Instant Pot Spaghetti Pesto

Spaghetti Pesto served on a plate with cherry tomatoes on top

5 from 3 votes

This Spaghetti Pesto is made with a easy and simple flavor-packed basil walnut pesto sauce, tossed with spaghetti noodles and tomatoes made in instant pot pressure cooker.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword instant pot spaghetti pasta, pesto pasta

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 546kcal

Author Bhavana Patil

Equipment

Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml

For Cooking Pasta in Instant Pot:

8 oz spaghetti
2 cups water
salt
½ teaspoon oil optional

For Homemade Pesto Sauce:[Serves 1 Cup]

2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
¼ cups pine nuts or walnuts
1 teaspoon lemon juice
⅓ cup parmesan cheese or romano
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

cherry tomatoes or roasted tomatoes
parmesan cheese or baby mozzarella cheese
red chili flakes

Instructions

How to Cook Pasta:

Stovetop Method: Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions (about 10-11 minutes). Once the pasta is cooked, drain excess water and keep it aside.
Instant Pot Method: Add dry spaghetti, oil, water, salt to the Instant pot. Most of the spaghetti pasta should be covered in the water. If it is not, add some more water. Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
Using spaghetti pasta in this recipe which has 10 minutes for cooking on the stove top. 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, Quick Release the pressure manually. Open the lid, drain if there is any extra water.

Make the Pesto Sauce:

Add the basil, garlic, pine nuts or walnuts in the food processor. Pulse several times until very finely minced.
Next add the lemon juice, parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper. While the processor is running, slowly pour the extra virgin olive oil and process until the sauce is smooth.

Assemble:

Add ¾ cup of pesto sauce to the pot, and toss well to make sure the spaghetti pasta is well-coated.
Add in the baby tomatoes or roasted tomatoes. Give pesto pasta with tomatoes another toss to combine. Sprinkle over some chili flakes and top with parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT.

Variations to make Pesto Pasta

You can use spinach or kale instead of basil in this pesto sauce.
You can add Romano Cheese while making basil pesto sauce.
Make the pasta more healthy by adding boiled sweet corn, steamed broccoli, baby mozzarella to this dish.
To make creamy pesto pasta add heavy cream to the pasta.
Use any kind of pasta’s. Try using Whole wheat, Lentils, or Veggie pasta for kids to make it gluten-free.

Tips to make Spaghetti Pesto:

Do not heat the pesto sauce as loose its green color and lose its vibrancy.
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.
Make sure you have enough water to cover most of the pasta underwater. Depending on the shape and size of pasta you may need more or fewer liquids. BURN ALERT? If your instant pot has shown BURN in the past, add ½ cup of extra water while making the pasta.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition