Pressure Cooker Pasta

Let us share with you how to cook pasta in Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Crockpot Express perfectly. Either plain, for spaghetti or buttered is an easy snack or side dish you can make any night of the week.

Sometimes you just want simple for a side dish or snack. Cooking pasta noodles in a pressure cooker is a fast way to satiate your cravings. Seasoned with just salt and pepper this Instant Pot pasta recipe never been easier y’all.

You can change this up really easily. We like to add a bit of shredded parmesan to the top too for more flavor and oooiness. As far as the shape goes, anything is just fine. I would just suggest using a medium size for this timing.

I have used shells, elbow macaroni, the twisty style and rigatoni. Larger will stay a bit more al dente and of course small will take less time. Yes you can certainly boil noodles on the stovetop but you have to pay close attention to that to ensure it doesn’t boil over, and this is faster too.

How Long to Cook Pasta in Instant Pot

All you really do is submerge your noodles and cook for 1 minute but we have exact directions below for you that you can print and keep on hand if you’re a pen to paper kinda’ girl. Of course I would love it more if you just hung out and came back over and over again to get the timing too. Once you get the hang of it you can fold in other goodies at the end.

Have leftovers you need to use up? This works great for that whether you fold your diced chicken right inside or serve it alongside this. It’s also a great vegetarian choice if you just want to make some boiled broccoli and shred some parm on the top of both of them. OR drizzle some cheese sauce over both. 😉

Ninja Foodi Pasta

If you do have this brand of cooker you will use the lid that is not attached for this. The only time I will use air crisp is when we make our Ninja Foodi spaghetti we add a layer of cheese on the top to crisp when done. If you close that attached lid you can melt it right on top for the ultimate ooey gooiness. Other brands don’t have that option.

Does pasta cook faster in a pressure cooker?

If you were to time from start to finish it would be about half the time difference since it does takes time to pressurize. The biggest plus to cooking pasta in Instant Pot is you can set it and forget it. No need to adjust heat or watch and make sure it doesn’t boil over.

Tips for Success

You will need liquid of course and that is up to you. Either use water or broth but the latter will offer a lot more flavor. Be careful if yours is not low sodium, if not I wouldn’t add any salt at all.

You can always season when done and you can’t undo too salty. A bit of minced garlic can be added in there as well if you love that flavor. The important part is the noodle to liquid ratio. If there isn’t enough you won’t get them to become tender to your liking.

Of course everyone has a bit of difference preferences when it comes to how limp or how al dente pasta they prefer their noodles. Taste and if you want it a bit one way or the other then you can adjust on the next go around.

Pressure Cooker Pasta to Water Ratio

1:2 ratio is about right with twice as much liquid so they are nicely submerged. Typically you would drain the extra at the end with one exception. We do this same thing but have such accurate measurements that there is NO draining required for things like boxed mac and cheese in Instant Pot.

If you don’t use enough broth you may see the burn notice appear on the screen, no good. That means the machine will stop working and you need to add more water. When cooking pasta in Instant Pot with regular noodles you would use the timing listed below. Adjust down the release if using smaller noodles.

Made with Gluten Free Pasta

There is a difference in timing if using this type of noodles. You will need to set to 0 minutes, yes that is a thing. That means it just cooks for the time it takes to pressurize. Then allow to naturally release steam for 6-8 minutes depending on how tender you want it to be, then drain the pasta and add tomato sauce or butter.

The grains in this type are not as firm and thus don’t need quite as much time. Even if boiled on the stovetop you would want to decrease the timing as they are sensitive to heat and get mushy if overdone.

Pressure Cook Pasta in Ninja Foodi

You will need the air fryer and pressure cooker pot to make this one. This company has a bunch of different versions. Some only have one function or the other, and another is just a slow cooker. The latter won’t work this way, fast is necessary for boiling noodles.

I mean that is essentially what you are doing, just in a much faster and more efficient way. Under pressure the water will start to bubble rapidly, you just won’t see it under the lid. If you are new to this method of cooking entirely there are a few things to remember. Most importantly wait until the steam is fully released before opening.

When you lift the lid face it away from your body. The steam will obviously be very very hot and you can burn yourself. Speaking of burning, keep your fingers away from the release valve when you flick it open. It would be like touching a pan right out of the oven kinda’ hot so just use the skinny end and move it open quickly.

How do you make boiled pasta taste better?

Best way according to my kids is to fold in some melted Velveeta cheese sauce. I like to fold in spaghetti sauce or alfredo for a creamy option or you can add in some mascarpone and basil, fold in until melted For a simple version dice up cooked bacon and chives or scallions

What to make with leftovers

Once you get the hang of this you can go on to include other ingredients like in our Instant Pot casseroles. From pork to chicken, beef and everything in between with a nice rich sauce all of these are feel good meals for sure.

Once you have the texture perfect you can move on to what you want to toss these with, or serve on top. Of course this works well as an easy side dish too but can be transitioned into a meal with some meat and veggies tossed in too. You can chill when done too and then make our easy pickle pasta salad recipe. I will say that Ninja Foodi Butter Noodles is really good as is though.

If you are looking for more complex options beyond this one you can then refer to our Instant Pot recipes for beginners post. OR if you want one specific to your other pot we have Ninja Foodi recipes round up here too.