Your Family Will Love This Pressure Cooker Beef & Bowtie Pasta
Inside: This family-friendly pressure cooker pasta has a rich, meaty sauce and a whopping 18 grams of protein per serving. Takes only minutes to cook!
This post has been sponsored by Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. on behalf of the Beef Checkoff.
“Mom, that pasta was really good.”
My sixth grader told me this after I’d delivered a plate to him at the computer while he was doing online schoolwork.
(Okay, fine. He was playing a weekly Minecraft game online with friends, but that counts as social enrichment these days, right?)
A month’s worth of dinners, figured out for you.
Grab my 4-week meal plans with recipes, shopping lists, and picky eater tips for every meal.
The point is, when he brought his empty plate to the kitchen along with that compliment, I knew this recipe was a keeper.
Ingredients Needed for Beef Bow Tie Pasta
This fast, one-pot meal is rich and satisfying, with a thick, meaty sauce. And it uses a lot of basic pantry staples and some time-saving shortcuts.
It makes the perfect amount for our family of four (which includes one always-hungry teen). But feel free to double it if you’ve got a bigger crowd or want leftovers.
Is beef good for kids?
Yes, beef is a high-quality source of protein, which means it has all the essential amino acids (building blocks of protein) that we need to get from food. It also has nutrients like iron and zinc that are important during growth and development.
One serving of this pasta has a whopping 18 grams of protein (here’s how much protein kids need in a day) and is an excellent source of iron.
How to Choose Ground Beef
- Choose Ground Beef that’s bright red in color and firm to the touch (avoid any packages that have tears or excessive liquid in them).
- Buy packages on or before the sell-by date.
- Use or freeze it within two days of buying it (Ground Beef is more perishable than steaks or roasts).
How to Safely Thaw Frozen Ground Beef
It’s best to thaw ground beef in the refrigerator. But if you’re pressed for time, take this advice from the USDA:
- Thaw in the microwave: If you’re defrosting meat in the microwave, cook it immediately, since some parts of the meat will start cooking in the microwave.
- Thaw in water: Place the meat in an airtight plastic bag and submerge in cold water, changing the water every half hour. Cook immediately.
Note: The USDA does not recommend refreezing meat that’s been thawed using these methods! If you want to re-freeze it, cook it first.
Beef Bow Tie Pasta Recipe Notes
- If you can’t find farfalle (bowties), swap in a similar size and shape such as fusilli or penne.
- If you can’t find 93% lean Ground Beef, simply drain off some of the excess fat after browning.
- Use whatever jarred sauce your family likes best.
- If you don’t have heavy cream or don’t want to use it, you can skip it. It gives an extra creaminess but is not essential to the recipe.
- Many pressure cooker pasta recipes call for a five-minute cook time. I found that four minutes resulted in a better “al dente” (soft but still firm) texture.
- To avoid mushy pasta, be sure to do a quick pressure release and don’t let the pasta cook any longer than directed.
More Recipes Using Ground Beef
- Slow Cooker Taco Meat
- Freezer-Friendly Beef Burritos
- Beef Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce
- Slow Cooker Beef Lasagna
How to Make Beef & Bow Tie Pasta: Recipe Card
Pressure Cooker Beef & Bowtie Pasta
This easy beef & bow tie pasta is cooked in a pressure cooker with simple pantry-staple ingredients, making a quick and easy weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ small onion, diced
- 1 pound 93% lean Ground Beef
- ½ cup beef broth or stock
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cups uncooked farfalle (bowtie) pasta (about 8 ounces)
- 1 ½ cups jarred pasta sauce
- 1 cup water
- 2 handfuls fresh spinach, chopped
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Set pressure cooker on Saute and heat olive oil. Add beef and onion, stirring until beef is browned and onion is soft and translucent. Remove half of the beef and onion mixture (see recipe note).
- Add beef broth, tomato paste, salt and other seasonings and stir well to combine.
- Turn off pressure cooker. Add pasta.
- Cover with sauce and water. Do not stir--instead, gently push down pasta with a spoon so all the noodles are covered with liquid.
- Cook on manual for 4 minutes. When time it up, do a quick release. When valve drops, carefully open pressure cooker lid, turn off, and stir in chopped spinach and heavy cream.
- Portion into bowls, topping with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
Store the extra cooked beef in your fridge for another recipe the next night, such as beef and bean burritos, or freeze it and make this dish another night. Another option: Double this recipe to use the entire pound.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 portionAmount Per Serving: Calories: 344Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3.5gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 649mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 4gSugar: 6.5gProtein: 18g
