How To Cook Pasta In A Pressure Cooker
It’s not hard to cook pasta on the stovetop, but cooking pasta in a pressure cooker does have a couple of benefits that might just make it worthwhile for you.
Why Cook Pasta in a Pressure Cooker?
Great question! We all know that cooking pasta on the stovetop is an easy task , but it does require that you pay attention. Pasta has a tendency to foam as it boils and every home cooks has cleaned up after a starchy pasta boil over at some point in their cooking life. When you cook pasta in a pressure cooker, you dont have to watch it or monitor the heat underneath the pot. It cooks quickly and unattended in a pressure cooker. Also, you can cook pasta directlyin a sauce in a pressure cooker, which saves you having to do one more step in a recipe and one more pot to clean up.
I would be remiss if I didnt tell you, however, that there are disadvantages to pressure cooking pasta. With the lid locked onto the cooker, you wont have the ability to check the progress of the pasta to know definitively when it is cooked to you liking. That said, you can get pretty close if you follow the instructions and tips below.
How to Cook Plain Pasta in a Pressure Cooker
1 cup of dried pasta + 1 cup liquid + ½ teaspoon salt + 1 teaspoon fat
Its important to understand that when you are pressure cooking, liquid means water or stock. Strained or puréed tomatoes or marinara sauce does NOT count as liquid.
What Pressure Release Method to Use for Pasta
1 cup of pasta + pasta sauce + ½ cup liquid
How To Cook Pasta In Instant Pot
Cooking plain pasta in the Instant Pot is as simple as adding your dry pasta, water, and kosher salt to the pot, pushing a button, and then walking away until its done!
NO stirring so the pasta doesnt stick, NO watching to make sure it doesnt boil over, and NO constantly checking to see if its perfectly al dente yet In fact, you dont even have to drain the pasta when its done, since most of the water is absorbed during the pressure cooking process.
1| Add the dry pasta, water, and kosher salt to the Instant Pot insert. Dont stir the ingredients. Just place the lid on top and turn the steam release knob to sealing.
2| Use the Manual Pressure function to cook the pasta on high pressure for 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 11-12 minutes to come to pressure before the actual cooking time begins.
3| When the cook time is up, perform a quick release. The pasta is ready to serve!
Instant Pot Spaghetti Technique
Using different techniques will result in different textures of cooked pasta from the Instant Pot.
This is an important point, I want to talk to you about in more detail.
The manner in which you add your dried spaghetti to the pot, will make a difference to how it cooks.
I have taken the photos below to illustrate what I mean.
If you have a look in the photo on the left above, you will see that the spaghetti noodles are laid flat in both directions, reasonably close together.
If you have a look at the 2nd photo, you will see that the spaghetti noodles are criss crossed in diagonal directions.
The biggest thing to understand about the above is that the level of pasta in Image 1 has less depth than Image 2. This is important as it means that less water is needed to cook the spaghetti if it is added to the Instant Pot like the 1st image than the 2nd.
I like my Spaghetti with a bit of bite to it, this is perfect for recipes such as my Garlic Spaghetti. As this recipe is all about minimal ingredients and basic flavour combinations, we need to get the texture spot on.
Soft mushy over cooked spaghetti doesn’t cut it.
The technique of adding the spaghetti to the Instant Pot in image 2 results in non al dente soft spaghetti that has no bite to it.
You can use either method but know up front what your options are and how it will effect the end result.
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Instant Pot Zucchini Noodles
Making a noodle dish without pasta? Of course! Please welcome these amazing zucchini noodles aka Zoodles.
Just like the Instant Pot spaghetti squash, these noodles are a perfect low-carb substitute for spaghetti pasta. The zoodles are delicious, healthy and you can make them in your Instant Pot pressure cooker in only 5 minutes!
In combination with garlic, parmesan and basil or with your favorite pasta sauce you can a complete meal.
It’s a great way to diversify the usual Instant Pot zucchini, so you should really make it next time you want something healthy and special.
Contents
Instant Pot Ramen Noodles
Ramen noodles is one of those dishes that everyone has had at least once in their lifetime. The little bag of noodles with the seasoning packet is a cheap and easy meal that seems to have only grown in popularity. Everyone in my house loves ramen but I like to make it a full meal by adding chicken and vegetables to the noodles. And I can make these churched up ramen noodles in the my Instant Pot! Let me show you how to make Instant Pot Ramen noodles that I know your family will love.
I have spent a lot of time looking for the perfect Ramen noodle. I have gone through many different brands and Asian inspired noodles to try and find one that most closely resembles the Ramen from the little baggy.
After many attempts at finding the right noodles, I gave up and just started to use the noodles from the bag minus the seasoning packet. This actually works great because they are inexpensive and the exact consistency that I want. Then I found out that I could make Ramen noodles in my Instant Pot! Total game changer.
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Variations On This Instant Pot Chicken And Noodles:
- You can swap the chicken breasts for thighs if you prefer dark meat the recipe wont change! Just use boneless, skinless chicken thighs and proceed with the recipe as written.
- You can add in extra veggies to round out this meal frozen peas or carrots or sauteed mushrooms are great added in with the pasta, or steamed broccoli just before serving.
- Dont have chicken broth? You can substitute for vegetable broth or combine water and chicken bouillon to make a chicken broth substitute. I dont recommend using water as the chicken broth adds the most substantial flavor to the sauce.
How Long To Cook Egg Noodles In The Instant Pot
I cooked the egg noodles for only 1 minute time in the instant pot along with a natural pressure release time of 12 minutes.
The total time in the recipe to includes the time for the instant pot to come to pressure and also the time needed for a pressure release.
I do not recommend quick release for pasta for safety reasons and to avoid any hot liquid mess.
The noodles is on the softer side with a creamy, saucy texture as we do a natural pressure release method for this recipe, for about 12 minutes.
This is not a quick method of making the buttered noodles since the instant pot takes some time to come into pressure and also it takes some time for the time needed for natural pressure release before you do the manual pressure release.
However why I love making pasta and noodles in the instant pot is because once you add the ingredients, it does its job without you being there so its really easy that way since we dont have to babysit the pot and so the work is much lesser.
I tried this with Amish narrow noodles as well as wide egg noodles.
From my experience, spaghetti noodles need more water to cook and they do not get cooked fast like the egg noodles.
So I always use more water to cook the spaghetti noodles which turns out perfect every time. To see how to cook spaghetti noodles in the IP, see this easy instant pot spaghetti noodles recipe here.
This instant pot noodles as you see in above picture is prepared using Amish style narrow egg noodles and it is delicious!
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How To Cook Pasta In A Slow Cooker
You can use slow cookers to make pasta as long as you dont mix the pasta in with the sauce and leave it sitting in the slow cooker for an extended period of time. Doing so will result in pasta that is mushy, soggy and unappetizing. For best results, keep the pasta separate until serving. Prepare whatever sauce or dish you are pairing with pasta in the slow cooker and then combine it with pasta that has been cooked al dente.
If Instant Pot Spaghetti Is Your Thing Check These Out
As I mentioned above, this particular recipe is without a doubt one of the easiest ways I know of to quickly make spaghetti noodles with an instant pot. However, if youre more interested in a more comprehensive spaghetti meal recipe, complete with meat, sauce, and all of those other bells and whistles, weve got you covered there as well. Check out these two other instant pot spaghetti recipes from some of my favorite food blogs:
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How To Cook The Best Hard Boiled Eggs In The Instant Pot
Just follow three simple steps.
Hard boiled eggs make a rich, protein-packed snack, salad topping, or appetizer. Like, who hasnt dreamed of finishing off a dozen deviled eggs in one sitting? Just us? OK, cool. Anyway, what we love most about hard boiled eggs is how simple they are to make, especially if youre cooking them in the pressure cooker. Heres our step-by-step guide to the perfect Instant Pot hard boiled eggs.
You Left It On Warm Too Long
One of the most common mistakes made when it comes to Instant Pot pastas is not accounting for the carry-over cooking of the Instant Pot especially when the pot automatically switches to warm after the pressure releases.
Instead: Make sure you turn the Instant Pot off after the pressure is released and youve removed the lid. For extra assurance, remove the Instant Pots insert from the machine for serving.
Meghan is the Food Editor for Kitchn’s Skills content. She’s a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting both time and money and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown’s culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn’t I Just Feed You.
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Which Type Of Pasta Can I Cook In An Instant Pot
Quite honestly, I prefer to cook shorter pasta, like penne, rigatoni, ziti, but you can cook any type of pasta in an Instant Pot.
Theres one caveat when cooking long noodles, like spaghetti. First, you need to break the noodles in half to fit in your pot and then layer them in a criss cross pattern to prevent them from clumping together. Basically, just throw the long noodles in a messy pattern and you should be good to go.
The Instant Pot Pasta Water Ratio
I typically make a pound of pasta at a time, so the ratio I use is a pound of dry pasta, 4 cups of water, and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. You can easily scale this up to a maximum of 2 pounds of dry pasta in a 6-qt. Instant Pot or down to as little as 4 ounces, depending on your needs. Just adjust the water and kosher salt accordingly.
See the table below for a quick pasta/water ratio reference:
| SHORT DRY PASTA |
| 4 teaspoons |
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Can I Use Margarine Instead Of Butter
For this recipe, it is important to use butter instead of margarine. You will find the butter flavors and sticks to the pasta better than margarine.
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Instant Pot Mac And Cheese
Published: · by Jess Smith · Jump to Recipe · · This post may contain affiliate links.
Forget the boxed stuff, this Instant Pot Mac and Cheese is just as fast, almost as easy, and so much more delicious. Made in just a few minutes in the Instant Pot / pressure cooker, these perfectly cooked noodles are wrapped in a creamy sauce that uses real cheese.
It took some convincing to get my kids to even try this mac and cheese. My five-year-olds gave it a distinctly suspicious look the first time I put a bowl of it in front of them. Whats in this? Clara asked, REAL cheese?
I was worried that the blue box had forever ruined them for the real deal. But one bite, and they were converted. While there will always be a place for boxed mac and cheese in our house, real mac in a creamy sauce that tastes like actual cheese is something that we can all enjoy.
Keep reading for a few of my favorite variations and plenty of tips to get that pasta cooked just right.
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You Added The Cheese Too Soon
Did your attempt at creamy Instant Pot mac and cheese turn into a grainy mess? You probably cooked the cheese in the pot, and the pressure ruined the texture.
What to do instead: Creamy cheeses like ricotta and cream cheese can be cooked with the pasta, but every other cheese should be added after the pressure cooking is done. Just open the lid, stir it in, and leave it to melt for a few minutes.
Tools Youll Need To Make This Instant Pot Chicken And Noodles:
- Youll need a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker for this recipe. I use a 6 quart and havent tested this recipe in an 8 quart Instant Pot, but the recipe should work just the same with no need for additional liquid.
- You shouldnt need any other special tools some people like to shred their chicken with a hand mixer but I find no point, as it just requires two forks and a couple minutes to do it by hand.
Pin this recipe to save for later
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Is There Canned Soup In Chicken Potpie Casserole
No. I do not use any canned soups for this recipe. Using a Pressure Cooker Or an Instant Pot there is many Easy Instant Pot Chicken Breast Dishes you can make like General Tsos Chicken or Instant Pot chicken Carbonara. Instant Pot Chicken Dishes can be made with frozen chicken or thawed with no time change.
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Instant Pot Spaghetti Noodles Pro Tips:
These additional tips are so that you can master spaghetti in your instant pot from the 1st time you cook it:
- Read my guide on al dente or soft to determine method for placing Spaghetti in pot
- The water only needs to just cover the pasta
- Use the quick release to release pressure and wait for safety value to drop before removing lid
- A heap of steam will puff up from the pot when you remove the lid, step back from it for this step
- The inner pot will be hot so use oven mits to remove it
- Add dried spaghetti to the stainless steel bowl
- Pour in enough water to just cover the spaghetti, add the salt
- Place the lid on and turn to seal. Press pressure cook, set the timer for 4 mins
- Once the Instant Pot beeps to indicate that the pasta is cooked, press the quick release button and allow pot to depressurize. Use oven mits to remove the inner stainless steel pot and use a colander to drain the spaghetti.
- Top with Parmesan cheese, parsley and cracked pepper to serve
What Is The Pasta To Water Ratio
10-100-1000, said Felicetti. Thats the ratio of salt to pasta to water. So 10 grams of salt is the right amount to cook 100 grams of pasta in 1000 milliliters of water . 100 grams of pasta is less than 1/4 pound, so to better illustrate the ratio, multiply it by 5.
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How To Cook Perfect Pasta In Instant Pot
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Instant Pot Pasta recipes are my favorites! Its a super easy and hands-free way to cook simple, yet flavorful pasta. Finish with flavorful sauces, like aromatic pesto, or simple butter and parmesan cheese to make a nice side dish, or meatless dinner for a busy night.
One of my favorite things to cook in Instant Pot is pasta!
When I bought my first Instant Pot back in 2015, I thought Id cook mostly meat in it. You know, those melt-in-your-mouth tender roasts, pulled pork, etc. But nope, I cook pasta way more often than those meats. Who knew!
But theres a good reason for that!
Actually, therere more than one benefit to cooking pasta in an Instant Pot:
- No need to wait for a big pot of water to boil.
- Completely hands-off cooking, because you dont need to stir frequently and watch for boil-over.
- Pasta cooked in an Instant Pot comes out way more flavorful
- And you can keep the pasta warm a little longer while preparing other dishes for your dinner.
