Cooking plain pasta in an Instant Pot is a breeze! Follow these easy instructions to have a batch ready for your favorite sauce in no time flat.
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Ingredients
- Whole-grain long pasta: This recipe works best with long pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine.
- Water
Instructions
Before starting, make sure the stainless-steel liner bowl is in the Instant Pot.
Then, break the noodles in half and add them to the stainless-steel liner bowl. Spread the noodles evenly so they form a fairly flat layer. Spreading them out helps the noodles cook more evenly.
Pour just enough water over the pasta to cover it. Making spaghetti or linguine in a 6-quart Instant Pot takes approximately 4 cups of water. You may need to adjust the amount of water if you are cooking a different type of pasta or using a larger or smaller Instant Pot.
Gently press down on the pasta with the back of a spoon to submerge it in the water as much as possible. It is okay if some of the pasta shows partly above the surface of the water, as long as most of it is underwater.
Next, place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn it to seal. Select Pressure Cook on high for 4 minutes.
When the timer beeps at the end of 4 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then, using a wooden spoon, press the quick release button to release any pressure remaining.
Carefully remove the lid and stir the pasta. If any liquid remains in the Instant Pot, use oven mitts to lift the stainless-steel liner bowl and pour the pasta into a colander so the excess liquid drains off.
Top the pasta with your favorite sauce or use it to make Creamy Avocado Basil Pasta with Tomatoes and Corn, Healthy Vegan Pasta Salad, or Spinach, Mushroom, and Artichoke Pasta.
Related
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Try these:
How to Cook Plain Pasta in an Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot (6-quart or larger)
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole-grain long pasta (e.g., spaghetti, linguine)
- 4 cups water (See Note; slightly more or less may be needed based on the size of your Instant Pot)
Instructions
- Place the stainless-steel liner bowl in the Instant Pot.
- Break the noodles in half and add them to the stainless-steel liner bowl. Disperse the noodles evenly so they form a fairly flat layer. This will help them cook more evenly.
- Add just enough water to cover the pasta. (See Note)
- Press the pasta down slightly with the back of a spoon to submerge it as much as possible.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and turn it to seal.
- Select Pressure Cook on high for 4 minutes.
- When the timer beeps at the end of 4 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then, using a wooden spoon, press the quick release button to release any pressure remaining.
- Remove the lid and stir the pasta. If any liquid remains in the Instant Pot, lift the stainless-steel liner bowl with oven mitts and pour the pasta into a colander to drain the excess liquid.
Notes
- The pasta depicted in the photos is linguine.
- This recipe was developed in a 6-quart Instant Pot. You may need to slightly adjust the water level for larger or smaller Instant Pot models.
- To cook other types of pasta in the Instant Pot, check the pasta package for the total recommended cook time and divide that number in half. The resulting number will be how long you should set the timer on the Instant Pot. As in this recipe, after the cook timer goes off, allow a natural 10-minute pressure release before doing a quick release.
