Barbara Walters' Western Casserole - 365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking (2024)

An Instant Pot version of Barbara Walters Western Casserole. A delicious, easy weeknight meal with rice, ground beef, tomatoes and green peppers.

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Barbara Walters’ Western Casserole

I came across this recipe for Barbara Walters’ Western Casserole on the internet. From the picture it looks like quite an old recipe. Maybe from the 80s? I knew that it had the potential to be a great Instant Pot recipe. I ended up changing some of the ratios of the ingredients and put my own little touches on the recipe. It was a delicious and very easy weeknight meal. I think you’ll like it too! (It kind of reminded me of spanish rice.)

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
• Onion
• Seasoned salt–or garlic salt
• Beef or chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
• Converted rice–or white rice. I like using converted rice because of the texture.
• Chili powder
• Pepper
• Worcestershire sauce
• Diced tomatoes–or crushed or stewed tomatoes
• Green bell pepper–or another color of bell pepper
• Sliced olives–optional. I didn’t use because no one in my family likes olives.
• Tomato sauce
• Cheddar cheese–or another type of cheese you enjoy.

Steps

Brown:Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onions. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. How I drain grease: Tilt the Instant Pot to one side while holding the ground meat against the other side with a wooden spoon. This should make most of the grease pool on the tilted side. Lower the Instant Pot down, the meat should stay to its side and the grease on the other. Place a couple paper towels into the grease and use the spoon to sop up the grease. Discard the paper towels. Stir in the seasoned salt.

Deglaze:Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.

Add ingredients:Sprinkle in the rice, chili powder, pepper, Worcestershire, tomatoes, peppers and olives. Don’t stir (this will prevent the burn error message).

Pressure cook:Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Finishing touches:Stir in tomato sauce and cheddar. Scoop onto plates or bowls and serve.

Notes/Tips

• We served this rice dish with a green salad and our favorite Italian salad dressing (Olive Garden brand).
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• This recipe can be gluten free if you use gluten-free Worcestershire sauce.
• This recipe can be dairy free if you forego sprinkling the cheese on it.
• What is converted/parboiled rice? Don’t confuse converted rice (or sometimes it is called parboiled rice) with pre-cooked or minute rice. Parboiled rice has been processed in its husk by soaking, steaming, and drying. As a result, all the nutrients from the husk are absorbed into the grain before it’s removed. The starch content alters in the process, making cooked parboiled rice less sticky than regular white rice. The rice kernels aren’t clumpy and glued together instead they are more separated. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice. Sometimes I buy it at Winco in the bulk section. I have also found it in the orange box (Ben’s brand) next to other rices.
• You can make this with plain long grain white rice if you prefer. Use the same cooking times and broth to rice ratio.
• Recipe adapted from 30seconds.com.

More Instant Pot Recipes with Rice

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Barbara Walters Western Casserole

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

• Author: 365 Days of Slow and Pressure Cooking
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
• Total Time: 24 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

A delicious, easy weeknight meal with rice, ground beef, tomatoes and green peppers.

Ingredients

Scale

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 2 1/4 cups beef or chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups converted rice (or white rice)
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
• Optional: 1 small can of sliced olives, drained
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Brown: Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onions. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the seasoned salt.
2. Deglaze: Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
3. Add ingredients: Sprinkle in the rice, chili powder, pepper, Worcestershire, tomatoes, peppers and olives. Don’t stir.
4. Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
5. Finishing touches: Stir in tomato sauce and cheddar. Scoop onto plates or bowls and serve.

• Category: Beef
• Method: Instant Pot

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.