There is perhaps nothing quite as easy to whip up on a busy weeknight as Hamburger Helper. It’s quick and inexpensive to make, which means it makes an appearance in kitchens around North America perhaps more frequently then we’d like to admit! But you can clean up the ingredients and make it far tastier by creating it from scratch in your Instant Pot!
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You begin the recipe with the Saute function to cook up the onions, garlic, and ground beef. Brown the ground beef for roughly 5 minutes or until just barely cooked before draining and discarding any excess fat. If you can, opt for extra lean ground beef to reduce the fat in this recipe or sub in ground turkey for a leaner dinner.
After cooking the meat, add some of the broth and use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to release any stuck on food. This helps avoid the Burn notice when you pressure cook the meal later on! Add the remaining broth, cream of mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper and give the mixture a gentle stir. Lightly pour the egg noodles into the pot and carefully move them around (without stirring) to make sure the majority of them are at least partially submerged in the liquid. If you stir, the pasta is more likely to fall to the bottom of the pot and become stuck during pressure cooking, which will likely lead to the Burn notice, turning this quick weeknight meal into more of a hassle.
Lid the pot, set the valve to sealing, and cook the meal on Pressure Cook or Manual (depending in whether you have an older or newer model) HIGH for 6 minutes. Yup – just 6 minutes and dinner is ready! Once the cook time has elapsed, quick release the pressure.
The mixture may seem a little soupy when you open the pot, but add the grated cheese and sour cream and stir until well combined. At this point, it should have thickened slightly and closely resemble Hamburger Helper – a pasta dish with lots of sauce. If the recipe is still too soupy for your liking, turn on Saute and in a separate bowl whisk together 1 cup of sauce from the pot and 1-2 tbsp of cornstarch or all-purpose flour. Add back into the pot and stir continuously until the sauce has thickened, approximately 3-5 minutes. Turn off Saute mode.
Voila! Your dinner is ready so you can eat quickly and get to the busyness of life! Serve hot topped with more cheese, parsley, or fresh black pepper. Leftovers can be cooled completely at room temperature and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Enjoy!
Our 6-quart Instant Pot Duo took 15 minutes to come to pressure, but the time will vary depending on what model and size you’re using.
