Instant Pot Hamburger Casserole

This one pot meal is a bit of cheesy goodness! Use spicy ground sausage instead if you want to add a bit of heat to our ground beef and rice meal. Load up the cheddar cheese for out of this world Instant Pot recipes flavor.

My girls agree this is on the top of their list for Instant Pot kids recipes for sure. We pack it with a blend of Mexican cheeses so it’s extra ooey gooey. But that’s not all. Top it with some grated cheddar cheese and chives to take this ground beef and rice casserole over the top!

You can make this in any brand machine you have at home. Ninja Foodi recipe like this would use the lid that is not attached with the pressure cook button. But there is an added plus to using this pot too though because you can air crisp an additional layer of cheese on the top too!

Ingredient Notes

You are going to use 80/20 hamburger meat also known as ground beef or ground turkey is low fat but doesn’t offer as much flavor so it isn’t my preference. Olive oil will allow you to saute it to brown in the first step. It is similar to our Instant Pot Ground Beef and Rice but made really fast!

Can you use frozen ground beef?

You could but you would need to defrost it before starting this. You can use this same machine to do so though. You would just follow our instructions on how to cook frozen ground beef in Instant Pot and then continue on with the steps below.

Can you use ground sausage?

Yes, another way we have made it (which I like more than any other) is to mix ground sausage and ground beef together. Use 1/2 pound of a spicy roll of breakfast sausage + hamburger of your choice. This will create a WHOP of flavor and a bit of heat we all love.

Use the same grains as you would to make plain Instant Pot White rice uncooked, long grain white rice, not Minute rice as that would get too mushy with this cook time. I haven’t tried this with brown rice as that takes twice as long to get fluffy and feel like the other ingredients don’t need as long.

To make this creamy you will want a can of Cream of chicken soup or mushroom variety works, 10 oz. You can make our homemade cream of mushroom soup if you’d prefer ahead of time and use that for more of a from scratch version.

Milk will make it creamier too, 2% or whole is best. As for a dairy free alternative I would opt for plain cashew milk. As for the necessary liquid needed to cook everything together I prefer chicken broth, store bought, or beef broth if you’re using mushroom soup.

Cheese is needed too, shredded. Mexican blend is our favorite, or use a mix of sharp cheddar and Jack. We like a lot, folded into the meal when done to melt and served on top of each bowl too.

Can you add vegetables?

Yes, I like to add a whole can of corn drained, like sweet kernel corn. This is optional but does give it more texture so it isn’t as mushy (and any opportunity to add vegetables into a meal I will do it). You can also add a can of diced chiles which is a great add in and not spicy if you choose the mild variety.

How Long to Cook Hamburger Casserole in Instant Pot

You will need this to cook for 8 minutes on high pressure to get the rice to become tender and all flavors to meld together. It will take about 10 minutes to reach pressure so you need to take that into account when determining overall cook time but still is a really quick one pot meal.

Does rice need to be cooked before making a casserole?

Not in this case!! You need to add it uncooked here. There is enough liquid to cook it to tender with the other ingredients as long as it is submerged and not stirred. If you bake this in the oven you would have to cook it first most of the time or it will come out tough.

Tips for Success

When you are cooking meat and grains like this together it is tricky. Once you understand how to avoid the burn notice though you can avoid that and make all sorts of combinations. The way you do this is to leave the meat on the bottom once browned. Whisk together all your liquid ingredients and pour that in. Then pour in your grains (or noodles) and gently submerge into that but do NOT stir or it will hit the bottom of the pot and make the pot think it is burning.

Other easy Instant Pot casseroles you’ll love

All of my Instant Pot casseroles recipes require uncooked white rice which is handy. No prep work needed when making things like our instant pot stuffed pepper casserole either.  I will say this is a bit like our instant pot Mexican casserole, but with fewer ingredients. Want to make this with noodles instead of white rice? Follow our Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni recipe or make our Instant Pot taco casserole some night.