Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

Pasta dishes are not hard to come by or even make. However, they take a good amount of effort. We have to cook the pasta, drain it, sauce it, meat it, and then we can serve. The dishes just pile up. Instant Pot pasta recipes take all of the clean-up work out of the process.

Cooking Instant Pot pasta recipes takes out a lot of the work but leaves in all of the flavors we love from delicious, Italian-inspired recipes. There is nothing simpler than boiling a pot of water and tossing some pasta inside.

Wait roughly 11 minutes and you’ve got yourself a canvas to paint a tasty meal on. Pasta alone has a very mild, almost bland flavor. This is why we dress up the noodles with meat, sauce, or both.

However, cooking the meat and the sauce just means more pots and pans on the stove. We also need to strain the pasta before adding anything else to it, the dish count is up to four already and we haven’t even gotten to the dinnerware yet.

There is no need to tell anyone just how much work goes into pasta, not just the cooking but the cleaning afterward as well. A better way exists, a cleaner way, a single-pot way and that is with Instant Pot pasta recipes.

To be fair, not all Instant Pot pasta is simple, some do require a bit more work than others. However, slimming down the dish count can make pasta an easier choice any night of the week.

Though, pasta requires all of that effort, we may need some Instant Pot pasta tips to ensure we get the best results.

Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

The Instant Pot cooks food in three ways, heat, high pressure, and steam. These three methods of cooking help allow us to cook food faster. One of the biggest problems with making a pasta dish in an Instant Pot is ensuring that everything cooks at an equal pace.

A great and delicious example would be the Instant Pot goulash recipe. This recipe allows us to cook in one pot by using the saute mode to brown the ground beef before we add to the pasta.

The saute function is going to come in handy, even if we aren’t adding any meat, like in this creamy garlic parmesan pasta recipe. Some of us may not be as concerned about the meat or the sauce, we just want our noodles to come out perfectly al dente; just like the pro chefs on TV are always saying.

Instant Pot Pasta Cooking Time

One of the reasons people love Instant Pots is how fast they cook, hence the “Instant.” However, pasta is a tricky one. Usually, we can pull out a piece to taste test before we take it off the burner.

We can’t do that with an Instant Pot, meaning we have one shot at this. No one wants to over or under-cook their pasta shells with ground beef recipe. Luckily, each recipe we find will come with the exact measurements of liquid we need to use.

The best part is that we won’t need to strain the pasta, it should absorb all of the liquid leaving only the sauce behind. There’s nothing like a classic bolognese Instant Pot recipe to test things out.

We can also freehand it with a simple Instant Pot formula. Use 2 cups of liquid for every 8 oz of pasta noodles.

How to Prep Instant Pot Pasta

Instant Pots come in different shapes and sizes these days and so do pasta noodles. Unfortunately, that means some pasta is simply too long to fit in every Instant Pot. We must break a cardinal rule amongst Italians if we want to cook pasta in an Instant Pot.

Take a lazy Instant Pot lasagna recipe as an example. The recipe calls for mini lasagna sheets, but you can also break up larger sheets to fit into the pot. Don’t worry, it will taste exactly the same, even if you have to break up the pasta to fit it inside.

Another option would be to use a recipe that uses smaller noodles. A penne with Italian sausage recipe doesn’t require breaking any cardinal rules for pasta. There are plenty of options for both those who don’t mind breaking rules and those who prefer to stay within the lines.

How to Cook Pasta in an Instant Pot

Making any of these easy Instant Pot pasta recipes is simple. We can just follow the recipe cards and get fantastic results. There’s almost no way to mess up this simple Instant Pot baked ziti recipe. Each recipe is different, though.

It is important not to try to follow the cooking directions for every form of pasta. Some pasta takes less time to cook, while others take their time. We can’t take the ziti cooking instructions and use them on this crack chicken pasta Instant Pot recipe.

We can freehand things if we want; we just need to use the standard Instant Pot pasta formula. We already know how much liquid we need for pasta, now onto time. The formula is a bit more complicated.

We take the recommended cooking time on the box of pasta, say 11 minutes. We round down to the nearest even number, so now it’s 10. Then, divide that in half, 5. Lastly, subtract two minutes, and you have your cooking time, which is 3 minutes.

Let the pressure release naturally, usually 5 minutes, and you’re ready.

More Instant Pot Recipes

Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken | Teriyaki chicken has never been easier to make with the help of your Instant Pot and this healthy recipe.

Healthy Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup Recipe | Sausage and kale soup is way more delicious than you may think. In fact, you may even become a kale lover after enjoying this recipe.

Beanless Instant Pot Ketogenic Chili Recipe | Chili in an Instant Pot comes out with so much more flavor since the ingredients meld together under pressure.

Healthy Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup | You can also get amazing results when you cook soup in an Instant Pot, especially one that is packed with beef and veggies.

Instant Pot Sour Cream Scalloped Potatoes | Instant Pots are amazing at making side dishes, scalloped potatoes from scratch have never tasted this amazing.