20-Minute Instant Pot Pasta with Ground Turkey
Need a delicious, quick dinner that’s no stress? You’ve gotta make this cozy Instant Pot pasta! It’s made with penne noodles, ground turkey, jarred marinara sauce, fresh spinach and select spices. It’s beyond easy, ready in 20 minutes, and bursting with rich, tangy tomato flavor.
In case you’re new around here, you will soon learn that I’m pretty much always looking for dinner recipes made with ground turkey. Whether it’s my Ground Turkey Pasta Bake, or a quick Turkey Bolognese, I simply prefer ground turkey over ground beef.
I am so pleased to introduce you to my all-time FAVORITE way to make pasta: In the Instant Pot. Cozy up. Get to know one another. I think you’ll be fast friends! This Instant pot ground turkey pasta
recipe is about to solve all your weeknight dinner woes. Yet another quick, easy and delicious meal that you can make with confidence!
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! Instant Pot Penne Pasta might sound boring, but trust me, it’s anything but.
On paper, this recipe may just look like Instant pot pasta with meat sauce, and it is. However, there are a few key steps combined with simple ingredients that really make this one of the most requested meals in my kitchen.
Watch how easy it is to make
The Instant Pot Sauté
Did you know your Instant Pot has a sauté setting? True story! For this recipe 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.
Why do I get the burn notification?
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 due to the acidity of the tomatoes. If you leave it on top everything cooks up perfectly! Stir to combine after it’s cooked.
How long does pasta take 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!
When to add spinach?
A couple handfuls of spinach gives increased nutrition and it cooks down so much that you barely even notice it. Do this as the last and final step. The residual heat from the pasta will wilt the spinach quickly.
Instant Pot Pasta Add-Ins
Maybe the best thing about this penne pasta dinner 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
20-Minute Instant Pot Pasta with Ground Turkey
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Need a delicious, quick dinner that’s no stress? You’ve gotta make this cozy Instant Pot pasta! It’s made with penne noodles, ground turkey, jarred marinara sauce, fresh spinach and select spices. It’s beyond easy, ready in 20 minutes, and bursting with rich, tangy tomato flavor.
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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Can you double this recipe?
Yes but you need to make sure your Instant Pot is large enough to hold everything.
Made it numerous times and always makes great leftovers!
Glad you love it Shaina!
This recipe is as STAPLE in our house. It’s so much lighter feeling and tasting than a regular “spaghetti” dinner. It’s so easy and delicious. Everyone that eats it loves it, even my toddler. Pro tip: cut your fresh spinach down with scissors and the kids just thing it’s parsley and they don’t throw a fit about it.
I love that tip! So happy the whole family loves it!
This recipe is so easy to make and so delicious!! My family was definitely impressed! This one will be added to the dinner rotation for sure.
One of my favorite in the rotation as well!
Easiest way to do pasta dinner! Yum!
This one is always on our menu rotation. 🤙
Glad you love it Erica!
I have made this twice far. When I want a perfectly cooked & easy pasta dish……I make this! Delish.
Thank you Laney! 5 stars ⭐️
Thank you Eileen!
This is one of my family’s favorite ! Very easy to make , and delicious!
Makes me so happy!
What to do if it sticks to the bottom??
Even when the sauce isn’t mixed it?
This was so easy and my whole family enjoyed it! I even made it w/GF pasta & it came out well! Cook for 1-2 extra minutes. Flavors are just right and the added spinach fills the veggie role.
So happy you love it!
I’ve used this recipe many times. So customizable and easy for a quick dinner!
Thank you CeeCee!! One of my favorites too!
I don’t have an instant pot, how to I transfer this to a stove top dinner?
You would just boil the pasta and in a separate pan cook the veggies with the sauce!
Easy, delicious, and versatile. Gone are the days of multiple pans and dishes to make pasta. Not to mention, when made this way, the taste is *chefs kiss*. My new favorite way to make pasta! Thanks, Laney!
Ah yes, one pot all day!!
I can’t believe I forgot about this recipe. Thank goodness you reminded me with a recent post. I used shredded chicken and some thinner asparagus and it turned out great!
One of my favorites!!
This is the recipe that finally got my 28 year old daughter to start cooking instead of ordering carry out. Simple. Delicious. Thank you Laney!
Wow!! I love that!!
I make this recipe all the time (probably more than I want to admit. I love pasta) and I love it so much! So easy and simple but so so good. I love Raos sauce & their pasta is so good too!
It’s one of my favorites too!! Thank you for leaving a review!
Going to try this out this week
I hope you love it Vickie!
Finally going to make this tonight. So easy and looks so yummy.
I hope you love it! Let me know how it goes!
Holy s**t, this is the best pasta I EVER MADE
Best review ever!!!
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!
Would this recipe work with potato gnocchi also?
Not sure that it would work the same
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.
What if you don’t have an Insta Pot?? Is there another way to make this??
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!
So glad you enjoyed it! Always more spinach!
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!
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!
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!
OMG you are a wizard. This recipe was perfect as is. I added mushrooms, similar to other folks on here, and it turned out so yummy! Used veggie broth instead of water. Just delightful with the lemon and loaded it up with parm and an entire bag of spinach. Your carrot soup is my all time favorite recipe though, hands down. We love you!
Awww thank you!!! So happy you love it as much as I do! xo
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.
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!!
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?
I think it depends on the brand. I’ve used both Jovial and Banza and it works perfectly
If you’re using frozen spinach, when would you add it in? Thanks!
At the end as well
Can I use crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce?
yes!
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.
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!
Yes!!