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Instant Pot Hamburger Helper With Rice – a dairy-free, healthier version of classic Hamburger Helper for an amazingly filling dinner.

When I was a kid, I had the metabolism of a wolverine. Protein, carb and fat-rich meals that stick to your ribcage like Lasagna, Tuna Noodle Casserole, and Hamburger Helper were some of my favorites because I was guaranteed to feel full after those dinners – a rare occasion indeed.

And Hamburger Helper? The relationship was fiery.

There’s something very nostalgic about a childhood meal and most of us begin craving comfort foods in the fall and winter when the weather gets chilly.

Or in my case, all the time. Girl loves to feel FULL! 

Enter: Homemade Hamburger Helper.

What is Hamburger Helper?:

Most of you are already very familiar, but in case you’ve never tried it, Hamburger Helper is a beefy noodle dish in a creamy seasoned sauce, resulting in a dinner that just sticks straight to your ribcage. It is DELICIOUS. 

In order to make iconic Hamburger Helper at home using ingredients that sit well with me, I took many liberties so that I could create a meal I felt good serving both myself and others. This is how it goes..

Instant Pot Dairy-Free Homemade Hamburger Helper with Rice - a cleaner version of Hamburger Helper made in the pressure cooker

How This Recipe Differs From Traditional Hamburger Helper:

  • First and foremost, there is no pasta involved. I swapped it out for rice.
  • The recipe is entirely dairy-free, but you can easily use milk/cream and/or cheese (see Recipe Adaptations) section below.
  • Made in an Instant Pot! Traditionally, my parents made hamburger helper on the stove top, and sometimes finished it off in the oven with more cheese. This recipe requires almost zero effort, hovering, minimal cleanup, and is so QUICK and easy!

Now that you have some background information and know how we’re firing out Version 2.0, lets dive into more details..

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Vegetable Beef Soup is a hearty, delicious, filling yet clean recipe perfect for a cozy dinner in. This easy healthy soup recipe is keto-friendly and can be made in a jiffy when under a time crunch! I discovered a few years ago that sweater weather plus a big bowl of vegetable beef soup is where …

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Did anyone else here grow up on boxed Spanish rice? My hand just shot through the roof.

My parents were all about convenience, so we grew up on boxed rice pilaf and Spanish rice. While I have zero hesitation to continue eating the boxed version, I find that there is just never enough! 

I prefer my carbs (particularly rice) in excess, so I make a big batch of this rice (sometimes I double the recipe!) every time I have the hankering.

Homemade Spanish Rice is super simple to make! It requires hardly any additional effort than making regular white rice, and results in a mouth-watering rice that the whole family will love. I’m willing to bet you already have everything you need on hand.

One of my brothers and his wife makes Spanish rice for their kids regularly, and often for family dinners. I requested they fork over the recipe so that I could give it a whirl in my own home. This recipe is an adaptation of what they do!

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An easy 4-Step tutorial on how to make Instant Pot Coconut Milk Yogurt. This goof-proof method results in the best tasting dairy-free vegan yogurt, and only requires 3 ingredients! This post was a long time in the making, and I’m so thrilled to finally be sharing it with you all! Not only have I made …

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How to Make Chicken Bone Broth in the Instant Pot – pressure cooker bone broth only requires 2 hours and results in the best tasting, quality bone broth! PLUS, it’s far less expensive to make than buying store-bought bone broth.

If you’re a regular consumer of bone broth, try making it at home in your pressure cooker! It’s basically free when you use chicken bones from a whole chicken you have already prepared, and it only requires 2 hours of time!

Making bone broth on the stove top takes upwards of 24 hours. Taking the Instant Pot approach removes all the guesswork and takes so little time or effort, there’s really no reason not to do it!

As a follow-up to the Instant Pot Turmeric Rotisserie Chicken recipe I posted last week, I figured you could use a tutorial on how to make bone broth using the bones from the carcass in the Instant Pot.

After Thanksgiving, I showed you How To Make Turkey Bone Broth. Truthfully, the methodology is the same across the board, but why not remind you of this wonderful health elixir since you have a fresh carcass on your hands?

How Many Bones Do I Need To Make Chicken Bone Broth?:

I typically wait until I have two to three chicken carcasses to make bone broth – I simply store them in a zip lock bag in the freezer and keep them until I’m ready to broth it up.

You can certainly make broth using one carcass, but just note you’ll end up with less broth and/or a less flavorful broth.

Making bone broth in a pressure cooker requires four easy steps:

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