Instant Pot Pasta Puttanesca is an easy vegan one-pot meal loaded with flavor. You don’t even need to boil water to make this delicious Mediterranean dish featuring Kalamata olives, capers, and garlic.
Table of Contents
Can you cook pasta in a pressure cooker?
Did you know you can cook pasta in an Instant Pot?
I didn’t until my friend Kathy Hester came up with the easy instructions in her book The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot.
Previously, I had been using this small appliance to make meals like Instant Pot Lentil Soup and Quinoa Burrito Bowls, but it never occurred to me to use it for pasta.
But it’s such a smart idea, especially for busy people.
In addition, if you want to enjoy pasta during the summer, the pressure cooker won’t heat up your kitchen.
Whatever the reason, if you have one of these amazing appliances, you’ll want to try making Instant Pot pasta.
No boiling water
The greatest part about making a dish like Instant Pot pasta is you don’t even have to boil water.
Or drain the pasta!
You simply add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot, give them a stir, then walk away for a few minutes until dinner is ready.
If you ask me, that’s pretty amazing!
However, keep in mind that you will want to stick to short pastas, such as penne or fusilli.
And if you’re following a gluten-free diet, I’ve found that the best types to use in the Instant Pot are ones made from corn, rice, and/or quinoa.
My favorites are blends such as corn and rice or quinoa and rice.
I recommend you experiment and see which ones you like the best.
What is Pasta Puttanesca?
The name Pasta Puttanesca translates to “whore’s pasta,” but there there are different theories as to how it got its name.
You can learn more about the history of this classic Mediterranean dish in the article The Sordid Story of Puttanesca, the Prostitute Pasta Sauce.
This delicious creation is made with pantry staples Italians tend to keep on hand.
Plus it takes little time to make, especially when you make it with Instant Pot pasta.
So perhaps it was an easy meal to throw together if one had little time between “business clients” and hadn’t shopped for fresh ingredients.
Whatever the origin, I’m glad we can enjoy the combination of pasta, tomato sauce, garlic, olives, and capers today.
How to make Instant Pot Pasta Puttanesca
Making pasta in an electric pressure cooking is really easy.
First saute some minced garlic in a little bit of water.
Next add the other ingredients to the Instant Pot:
- Pasta sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- Water
- Pasta
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Capers
- Sliced Kalamata olives
Then mix it all together, close the lid, and set the timer for 5 minutes.
Keep in the mind that the 5 minute cooking time does not include the time it takes for the IP to come up to pressure.
When the timer on the Instant Pot goes off, quick release the pressure, open the lid, and give it a good stir.
Season to taste with a little salt and pepper, and dinner is ready.
And you didn’t even have to boil water or drain the pasta!
What makes this version vegan is that it doesn’t include anchovies.
If you love this savory aromatic sauce, be sure to give Vegan Puttanesca Cauliflower Skillet a try.
And if you enjoy making Instant Pot pasta and are looking for more easy recipes to try, check put these popular ones:
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Coconut Jasmine Rice
- Vegan Wild Rice Soup
- Vegan Potato Corn Chowder
- Cilantro Lime Quinoa
Instant Pot Pasta Recipe
In order for the pasta to remain al dente, be sure to carefully release the pressure as soon as the 5 minutes is up.
Letting the pressure release naturally will result in overcooked pasta.
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!
Instant Pot Pasta Puttanesca (Vegan)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups pasta sauce, (homemade or store-bought)
- 3 cups water
- 4 cups pasta, such as penne or fusilli (short pasta) See Recipe Notes for gluten-free options
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon capers
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, sliced
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Using the Instant Pot saute function, saute the garlic in a splash of water for about 30 seconds.
- Hit the cancel button, then add the pasta sauce, water, pasta, crushed red pepper flakes, capers, and olives to the Instant Pot.
- Mix the ingredients. Close and lock the lid.
- Press the manual (pressure cook) button and set the timer for 5 minutes.
- When the 5 minutes is up, immediately quick release the pressure by opening the valve.
- Once the pressure is released, open the lid.
- Stir the pasta, and add salt and pepper, if desired. Enjoy!
Pedro
Is there a particular instant pot that you recommend??
Amy
I think all the models are good. I’ve had mine for over 5 years, so they are built to last!
MARIAN Mcafee
I got a mini IPot for Christmas. It sat in the box for months. It required reading instructions and I truly didn’t want to 1. Be bothered to take the time and 2. Did NOT want yet another appliance on my countertop.
That sai, my husband opened it, handed me the instructions and I RELUCTANTLY decided to pressure cook some organic brown rice. I’d forgotten how good pressured cooked food tasted. Then it was beans…thnbYouTube Video’s. I now own TWO (got the 6 qt model) and use both , my VitaMix and live a FAR better life because my food is so much better.
I don’t have Hugh clean ups, I am enjoying the process (I’m no Martha Stewart) and needed to amp up my food because at that time I had end stage cancer (I’m cured, no chemo, no radiation) and this was undeniably helpful in healing myself in a radical complete lifestyle change. So if you want simple (like me), less clean up afterward, would prefer making things ahead for the week and storing them in freezer, appreciate organic foods, open to delicious unrefined food you probably can’t get in most restaurants (especially franchises)….then get. Amazon is a good source. The hardest part is reading the directions. Lol
Jody Porta
This was the bomb diggity!! The hubs was thrilled. I added some spinach greens to mine.
Amy
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jody! And what a great idea to add spinach. I’m going to try that the next time I make it. Thanks!
Ken Thompson
I’ve been making stove top puttanesca for many years. I’ve had great success doing pasta dishes in the Instant Pot so this should work, too.
My only concern is the use of pasta sauce.
I’ve always used a large can of diced tomatoes. Would that work here? Or would the pressure cook them away to nothing and lose the extra texture they provide?
Amy
I haven’t tested the recipe with canned diced tomatoes instead of pasta sauce. I imagine it would work. Please let me know if you try it that way.
Reva
I have not used my IP yet and would like to make this tonight. If I were to add chickpeas and mushrooms, how do you think this would impact the wait time or amount of water I add?
Thank you!
Amy
Hi Reva, you could add other ingredients and keep the water amount the same, assuming you mean a can of chickpeas. I don’t recommend adding dried chickpeas that haven’t been cooked.
Karen Walker
I just tried this and my IP kept saying burn. This is my first time using the IP. I don’t know what I did wrong
Amy
Hi Karen, it sounds like you need to mix the ingredients more before turning on the IP. Probably what happened is it thinks there’s not enough liquid. The next time you get this notice, try canceling and releasing the pressure. Then open the lid and mix everything. I hope this helps!
carla
Made this tonight….came out great! Added mushrooms to it and parmesan when serving.
I also got BURN ERROR on my instant pot which put me in a panic as I wasn’t sure what was going on or what to do. It is only my 3rd time using the IP. I followed the recipe exactly. Luckily, the unit seemed to reset itself and then cooked for the 5 minutes on high pressure. I was afraid the pasta had fused to the bottom of the pot and burned but it hadn’t.
In any case, the recipe does work however it may cause a BURN ERROR on the unit. After looking around on the internet, it does suggest layering the ingredients. Not sure if that would make a difference….. It also says that the sauces should not be too thick especially when using pastas (due to starches released and further thickening an already thick sauce). I used 2 cans of Hunts Thick style pasta sauce so that may have been part of the cause for the error message.
Amy
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Carla! My IP is an old model that doesn’t have the burn error message, but lately I have heard people mention it when cooking pasta. I’m glad it didn’t actually burn!
Mindy Sims
This was the first thing I made in my new IP! The cook time is way longer than 5 minutes though if you count the time getting up to pressure and the time releasing pressure. The green beans I was cooking on the stove were overdone by the time the pasta was done. Thank you for the vegan IP recipe though! It was good!!!
Amy
I’m glad you liked it, Mindy! The cook time indicates how long the food cooks after the IP comes up to pressure.
Michael
Hi there! Why is the prep time 25 minutes? What are you doing? Thanks!
Amy
Hi Michael, just a little mincing and slicing, but mostly just waiting for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure. Once it does, the cook time is very fast!
Kim
This was my very first recipe in my instant pot. Pasta is cooked nice but it’s quite soupy, too much sauce and I didn’t even put in the full 4 cups which seemed like a lot when I made it. Can you cut down on the liquid and will it still work?
Amy
Hi Kim, if your pasta cooked well, you can probably use less liquid and sauce the next time you make it. Just watch your IP because it will give you a “burn” message if there’s not enough liquid.
Tony Senes
Made the dish tonight with whole wheat pasta – this was my first time using the IP. We are going full on Forks Over Knives so I’d love for this recipe to become a goto. A few thoughts:
1. The pasta overcooked, even with using the recipe amounts. Could be though that I didn’t release pressure until 8 mins after 5 mins was done, it was on the Keep Warm setting. Kids were demanding at the table!!
2. I also added Spinach greens, but did so to the initial “mix” in the IP. In retrospect, would def add the Spinach after cooking and just wilt it in.
3. My IP doesn’t have a “Manual” button. I selected “Pressure Cook”, but wasn’t sure what pressure setting to set at, and consistency. I used high pressure, “soft”. Maybe update the recipe for use with more recent version of the IP?
4. Great flavor!! Once I nail the texture, we should be good!!
Thanks for the recipe. Looking forward to this and other whole food plant based meals in the new IP.
Amy
Thanks for the feedback, Tony! The IP can be tricky when it comes to pasta. You definitely need to release the pressure right away. And some pastas work better than others. Spinach is a great addition, but since it cooks so quickly, I would simply stir it in after releasing the pressure and opening the lid. You are correct that Manual is the same as Pressure Cook. Thanks for pointing that out. 🙂
Joy
I made this last night – my first instant pot recipe ever! I didn’t have enough pasta sauce, so I substituted 2 cups of diced tomatoes in juice, and added some seasoning to that (Italian herb blend, garlic, a couple tbsps minced dried onion). I inadvertently added about a tbsp of red pepper flakes instead of 1/4 tsp, but I must say I enjoy the spice and if you do, too, you should try it. Husband and house-guest approved, we all loved it. Absolutely delicious! I had a problem with my instant pot but again it was my first use (“burn” message on the LED – I turned it off and everything was fine, nothing burned, I still don’t know what happened). I saw someone mention it was too soupy — I cooked mine (again, accidentally) about 10 mins instead of 5, and it was a perfect consistency, so perhaps try that.
Eric
This is a really great recipe. We make it and add spinach to it after releasing the pressure. The whole family loves it including the kids.
Amy
Thanks Eric! I’m going to try adding spinach the next time I make it.
Laurel
Can this be frozen after it’s been cooked?
Amy Katz
Hi Laurel, yes, it can be frozen. However it would be best to undercook the pasta a little so that it doesn’t get too mushy when you reheat it from frozen.
Alocasia Sheridan
Looking forward to making this. Any thoughts on using lentil pasta?
Amy Katz
Hi Alocasia! It’s hard to say because the lentil and bean pasta all cook differently. The only way you’ll know is if you give it a try. I’ve had the best luck with the corn/rice/quinoa blend pasta. And of course regular wheat pasta will work fine.
Massimiliano
I’ve tried this recipe today, and I think it was pretty good. A few points though:
– the pasta was a little overcooked, at least for my taste…my son was fine with it. I think next time I’ll set the timer to 3 minutes
– I’ve used chopped tomatoes instead of sauce, the taste was good but there was probably too much water…it almost looked like a soup. But that can be fixed by using a colander. It’s probably fine if you use thicker pasta sauce instead.
All in all, I’m quite pleased, the boy cleaned his plate and I’m happy as I didn’t use any oil!
Amy Katz
Thanks for the feedback! Pasta timing can be tricky with the Instant Pot.