This post is sponsored by Fry’s Food Stores.
I finally did it, I made pasta in my Instant Pot.
Pasta is already quick and easy to cook but some days are so long I need to make it even easier. Don’t I sound dramatic!
Most of the time I work from home, this is a huge perk of my job, but when I actually go to the office I feel like I can’t function after work. I think my inner introvert gets overwhelmed at all the traffic, talking and smiling. By the time I make it home and pick up my kids, I’m spent. Maybe not too spent to cook pasta but I don’t mind making it easier. I take the motto, “work smarter, not harder” to heart.
This recipe is as easy as making pasta with broccoli and adding sauce. That’s basically it, you can skip the rest. Just kidding, but you can make this pasta on the stove or in the Instant Pot. I’ll give you directions for both.
Cooking Pasta in the Instant Pot
Simple Truth Organic whole wheat rotini cooked perfectly. Let me share a few things I learned about making pasta in the Instant Pot.
- Gluten-free pasta is way more temperamental. I’m sticking to stove top for GF pasta.
- When cooking pasta in a pressure cooker you want to do it on low pressure.
- When cooking pasta in the Instant Pot, cook it on manual for HALF of the minutes needed for stove top cooking. So, if the box says cook it for 10 minutes, you’ll cook it on low pressure in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes.
The only downside to cooking a dish like this is that the broccoli gets very soft. Thankfully, I like my broccoli super soft, especially in pasta and casseroles. I don’t mind very soft broccoli, but if you want your broccoli more on the firm side, you may want to steam it separately. I don’t because it goes against my plan to make this meal as easy as possible.
Choosing the Right Ingredients
I regularly get questions from people asking me what pasta they should buy. The key is to find whole grain pasta. I buy the healthiest ingredients I can afford. That means organic when possible.
Last year we had a new Fry’s Food Store open up right outside our neighborhood. They make eating healthy so easy! I love their Simple Truth Organic brand of products. I was surprised at how budget-friendly their organic line of products is. Plus, they do have gluten-free for those who need it!
The Simple Truth Organic whole wheat pasta was perfect in the Instant Pot! I think it is because there is only one ingredient, whole wheat flour. Nothing extra!
This pasta and bread are both organic, whole grain wheat products. They are not suitable for someone with Celiac disease, or gluten-sensitivity or allergies. You can make this recipe on the stove top with gluten-free Simple Truth Organic Pasta! I like the GF macaroni made with organic brown rice flour, organic amaranth flour and organic quinoa flour. That’s it!
I keep pasta, sauce and frozen veggies on hand at all times for quick, family-friendly meals. I like to put a lot of veggies in my pasta but my kids are picky, I mean purists. Yeah, we will go with purists but you all know what I mean. They don’t want a lot of extra stuff in their pasta. They always get nervous when I make pasta because I use it as an opportunity to add every random veggie I can find.
I wanted this dish to win them over and it did! In fact, my 7 year old said, “this is the only pasta I want you to make ever again.” My 5 year old went on and on about it too.
Busy Night Pasta for the WIN!
Another thing I love about making pasta is it’s so easy and doesn’t dirty a lot of dishes. Does anyone else skip cooking so they don’t have to clean up?
This recipe uses just one pot for the main dish. I also made a quick salad using organic greens. If you plan ahead, you can have fresh herbs on hand for bolder flavor!
Busy Night Pasta
Stove Top Directions
- One 16 oz box of Simple Truth Organic Pasta
- 4 quarts water
- One 25 oz. Jar of Simple Truth Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
- One 10 oz bag of frozen organic Broccoli
- Bring the water to a boil. Dump in the pasta and give it a quick stir.
- Set your timer for 5 minutes less than the cooking time on the side of the box, it will vary depending on the type of pasta you are cooking. I cooked rotini which needed to cook for a total of 8-10 minutes. I set the timer for 5 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, add the broccoli florets and set the timer for the rest of the pasta cooking time, should be 5 minutes.
- When this timer goes off, drain the pasta and broccoli and pour in the sauce. Stir and heat on low until the sauce has warmed up.
Using the 16 oz box, it made 8 servings. Plenty for two dinners which made me happy! The gluten-free pasta usually comes in a slightly smaller box, serving 6. Still enough for dinner and leftovers.
Instant Pot Directions
I’ve only successfully made whole wheat pasta in my Instant Pot. If you are using gluten-free pasta I recommend following the stove top directions above.
- One 16 oz box of Simple Truth Organic Pasta
- 4 cups water
- One 25 oz. Jar of Tomato Basil Simple Truth Organic Pasta Sauce
- One 10 oz bag Simple Truth Organic frozen Broccoli florets
- Pour Pasta, 4 cups of water, one 10 oz bag of broccoli and one 25 oz jar of Simple Truth Tomato Basil pasta sauce into your Instant Pot.
- Close and lock the lid so that the vent is sealed.
- Press the pressure button to switch pressure to low. Press the Manual button and use the arrow buttons to lower to 5 minutes.
- The Instant Pot will come to pressure, then beep when done. Once done, carefully do a quick pressure release by turing the seal to open the vent.
- Once pressure is released, open the lid and store well. Allow to cool before serving. It’s a perfect time to prepare your salad.
Don’t miss my other Instant Pot recipes!
- One 16 oz box of Simple Truth Pasta
- 4 cups water
- One 25 oz. Jar of Tomato Basil Simple Truth Sauce
- One 10 oz bag for frozen organic Broccoli
- I've only successfully make whole wheat pasta in my Instant Pot. If you are using gluten-free pasta I recommend following the stove top directions above.
- Pour Pasta, 4 cups of water, one 10 oz bag of broccoli and one 25 oz jar of Simple Truth Tomato Basil pasta sauce into your Instant Pot.
- Close and lock the lid so that the vent is sealed.
- Press the pressure button to switch pressure to low. Press the Manual button and use the arrow buttons to lower to 5 minutes.
- The Instant Pot will come to pressure, then beep when done. Once done, carefully do a quick pressure release by turing the seal to open the vent.
- Once pressure is released, open the lid and store well. Allow to cool before serving. It's a perfect time to prepare your salad.
This post was sponsored by Fry’s Food Stores. All opinions are my own.
Sadie Lankford says
This looks so delicious! And Fry’s is my favorite store. 😀
Holly says
Thanks Sadie! Since our new Fry’s opened near us, I won’t go anywhere else. 🙂
Becky says
I’ve made gluten free pasta several times in the instant pot. I follow a recipe by Cheryl Roy Munn. Brown rice and quinoa pasta from Aldi, 3 cups water, 3 cups pasta sauce. Pour water, pasta, seasonings if you wish, stir then pour pasta sauce on top. Do not stir. Manual high pressure for 2 minutes then natural release for 6 minutes. Hope that helps 🙂
Holly says
Hi Becky,
I’ll give it a try. My GF pasta attempt didn’t work! I’d love to find a good method. I’ve noticed even when I cook GF pasta stove top some brands do better than others so I’m sure it will be finding the right brand and the right number of minutes in the IP.
Thanks! 🙂
Becky says
You’re welcome 🙂 I made another comment below
Becky says
Oops, pasta does not have to be from Aldi
Becky says
I actually cook all my pastas that way now. This way I don’t have to worry about all the sputtering than can happen lol
Kathi Clark says
I have made this several times now, using different types of veggies and sauces. It turns out perfect every time!
Fran Beilinson says
Hi, sorry if this is a very silly question, but I’m brand new to Instant Pot. Do you stir the ingredients before cooking? Thanks!
Holly says
Hi Fran,
It depends on the recipe. Some ingredients can cause the dish to burn or ingredients to stick to the bottom. If the recipe doesn’t specifically say to stir I wouldn’t do it. This is definitely the case with this recipe and other recipes that call or tomato-based ingredients.
Laura Yoerger says
I have a large family and need to double this recipe. I just purchased an 8qt duo IP. Does the cooking time change if you are doubling the recipe?
Holly says
Hi Laura,
Nope, cooking times never change when doubling or halving a recipe. Enjoy!
Ann S says
Oh my goodness, THANK YOU for this recipe! I am coming off a bad cold and the last thing I want to do is cook, but the only thing I want in the world right now is comfort food. I love the idea of dumping my food straight out of the package into the IP and having my tomato-y, carb-y and veggie-ful dinner a few minutes later. You are my hero tonight!
Erica Selby says
So I have a question. My husband and I are trying this recipe out for our first instant pot recipe. When we hit the pressure release button spaghetti sauce started shooting out. Any idea why this happened and how do I prevent it?
Gloria J Wilson says
2 options to get around the sputtering:
1)
Manual high pressure for 2 minutes then natural release for 6 minutes. (As shown in the comment above)
Or
2)
Pulse pressure release. By this, I mean releasing quick shots of steam a little at a time until a good portion of the built-up steam is released, then releasing all the rest at once. The pulse pressure release is what I mostly use for foods that foam up like beans, pasta, time, etc.
I’ve been using method 2 most of the time but going to try method 1 myself. (Why didn’t I think of it?) You don’t want the pressure to stay high for a long time after the pasta is cooked, as the pasta will turn out mushy. That’s why cooking for a shorter amount of time and natural release for a limited time makes sense. The pasta is still cooking, but less vigorously, therefore less foam.
Instant Pot user since Oct 2016.
Nicholson Krista says
When doubling recipe, should you keep the same amount of water, or increase it too?
Annmarie says
Thanks SO much for this recipe! I am a terrible cook in general but your recipes make it hard to mess up. We are moving and didn’t have a kitchen for a week (my partner always cooks), so i bought an Instant Pot, googled how to use it and then found you.
I have made this recipe twice now and it has been a life saver and delicious. The 2nd time I experimented and used whole wheat fusilli and subbed out one of the cups of water with red wine. I also added 1 more bag of mixed vegetables. The first time i did high pressure for 5 mins, the 2nd time i did it for 3. I loved both methods but my al dente loving partner preferred it with 3 minutes. I also made your potato and kale soup. Thanks so much again!
Holly says
Thank you Annmarie! Sounds like you are a pro! Your additions sound delightful!
Kate Gilmore says
I made this tonight, it was super easy and yummy. I only had chopped broccoli which I let thaw a bit and then added it after pasta was done, just stirred in and let it sit for a bit. Will definitely make this again!
Holly says
Thanks Kate! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I feel like it shouldn’t even be a recipe since its so easy but I’m glad you found it. I love easy recipes that I can easily adapt based on what I have.