One-pot Penne in Tomato Cream sauce made in Instant Pot – A quick and easy meal, perfect for weeknights. A favorite for both kids and adults, and a great option for gatherings. It takes maximum 20 minutes from start to finish. Pair it with a soup or salad for a perfect dinner.
I have been using the pressure cooker for a long, long time. But before the instant pot, I never thought of cooking pasta in a pressure cooker.
However, now that I have tried Instant Pot Pasta, it is hard to return. Perfectly cooked pasta in half the time and fewer dishes to do…it is a win-win for sure!
This is one of the first dishes I tried when I was an instant pot newbie 🙂
Step-by-Step Easy Instant Pot Penne Recipe
In this vegetarian pasta recipe, I used penne pasta and a store-bought jar of marinara sauce. You can use any type of pasta, such as bowtie, ziti, etc.
Also, use any type of tomato-based pasta sauce. However, choose the one with no or very, very minimal cheese. As we are pressure-cooking the sauce and penne together in the pot, we don’t want the cheese in the sauce to get stuck at the bottom of the instant pot insert. You can also choose to make the sauce at home.
Start the instant pot in sauté mode and add the marinara sauce. Let it come to a boil. Then add in any veggies of your choice. I added green peas in the below images, but you can add others too, such as bell peppers or mushrooms. Stir in the penne. Now we are ready to pressure cook the penne.
Change the setting to manual mode for 4 minutes. For al dente, cook for 1 minute, less than half the time recommended on the box. Add one more minute for well-done pasta. For example, if the pasta box says 12 minutes, then I would pressure cook for 5 minutes. I prefer to cook al dente and then add a minute or so on sauté mode if needed.
When the instant pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually. Then stir in the cream and cheese to get the rich, creamy flavor.
The penne in tomato cream sauce is ready. If it is not the exact consistency you like, change to sauté mode and cook for a couple of minutes. It came out perfectly for me and I did not have to cook it any longer.
Pair this Creamy Penne with a soup or salad. Enjoy with a glass of wine 🙂
Check out more instant pot pasta recipes
Penne Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce – Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 5 cloves Garlic, diced (not paste)
- 9 ounces Penne Pasta, (about 3-4 cups)
- 12 ounces Marinara Sauce, or similar tomato based sauce
- 1/2 cup Cream
- 1/2 cup Cheese, Romano or Parmesan or cheese of your choice
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in sauté mode and heat oil in it. Add the garlic and cook until it is golden brown.
- Add the marinara sauce and let it come to a boil. This will take a couple of minutes. (See notes if you have had a Burn issue in your instant pot)
- Add a cup of water and then stir in the penne. Scrape if anything is stuck to the bottom of the pot. Most of the pasta should be covered in the sauce and water. If it is not, add some more water.
- Close the instant pot lid with vent in sealing position. Change the setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 4 minutes. The time to cook is usually 1 minute less than half of the suggest time on the pasta box. This will result in al dente pasta.
- When the instant pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually.
- Stir in the cream and cheese, so it is mixed well with the sauce. Add in lemon juice and salt to taste. Penne is ready to be served.
- Tip: Remove the steel insert from the instant pot, so the bottom does not continue cooking from the heat.
Notes
- This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Pressure Cooker.
- Important: In newer versions of Instant Pot, many readers are facing a Burn message. If you have ever seen a Burn in your instant pot, I recommend skipping step 2 and adding the marinara sauce just before pressure cooking. Just spread the sauce on top of the penne, do not stir it.
Can you substitute milk for heavy cream?
Hey Shef – I have not tried substituting milk for cream in pasta. You can try with adding a little and see if you like it.
I must have the newer model of IP because I’ve been getting a BURN notice for many of my dishes, so thank you for shedding light on how to avoid this in your notes section. I used Trader Joe’s Creamy Tomato Basil sauce and didn’t need to finish off the dish with any cream. This dish was super fast and delicious. And I love the one pot clean up 🙂
Hey Rupal – Glad that the notes helped. I heard from many about the Burn issue, so happy that you were able to avoid it. Thank you for sharing your review!
For those who have newer instant pot and have burn issue, cook with same method but only difference is cook for half the time mentioned on pasta box. Make sure your water level is just a little bit more that it covers pasta. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Josh. It will certainly help other readers 🙂
Do you have any tips, my pasta / dry veg always get burned at the bottom. in four min pasta still hard. What I am doing wrong. I try few times. Water is enough too. But still, get burned. Any advise.
Hey Poonam – Sorry to hear you have been having trouble with making pasta in the instant pot. I believe the newer versions of instant pot are more sensitive. One suggestion is to not mix the sauce. So the steps would be – Add the oil, garlic. Then add the veggies, dry pasta and water. Mix it well so paste is coated with water. Add the sauce on top, but don’t mix it. Start the instant pot and pressure cook. Sometimes the tomato scorches on the bottom. Do let me know if this helps.
Do you leave the garlic cloves whole or minced?
I dice the garlic cloves. Thanks for the question, I will update on the recipe when I am close to my laptop.
Creamy and delicious! Not too heavy and easy to make. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Tried this as my first Instapot recipe. Tasted great, once we finally got it cooked. But out Intsapot kept saying burn 🙁 We followed all instructions as listed. Any tips to prevent this next time?
Hello Jessica – Oh..I am sorry to hear 🙁 What size instant pot are you using? I ask because I have heard people having issues at times when using recipes with 8qt. One suggestion I have is to layer the food. After adding the garlic in step 1, add water first, then penne and mix with water. Then add the tomato based sauce spreading evenly on top of the penne. Do not stir much. Sometimes having the sauce on the top helps in case it is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
I use the IP so I can start and leave…. what if I am unable to quick release? Can I set it to cook for a lesser amount of time?
Thanks
Hey Sonia…totally agree that set and leave is one of the main reasons for using the instant pot. This works great with lentils, soups, rice, etc. However as pasta can get mushy, I would not recommend that for it. I suggest quick release for pasta. The reason why I use ip for pasta is less utensils dirty, and all done in one pot. I hope that helps!
Just made this ! Soooo yummy! Kids finished all of it!! Thankyou ????
Thanks for sharing. My daughter loves this one as well, and frequently asks to give it for lunch at school.
This became our dinner too 🙂
What type of cream do you use? This looks delicious!
I use heavy whipping cream which is available at most grocery stores.
thanks. and when you do quick release is it straight away or after 10 mins?
Release the pressure as soon as the instant pot beeps, else the pasta will get overcooked. Hope you like it ????