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Instant Pot Enchilada Pasta

Instant Pot enchilada pasta is a tasty and versatile recipe to get even more use out of your pressure cooker. It’s a super easy recipe to make gluten free or dairy free and can be made on the stovetop if you wish as well. You get all the flavors of enchiladas that you love with the speed and convenience of the Instant Pot.

  • Author: Bailey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Category: beef
  • Method: instant pot
  • Cuisine: american
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

  • 1pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1.5 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 large red onion, diced
  • 1 red pepper, seeds and stem removed and diced
  • 1 green pepper, seeds and stem removed and diced
  • 12 ounces penne pasta (about 2 cups)
  • 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
  • 1/4 cup water (add an additional 1/4 at the end if needed)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more to garnish
  • To garnish: cilantro, diced red onion, additional cheese
  • Optional: Use a 10 to 12 ounce jar or can of enchilada sauce in place of the tomato sauce and green chiles

Instructions

  1. Set instant pot to sauté mode and add the ground beef, minced garlic and spices to the pot. Brown until the spices are incorporated and the ground beef is broken up and and almost cooked through (doesn’t need to be completely cooked, a little pink left is just fine)
  2. Add in the diced onions and bell peppers and cook for an additional 2 minutes just until softened. Turn the instant pot off sauté mode
  3. Add the penne noodles over the meat and vegetables in an even layer, do not stir. Then add in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles and water. Do not stir, but use the back of your spoon or spatula to smooth it into an even layer covering the noodles
  4. Place the lid on the instant pot and cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Once done, do a quick release. Stir in the cheese and let it sit a minute or two to melt. You can add in an additional ¼ cup water if you want a thinner sauce
  5. Serve and garnish with optional toppings

Stovetop Instructions

  1. Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box.
  2. In a large pan, sauté and brown ground beef until almost cooked through.  Add in onion and bell pepper and cook until tender.  Stir in garlic and seasonings. 
  3. Add the diced tomatoes with green chilies, water, and tomato sauce.
  4. When pasta is finished cooking, drain well and add to meat and veggie mixture.  Stir in cheese and mix until it’s all melted.
  5. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

Notes

  • If using enchilada sauce instead of the tomato sauce and diced chiles, just add the enchilada sauce in the same step you would add the tomato sauce and diced chiles normally.