Cheeseburger Deluxe Pasta

Picture your favorite diner or coffee shop. Now, picture a cheeseburger deluxe, loaded with all the fixin’s, being placed right in front of you. And finally, picture that burger being deconstructed into a pasta. What you’re about to experience is pure magic; you won’t even be upset you missed out on the classic diner accompaniment of a milkshake (which I’ve yet to learn how to pressure cook).

Cuisine

American

Course

Dinner, Main Course

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

30-60 min

Cooking Technique

Pressure Cook, Sauté

Keywords

30-60 min, 4-6 servings, american, barbecue sauce, beef broth, black pepper, can crushed tomatoes, can tomato sauce, contributed, cook 30 min, diced dill pickles, dinner, easy, extra-virgin olive oil, fried onions, garlic, ground beef, hot sauce, instant pot pasta, italian seasoning, large elbow macaroni, large red onion, liquid smoke, main course, prep 10 min, pressure cook, sauté, seasoned salt, shredded cheddar cheese, sweet relish, thousand island dressing, worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

30 min

Servings

4-6 servings

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 cups beef broth
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 - 1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 lb large elbow macaroni
1/2 cup thousand Island dressing
1/4 cup diced dill pickles
2 tbsp sweet relish
2 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 lb shredded Cheddar cheese
fried onions

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), Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Stir everything together well.
Add the pasta but do not stir. (Why? Well, there’s lots of meat in there. If you stir the pasta in, you run the risk of clogging the pot when it tries to come to pressure.) Just smooth the pasta out so it’s slightly submerged in the sauce.
Secure the lid and move the valve to the sealing position. Hit Cancel and then hit Manual or Pressure Cook for 6 minutes on High Pressure. Quick release when done.
Add the remaining red onion, the Thousand Island dressing, pickles (if using), relish (if using), barbecue sauce, mustard (if using), and Cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese is melded into the pasta. Serve topped with additional red onion, dill pickles, and fried onions, if desired.

Notes

Lighter comforts: Try a low-fat cheese instead of the Cheddar here.
JEFF’S TIP: If you only like your onions cooked and don’t mind missing out on the nice crunch of raw onion, add all the diced onion in Step 1 while sautéing.

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