Tomato Basil Pasta is a simple, creamy, and easy one-pot pasta recipe cooked with tomato sauce, garlic, basil, and some seasonings made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker under 15 minutes and great for weeknight dinners. It can be made Vegan and Gluten-free.
Some also call it Pasta Pomodoro, where Pomodoro means tomato in Italian. So basically it's pasta with tomato sauce. Good quality tomatoes would enhance the taste of the Pasta to another level.
Dont have an INSTANT POT? Dont worry I have also shared stovetop pot instructions below
Ingredients
Olive oil - You can also use butter or any other oil. But olive oil works best.
Onion - I have used sweet onions in this recipe.
Garlic - I have used fresh garlic but you can use garlic powder as well.
Pasta - I have used penne pasta in this recipe but spaghetti, angel hair, or any variety of pasta would work. You can also use gluten-free pasta. Try using Whole wheat, Lentils, or Veggie pasta for kids.
Tomatoes - I have used 1 can of 14 oz crushed tomatoes which are about 1.5 cups. You can also use puree the canned diced tomatoes and use it OR marinara sauce OR you can also blanch 2 large tomatoes and puree them in a food processor or blender.
Basil - I have used fresh sprigs of basil. Fresh basil works best, but you can use dried basil as well.
Cheese - I have used mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese works best.
How to make Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta in Instant Pot
Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add olive oil and once it’s hot add minced garlic and onion, saute for 1-2 minutes or till onions are soft.
Then add oregano, red chili flakes, black pepper, and salt to the instant pot. Add water and make sure to deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits.
Add dry pasta and spread crushed tomatoes along with the liquid, with tomato paste on top. Gently push all pasta under the liquid. Do not mix it. Most of the pasta should be covered in sauce and water.
If it is not, add some more water. Note :*If you are using whole or diced tomatoes, make sure to puree in a blender first and then add.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
Using penne pasta in this recipe which 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.
Add some fresh basil and sprinkle some cheese of your choice and serve the pressure cooker tomato basil pasta recipe hot.
Stovetop Pot Method
- Cook pasta according to the packet instructions. Keep aside, reserve some cooked pasta water.
- Heat Olive oil in a pan on medium flame. Add minced garlic and onion saute for 1-2 minutes or till onions are soft.
- Then add the canned crushed tomatoes along with the juice, salt, red chili flakes, and oregano and cook for 8-10 minutes on medium heat or until the sauce has just started to thicken. If the sauce is too thick, add some pasta water to adjust the consistency. Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Next, add the cooked pasta and toss with the sauce, then stir in the fresh basil sprigs and cheese when the pasta is hot.
- Serve Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta on a plate and sprinkle some fresh basil and cheese over it for garnish.
What to serve with Tomato and Basil Pasta
You or your kid can enjoy a big bowl of Tomato Basil Pasta and call it a meal or enjoy it with crusty bread and salad.
Tips
- 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.
- 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 sautéing. So that's 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 the pasta, you may need more or less liquids.
- Always stir in cheese, etc, after the pressure cooking cycle.
If you like this recipe, then check out more Pasta Recipes
- Butternut Squash Pasta
- Avocado Pasta
- Cold Pasta Salad
- Creamy Spinach Pasta
- Mac and Cheese (Instant Pot)
Tomato Basil Pasta(Instant Pot & Stovetop)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry penne pasta (about 2-2.5 cups)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 can 14 oz crushed tomatoes (about 1.5 cups)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste or Tomato ketchup (optional)
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ¼ cup cheese
- salt to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add olive oil and once it’s hot add minced garlic and onion, saute for 1-2 minutes or till onions are soft.
- Then add oregano, red chili flakes, black pepper, and salt to the instant pot. Add water and make sure to deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits.
- Add dry pasta and spread crushed tomatoes along with the liquid, tomato paste on top. Gently push all pasta under the liquid. Do not mix it. Most of the pasta should be covered in sauce and water.If it is not, add some more water. Note :*If you are using whole or diced tomatoes, make sure to puree in a blender first and then add.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Using penne pasta in this recipe which 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.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- Cook Pasta according to the packet instructions. Keep aside, reserve some cooked pasta water.
- Heat Olive oil in a pan on medium flame. Add minced garlic and onion saute for 1-2 minutes or till onions are soft.
- Then add the canned crushed tomatoes along with the juice, salt, red chilli flakes and oregano and cook for 8-10 minutes on medium heat or until sauce has just started to thicken. If the sauce is too thick add some pasta water to adjust the consistency. Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Next add the cooked pasta and toss with the sauce, then stir in the fresh basil sprigs and cheese when the pasta is hot.
- Serve Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta in a plate and sprinkle some fresh basil and cheese over it for garnish.
Notes
Tips to make Tomato Basil Pasta in Instant Pot:
- 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.
- 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 sautéing. So that's 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 cheese etc after the pressure cooking cycle.
Nutrition
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Lindsey
Made this with my four-year-old last night, and it was a huge hit. It was cool that we were able to do it together ... super easy! I didn't have any canned tomatoes on hand, so we just whizzed up 14 oz. of fresh tomatoes in the Vitamix (with the 2 tbsp of tomato paste). I'll probably do it that way every time! It gave the pasta a nice, refreshing taste. We cooked the pasta for 6 minutes on high pressure since the recommended cooking time on the box was 12 minutes. Thanks for developing such a surefire recipe!
Bhavana Patil
Hi Lindsey, Thank you so letting me know the variations and glad you liked the recipe.
Kathy E.
Excellent recipe! I was looking to use up some fresh basil and I chose this dish for dinner...so glad I did! I had 3 Honeysuckle Turkey Italian sausages that I cut up and sautéed with the onions. I doubled the garlic and added a small can of tomato sauce. The directions don't state when to add the basil, so I layered it just below the whole wheat pasta. Cooked on high for 9 minutes and we enjoyed this very much!
Bhavana Patil
Thank you so much for trying and letting me know the variations Kathy.