Skip to Content

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner (with Instant Pot Instructions)

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner is a perfect busy day meal. A balanced meal made all in one skillet (even on a campfire) or your instant pot for easy clean up. Dinner is served in under an hour. 

This recipe is an OLD family favorite. It has a bit of campfire cooking going on in it.

This easy skillet dinner you actually could make while camping!. It puts me in mind of wagon trains and old cook stoves.

It is very filling and versatile.

I have made Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner countless times over the last three decades.

Every time it’s easy, delicious, crowd pleasing and kid approved! This quick recipe needs nothing else for a complete dinner; it’s all in the skillet!.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner
Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner made in my instant pot

Put the leftovers in the fridge for a great re-heated lunch. Clean up is fast and then you can spend the evening enjoying the family.

Just a note: This is a reposted recipe. It’s an old favorite I have had on the blog for years. It needed a redo and so here you go. Complete with instructions for the original skillet version and Instant Pot instructions too! Enjoy!

Want this recipe even easier? Make it in your Instant Pot! I include instructions for the instant pot below.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner Made In My Instant Pot
Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner made in my instant pot

Lately, Dave and I have not been able to eat as fast as I am cooking. There are only the two of us to feed now. All of our kids are launched into adult life on their own. Our house is much quieter recently.

Now I have time to putter about in the kitchen and make homemade Irish Oat bread, and other delicious tidbits. We are getting used to the empty nest and eating quite well.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner is perfect for a lazy or busy day. For just Dave and I this is at least two or three nights of good eating. The leftovers are terrific!

Recipe Notes For Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner:

This is a throw it in the skillet and turn it on low for a half hour, meal. I recommend a deep large skillet with a lid. The non stick and dishwasher safe features would make this recipe even easier!

I’ve called it an hour meal due to the veggie chopping time.  I’m using fresh onions, garlic and peppers from our garden tonight. I did not include veggies in the recipe.

It stands alone quite well in you don’t mind making a salad on the side like KALE APPLE SALAD WITH HONEY DRESSING.  If you make it without any extras it’s ready in about 45 minutes.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner will hold over well and make great leftovers! My husband ate this meal for three days straight and never complained! He’s used to eating leftover but this is one of his favorite leftover meals. The noodles just get more flavorful as they soak up the sauce.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner
The finished noodles should be slightly saucy, never dry, but not dripping. Here it is in a skillet.

The non negotiable part of this recipe is the beef, tomatoes (canned, diced or stewed), tomato sauce, ketchup and kidney beans, undrained. Oh, and the Worcestershire Sauce! There is no replacing the unique flavor it adds.

And of course, you need some noodles. Elbow, spirals and other types of noodles will work. They will soak up the sauce just fine. But for the pretty look I love the veggie bow ties. They add so much color pop and the ruffled bows are cute! they also are very easy to eat and taste scrumptious all cooked in that flavorful sauce.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner
I’m using veggie bow tie noodles in this skillet version. I love these cute pops of color and they are easy to eat and soak up the sauce perfectly!

Making this recipe in a skillet means you need to pay attention:

If you make this recipe in a skillet check it sometimes to make sure the noodles don’t burn to the skillet. Because any noodle will work you have to figure out the exact amount of water you need for this recipe on the fly.

I have the recipe set for the bow tie noodles I’m using. The recipe is dependable but you should stir it once in awhile just to be sure. Skillet Noodles can be tricky.

If you go your own way on the noodles, the proportions will need to be adjusted for the sauce. All noodles are different. Also if you’re using canned or frozen veggies, you may need a few more noodles,(OR drain the cans).

So I encourage you to use this recipe as it is written the first time. Then branch out on your own and use whatever you like. But if you start changing those proportions or use different noodles or cans….beware the results.

I’ve added these process pictures for just this reason. So you can see how much sauce to how many noodles.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner
Once the sauces are in, pour the noodles on top and stir them in. make sure you have enough sauce to cook the noodles, add water if necessary!

This is an easy crowd pleasing filling meal your family will love. I have made it forever and that is why I’m telling you to check it occasionally. Otherwise this is a trouble free recipe, made all in one skillet from browning the meat to serving it up. Enjoy!

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS:

FYI: This is a totally separate (although similar) recipe from my Instant Pot Meaty Italian Pasta Dinner. They have completely different flavor profiles. If you want an all in a minute Italian type meal hop on over and check out the other guy. This one is pure cowboy. Enjoy!

Making this recipe in an instant pot is even simpler than making it in a skillet! Brown the hamburger, throw all the other ingredients into the instant pot and pressure cook five minutes. Done!

I made this recipe in my Instant Pot and it turned out fantastic with hardly any work.

I love my instant pot and use it for all sorts of things. If you have one you know how cool these amazing machines are. If you haven’t heard of them click the affiliate link to learn all about my new best kitchen friend! Go here for more instant pot recipes!

Here are the instructions.

Noodles
I used these Egg Noodles for the instant pot version of Beef Noodle Dinner. found them at Costco.

NOTES on the Noodles:

I used egg noodles for the instant pot. Durum Semolina  noodles are pretty dense. They came out just right. If you are using really thin or delicate noodles they may overcook. Experiment with your favorites.

  • Set the instant pot on saute, cover it with a vented lid and brown the hamburger until thoroughly cooked.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and seal the lid
  • Set the instant pot to manual high setting for five minutes

When the pot beeps open the lid quick release and check the noodles. They should be perfect but if not cover the pot with the VENTED lid and set the pot to saute until you like the noodle doneness.

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner Made In My Instant Pot
Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner made in my instant pot. So yummy!
Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner Made In My Instant Pot
Yield: 8 1 1/2 cups servings

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner (with Instant Pot Instructions)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner is a perfect busy day meal. A balanced meal made all in one skillet (even on a campfire) or your instant pot for easy clean up. Dinner is served in under an hour!  This recipe is an OLD family favorite. It has a bit of campfire cooking going on in it. This easy skillet dinner you actually could make while camping! It puts me in mind of wagon trains and old cook stoves. Very filling and versatile!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. hamburger
  • 1 medium onion-diced
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 pepper diced-any kind
  • 8 oz. bow tie noodles
  • 1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 14 oz. can diced or stewed tomatoes
  • 1 14 oz. can red kidney beans
  • 1 Cup Ketchup
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce,
  • 2 1/2 Cup Water

Instructions

Skillet Instructions:

  1. Brown hamburger in a large skillet, Mincing the hamburger with the spatula as it cooks (don't wait until it's cooked or it will get hard).
  2. Add in the onions and garlic, peppers and cook until the onion is translucent.
  3. Add in the tomatoes and tomato sauce.
  4. Pour water and worchershire sauce into the skillet.
  5. Add the kidney beans and ketchup and mix well. This should be a saucy consistency.
  6. Add the noodles, stir until the noodles are immersed in the sauce.
  7. Cover and cook on low until the noodles are cooked; about a half hour.
  8. Occasionally, stir the skillet to make sure there is enough sauce to cook the noodles and not burn. Add water as needed.

Instant Pot Instructions:

  1. Set the instant pot on saute and brown the hamburger, onion, garlic and pepper until browned.
  2. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce and kidney beans.
  3. Pour in the worchestershire sauce.
  4. Add the ketchup and stir.
  5. Add the noodles.
  6. Pour the water over the noodles. Do not stir much keep the noodles barely covered. Do not stir them down to the bottom of the pot or they may burn.
  7. Set the instant pot to manual high setting for five minutes
  8. When the pot beeps open the lid quick release and check the noodles. The noodles should be perfect but if not cover the pot with a VENTED lid and set the pot to saute' until you like the noodle doneness.

Notes

Noodles Note: Noodle recipes can be tricky in an instant pot. I have had great luck with this recipe. But the noodles you choose will make a difference to how long to cook it.

You can choose to quick release this meal and see if your noodles are cooked (they should be) or natural release the pot for another 10 minutes if your are using a tough spiral noodles that needs more time.

Below is our recipe demonstration video for our Instant Pot Meaty Italian Pasta dinner. Another family favorite beef noodle dinner you will want to try. 🙂

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 310Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 31mgSodium 880mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 5gSugar 11gProtein 16g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Simple Beef Noodle Dinner Recipe-Pin Image
Beef Noodle Skillet Dinner is a perfect busy day meal. A balanced meal made all in one skillet (even on a campfire) or your instant pot for easy clean up. Dinner is served in under an hour.

Follow Us:

We enjoy meeting you on our social networks. Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram . Tag us with your pictures of our recipes and comment on how it went for you. We would love to see what you do with them.

We often like, comment and share your posts of our recipes on our daily Instagram stories.

Ask questions and rate the recipe in the comments section below. Please share what you did with this recipe. We are always looking for more and better ways to make homemade food. Other cooks love your ideas!

Recent Posts:

Click here to cancel reply.

Irene

Tuesday 18th of January 2022

Hi there . First of all I need to tell that I REALLY enjoy your website.

In regards to this recipe I find it a bit confusing. Considering I am using the egg noodles like fettucini in the Instant Pot how much liquid should I be putting in the pot.

Thanks in advance for your response.

Diane

Tuesday 18th of January 2022

Hi Irene, Thanks so much for the encouragement and being a part of our Homemade Food Junkie community. We are so happy to hear the site is a good resource for you. And Thanks so much for your question. I can see where are are confused. I'll rewrite the recipe to be more clear. For egg noodles add 2 1/2 Cups of water. Note on the noodles. To avoid the noodles sticking to the pot bottom add the noodles on the top at the end.I hope this helps.Please let us know if you have any more questions. Have a wonderful day!

101 Instant Pot Beef Recipes • Recipe This

Thursday 30th of August 2018

[…] Instant Pot Beef Noodles […]

101 Instant Pot Beef Recipes ⋆ Recipe This

Tuesday 14th of November 2017

[…] Instant Pot Beef Noodles […]

Sophia

Monday 31st of July 2017

I am getting an instant pot this week and would like to try this. I heard that you use LESS liquid for pressure cooking than stove top cooking because no liquid is lost? I notice the recipe is same for both? Also question about rinse water -- there are 3 cans -- do we use half of each of the three cans = 21 oz water? Thanks!

Diane

Monday 31st of July 2017

Hi Sophia, Yay! I know you will love your instant pot. This is a very easy first Instant pot recipe to try and a reliable family favorite of ours. The instant pot DOES require less liquid than other methods of cooking. HOWEVER, I chose to leave the liquid alone since I'm not sure which noodles you will choose. This recipe works with any pasta but the denser pasta (Like the seminola I chose) will perform better with the stated amount of water. I don't want you to underdo the water and wind up with a sticky burned to the bottom of the pan result. Pasta will continue to absorb liquid so leftovers will such up any extra liquid. Feel free to adjust the water from rinsing the cans as you prefer. I put a picture in the post to help you know how saucy it should look before cooking. I used bow noodles that time. Let me know how it turns out. Our readers and I love the feedback. It's so helpful. Enjoy!

Oana@AdoreFoods

Thursday 22nd of October 2015

Such a great dinner recipe, super easy and delicious! And the sauce...looks so good!

homemadefoodjunkie

Thursday 22nd of October 2015

Thank you so much Oana!

Skip to Recipe