When you are running out of time and looking for a way to have an easy, delicious dinner, then you should consider one pot pasta recipes. These recipes are easy, nutritious, with ingredients that can be substituted for vegans. Try these out!
One Pot Instant Lo Mein
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons sriracha
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 3 large carrots
- 12 ounces linguine
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 12 ounces small shrimp peeled and deveined
- 12 ounces broccoli florets
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- cashews and green onions for garnish
Method:
- Whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin, garlic, ginger, sriracha, and brown sugar. Pour into the Instant Pot liner.
- Peel and slice the carrots into matchsticks. Place in the pot.
- Break the linguine in half and place on top of the carrots.
- Pour the chicken broth over the pasta and press the pasta down to cover with the broth. Do not stir.
- Cover and set the vent to sealing. Pressure cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Release the pressure and stir the shrimp into the noodles. Add the broccoli to the pot. Cover and let set for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir to combine.
- Drizzle with sesame oil and top each serving with green onions and cashews.
Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
Ingredients:
- chicken breasts
- taco seasoning
- garlic
- onion
- chicken broth
- fresh salsa (regular jarred salsa or canned diced tomatoes will also work)
- large pasta shells
- red, green and yellow pepper
- cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- fresh cilantro
- avocado
Taco Seasoning:
- Chili powder (3 tbsp)
- Cumin (1 tbsp)
- Paprika (1 tbsp)
- Coriander (1 tbsp)
- Garlic powder (1 tbsp)
- Onion powder (1 tbsp)
- Chili flakes (1 tbsp)
Method:
- Add olive oil, chicken, taco seasoning, garlic, onion, chicken broth, salsa and shells to the Instant Pot in that order.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure.
- Remove lid and stir in bell peppers, sour cream and cheddar cheese, stirring well. Replace lid and let sit for five minutes so the bell peppers can become tender (they will get mushy if you pressure cook them, but letting them sit with the hot ingredients will steam cook them).
- Remove lid again and stir in cilantro, then serve among 6 bowls, topping with avocado. Serve and enjoy!
Instant Pot Chickpea Pasta
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chickpea pasta: If you don’t have chickpea pasta, you can use lentil pasta or your favorite gluten free pasta.
- Water: If you wanted to add more flavor to the dish you could use vegetable broth or chicken broth in place of the water.
- Marinara sauce: You can use store bought marinara sauce or make your own with crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Frozen spinach: Use whatever veggies you have on hand. You can add onions, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, summer squash, fresh or frozen spinach, kale or peas to the pot!
- Salt and garlic powder: These are optional ingredients – feel free to omit or add you own favorite herbs and spices!
Method:
- Pour the pasta into the bottom of the pressure cooker insert.
- Cover the pasta with water.
- Pour the sauce directly over the pasta, do not stir.
- Add the lid and ensure the vent is set to “seal”. Turn on high pressure for 2 minutes (see below depending on the cooking time on your box).
- Allow to come up to pressure, cook for 2 minutes. Let the pressure start to naturally release. When the pot reads LO:04, manually release the pressure. You may want to put a kitchen towel over the vent to help reduce the steam shooting out from the pressure cooker. You should not see any foaming liquid.
- Once all pressure is gone and the pin has dropped, remove the lid. You will see that the pot looks watery, that is normal. Stir the pot and make sure the “keep warm” function is on.
- Add the frozen spinach, salt and garlic powder to the pot. Stir well.
- Allow the pasta and spinach to sit in the instant pot for 2-3 minutes so the spinach can fully defrost and warm up. Stir again before serving.
Creamy Instant Pot Vegan Pasta
Dairy-free rose sauce:
- Cashews – for best results, you’ll want to soak them. You can soak in water for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. As a shortcut, you can boil the water first and soak for just 20 minutes. Drain and rinse before adding them to the blender.
- Vegetable broth – you could also use water, but broth adds more flavour
- Tomato paste
Pasta:
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion – yellow or sweet, small dice. Sautéing it adds nice depth of flavour to the dish.
- Garlic – for flavour
- Nutritional yeast – this ingredient adds a nice “cheesiness” to the final flavour of the sauce. You can skip it, but I find the sauce mimics dairy better when you include it. It’s also fortified with vitamin B12, which is an important nutrient to supplement in a vegan diet.
- Seasoning – oregano, sea salt and red pepper flakes. Be sure to adjust the salt to taste after pressure cooking. The amount you need to add will depend on the saltiness of your broth.
- Penne – one pound (worked out to about 4-5 cups dry measure). If you choose to use another type of noodle (a short variety is best), this will change the cook time. See my tips below.
- Roasted red pepper – I buy jarred to save time, but you could certainly roast your own!
- Baby spinach – because you can never have too many greens in a day!
- Fresh basil – optional garnish
Method:
STEP ONE: SAUTÉ AND DEGLAZE
Turn on the Sauté function on the Instant Pot. Heat the olive oil, then add the diced onion and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic, then turn off the Sauté function. Sauté the garlic in the residual heat for about a minute.
If you notice any food stuck to the bottom of the insert, add a bit of broth and use a spatula to scrape off any food stuck to the bottom. This is called “deglazing” and will help prevent a burn warning.
STEP TWO: LAYER PASTA INGREDIENTS
Pour in the remaining broth (not including what you’ll be using to blend the sauce), add the nutritional yeast, oregano, salt and red pepper flakes. Layer the penne evenly on top, then layer the roasted red peppers on the penne. It’s okay if some of the noodles aren’t submerged in the broth. Do not stir.
STEP 3: PRESSURE COOK
Put on the lid and set the vent to sealing. Pressure cook on Manual High pressure for 6 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes to come to pressure.
STEP 4: MAKE THE SAUCE
While the pasta is cooking, add the cashews, broth and tomato paste to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside until the pasta is done.
STEP 5: RELEASE PRESSURE AND ADD THE SAUCE
At the end of pressure cooking, do a “controlled quick release”: rather than opening the vent all the way at once, let a bit of pressure out a time. This will prevent too much splatter (pasta tends to cause splatter, in general). I like to use a wooden spoon to make this easier.
Once pressure is released, open the lid, give the noodles a stir, then add the sauce. Continue to stir until the pasta is evenly coated, then stir in the spinach. Set the lid on top so the spinach can warm up and wilt, for 3-5 minutes.
STEP 6: SERVE!
Serve immediately with thinly sliced fresh basil, if desired.
Notes:
Quick soak the cashews if you’re short on time. Soaking them in boiled water for about 20 minutes should be enough to soften them up.
Do not stir once you add the penne and roasted red peppers. This will help to prevent a burn warning. Just be sure the noodles are in a nice layer for even cooking.
Don’t skip the sauté. Technically you could just put everything in the Instant Pot and only do the pressure cook, but sautéing the onions and garlic adds great depth of flavour to the dish.
Deglaze the insert, if you find any bits of onion or garlic are stuck to the bottom after sautéing.
