Instant Pot Pasta with Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella
Did you know that, using an Instant Pot, you can cook pasta and a sauce together, saving both cooking and cleanup time? In this easy recipe—a favorite of ours for an easy meatless meal—we’ve used penne, but garganelli, ziti or any other pasta with a similar shape would work just as well.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbs. kosher salt
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb. (500 g) dried penne
- 1 can (28 oz./875 g) diced tomatoes with juice
- 1/2 cup (1/2 oz./15 g) whole fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cups (6 oz./180 g) grated fresh mozzarella cheese
Directions
In an Instant Pot® set to Sauté, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, oregano, red pepper flakes and few grind of black pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the penne, tomatoes, basil and 2 cups (16 fl. oz./500 ml) water. Stir to combine.
Lock the lid in place and turn the valve to Sealing. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
When the pressure cooking is complete, let the steam release naturally for about 15 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting to release any residual steam. Carefully remove the lid, stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
Divide the pasta among individual bowls, top with the mozzarella, garnish with basil and serve. Serves 6.
Adapted from Williams Sonoma The Instant Pot Cookbook (Weldon Owen, 2017)