Ingredients
- 1lb 93% lean ground beef
- 1 yellow oniondiced (one cup)
- 1jar (24oz per jar) pasta sauce
- 2teaspoons oregano
- 2teaspoons salt
- 2teaspoons garlic powder
- 2teaspoons onion powder
- 4cups dry uncooked rigatoni pasta (not needed until day of cooking)
- 2cups water (not needed until day of cooking)only needed for Instant Pot preparation
- 1cup shredded mozzarella cheese (not needed until day of cooking)
- 1cup part-skim ricotta cheese (not needed until day of cooking)
Materials
To Freeze and Cook Later
- Label your freezer bag with the name of the recipe, cooking instructions, and “use-by” date. (Three months from when you prepped the meal.)
- Add all ingredients except for pasta, water, mozzarella, and ricotta to your freezer bag.
- Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months.
To Cook in Crockpot
- Cook on “low” setting for 6-8 hours.
- Break apart beef and stir.
- Cook pasta separately on stovetop according to directions on box.
- Add pasta to crockpot and stir.
- Add ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese and stir until cheese is melted.
To Cook in Instant Pot
- Add contents of freezer bag to Instant Pot.
- Sauté 5 minutes. Flip over.
- Pressure cook 30 minutes. Natural release. Break up beef.
- Add the pasta and pour water on top. Do NOT mix. Gently press down any noodles that are not submerged in the water.
- Place the lid on your pot. Set the time to 4 minutes on high pressure with valve sealed.
- Quick release.
- Stir in the ricotta cheese and mozzarella.
- Serve immediately.
Hi Kelly!
What if I wanted to make this right away in the instant pot and not freeze it first, do you happen to have cooking instructions for that?
Thank you so much,
Jessie
Add everything to instant pot except the pasta, water, ricotta. Sauté. Flip meat over. Pressure cook 30 min. Natural release, open and break apart meat. Add pasta, water (make sure pasta is submerged). Pressure cook 4 minutes, quick release. Add cheese. Done.
I just made this fresh in the instant pot tonight. It was really good, toddlers approved! I didn’t change and of the ingredients just the way I cooked it. I turned the instant pot to saute and browned the ground beef with the onions. Once the beef was browned I stirred in the seasonings and sauteed for 1 minute. I then added the jar of pasta sauce, the water and the noodles, make sure not to stir just press down on the noodles to try and cover them with the liquid. I then sent the IP to manual 5 minutes. I then did a quick release, added the cheese and voila!
Is the beef supposed to be cooked before freezing or does the crock pot cook it?
The beef will cook in the crock pot
Thank you!
WHEN do you put the rest of the ingredients……At the beginning of the 6-8 hours you start you crockpot or more around the end of the 6-8 hours !! Not clear for me…
Thank you 👍
If I cook the bag and want to store it should I keep the pasta separate?