A few ingredients and the push of a button makes for the easiest pasta night ever! My Easy Instant Pot Pasta has delicious Italian flavors and is no stress to make.
Hello hello! I am so pleased to introduce you to my all-time FAVORITE way to make pasta: Easy Instant Pot Pasta. Cozy up. Get to know one another. I think you’ll be fast friends!
Really, guys, making pasta in the Instant Pot has been an absolute game changer. It comes out perfectly EVERY time and you can customize this recipe to work with whatever you’re craving or, better yet, whatever you have in the kitchen! A real weeknight wonder.
The Instant Pot Sauté
Did you know your Instant Pot has a sauté setting? True story! For this Instant Pot Pasta you’ll turn it on sauté, let it heat for a minute, and cook the olive oil and onion for a minute or two before adding in the meat and spices. Cook it until it’s browned through!
Sauce On Top!
Okay, this is the only part of this recipe that I have to be specific about! Pour the sauce on top of the pasta and DO NOT mix it in or you’ll get the burn notification from the Instant Pot due to the acidity of the tomatoes. If you leave it on top everything cooks up perfectly!
Cooking Pasta in the Instant Pot
The amount of time you cook on high pressure should be half the time your box of pasta calls for. So if the box says to cook the pasta for 8 minutes, cook it for 4; if the box says to cook for 12 minutes, cook it for 6. I’ve followed this rule of thumb for regular pasta and even gluten-free pastas like Banza or Jovial and it turns out perfectly every time!
Spinach in Instant Pot Pasta
A couple handfuls of spinach gives increased nutrition and it cooks down so much that you barely even notice it. That lets you really focus in on the cheesy, flavorful pasta…YUM.
Instant Pot Pasta Add-Ins
Maybe the best thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. Make it your own! What does your family love? What do you have in the fridge or freezer? Make it work, people! This Instant Pot Pasta would be great with:
- Ground turkey (how I made it here!)
- Ground beef
- Chicken
- Your favorite veggies
- Sausage
More Pasta Recipes
You know I love a pasta night! Here are some really great ways to eat everyone’s favorite carb:
- Classic Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
- 30-Minute Fettuccine Turkey Bolognese
- Fresh Tomato Basil Garlic Pasta
- Turkey Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
- Butternut Squash Skillet Pasta
- Cheesy Baked Spring Rigatoni
Easy Instant Pot Pasta
Description
A few ingredients and the push of a button makes for the easiest Instant Pot Pasta night ever! All of your favorite Italian flavors, NONE of the stress!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, small dice
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 12 ounces penne pasta (or any short pasta)
- 2 cups marinara sauce (your favorite kind)
- 2–3 large handfuls fresh spinach
- 1 lemon
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot and let it preheat. Add the olive oil and onion and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the ground turkey, salt, garlic powder, paprika, oregano and lemon pepper and use a wooden spoon to break up the turkey meat and cook it through. Cook for about 5 minutes until turkey is browned. Add tomato paste and mix in.
- Press cancel. Add the water and dried pasta and mix until well combined. Pour the tomato sauce on top but DO NOT mix in. (Mixing in the sauce can cause the Instant Pot to have the burn notification). Close lid, turn the vent to seal and cook on high pressure for about 5-6 minutes. NOTE: The amount of time you cook on high pressure should be half the amount of time the box calls for. So if the box says to cook the pasta for 8 minutes, cook it for 4 minutes on high pressure. If the box says to cook for 12 minutes, cook it for 6. Time will vary depending on which pasta you use.
- Once it’s done cooking, quick release and open lid. Stir in spinach and the juice from one lemon. Add Parmesan cheese to taste and serve!
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Anice Byrd
Made this recipe yesterday and it was so easy and delicious! I will now forever put spinach in all the pasta dishes I make. Best part very few dishes to clean at the end!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
Yes!!
Jenn G
I’ve used this recipe multiple times now as is and as a template and it has worked out amazingly! This weeks was shredded chicken with chicken stock first then I added pasta and Trader Joe’s bruschetta sauce – still came out great! Love that I can do this with minimal dishes too.
★★★★★
Akaylah
Can I use crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce?
Life is but a Dish
yes!
Ro
If you’re using frozen spinach, when would you add it in? Thanks!
Life is but a Dish
At the end as well
Isgouhee
Have made this with standard pasta before and it’s great but used rice pasta this last time and it was mushy pasta. Any tips?
Life is but a Dish
I think it depends on the brand. I’ve used both Jovial and Banza and it works perfectly
Danae
I used whole wheat pasta and Italian sausage in this. It was perfect and SO delicious. Love how easy this recipe is to adapt! Thanks, Laney!!
★★★★★
Faith
I love how quick and easy this recipe is. Everyone loves it too. The first time we made this, I was able to send the recipe to my husband and he made dinner for the family. He doesn’t cook much more than grilling so it was nice for a change of pace. We have made this multiple times now and we love it every time.
★★★★★
Bridget
Literally eating this as I type because it’s so good I wanted to make sure I wrote this. I didn’t have spinach, but everything is so good. I made it with gluten free pasta and it was cooked perfectly! I feel like this is just a great base recipe and I can’t wait to try more variations!
★★★★★
hmgreg16
This recipe is awesome! So grateful you took the time to test it out so that I could have a quick, easy meal tonight. I plan to keep this template on hand!
★★★★★
Brittany F McAuliffe
Mad this tonight for my husband and we both thought it was fantastic. I added more spinach and some sliced mushrooms in it as well. 10/10 will definitely be making this a regular at our home!
★★★★★
Brittany
Made this tonight for my husband and we both thought it was fantastic. I added more spinach and some sliced mushrooms in it as well. 10/10 will definitely be making this a regular at our home!
Life is but a Dish
So glad you enjoyed it! Always more spinach!
Sarah
What if you don’t have an Insta Pot?? Is there another way to make this??
Juliet S.
Huge hit with the whole family. My husband said it was the best pasta I’ve ever made lol.
I love how easy it was!! Perfect for a “what’s for dinner?!” kinda night.
★★★★★
Joye
Would this recipe work with potato gnocchi also?
Life is but a Dish
Not sure that it would work the same
Katie
A simply delicious one pot dish that is great for weeknight dinners -definitely part of the rotation for my family! Adding lemon juice at the end really makes the dish!
★★★★★