Healthy Instant Pot Hamburger Helper

Ditch the store-bought and try my Healthy Instant Pot Hamburger Helper! It has all of the traditional flavors of your favorite ground turkey pasta, but tastes way better and is made with only whole ingredients! 

Box dinners sure can be tempting. I mean they are easy to make, budget-friendly, and are typically family favorites. But have you seen what’s in the boxed stuff?! YUCK! 

I really like convenient meals but not ones that are super processed. So that’s what led me to make this easy ground turkey pasta recipe! 

This Instant Pot hamburger helper recipe has the flavors you remember from the boxed version, but as I mentioned, only whole ingredients here! It’s a great recipe to use for meal prepping too, while still being pure comfort food! 

If you have picky eaters in your house, you won’t have to worry about that with hamburger helper! For some reason, kids love meals like this and it’s easy on mom, which is always a win!  It’s literrally a family favorite that we also have in regular rotation.

Another cheeseburger macaroni recipe that we often rotate between is my vegetarian chili mac. It’s a great complete meal, reheats well, and is good year round! 

Check Out My Other Ground Turkey Recipes:

• Cranberry Turkey Burgers
• Oven-baked Keto Turkey Meatballs | Gluten-free, Whole30, & Paleo
• Ground Turkey Recipes for Crockpot You NEED To Make!
• Healthy Turkey Sweet Potato Chili Three Ways – Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, and Stovetop

Ingredients Needed

Olive oil

Ground turkey – you can also use lean ground beef or chicken if you choose

Onion 

Garlic –  swap for garlic powder if desired.

Salt and Pepper

Worcestershire sauce – you can also swap for Braggs Coconut Aminos

Tomato paste

Smoked paprika – if you don’t have smoked, just use regular

Chili Powder

Vegetable broth – grab the organic, low sodium kind. Chicken broth could be used as well.

Cheddar cheese – skip the pre-shredded cheese and shred your own. It’s extra melty and doesn’t have the wax coating like the packaged kind in the grocery store. 

Elbow macaroni – for more protein and a gluten-free option try Banza pasta!

How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper in the Instant Pot 

Start by pouring the oil into the inner pot and press the Saute function. 

Add the ground turkey and diced onions, after about 5 minutes, add the spices, Worcestershire, and tomato paste. 

Cook for just a little longer, then deglaze the inner pot with a little veggie broth. Scrap the bottom to remove any browned bits using a wooden spoon. This will help to prevent getting the burn notice once you start pressure cooking. 

Add the remaining broth and pasta. Be sure the macaroni noodles are totally submerged. 

Place the lid in the locking position, turn the valve to seal, and cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. 

Once the timer goes off, perform a quick release of the pressure then stir in the cheese, and dinner is served! 

Tips, Storing, and Meal Prepping

• Leftover instant pot hamburger helper will keep for about 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container, so perfect for leftovers and meal prepping! 
• The inner pot is dishwasher safe, so cleaning up is easy! 
• Instant Pot is just a brand, so feel free to make this recipe in any electric pressure cooker.
• Some like their hamburger helper creamy, in that case add a little sour cream or heavy cream before serving. 
• If you are using hamburger meat, you may want to drain the excess grease before adding the other ingredients. 
• Be sure to remove the brown bits from the bottom so you can avoid the burn message.
• When reheating leftovers, you may want to add a little bit of water just so it gets a little saucy again. 

Your whole family is going to love this easy Instant Pot hamburger helper! Right before you serve, don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram! 

PIN ME FOR LATER

More Easy Instant Pot Recipes:

• The Best Instant Pot Orange Chicken
• Sweet And Spicy Asian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner (Instant Pot Option Included)
• Instant Pot Pesto Chicken Pasta With Veggies | Dairy-free, Gluten-free
• Healthy Turkey Sweet Potato Chili Three Ways – Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, And Stovetop
• 30 Minute Instant Pot Bbq Pulled Chicken Recipe | Gluten-free, Low Carb

FAQs

Healthy Instant Pot Hamburger Helper

Homemade Instant Pot hamburger helper is a super easy meal that is great for busy weeknights, all made in a single pot, that the entire family will love.

4.80 from 34 votes

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 People

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 c. sweet yellow onion diced
• 1 Tbsp garlic minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 4 c. low sodium vegetable broth
• 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 16 oz elbow macaroni dry

Instructions

 

• Add olive oil to the instant pot and set to saute.
• Add ground turkey and onion. Cook and crumble until ground turkey is almost cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper to the pot. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.
• Pour in 1/4 c. of vegetable broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to release any pieces of beef that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot. This will prevent the burn indicator on the instant pot when pressure cooking.
• Add the rest of the broth and macaroni. Stir and make sure the macaroni is submerged into the broth.
• Lock the lid, seal the valve and set the pressure cooking on HIGH and time to 5 minutes.
• When the instant pot is done cooking, quick release the steam valve. Stir in the cheese until completely melted and combined.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!