Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni - Copycat Hamburger Helper Recipe (2024)

Remember eating Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni as a child? This homemade version is easy, tasty and made in under 15 minutes in your pressure cooker. Your family is going to love this Instant Pot Hamburger Helper Recipe.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• EASY – Everything is made in one pot! Let your pressure cooker do all the work and cleanup is super quick and simple.
• WHOLESOME – We’ve always opted to make things out of a box because they are easy. But those meals come with lots of preservatives and other ingredients we don’t want. With a pressure cooker, you can make a quick and easy meal using simple, homemade ingredients!
• DELICIOUS – Making hamburger helper in an Instant Pot just seals in those delicious aromas and flavors. So you have vibrant, intense flavors.

Instant Pot Hamburger Helper

Using an Instant Pot is actually really easy. I sometimes hear friends talk about how intimidating it can be. Check out our Pressure Cooker Guide for tons of info and tips on pressure cooking! For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what you’ll need to get started.

Instant Pot Hamburger Helper Ingredients

• 1 lbs ground beef
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• Pepper to taste
• 2 tbs Italian seasoning
• 2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon basil

Storage and Freezing

You can store leftover Homemade Hamburger Helper in an airtight container in your fridge. Leftovers should be good for up to 4 days. This dish reheats fine in the microwave.

You can freeze hamburger helper. Simply allow it to fully cool and put it in a freezer safe container. It will stay in good in your freezer for about 4 months. Allow to thaw overnight in your refrigerator.

Notes, Tips and FAQs

• BROTH – Some have noted that 3 cups of broth makes this dish too “soupy”. We’ve found that letting it sit after cooking thickens it up perfectly. But if you would like a thicker, dish, you can reduce the amount of broth to 2 cups and it will still work just fine.
• GARNISH – Garnish with a little parsley or green onions for some color.
• CAN YOU USE A DIFFERENT BROTH? – If you don’t have have beef broth on hand. Or if you just have some chicken or vegetable broth you are looking to get rid off, you can certainly substitute. It will still taste great.
• CAN I MAKE IT MORE CREAMY? – Once the cooking is done, you can a little heavy cream if you’d like to make this dish a little more rich and creamy.
• DO I NEED TO DRAIN MY GREASE? – It really depends on the leanness of the ground beef and home much grease you have in the pot. If there is a lot in there, you will want to drain it.
• DO I HAVE TO USE ELBOW MACARONI? – Nope! You can use whatever smaller sized pasta you’d like.
• SCRAPE UP THOSE BROWN BITS – After you saute the ground beef, use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up all the brown bits. It adds delicious flavor and also helps to prevent that pesky burn notice!

We hope you enjoy this Instant Pot Hamburger Helper Recipe. We’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment section below.

LOOKING FOR MORE HEARTY INSTANT POT RECIPES? CHECK OUT:

• INSTANT POT BEEF STEW
• INSTANT POT BEEF STROGANOFF
• INSTANT POT CHILI
• INSTANT POT HUNGARIAN GOULASH