Social distancing has really inspired me to use more pantry staples and try to clean out what we have in the cupboards. I also have been trying to play around more with my Instant Pot. Up until recently, I only ever used it to quickly make up dry beans or chickpeas, cook a few Indian dishes, and make grains like rice or oatmeal. While that’s great, they can do SO much more, and it’s nice to only have one pot or pan to wash versus a few. So here’s my first Instant Pot pasta – Instant Pot vegan cheesy pasta!
If I’ve learned one thing from making pasta in the instant pot, it’s that it’s SO easy. I hate bringing a pot to boil on the stove and waiting for the pasta to cook, then straining all the water out and dumping it back once you make the sauce. I learned that making it in the Instant Pot is much simpler. Make up the sauce, add the noodles and liquid, close the lid, and let it do the work for you! It’s really that easy. So next time you are struggling to come up with easy recipes while you have busy kids running around, this one is definitely worth a try. Plus, it’s kid approved!
What you’ll love about Instant Pot vegan cheesy pasta?
- It’s vegan. Out of all things I’ve made that are supposed to have a cheesy texture or taste with vegan ingredients (other than store bought vegan cheese), this one really tops the list. So surprise everyone when you tell them this is vegan AND contains NO cheese.
- Cheesy! With nutritional yeast, this really turns creamy and cheesy without any of that store-bought vegan cheese.
- Simple. It’s all done in one pot, no straining of noodles, and no separate preparation of sauce required.
- Kid approved. While my 1 year old isn’t super picky, there are definitely things she doesn’t like. This meal made her eat the most she’s eaten since birth! Not kidding.
- Great for meal prep. It makes a good size batch, so eat up and save the rest. Simply reheat the next time and maybe throw a splash of almond milk or water in to give it that nice creamy texture again.
How to make this pasta?
- Turn the instant pot to sauté mode and melt the coconut oil.
- Add the onion and cook until it is translucent.
- Next add the garlic and cook about 1 minute, until it is fragrant.
- Stir in the spices and red pepper flakes.
- Hit ‘cancel’ and add the pasta, water, and tomato sauce to the instant pot.
- Place the lid on and close the vent.
- Hit ‘manual’ and adjust the time to 5-minutes, and the pressure to high. Let the instant pot do its thing!
- Once the timer is done, manually release the pressure. Remove the lid.
- Pour the cashew cream, nutritional yeast, and beans in. Mix well.
- Serve fresh, or allow to cool and place in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week (best within 2-3 days).
Related Recipes
Instant Pot Dal Tadka
Vegan Mexican Chili Mac
Instant Pot Vegan Cheesy Pasta
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp coconut oil can sub olive oil
- 14.5 oz tomato sauce
- ½ cup cashew cream can sub another vegan cream
- ¾ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 16 oz pasta, rotini or penne
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- In the instant pot, turn on saute mode and melt coconut oil.
- Add the onion and cook until browned and translucent. About 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and allow it to get fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Mix in the spices and red pepper flakes.
- Add the pasta, water, and tomato sauce. You want the water to come to about the top of the pasta, make sure it's level too to ensure it's all cooked.
- Cancel the saute mode, and place the cover on the instant pot.
- Turn the pin to sealing, and hit the manual button. Set time to 5 minutes and make sure pressure is on high.
- Once the 5-minute timer is done, manually release the pressure.
- Remove the lid and stir in the black beans, cashew cream, and the nutritional yeast.
- Serve fresh, or allow to cool then place in an air-tight bowl in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Make the cashew cream
- To make cashew cream, soak the cashews for 2 hours prior to blending.
- In a high-performance blender, add 1 cup of cashews and 1 ½ cups of water. Blend until smooth.
- If it's really thick, add additional water until it is at the desired consistency. Typically I like it to be about the consistency of half and half. It will also get thicker when it's cooled.
- Store in the fridge for up to one week.
Nutrition
Let me know if you made this recipe. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
-Cassie
HELP!!! I’m literally making this RIGHT NOW but you don’t say how much water!!
Oh no! I’m so sorry – the water should come to the height of the pasta, ~4 cups. I’ve edited it for future reference, and again I’m terribly sorry. FYI when you cook pasta dishes in the instant pot, make sure your contents are relatively level so it all cooks evenly too.
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