thank you for sharing it!
Thank you so much, Kristin! I love hearing that it’s become a regular in your home. 🙂