How to Make Instant Pot Pasta—TWO WAYS!

pasta

🥗Healthier: whole wheat pasta

💰Cheaper: pasta made from semolina

Whole wheat pasta offers more fiber and nutrients.

olive oil

🥗Healthier: avocado oil

💰Cheaper: vegetable oil

Avocado oil has a higher smoke point and is healthier.

cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: processed cheese

Nutritional yeast provides a cheesy flavor with fewer calories.

tomato sauce

🥗Healthier: fresh tomatoes

💰Cheaper: canned tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes are more nutritious and flavorful.

Introduce the recipe for cooking pasta in the Instant Pot as a shortcut meal.

Explain the two methods: layered method and pot-in-pot method.

Demonstrate calculating cook time based on pasta box instructions: divide by two and subtract one minute.

Show how to layer spaghetti in the pot, breaking it in half for better cooking.

Add five cups of water for 16 ounces of spaghetti, ensuring water level is below the max fill line.

Layer the pasta sauce on top without stirring to avoid a burn notice.

Switch to the pot-in-pot method, adding 16 ounces of penne pasta and four cups of water, ensuring noodles are mostly covered.

Add salt to the water and stir it in to flavor the pasta.

Add vegetable oil to reduce foaming during cooking.

Place a tall trivet on top of the pasta and pour marinara sauce into a pan on the trivet.

Lock the lid in place and set the cook time to four minutes after calculating from the penne's 11-minute cook time.

Release the pressure quickly after cooking and remove the lid.

Stir the sauce and check the pasta, adding any remaining water if necessary.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens