Instant Pot Vegan Pasta Puttanesca is an easy one-pot meal featuring Kalamata olives, capers, and garlic. You don't even need to boil water or drain the pasta to make it, and it's ready in 30 minutes.
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While you may not immediately think of pasta when it comes to vegan Instant Pot recipes, it's an easy way to cook short noodles directly in a sauce.
You can skip boiling a pot of water and even straining the pasta when it's done cooking. It's particularly nice in the warm summer months when you don't want to stand over the stove.
And while you can make a simple dish with a basic tomato sauce, it don't take any extra work to make super flavorful Instant Pot Vegan Pasta Puttanesca. Add some garlic, olives, capers, and crushed red chili to homemade or store bought sauce to take your dinner to another level.
If you enjoy the flavors of my vegan puttanesca cauliflower skillet, you'll love this easy pasta dish!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's loaded with flavor yet only requires 6 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
- It's ready in half an hour.
- You don't need to boil water or drain the pasta.
Ingredients
- Fresh garlic
- Pasta sauce such as jarred marinara or your own homemade sauce
- Short pasta such as penne or rotini
- Kalamata olives
- Capers
- Crushed red chili flakes
- Salt and pepper
Variations
- For a gluten-free version, choose a blend made from corn, rice, and/or quinoa for best results.
- If you prefer to skip the heat, leave out the chili.
- Sprinkle fresh herbs over the finished dish such as parsley or oregano.
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
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Instructions
- Use the Saute function to saute the garlic in a little water.
- Cancel the Saute function, then add the tomato sauce, water, pasta, olives, capers, and chili flakes and stir well to combine.
- Select Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes. (Keep in mind it will take time to come up to pressure.)
- As soon as the 5 minutes is up, quick release the pressure. Stir the pasta, add salt and pepper, to taste, and enjoy.
Amy's tip
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, mushy pasta.
Serving suggestions
Instant Pot Vegan Puttanesca Pasta is a complete meal on its own or can be served with salad or vegetables.
It's particularly delicious with Mediterranean cucumber and chickpea salad, grilled eggplant and tomato salad, or sourdough panzanella salad.
And for a vegetable side you can't go wrong with Italian green beans, Mediterranean sauteed zucchini, or roasted mushrooms with pine nuts.
Storing
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Do not freeze.
Recipe FAQs
According to Pressure Cooking Today, "take the time listed on the box, cut it in half, then subtract an additional minute."
The name Pasta Puttanesca translates to "whore's pasta," but there there are different theories as to how it got its name. Learn more about the history of this classic Mediterranean dish in the article The Sordid Story of Puttanesca.
Pasta Puttanesca traditionally includes anchovies, making it unsuitable for vegans. This version leaves out the fish.
More vegan pasta recipes
And for even more recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration & fun!
📋 Recipe
Instant Pot Vegan Pasta Puttanesca
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Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups pasta sauce, (homemade or store-bought such as marinara)
- 3 cups water
- 4 cups short pasta, (such as penne or fusilli) See Recipe Notes for gluten-free options
- ½ cup Kalamata olives, sliced
- 1 Tablespoon capers
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and 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, olives, capers, and crushed red pepper flakes to the Instant Pot.
- Mix the ingredients to combine. Close and lock the lid.
- Press the Manual (Pressure Cook) button and set the timer for 5 minutes on high.
- When the 5 minutes is up, immediately quick release the pressure by opening the valve.
- Once the pressure is released, carefully open the lid.
- Stir the pasta, add salt and pepper, to taste, and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
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Julianne says
Oh no!! I am so hungry making this recipe for the first time and it keeps giving me the burn signal! I followed the recipe just right. This is discouraging me, any tips...?
Amy Katz says
Hi Julianne, that is so frustrating! Some models of Instant Pot give this message to prevent overheating, and it tends to happen with tomato products. To help avoid this, try letting the pasta sauce sit on the top of the pasta instead of stirring everything together. If everything is already stirred together, try adding a little water, especially if the sauce you're using is very thick. Unfortunately some models give the burn message more than others. I hope you're able to release the pressure and start cooking it again and salvage your dinner.
Julianne says
Thank you! I did manage to make it by adding another cup of water and mixing it in. Next time I'll try with the sauce on top as you've suggested. It was very yummy!
Amy Katz says
I'm so happy that worked, Julianne! The IP can be very sensitive when it comes to tomato products.
Massimiliano says
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 says
Thanks for the feedback! Pasta timing can be tricky with the Instant Pot.
Alocasia Sheridan says
Looking forward to making this. Any thoughts on using lentil pasta?
Amy Katz says
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.
Laurel says
Can this be frozen after it’s been cooked?
Amy Katz says
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.
Eric says
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 says
Thanks Eric! I'm going to try adding spinach the next time I make it.
Joy says
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.
Tony Senes says
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 says
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. 🙂
Kim says
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 says
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.
Michael says
Hi there! Why is the prep time 25 minutes? What are you doing? Thanks!
Amy says
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!
Mindy Sims says
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 says
I'm glad you liked it, Mindy! The cook time indicates how long the food cooks after the IP comes up to pressure.
Karen Walker says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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!
Reva says
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 says
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.
Ken Thompson says
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 says
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.
Jody Porta says
This was the bomb diggity!! The hubs was thrilled. I added some spinach greens to mine.
Amy says
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!
Pedro says
Is there a particular instant pot that you recommend??
Amy says
I think all the models are good. I've had mine for over 5 years, so they are built to last!
MARIAN Mcafee says
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