Instant Pot Chili Mac is a great dinner for busy weeknights, one pot and one minute cook time! Macaroni noodles are cooked with ground beef, tomatoes, and spices and finish with melty shredded cheddar cheese.
Start with the Instant Pot on sauté mode. Add the oil then crumble/brown the beef until it is mostly cooked through, about 5 minutes.
If there is a lot of excess grease drain some before moving on.
Add the bell pepper and onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Then turn off sauté mode.
Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, all spice, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with juices, and the water. Give everything a good stir!
Now add the macaroni to the pot and VERY lightly** stir so that the macaroni is in the liquid, but not all at the bottom of the pot. **You just want to incorporate the pasta into the liquid at the top of the pot, if it is all at the bottom you risk the burn warning and the pasta sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Lock the lid in place and turn the pressure valve to "sealing". Set the Instant Pot to cook on manual mode, high pressure for 1 minute.
Do a 5 minute natural release at the end of the cooking time. Then finish with a quick release of remaining pressure.
Add the shredded cheese and stir it into the Chili Mac so that it melts.
Serve while it is hot/warm!
Serving
Serve your chili mac in bowls topped with extra cheese.Other topping options: sour cream, green onions, or jalapenos.
Goes great with a side of garlic bread and a green salad.
Storing
Keep leftovers in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.
You may need to add a little water or broth when reheating. It will thicken in the fridge.
Notes
Beans: This Chili Mac recipe does not use beans. However if you want to add beans make sure you drain and rinse them and then add them with the garlic/spices/tomatoes. Black beans, pinto beans or kidney beans would work great. Variation: Can also use ground turkey. Make sure you use 93/7 ground turkey!