Plain Instant Pot Pasta

4.57 from 23 votes

If you've ever wondered: "Can you cook pasta in an Instant Pot?", the answer is YES!! Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is the quickest and easiest way to perfectly cooked al dente pasta every time... AND this method works with your favorite regular pasta!

Prep Time1

Cook Time5

Additional Time10

Total Time16

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 8 cups cooked pasta

Author: Tara Kuczykowski

Ingredients

▢ 1 pound penne pasta or any hearty short dry pasta variety
▢ 4 cups cold water
▢ 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

Place the insert pot in the Instant Pot base. Add the dry pasta, enough liquid to completely cover the pasta (approximately 4 cups for 1-lb. of pasta), and kosher salt to the insert. If using chicken broth, omit the kosher salt.
Lock the Instant Pot lid into place and make sure the valve is set to the sealing position. Using the Pressure Cook setting, cook the pasta at high pressure for 5 minutes. The cooker should take about 11-12 minutes to come up to pressure.
When the pasta is done cooking, press the Keep Warm/Cancel button to turn off the cooker. Cover the lid with a dish towel to contain any overspray. Then set the valve to the venting position to perform a quick release (QR) of the pressure.
Once the pressure is released, remove the lid and stir the pasta.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Cooked pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store pasta and sauce separately when possible. Freezing is not recommended.

Substitution suggestions:

• Penne rigate » Any hearty short dry pasta variety, such as bowtie pasta, rigatoni, shells, etc. that's sold in a box or cellophane bag.

• Water » For more flavorful pasta use chicken broth or vegetable broth instead and omit the salt.

Tips and ideas:

• Experiencing foaming and overspray? » The simple solution is to throw a dishtowel over top to contain it. Refer to the blog post for suggestions that can help prevent this from occurring in the future.

• Mastered this pressure cooker pasta method? » After cooking the pasta, stir in 4 simple pantry ingredients to make this delicious cream cheese pasta sauce!

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