Instant Pot Past

Article by Emily Saladino

What's the saying about a watched pot? If you don't feel like waiting for water to boil, this Instant Pot pasta recipe is your solution. However, not all Instant Pot pastas are created equal, and there are a few tricks to making the machine work for you. With these expert tips from Food Network Kitchen, you can prepare flawless al dente pasta without hovering over the stovetop. Here’s everything you need to know about making pasta in the Instant Pot.

How to Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot Like a Pro

The best part of making pasta in your Instant Pot? If you use the right ratios and ingredients, there’s no need to stir or shake the pot or even drain the pasta water. Our recipe developers cracked the code, so your Instant Pot pasta turns out perfectly every time.

Choose the right pasta for the Instant Pot: Our recipe developers recommend using penne in the Instant Pot because it cooks quickly and evenly. Long, skinny pasta like spaghetti and fettucine, and shorter shapes like rigatoni and bowties, tend to stick together and cook inconsistently without other ingredients in the Instant Pot.

Salt the pasta water: Whether you’re cooking pasta in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop, our recipe developers say you should always salt your pasta water so that it tastes like the sea. It's a quick step that creates tender, flavorful pasta.

How much water to use for Instant Pot pasta? After meticulous testing, Food Network Kitchen landed on this easy formula: For every 4 ounces of pasta, use 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

How long to cook pasta in the Instant Pot: You can cook one pound of pasta in 5 minutes in the Instant Pot once you’ve prepared the machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Add a little bit of butter or oil: You don’t need to drain the pasta, but our recipe developers recommend adding a pat of butter or swirl of olive oil after you open the lid to keep your Instant Pot pasta from sticking.

Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

Food Network Kitchen’s recipe developers have created all sorts of Instant Pot recipes. Here are a few Instant Pot pastas that come together in the appliance, so you aren’t left with a sink full of dirty pots or pans afterward.

Instant Pot Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta. Inspired by the baked feta pasta that took the internet by storm, this Instant Pot pasta recipe uses creamy goat cheese and comes together in a fraction of the time.

Instant Pot Pasta and Meatballs. Italian sausage gets transformed into simple, flavorful meatballs with no additional ingredients required in this 20-minute Instant Pot spaghetti recipe. Plus, the tomato puree, garlic and fresh basil create a smooth, delicious sauce without any extra work.

Instant Pot Beef Pho. This recipe develops the rich, nuanced flavors of long-simmered Vietnamese beef pho in a fraction of the time of traditional methods.