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Instant Pot Pasta Primavera

Instant Pot Pasta Primavera- Vegetarian Pressure Cooker Pasta full of rainbow vegetables, perfect for quick weeknight dinner or packed lunch.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Instant Pot Pasta Primavera
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 325kcal
Author Chhavi

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 8 ounce Penne Pasta rigatoni
  • 1.5 Cups Water or Vegetable Broth
  • 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • ½ cup Cherry tomatoes
  • ½ cup Carrots
  • 3 Cloves Garlic Slivered
  • 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning or Mixed herbs
  • ½ Cup Bell peppers
  • ½ Cup Zucchini
  • ½ Cup Broccoli
  • ¼ Cup Parmesan Cheese More for Garnish
  • Salt to taste
  • Basil Leaves Torn for garnish

Instructions

  • Chop up the carrots and tomatoes.
  • Add Oil, Garlic, Italian seasoning Water(or broth) and salt to the inner pot. Give it a mix
  • To this, add the pasta. Make sure it's about 90% under the liquid.

Method 2- One Pot One Shot Method( Soft Veggies)

  • Add all the veggies together on the top. Close the lid.
  • Select PRESSURE COOK for 4 minutes if using Penne and 6 minutes if using Rigatoni on HIGH with the pressure valve at SEALING position.
  • Once 4 minutes are over, the instant pot will beep. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and Quick release the pressure after that. Open the pot and give it a mix.Gently squish the tomatoes to make them release their juices.
  • Open the pot, garnish with fresh herbs and Parmesan Cheese. Serve immediately.
  • Open and serve with a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese and torn fresh Basil leaves

Method -B- 2 Part Method - Veggies added later

  • Add only the tomatoes and the hard veggies like carrot that need to be softened.(Rest later)
  • Select PRESSURE COOK for 4 minutes if using Penne and 6 minutes if using Rigatoni on HIGH with the pressure valve at SEALING position.
  • Once 4 minutes are over, the instant pot will beep. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and Quick release the pressure after that. Open the pot and give it a mix.
  • Meanwhile, chop up all the other vegetables- broccoli, zucchini & Bell Peppers. Try and keep the size to about the same as the pasta.
  • Add the zucchini ,Broccoli, Parmesan Cheese. Close the lid again and let it rest in KEEP WARM setting for 5 minutes.
  • Open and serve with a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil.

Video

Notes

Pasta 
Instant pot cooking is more precise than other methods. That is why the kind of pasta you use, will determine how the final outcome is.
Use either Rotini or Penne Pasta for this.
Rigatoni will need 5 minutes of pressure cooking time
Any out of the ordinary or thinner, delicate pasta shapes might over cook in the pressure cooker.
If you are looking for spaghetti based instant pot pastas- try 
Vegetables
Hardy Vegetables - Asparagus & carrots or anything else that you want cooked till soft must go in with the pasta when you pressure cook
Softer water Filled Vegetables- Zucchini, broccoli and peppers can go in after the pressure cooking is done with. So you cook them till they are tender but crispy.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Use the best quality you can afford because this is the real flavor here.
Cherry Tomatoes
If you cannot find cherry tomatoes, you can chop up regular tomatoes too. When tomatoes are not in season, you can use canned tomatoes as well

Vegan

This dish is vegan if you leave the parmesan cheese out .A great sub for parmesan cheese is nutritional yeast or just a drizzle of olive oil.

Dairy Free & Gluten Free

The pasta can be made dairy free(and vegan) by substituting parmesan cheese. To make this gluten free, you will have to use a gluten free pasta. Though in my experience their texture can be quite tricky when cooking the usual way itself. So I wouldn't suggest using GF pasta here.

Lazier Recipe

I know all that chopping can be a real pain. So get the precut veggies from the store.
And another time and patience saver is this garlic-press. For people who love garlic, this is a must buy! It's so much more easy and there is none of that pesky peeling!
You can add anywhere between 4-6 Cups of vegetables to this pasta.

Nutrition

Serving: 2Cups | Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 128mg | Potassium: 365mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3519IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 2mg