Instant Pot Taco Pasta (Gluten Free)
This Instant Pot Taco Pasta is a quick and delicious dinner the entire family will love! Gluten free, dairy free, and uses minimal ingredients.
Nothing beats an easy, stress-free meal made in the Instant Pot on a busy weeknight! This Instant Pot Taco Pasta is kid friendly (just cut back on the chili powder, if desired), and I bet it will be a crowd pleaser with even the pickiest of eaters! Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot can be very hit or miss. I’ve included a special formula below, which yields the perfect al dente pasta, every time. This meal only requires one pot, so you don’t have multiple dishes to do at the end of the night.
What You Need To Make This Instant Pot Taco Pasta
I prefer to make this using Jovial Foods Gluten Free Fusilli. This can be found at many stores (here is a store locator!), or you can get it on Thrive Market! Click here to get 20% off your first Thrive order, plus a free gift! You can use any pasta, just make sure to use the equation for cooking times listed below.
In addition, you’ll also need:
Olive oil or avocado oil
Ground beef (you can also sub ground turkey or ground chicken)
Onion
Can of diced green chiles
Tomato paste
Can of diced tomatoes
Chicken Broth
Kite Hill Almond Milk Cream Cheese (OR you can use regular shredded cheese, or Siete Foods cashew queso).
Spices: chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, oregano
That’s it!
This is the Instant Pot that I have. The 6 qt duo seems to yield enough for my family of 5 without any issues!
How To Make This In The Instant Pot
First, turn the Instant Pot to sauté and heat the olive oil. Add in the ground beef and diced onion, and stir for 4-5 minutes until the meat is mostly browned. Hit “keep warm/cancel”.
Add in the diced green chiles, tomato paste, diced tomatoes with juices, and the spices. Stir well.
Add in the pasta and the broth. Stir again.
Lock the lid and turn the vent to “sealing”. Cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes. Quick release the steam. Stir in the Kite Hill cream cheese (or shredded cheese or cashew queso), Serve topped with toppings of choice. Enjoy!
How To Make Pasta In The Instant Pot
Typically the rule of thumb for cooking pasta in the instant pot is to look at the cook time on the package, and divide it by 2. Then subtract 2. For example, the cook time for fusilli is normally 12 minutes. Divided by 2 = 6 – 2 = 4 minutes. You can use this equation for any pasta! I have not tested this with any other type of paleo pasta (only brown rice).
12 / 2 = 6 – 2 = 4 minutes
If the cooking time on the package says 10 minutes, then it would be 10/2 = 5 – 2 = 3 minutes.
It seems confusing, but I promise it works!
Looking for some other delicious pasta recipes to make in the IP? Check these out!
Dairy Free Cajun Pasta (Chili’s knockoff)
If you try this and love it, the best way to say thank you is to leave a 5-star rating and comment below. Don’t forget to share what you make and tag me on Instagram! Happy Cooking!
*This post contains affiliate links. This means if you use one of my links to make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Instant Pot Taco Pasta (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ onion, diced
- 4.5 oz can diced green chiles
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp chili powder, reduce to 1/2 tsp for less heat!
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 box Jovial Foods Gluten Free Fusilli pasta, *any pasta will work - see directions below*
- 2 ¼ cups chicken broth
- 4 oz Kite Hill Cream Cheese, OR 1/2 cup shredded cheese, OR 1/2 cup cashew queso
Toppings
- Cilantro
- Diced tomato
- Avocado
Equipment
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to Saute and heat the olive oil. Add in the ground beef and diced onion and stir for 4-5 minutes until the meat is mostly browned. Hit "keep warm/cancel".
- Add in the diced green chiles, tomato paste, diced tomatoes with juices, and the spices. Stir well.
- Add in the pasta and the broth. Stir again.
- Lock the lid and turn the vent to "sealing". Cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes. Quick release the steam.
- Stir in the Kite Hill cream cheese (or shredded cheese or cashew queso). Serve topped with toppings of choice. Enjoy!
19 Comments on “Instant Pot Taco Pasta (Gluten Free)”
Just made this recipe tonight. My kids loved it. Very easy and delicious! Thank you!
Thanks Meghan! So glad you enjoyed it!
Making this again tonight. So fast and easy and it’s always a hit with our family!
Thanks Melissa!
I don’t know how much “one box” of pasta is. GF pasta is often 8 ounces, regular pasta is usually 16-what’s the intention with this recipe?
Thanks!
Making this for a second week in a row. So good!
Yumm!! I’m redoing my kitchen and don’t have a stove or oven. This was so easy to make with almost no prep. My daughter was turning her nose up while I was making it, but went back for seconds. The directions for cooking pasta in an instant pot were spot on! I used a different shape pasta and followed the directions for cooking times and it turned out great! Will be trying the beef stroganoff next.
This recipe turned out perfectly! I used regular pasta and beyond brand ground meat substitute. I did not add the cream cheese but did add mozzarella and parmesan which melted right on top. It tasted great and was so simple and much quicker than I thought!
Is there a way to make this on the stove top instead?
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. My husband is the pickiest eater and he went back for seconds. Definitely adding this to our dinner rotation 🙂
This was delicious and my kids cleaned their plates! I used Barilla chickpea rotini and did 3 mins – worked perfectly! Thank you for so many wonderful recipes like this that my family enjoys 🙂
So glad to hear it worked with chickpea rotini! Thank you, Rainey!
Delicious! I decided to not use the instant pot this time and just mix in cooked pasta at the end. Big hit with the kids.
This pasta dish is so so good! So full of flavor and quick and easy. Definitely will be adding this into my regular rotation!
I made this for the first time tonight and the whole family loved it! It will definitely be made again in my house!
Would it be possible to share the stove top version of this recipe please? I had an IP but never used and got rid of. Would love to make this but cannot do IP recipe. Thanks!
This recipe tastes amazing! So good and comes together really quickly. It was perfect for a night with lots of practices for kids!
Not only is this recipe super simple, it’s beyond delicious!! My two little kids even loved it – thanks Mary ❤️
Hi—loved this and I have a suggestion! I bought the jovial pasta at Costco so i knew it didn’t require a whole box, but I googled box of jovial pasta and the first one I saw was 8oz and now that I’ve made it I think it needs 12, maybe? So maybe change the “box of pasta” to how many oz. just a suggestion! It was great! Thank you!