How to Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot

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Wondering can you cook pasta in the Instant Pot? The answer is yes! Below you'll find out how to make Instant Pot pasta and how long to cook pasta in the Instant Pot. You'll never boil another pot of water for pasta again!

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We eat pasta a lot in this house so I've definitely mastered the art of cooking pasta in the Instant Pot. 

I don't think I even know how to make pasta the old fashioned way any more...seems too slow and like a lot more work. Babysitting a pot and waiting for it to boil? No thank you. I'd rather pop everything in the Instant Pot, put my feet up, and read a book for a bit while it cooks.

But like I said, cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is a bit of an art because it's reeeeeeally easy to overcook the pasta.

Trust me, I ended up with my fair share of pasta mush when I was first learning to use my Instant Pot because, unfortunately, a lot of the instructions already out there did not work for me. They always failed miserably. Usually because they used too much time.

Now, the other keys to success when making Instant Pot pasta are to make sure you do a quick release as soon as the timer beeps and to drain the pasta immediately. 

If you leave it sitting for even a minute, then you'll be on your way to Mushyville and left with overcooked pasta. And no one wants that.

Can You Cook Pasta in an Instant Pot? You Bet!

The answer here is obviously yes. 

You can cook all sorts of pasta in the Instant Pot, but we're just going to talk about dry pasta here. You know...the kind most people have on hand and can readily buy from anywhere. 

The instructions for fresh pasta are much different. That will have to be for another blog post. 😊

One of the best things about cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is that the instructions remain the same no matter what type of pasta you use or how much you want to cook. 

Two other caveats though. Macaroni requires more water. Orzo requires more time and more precise measurements. Otherwise, any type of pasta works.

It's Time to Ditch the Old School Method of Boiling Pasta...Here's How to Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot

The basic gist here is to add dry pasta to the Instant Pot like so.

Next you're going to sprinkle some salt onto the pasta. And I mean sprinkling like a pro where you rub your fingers together and then do the whole finger lift and release thing like they do in the cooking shows. My husband laughs at me every time I do this. I think I may have watched too many cooking shows when nursing babies...

Anyway, I usually eyeball things here, but it's probably like 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of salt. I don't really know. I just sprinkle some until it looks like a good amount. That probably makes me the worst candidate for being a food blogger, but whatever. 🤷‍♀️ Measuring is for losers. 😝

Once you've salted up your pasta, it's time to add some water. All you do is add just enough water to cover the pasta. No fancy measurements here. Just make sure the pasta is covered.

But remember, if you're cooking macaroni, then you'll need to keep adding water until there's about an inch of water above the pasta since macaroni expands much more than other pasta. That's why it needs more water.

Here's what it should look like once you've added the water.

Then you turn on the Instant Pot and let it do its magic. After that, it's a matter of a quick release, draining it, and then it's ready to serve. 

IMPORTANT: Remember to do a quick release as soon as the timer beeps and to drain the pasta immediately so you can avoid the one-way ticket to Mushyville, as discussed earlier.

You'll Love this Instant Pot Pasta!

So here's why you'll want to hurry up and try Instant Pot pasta:

• No more sitting around waiting for a pot of water to boil. That's lame and so last year. 🙄

• It's so easy to do that even your kids or husband can make it without much instruction.

• Works with any kind of dry pasta, but please note, if you want to cook macaroni, then you will need more water.

• Since you're cooking it plain, you can easily dress it up any way you like after it's cooked. You could toss it with olive oil and herbs for instance.

• Works with any amount of dry pasta. The method is the exact same and the length of time will always stay the same.

How to Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot

Ready to give this Instant Pot pasta a try? Good decision. Let's do this before the kids raid the pantry!

INSTANT POT PASTA

Author: Dyan Robson - Hurry Up, I'm Hungry!
Preparation Time: 1 minute
Cooking time: 15 minutes

How to cook pasta in the Instant Pot.

INGREDIENTS

• Dry pasta, however much you want


• Water, just enough to cover the pasta (more if cooking macaroni)


• Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the pasta to the Instant Pot and sprinkle some salt.


2. Add just enough water to cover the pasta. For macaroni, the water will need to be at least an inch higher than the pasta.


3. Cook on manual high pressure for 3 minutes.


4. Quick release as soon as the timer beeps and drain immediately (unless mushy, overcooked pasta is your thing - no judgement).