I love pasta. My husband and two sons love pasta. It's one of our go-to's for nights when we need to get dinner on the table quickly. Pasta is already an easy meal to make, but cooking it in the Instant Pot makes it taste like your nonna slaved over a hot stovetop all day making homemade sauce.
It's quick to make, cheap, plentiful, and best of all, because everything cooks together in the same pot, it's a true hands-off "dump and go" meal.
Ingredients
- 1 pkg frozen meatballs
- 1 16oz (1 lb) box of rotini or other small cut pasta
- 3 cups chicken broth (or water)
- 1 24 - 32 oz jar of pasta sauce
- 1 10 oz can of diced tomatoes
- Seasonings, to taste
Cooking Directions
Step 1: Add frozen meatballs to Instant Pot. I used a 16 oz bag but you can use more or less depending on how meatball-y you want your pasta to be.
Step 2: Add 1 1lb (16 oz) box of uncooked rotini pasta in an even layer on top of the meatballs. If you don't like rotini, feel free to use any other short cut pasta (e.g. penne, farfalle, etc...)
Step 3: Pour 3 cups of chicken stock or water into the Instant Pot
Step 4: Pour in a jar of pasta sauce and spread evenly over top of the pasta
Step 5: Add 1 10 oz can of diced tomatoes and spread evenly then top with any seasoning. I used a mix of black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder
Step 6: Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the venting knob is set to SEALED. Depending on which model you have, it may do this automatically.
Step 7: Press the PRESSURE COOKER or MANUAL button and make sure it is set to HIGH. Then set the timer for 6 minutes.
Step 8: After a moment, the Instant Pot will beep and the display panel will read ON. It will take a few minutes to come to pressure, but once it does, the timer will begin to count down.
Step 9: When the Instant Pot beeps at the end of the cooking time, do a QUICK RELEASE. When the pressure indicator pin drops, it is safe to remove the lid and set aside.
Step 10: Give it a good stir and you're ready to eat!
A Note About Cooking Times
I've read that a good rule of thumb for cooking pasta is to look at how long the box tells you to cook it on the stovetop, then divide in half and subtract one minute. I haven't tested that theory yet because it just seems like too short a time to cook everything.
The first time I made this recipe, I set the timer for 7 minutes and the pasta came out too soft for my liking. I reduced the cooking time to 6 minutes the next time and the texture was better, but still on the soft side.
If you like your pasta on the softer side, 6 minutes is what you want. If you're an al dente kind of pasta lover, I would suggest reducing it to 5 minutes instead.
Did you give my Easiest Instant Pot Pasta and Meatballs Ever recipe a try? I'd love to hear how it turned out or if you made any tweaks to the recipe!