Instant Pot Taco Pie is super easy to make, especially if the taco meat and beans mixture is already made. Usually when I provision with ground meat, I use a skillet to cook a couple of pounds of ground meat for spaghetti or a casserole and make a couple of pounds of taco meat with onions and beans. I also usually prepare some hamburger patties for Ben to grill. Then, I freeze everything in serving size packets. We love taco salad and now, we really like this dish. So having ready-made taco meat cooked with onions and beans makes future preparation a breeze.
I like to cook the ground meat in a skillet rather than the instant pot so that I can drain off the extra grease, but if you would like to use the instant pot to cook the meat, see NOTE below for those instructions,
This recipe calls for a springform pan that fits inside the instant pot. You might can make a homemade pan using foil (I used to do this to make meatloaf, before I bought my springform pan). However, the sturdiness of the springform pan is probably best for this dish. If you want to try making your own foil pan see instructions in this recipe Miracle Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes. If you do use a foil pan, I would also make a simple foil sling to help remove it from the instant pot. See How to Make an Instant Pot Sling for more information.
If you don’t have an instant pot, you can make this dish using a deep-dish pie plate and cook it in the oven. You may only have room for 2 layers instead of 3 if you use a pie plate. After layering the ingredients, cover the pie plate with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 3-5 minutes.
Nevertheless, I prefer to use the Instant pot rather than the oven, because it takes less energy than my convection toaster oven and of course, heats up the cabin less.
Instant Pot Taco Pie
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
- 1 Taco Seasoning Packet or ¼ c of Taco Seasoning such as Lawry’s or McCormick
- 1 can of red beans, drained and rinse
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1/2-3/4 cup Salsa
- 4, 8-inch Flour Tortillas
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese or more if desired. (You can also use Velvetta during the layering process, but use shredded cheese on top of last tortilla)
Instructions
Prepare Meat and Bean Mixture In a Skillet
- Add ground meat and onions and cook to brown the meat. Once the meat is done, drain aextra grease from the meat.
- Add 1 packet of taco seasoning (¼ cup of taco seasoning) and beans
- Add ¾ cup of water, stir and let simmer for 5 minutes until most of the water has evaporated. Set aside
Prepare Taco Pie in a Springform Pan to lower into the insert of the Instant Pot
- First, add 1 ½ cups of water to instant pot insert and place trivet on top of the water.
- If desired, to enhance removing the springform pan from the instant pot, make a long sling using folded foil and place on top of the trivet. See How to Make an Instant Pot Sling for more information. It is super easy!
- Spray a 7″x3″ springform pan with cooking spray.
- Place 1 of the tortillas on the bottom of the pan.
- Spread 1/3 of meat and bean mixture over the tortilla.
- Spread a couple of tablespoons of salsa over the meat mixture.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded cheese over the salsa (or thinly sliced Velvetta).
- Place a second tortilla in the pan and repeat layers described above.
- Place a third tortilla and add remaining layer ingredients except reserve ½ cup of cheese for top of last tortilla.
- Top with the 4th tortilla and gently press down on entire stack. Then add ½ cup of shredded cheese (not Velvetta) to cover the last tortilla.
- Cover the pan with foil and place it on the trivet (and sling, if using) inside the instant pot insert.
- Place the lid on the pot and lock in place. Turn the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Set to pressure cook for 12 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle has ended, let the pot sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then turn the steam release knob to the Vent position to release the remainder of the steam/pressure.
- After the pin in the lid drops, open the lid. Use oven mitts to carefully remove the pan from the instant pot insert to a serving plate. If you’re using a sling, gather up the two ends of the sling and carefully lift out the pan to a serving plate. Be very careful as the pan and the water are hot. Be sure your plate will not crack because of the heat.
- Let the taco pie sit for about 5 minutes to set up and cool a bit.
- Run a butter knife around the edge of springform pan to loosen the pie from the sides. Carefully unlock the springform pan and lift the ring off.
- Cut the pie into serving sizes and garnish as desired with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, etc.
NOTE: To use instant pot to prepare the ground meat and bean mixture.
Use the Sauté setting on your instant pot, brown the meat and onion mixture. Halfway through browning the meat, add the taco seasoning and red beans. When meat is done, remove from the instant pot. Wash and dry the instant pot insert.
I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did! Ben said it was definitely a keeper in the meal planning rotation.
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