Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta is an easy one-pot meal comes that comes together in minutes. Pasta cooks up perfectly in a creamy, cheesy, tomato sauce right, absorbing all the delicious flavors of the sauce as it cooks. The flavors of this Instant Pot Pasta recipe are reminiscent of a Baked Ziti, but this easy recipe is perfect for busy weeknights.
While I love Slow Cooker Baked Ziti and Oven Baked Rotini. Making pasta in the Instant Pot is one of my favorite methods for a quick, affordable weeknight dinner. Made with pantry staples, this Instant Pot pasta is not only easy to make, but it is also surprisingly more delicious than traditional preparation, as the sauce flavors the noodles as they cook.
I have been asked by so many of you to Instant Pot Pasta and I gladly accepted the challenge.
I am happy to report that I have PERFECTED cooking pasta in the pressure cooker, after countless tries.
- I experimented with 4 types of regular noodles and one type of gluten-free noodles.
- I tested this instant pot pasta recipe with homemade tomato sauce and with jarred tomato sauce.
- I made my Italian pasta creamy with the addition of ricotta and cheese and I made it without dairy for a vegan-friendly pasta bake.
- I even tried this pasta bake with ground meat and Italian sausage.
The verdict?
I burnt a batch. I under-cooked pasta. I overcooked pasta.
But I finally landed on success and now have one of the EASIEST meals you can make for your family on a busy weeknight.
I will walk you through the different variations, and included at the bottom of this recipe is my favorite version for Instant Pot Baked Rotini--super creamy and delicious!
How to Perfectly Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot
Cooking pasta in the instant pot is about the easiest thing to do.
But just like all Instant Pot Recipes, there are a few important guidelines to remember when using your instant pot.
Liquid
- You need to be sure you have enough liquid for pressure to be reached AND enough liquid for your pasta to cook in and to leave a delicious sauce behind.
- The magic number instant pot pasta to water ratio is about 6 cups liquid to 16 ounces pasta. I know that may sound like a lot of liquid, but that includes the liquid in the tomato sauce.
Pasta
- You want to make sure you completely submerge your pasta in the liquid to cook.
- I have seen many recipes that place the pasta on top of the sauce "to steam" the pasta. Every time I have tried this, my pasta cooked unevenly and had dried, crispy spots--yuck.
- I like to pour my pasta in on top of the sauce and then lightly push down the pasta until it is just submerged. This will keep the pasta covered with liquid but not touching the bottom of the inner pot in the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Pasta Cooking Times
The magic ratio for cooking pasta is typically half the cook time on the box and then letting pressure release for 5 minutes. This will cook your pasta perfectly.
- Spaghetti Noodles: 5 minutes on high pressure with 5 minutes natural release, then quick release (break spaghetti noodles in half so you can submerge in cooking liquid).
- Rotini/Penne/Cavatappi: 4 minutes on high pressure, 5 minutes natural release, then quick release
- Rigatoni: 5 minutes on high pressure, 5 minutes natural release, then quick release
- Linguine: I have NOT had success with linguine noodles, they all clumped together even when I tried to criss-cross them. I would just use spaghetti noodles.
- Elbow Noodles: 3 minutes on high pressure, 5 minutes natural release, then quick release.
How to Make Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta
Now that you know the ins and out os how to cook dried pasta in your Instant Pot, it is time to share with you my method for my favorite variety--Instant Pot Creamy Baked Ziti.
Step One: Homemade Tomato Sauce (optional)
I love homemade tomato sauce. It will need a bit of time to cook without the pasta to develop flavor, but this method is still super quick. Of course, you can opt to skip this step and just use your favorite jarred pasta sauce (directions for how to do this in the recipe card.)
- Add 2 cups of stock or water to your inner pot. Add in remaining ingredients for tomato sauce, along with wine and diced tomatoes.
- Cook sauce on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Let the pressure release for 10 minutes, then do a quick release. Because there is a large amount of liquid in the sauce, be sure to cover the vent with a kitchen towel and stay away from steam. It will take about one full minute for the pressure to release.
Step Two: Add Pasta
- Give homemade pasta sauce a good stir.
- Submerge 16 ounces of dried pasta--for this recipe, I use rotini but see notes below on other times of pasta you can use.
- You want to be sure to submerge the pasta into the sauce. Gently push down the pasta into the sauce, being careful to not push the pasta to the bottom of the inner pot.
Step Three: Add Ricotta Cheese
- Dollop ricotta cheese on top of the sauce and grated Parmesan cheese over the top. Omit the cheese and ricotta if you want to keep this pasta dairy-free or vegan-friendly.
Step Four: Cook Pasta
- Seal the lid and close the valve to sealed.
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Let release pressure for 5 minutes and then do a quick release and turn off Instant Pot.
It is SO important to watch that you don't allow more time to pass than 5 minutes for natural pressure to release so you don't overcook your pasta. I have found that 4 minutes for most pasta (see notes below) with 5 minutes natural release creates a perfect al dente pasta.
Step Five: Serve
- You will notice when you remove the lid the sauce looks very liquidy, just give it a good stir and the pasta and sauce will be perfectly incorporated.
FAQs and Tips for Instant Pot Pasta
- Can you add meat to this Instant Pot Pasta recipe? Absolutely! I stated that I have tried Instant Pot pasta with both ground beef and Italian Sausage. There are directions for how to add meat in the recipe card if desired.
- Vegan Pasta: Use a vegan-friendly jarred sauce and omit the Ricotta and Parmesan.
- I highly recommend using either chicken stock or vegetable broth instead of water for this recipe. The noodles absorb the liquid as they cook, so by using stock, you are imparting more flavor to the pasta.
- I add in a dry red wine, like Cabernet or Merlot for an extra rich flavor to my sauce. If you do not drink alcohol, you can use additional stock in place of the wine.
- This is one time not to let your Instant Pot sit on keep warm after you release pressure. The pasta can become soggy and dry out quickly.
More Instant Pot recipes using Pasta
Next time you are craving pasta, give this Instant Pot recipe a try. It is easy, comforting, and delicious! And be sure to let me know in the comments how much you enjoyed this recipe--I love to hear from you!
Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta
Ingredients
For the Pasta
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ cup dry red wine or addtional stock
- 15 ounce diced tomatoes
- 1 recipe homemade tomato sauce or 28 ounces jarred pasta sauce
- 16 ounces dried rotini see notes on additonal types of pasta
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
For the Homemade Tomato Sauce
- 28 ounce tomato puree
- 3 tablespoons dried parsley
- 5 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 2 tablespoons honey or sugar
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
Directions Using Homemade Pasta Sauce
- Place 2 cups stock or water in the Instant Pot. Add in wine, diced tomatoes, and all the ingredients for homemade tomato sauce. Do not stir.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Once cook time has elapsed, let pressure release for 10 minutes, before doing a quick release. Stir sauce together
- Add in dried pasta and gently sumberge pasta in sauce. Dollop with ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese, if using
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes by hitting manual or pressure cook and adjust time to 4 minutes. Let pressure naturally release for 5 minutes and then do a quick release of any remaining pressure. Stir sauce, ricotta and pasta altogether and serve.
Directions Using Store Bought Sauce
- Place 2 cups stock in inner pot. Then add in wine, diced tomatoes, and 28 ounces jarred tomato sauce. Add pasta on top and gently push pasta into sauce. Dollop with ricotta and parmesan, if using.
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Let naturally pressure release for 5 minutes and then do a quick release of any remaining pressure. Stir sauce, ricotta and pasta altogether and serve.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- It is very important to start this dish by pouring stock or water into the instant pot before adding tomato sauce.
- The magic number instant pot pasta to water ratio is about 6 cups liquid to 16 ounces pasta. I know that may sound like a lot of liquid, but that includes the liquid in the tomato sauce.
- You want to make sure you completely submerge your pasta in the liquid to cook.
- Instant Pot Pasta Cooking Times: The magic ratio for cooking pasta is typically half the cook time on the box and then letting pressure release for 5 minutes. This will cook your pasta perfectly.
- Spaghetti Noodles: 5 minutes on high pressure with 5 minutes natural
- Rotini/Penne/Cavatappi: 4 minutes on high pressure, 5 minutes natural release.
- Rigatoni: 5 minutes on high pressure, 5 minutes natural release.
- Elbow Noodles: 3 minutes on high pressure, 5 minutes natural release, then quick release.
- Gluten Free Pasta: I experimented with Barilla gluten-free rotini noodles and my method still worked perfectly. Other brands have not been successful. Quinoa pasta will break down in the sauce and release starch that can cause you to get a burn notice, so are not recommended.
- How to Add Meat to this recipe:
- Start the recipe by browning up to 1 pound of ground beef/sausage. Once meat is browned, turn instant pot off and drain off any excess grease.
- Add in the 2 cups of stock and scrape off any browned bits on bottom of inner pot.
- Proceed with recipe and then proceed with making the sauce or using a jarred sauce.
- If using links of sausage, just add to sauce as it cooks.
- This recipe has been tested with an 8 and 6 quart instant pot.
Nutrition
Linden Spyropoulos
I made this tonight with the homemade sauce using 1 lb ground beef which I cooked on saute mode with half of the dry seasoning + one diced white onion + approx. 15oz cherry tomatoes (gently crushed by hand). Tossed in a box of medium shell pasta, added a tiny can of sliced mushrooms & thinly sliced basil leaves after sauce was cooked. Cubed 8oz of cream cheese in place of ricotta (I didn’t have any on hand — we LOVE ricotta cheese — can’t wait to make it again without the substitution!) My 8qt IP Ultra gave a burn warning, maybe because it’s larger or I should have used a half cup more of broth, but the warning resolved itself and it just continued cooking… never seen that happen before! My husband said it smelled great before even adding the pasta… I think this one will be a hit. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Linden! I am so sorry you had a burn notice, but that model is prone to them. Sounds like it wasn't really a burn notice since it kept cooking. In the future, just be sure to layer the tomatoes, sauce, and ricotta on top and place the broth in the instant pot first--that should help. 2.5 cups of liquid is plenty for an 8 quart.
Colleen Mullaly
I made this tonight and I will again. I used the sautee feature and cooked a few cloves of garlic, then added the rest of the ingredients. I used 4 cheese jarred pasta and skipped the ricotta since I didn't have it. When it was done I stirred in shredded mozza. The quantities and times were perfect, it was cooked perfectly and plenty saucy.
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you for sharing your review and modifications--so happy to hear you enjoyed!
Jessica
Tried this recipe tonight and it was fantastic! I like onions in my tomato sauce so added 1 diced medium onion and browned it prior to the meat. I didn't have dried parsley but added a bay leaf and 1/2 tbsp dried basil for some extra seasoning. My partner and I gobbled it right up, loving the creamy and well-developed flavor of the tomato sauce. Also, the cooking time for the rotini was spot on - pasta came out perfectly al dente. Added this to my list of favorite Instant Pot recipes. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks so much Jessica for taking the time to leave a review and let me know how much you enjoyed! I am so happy to hear you will be making this again and again!
Chris
If I'm using frozen meatballs, do I still need to brown them first or can I just leave them in and follow the recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
You can just pop them in the pasta unless you want the texture of browned meatballs. Enjoy!
Ashley
Made this tonight followed the store bought sauce recipe and added a bit extra stock. I ended up with a burn notice not sure what happened. There was just a thin but of burnt coating on the bottom of the pan the rest was perfect. It was very tasty just gotta figure out where I went wrong to get the burn notice 😓
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Ashley! I am glad you enjoyed the flavor but I am sorry you experienced a burn notice. Some models are more sensitive. I would suggest in the future mixing together, the stock, wine, and seasonings, then add in the pasta, then top with the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and ricotta and cooking as directed.
Mimi
Are you placing a container inside the IP to cook the pasta and sauce? Or, cooking directly in the IP?
Kristen Chidsey
This recipe is designed for directly in the instant pot. I hope you enjoy!
Karen
So I tried this but I think I don't understand. We basically ate gub! LOL So in Step 4 is says Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes....does this mean that you time it for 4 minutes because it takes longer than that for the pressure to develop which I think is why I was unsuccessful. My overall time was quite longer than 35 minutes. Where did I go wrong? Thank You.
Kristen Chidsey
Yes, Karen, you should set the cook time to 4 minutes. It would take about 10 minute to come to pressure then cook time begins then you release pressure after 5 minutes. Therefore the overall time is about 19 minutes. It sounds like your pasta was cooked much longer than that.
Logan Ames
I have never successfully made pasta in the IP until this recipe and had doubts that it was even possible to achieve al dente. On a whim I tried your recipe. And it is perfect as is! Thank you for doing all the work to find the perfect ratio and timing to make al dente IP pasta. The timing for rotini works perfectly for farfelle.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you found my formula to be successful for you Logan! I worked hard at perfecting this recipe. And thanks for letting us know that timing for the farfelle is equal to the time for the rotini.
Lisa
I made this tonight with ground beef. My grocery store was out of ricotta (too many people making quarantine lasagna I guess), so I used a small tub of Philadelphia cream cheese. It was sooo delicious!! Definitely a new family favorite!!
Kristen Chidsey
Oh the cream cheese would be fabulous in this! So glad you enjoyed!
Tara Laverty
Can your IP Spaghetti Sauce recipe be used for this? If so do we use in place of the "Store Bought" section? Still need to add and diced tomatoes? Just curious. Thanks.
Kristen Chidsey
Yes Tara, you can use my recipe in place of store bought sauce. And if is fine to omit the diced tomatoes.
Joe
Kristen,
Have you tried this using the pot in pot method also?
Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Joe! I have personally not tried this using pot in pot, but you should be able to make this pot in pot easily. Just place a trivet in the inner pot, place 1 cup of cold water for 6 quart or 1.5 cups of cold water in the inner pot and then place a heat safe bowl on top of the rack. I would add 1 to 2 minutes of cook time. Let us know how it goes.