This One-Pot Penne Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce made in the Instant Pot comes together in under 20 minutes. It's perfect for a quick weeknight lunch or for packing into kids' lunch boxes. Pair it with salad or soup.
I love pasta any day and often make tomato pasta, white sauce pasta, creamy spinach pasta, or instant pot masala macaroni pasta at home or for Dhwani's school lunch.
Today I am sharing a simple and easy pasta - Creamy Tomato Pasta to make on busy days. Just dump everything into an Instant Pot pressure cooker, and it's ready in under 20 minutes!
For extra flavor and nutrition, you can mix in vegetables like peas, corn, or carrots. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with garlic bread and soup for a complete meal. It's also perfect for kids' lunch boxes or for a quick and delicious lunch or dinner when you're in a hurry!
Check out my other Tomato recipes from my blog, like tomato rice using coconut milk, and instant pot creamy tomato soup.
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Ingredients
- Pasta: I used penne pasta in this recipe, but spaghetti, angel hair, or any variety of pasta would work.
- Garlic: I used fresh minced garlic, but you can use garlic powder as well.
- Tomatoes: I used 12 oz of marinara sauce, about 1.5 cups. You can also puree the fresh or canned tomatoes and use them.
- Seasonings: Used dried basil and red chili flakes. You can also use dried Italian herbs.
- Vegetables: I used frozen green peas, you can also use broccoli, sweet corn, and bell peppers.
- Cream: I used heavy cream, you can also use coconut cream, full-fat milk.
- Cheese: I used mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese works best.
How to Make Tomato Cream Penne Pasta in Instant Pot
Press SAUTE on the Instant Pot. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil, and once it's hot, add 3 garlic cloves (minced) and saute for 30 seconds or till aromatic.
You can also add ½ cup of finely chopped onions (or shallots) and saute till they are translucent. I did not use it in this recipe.
Then add 8 oz dry penne pasta (about 2-2.5 cups), ½ cup frozen green peas (optional), 2 cups water (or vegetable broth), ½ teaspoon red chili flakes, 2 teaspoons of dried herbs like basil, and salt to the instant pot. Mix well.
Spread 12 oz of marinara sauce/tomato sauce (about 1.5 cups) on top. Gently push all pasta under the liquid. Please do not mix it. Most of the pasta should be covered in sauce and water. If it is not, add some more water.
*Burnt Alert? If your Instant Pot has shown BURN in the past, add ½ cup of extra water. In newer versions of Instant Pot, many people have faced burn issues. So that's why we are just spreading sauce on top of the pasta.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
Note: Generally, the time to cook pasta in an Instant Pot is usually half of the suggested time on the pasta box, minus one for al dente pasta.
This recipe uses penne pasta, which takes 10 minutes to cook on the stovetop. To cook it in the Instant Pot, Divide the cooking time by half and minus one for al dente pasta. So it's 4 minutes for Al dente. For softer pasta, do 5 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, wait 2-3 minutes and quick-release the remaining pressure manually.
The pasta sauce should have a slightly loose consistency, as pasta tends to absorb the sauce over time, making it dry when eaten later.
Stir in ½ cup heavy cream and ½ cup mozzarella cheese, and mix everything well. If you want a creamier texture, add more cream and cheese. You can also add some fresh basil or parsley.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Tomato Penne Pasta is ready to be served.
Stovetop Pot Method
- Cook 8 oz of penne pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve some pasta water and keep it aside.
- In a pot, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil (or butter) on medium flame. Add 3 garlic cloves (minced) and saute for a few seconds until fragrant.
- You can also add some onions and saute them till soft. I did not use it in this recipe. If you are using any vegetable like green peas, sweet corn, broccoli, or mushrooms, saute at this stage until tender.
- Stir in 1.5 cups of marinara sauce (or tomato sauce), ½ cup of heavy cream, 2 teaspoons of dried basil, ½ teaspoon of red chili flakes, and salt. You can also add the reserved pasta water if needed to adjust the consistency.
- Add the cooked pasta, toss everything well, and cook for a minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning at this stage if necessary. Lastly, sprinkle cheese on top. Mix well.
What to Serve with Creamy Tomato Sauce Pasta
You can enjoy a big bowl of creamy tomato sauce pasta and call it a meal, but if you want to go all out, the following foods go great with tomato pasta!
Also check my Kids Lunch Box Recipes Posts
Creamy Tomato Pasta + Chocolate and Nut Berry Seeds Mix + Blackberries
Variations
- If you don't have cream at home, you can replace it with the same amount of full-fat milk, cashew cream, coconut cream, or full-fat coconut milk.
- You can also add sweet corn, broccoli, chopped spinach, or kale after the pressure cooking cycle.
- You can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
- You can use any pasta. Try using whole wheat, lentils, or veggie pasta for kids.
Expert Tips
- The pasta sauce should have a slightly loose consistency, as pasta tends to absorb the sauce over time, making it dry when eaten later.
- The time to cook pasta in an Instant Pot is usually half of the suggested time on the pasta box, minus one minute for al dente pasta.
- Make sure you have enough water to cover most of the pasta under water. Depending on the shape and size of the pasta, you may need more or less liquid.
- Always stir in cream, cheese, etc, after the pressure cooking cycle.
Instant Pot Penne Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry penne pasta (about 2-2.5 cups)
- 12 oz marinara sauce (pizza sauce or tomato sauce (about 1.5 cups))
- 2 cups water (or vegetable broth)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3-4 large garlic cloves (minced or garlic powder)
- 1-2 teaspoons dried basil (or Italian seasoning)
- ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
- salt to taste
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese (or parmesan or cheese of your choice)
- ¼ cup fresh basil (or parsley) optional
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add olive oil and once it's hot, add minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds or aromatic.
- Then add dry pasta, green peas, water or broth, red chili flakes, herbs, and salt to the instant pot. Spread tomato sauce on the top.
- Gently push all pasta under the liquid. Please do not mix it. Most of the pasta should be covered in sauce and water. If it is not, add some more water. *Burnt Alert? If your instant pot has shown BURN in the past, add ½ cup of extra water. In newer versions of Instant Pot, many people have faced burn issues. So that's why we are just spreading sauce on top of the pasta.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.Note: Generally The time to cook pasta in an instant pot is usually half of the suggested time on the pasta box and minus one for al dente pasta.
- Using penne pasta in this recipe has 10 minutes for cooking on the stovetop. So to cook on Instant Pot - Divide the cooking time by half and minus one for al dente pasta. So it's 4 minutes. For softer pasta, do 5 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, Wait 2-3 minutes and Quick Release the remaining pressure manually.
- Stir in the heavy cream and cheese, mix everything well. Add more cream and cheese if you want a more creamy texture.
- Creamy Tomato Penne Pasta is ready to be served.
Stovetop Pot Method
- 1. Cook 8 oz of penne pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve some pasta water and keep it aside.2. In a pot, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil (or butter) on medium flame. Add 3 garlic cloves (minced) and saute for a few seconds until fragrant.3. You can also add some onions and saute it till soft. I did not use it in this recipe. If you are using any vegetable like green peas, sweet corn, broccoli, or mushroom, saute at this stage until tender.4. Stir in 1.5 cups of marinara sauce (or tomato sauce), ¼ cup of heavy cream, 2 teaspoons of dried basil, red chili flakes, salt until smooth. You can also add the reserved pasta water if needed to adjust the consistency.5. Add the cooked pasta, toss everything well, and cook for a minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning at this stage if necessary.6. Lastly sprinkle cheese on top. Mix well.
Video
Notes
Variations
- If you don't have olive oil, you can use butter or regular cooking oil as well.
- If you don't have cream at home you can replace with same amount of mayonnaise or full fat milk OR cashew or almond cream if vegan.
- You can also add sweet corn and some chopped spinach or kale after the pressure cooking cycle.
- Can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
- You can use any kind of pasta's. Try using whole wheat, lentils or veggie pasta for kids.
Tips
- Pasta sauce should not be too thick else after mixing pasta they become dry when eaten later.
- The time to cook pasta in instant pot is usually half of the suggested time on the pasta box and minus one for al dente pasta.
- BURN ALERT ? If your instant pot has shown BURN in the past, add ½ cup of extra water while making this pasta. Tomato based sauces easily stick to the bottom of the pot during sauteing. So thats the reason we are just spreading sauce on top of the pasta.
- Make sure you have enough water to cover most of the pasta under water. Depending on the shape and size of pasta you may need more or less liquids.
- Always stir in cream, cheese etc after the pressure cooking cycle.
Nutrition
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Meyy
Every time I make this kids just love it and I usually add very less cheese. Still its a super good recipe. Very apt for large gatherings as its so easy to make. Lost count of the no of people I have shared this recipe with. Must try
Bhavana Patil
Hi Meyy, thank you so much for sharing this recipe with your friends.. I am so so happy to know the kids like it. This instant pot pasta is super easy, sometimes i skip cheese and add riccota cheese, or blend some paneer or tofu and add it. Makes it creamy and rich.
Sankalp Packaged Foods
The rich, velvety sauce combined with perfectly cooked pasta creates a heavenly flavor explosion.
Edward Splinter
This is absolutely wonderful. And so easy to make, taking very little time to prepare.
The second time we made this, we used chicken stock instead of water and added one cup of rotisserie chicken (shredded). A great version of this.
Thank you for sharing!
Bhavana Patil
That's great to know, thank you for sharing your feedback Edward. We love making pasta's in Instant Pot too.