Taco pasta in the Instant Pot is a great way to enjoy the flavors of tacos, but with a twist! Made with homemade seasoning and it is very easy to make.
1cupMexican 4 cheese blendplus more if desired for topping
½cupsour creamplus more if desired for topping
Homemade seasoning (or you can use a packet of taco seasoning from store)
½tspblack pepper
2tbspchili powder
½tbspcumin
½tspsaltsee notes
1tspgarlic powder
2tbspminced dried onion
½tsponion powder
1tsppaprika
¼tspcayenne or red pepper flakes
Instructions
Mix the seasoning into a small bowl along with the dried peppers if using them.
Press the saute button on the Instant Pot and heat up until it displays hot.Add in the olive oil and ground beef. Saute until the beef is browned. We don't remove the grease here, but we use lean beef.
If you need to deglaze the pan (see notes), do it with a little bit of the broth now. Hit cancel and add the rest of the broth along with the seasoning/pepper mix. Stir to mix well.
Stir in the pasta and pour the whole can of tomatoes on top.
Place the lid on and set the vent to sealing. Hit the pressure/manual button and set the time. To figure out the time, take the highest number in the cook time of your pasta (if it says boil 8-10 minutes use the 10) and divide in half. That is your pressure cook time. For most pasta, 5 minutes works but go by half of the boil time.
Once it beeps that it is done, carefully release pressure. I like to stay close and slowly release it by toggling the valve so it doesn't get too messy. People have told me they put a towel over the vent, but I prefer to slowly release the pressure.
Stir in the beans (optional.) Now add in the sour cream and cheese, stirring just to combine.It is now ready to serve, enjoy!
Notes
Nutritional values and serving sizes are estimated. For salt, adjust depending on the other ingredients. We use no salt added tomatoes, low sodium black beans and unsalted beef broth so we actually use a teaspoon with a lower sodium diet. I put 1/2 teaspoon in recipe for if you use regular beans, regular tomatoes and salted broth. Black beans add a nice flavor to it, but they are completely optional.Dried peppers add a nice flavor but fresh bell peppers are not quite the same in this dish. If you don't use the dried peppers, fresh peppers will give it a more powerful pepper flavor.Deglazing - If the pan has a little bit of browning on it after browning the meat, pour a little bit of broth into the pot. As it is sizzling, gently scrape a wooded spoon along the bottom of the pot. This will get the gunk off the bottom of the pot. You may get a burn warning on your meals (not just this one) if you do not deglaze the pot when it has gunk on the bottom.