Picture your favorite late-night burger loaded with all your favorite fixin’s. And then picture it transformed into a pasta featuring jumbo-sized macaroni. Cheeseburger Deluxe Pasta has arrived. No hangover required.
I’m real proud of this new one-pot, cheesy and easy sensation. Burger lovers everywhere will flock to this recipe that puts a box of “Hamburger Assistant” (let’s call it that) to shame.
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Deluxe Pasta
Picture your favorite late-night burger loaded with all your favorite fixin's. And then picture it transformed into a pasta featuring jumbo-sized macaroni. Cheeseburger Deluxe Pasta has arrived. No hangover required.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large red onion, diced and divided (see Jeff’s Tip)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (the less lean, the better)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (not the same as pasta sauce)
- 1/2 - 1 tablespoon hot sauce (optional)
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound large elbow macaroni
- 1/2 cup thousand island dressing (I like Ken’s Steakhouse)
- 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s)
- 2 tablespoons sweet relish (optional)
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup diced dill pickles, plus more for topping (optional)
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard (optional)
- 1 pound shredded cheddar cheese
- Fried onions, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to the Instant Pot, hit Sauté and Adjust so it's on the More or High setting. After 3 minutes of the oil heating add half the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, until lightly softened.
- Add the ground beef and garlic and, using a mixing spoon or spatula, break up the meat until it begins to crumble and lightly brown - about 3 minutes. It shouldn't be fully cooked at this point (that's what the pressure cooking is for). Do not drain any juices released - we want them in there for more flavor!
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and deglaze (scrape) the bottom of the pot to free it of any browned bits.
- Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, hot sauce (if using), liquid smoke (if using), seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Stir everything together well.
- Add the pasta but do not stir. (Why? Well,there's lots of meat in there already. If you stir the pasta in, you run the 6risk of clogging the pot when it tries to come to pressure.) Just smooth it
out so it's lightly submerged in the sauce. - Secure the lid, move the valve to the sealing position, hit Keep Warm/Cancel and then hit Manual or Pressure Cook for 6 minutes on High Pressure. Quick release when done.
- Add the thousand island, relish (if using), pickles (if using), barbecue sauce, mustard (if using) remaining red onion, and cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese is melded into the pasta and serve topped with additional red onion, dill pickles and fried onions, if desired.
Jeffrey's Tips
If you want more of that burger sauce experience, add up to 1 cup of Thousand Island.
If you only like your onions cooked
and not raw for some crunch, add the whole onion in Step 1 while sautéing.
However crazy you like your burger is how crazy you can get with this recipe. Be it black olives, sliced jalapeño or even Pastrami, add whatever toppings you love in Step 6!
To give it a cheesy finish, add some more shredded cheese to the top after stirring in Step 7. Add the air fryer lid and hit Broil and for 3-5 minutes and then hit Start. Once the cheese is melted, serve!
ShaneHill
Looks delicious but definitely not a light recipe, as you mentioned. MyFitnessPal calculates this north of 800 calories per serving if divided by 6 servings as you indicate.
Jeffrey
Sounds about right, as with most pasta dishes of this caliber. Check out the Cheesecake Factory’s pastas and their calorie count. This recipe is light compared to those 😉
Linda
I got 1067 when I checked!
Jen
I was able to make this for dinner last night as I had everything (but pickles) in the house. Thought the sauce was a little runny when I opened the instant pot, but the sauce soon thickened up. The mixing of thousand island and bbq sauce sounds weird, but really works. So delicious, and even my picky kid loved it. Thanks for another winner recipe. Looking forward to your new cookbook!
Ted and Fred
Made this tonight per recipe except pickles (we didn’t have any). Delicious! It’s our cheat day so we thought we’d give it a try, and glad we did. Thank you!
Kat
I Can’t wait to make this tomorrow! Me and hubby have been thinking about this since we watched your video yesterday XD… What kind of hot sauce do you use? We were thinking about Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or Sriracha but idk? Also if it’s a smaller elbow macaroni will the time need to be different? I couldn’t find the bigger one… and thank you for posting all these delicious looking recipes!
Rob
Tried this recipe today–AWESOME! I’ll definitely make this one again. Keep up the good work with these recipes!
Lori Sari
I made this tonight and it was so delicious! The only thing I left out was the hot sauce. I did split it into 9 servings (I could have done 10 if we didn’t have seconds)! 😂 The only addition I think I might make next time is some crispy bacon! So yummy.
Jeffrey
Hi Jeffrey,
While I love all of your pasta recipes the only caveat for me is that they don’t make for very good leftovers as the pasta keeps cooking in the hot sauces until it’s way past al dente. When I do make the pasta dishes I must pare down the ingredients to suit the number of people that I will be serving at that time.
Jay Viescas
Love this recipe, being diabetic I kind of automatically make substitutions in my head for high sugar/carb ingredients and mentally decide what better sides to go with the main dish. I have your original cook book and can’t wait to get my hands on your lighter recipe cook book. Mazel and much love to you and Richard!
Judie Nestler
I owned an Instant Pot for two years and had the most unremarkable meals from it. I was so disappointed. I put it away in the basement and forgot about it. And then we found Jeffrey and his AMAZING IP recipes and our meals haven’t been the same!! We tell everyone about your website. Thank you for introducing us to Better Than Bouillon, Boursin and Sweet Baby Rays. It has been, and IS, a most enjoyable adventure! Thank you! 👍🏼
Mary
Made this today and it was great! So easy and quick, which is what I need on a week night. This makes quite a lot, so we’ll have this for lunch tomorrow too! Thanks for the recipe, Jeffrey!
Mary
PS: I love your cookbooks! Thanks much for your hard work!
Aimee McBeth
I made this for dinner tonight. For my toppers I added fried onions, ranch secret sauce and old El Paso queso cheese. It was so good
Suzanne
Made this tonight and was so excited! I love deconstructed recipes, and this one was delicious.
Jen
Made this recipe and oh my goodness was it the absolute best dish ever!!! Left overs the next day we’re just as savory.
Micah
Wow! This is so good! Jeffery, I use your IP recipes the most because you’re the most consistent. I haven’t had to adjust anything yet. You can tell you really take pride in what you do! Such an amazing flavor and the versatility of toppings and the option to add or not is great! Thanks again for a delicious, easy, hearty, meal.
John
Made this tonight, turned out great. Thank you for the recipe, will make this again.