Cheeseburger Macaroni ~ One-Pot Dinner

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I like to raise the bar for myself when creating recipes, and boy did I ever with this One-Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni! It literally tastes like a cheeseburger with pasta!

Everyone in the family is going to love the flavors in this dish if they love a good cheeseburger!

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I didn't use the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker in this recipe, although it certainly can be made that way. I will give my suggestions for making it in an electric pressure cooker a little later in the article.

I found that it was just as fast and easy to use a large skillet on the stove, and I recently purchased a cool induction cooktop for videos and wanted to try it out!

Frequently Asked Questions

What Type of Pasta Works Best for Cheeseburger Macaroni?

You can use any kind of pasta you like and it will be just fine. The two main things to keep in mind are shape and how much liquid they will absorb during the cooking process.

Let's say I wanted to make this recipe with spaghetti noodles. I might start off with a little more liquid than elbow macaroni because each strand of the spaghetti is going to require liquid to cook.

The timing may also be less with the spaghetti noodles. When using spaghetti or any other long, thin pasta, I would criss cross the noodles for the best outcome. You can see how I do that in this video.

If you want to make a delicious spaghetti in your pressure cooker, here is the written recipe: Ninja Foodi Spaghetti

The type of pasta you choose is 100% up to you, so use what you love and have on hand and the only major difference will be cook time. The elbows took about 14 minutes to cook, penne may take 16-18.

Can I make Cheese Burger Macaroni in the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot?

Yes, absolutely! In fact, it might seem strange that I didn't make this recipe in the Ninja Foodi. I thought about it, but it was so easy on the stove and this is one of those times where I don't think you will save any time by pressure cooking.

It's a super fast recipe stove-top. I totally understand that there is a huge draw to throwing things in the pot and hitting a button on the IP or Ninja Foodi, so if you want to do do that, here are my suggestions.

Brown the ground beef and add the onions/seasonings just like I do in the recipe. Deglaze the pot with TWO cups of beef broth. You want to reduce the liquid because there will be very limited evaporation when pressure cooking.

Add in the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the tomato paste, and stir. Put the tomato paste on top and don't stir. I would start with 2 Tbsp tomato paste and increase as needed at the end so the dish is thickened the way you want it.

Put the lid on the Ninja Foodi and set the pressure to high for 3 minutes. When the time is up, allow the pot to NR for 2-3 minutes and then release the remaining pressure.

Stir it all together and add the cheese. If it needs to be thicker, you can add a bit more tomato paste, more cheese, or let it simmer to burn off the liquid.

How to make Cheeseburger Macaroni in a skillet

The prep in this recipe is super easy. Measure out your spices and dice your onion into about ¼" dice. That's it! Don't you love recipes like this!  

Heat your skillet over medium high heat and add the ground beef. Break it up into smallish pieces and cook it until it's about 25% done. Add in the seasonings, the onions, and the Worcheshire Sauce. Cook until the beef is about 75% done.

Make sure you break up the pieces of ground beef into the sizes that you want in your dish. I like mine to be a little chunky.

Add in the can of tomatoes. I like to use fire roasted because the flavor is so good (not spicy), but you can use any style diced tomato you like.

Add in the sugar. I use Demerara sugar in this recipe because I love the flavor of it, but you can use a little brown sugar or white sugar. I would start off with half of the amount and you can always add more later.

Next add in the pasta and 3 cups of beef broth. Reserve an additional cup of beef broth in case you need it.

Make sure the pasta is under the liquid and put the lid on the pot.

Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. I like to cook the rest of the way with the lid off so some of the liquid will evaporate as the pasta cooks the rest of the way.

Taste the pasta and when it is done to your liking, turn the heat down.

When the pasta is done to your liking, it's time to add the finishing touches!

The addition of two types of vinegar might seem a little strange, but trust me on this one. The apple cider vinegar brings the slight vinegar taste (think ketchup, not puckering vinegar) and the balsamic brings a balance and a touch of sweet. The two together are PERFECT in this recipe.

Once you stir in the vinegars and the tomato paste (for thickening). Reduce the heat to low. You don't want to add your shredded cheese while the mixture is boiling or the cheese tends to clump all in one place.

Stir in the cheese. I leave about ¼ cup out and stir in just before serving, but that is totally optional.

Serve & Enjoy your Cheeseburger Macaroni!

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