This cold weather calls for something comforting and I think a creamy warm pasta is something no one can resist. This instant pot pasta with vegan broccoli and spinach sauce, is not only comfort food at its best, but it is also healthy and delicious. Even if you aren’t a vegan, you should give this creamy indulgence a try. I assure you that you will not miss the cheese a bit!
I had been putting off making pasta in the instant pot, because boiling water and cooking pasta never seemed like a big hazzle to me, except that my old glass stop stove takes forever to heat up and for a large quantity of water to get to boil, it takes a good 15 minutes or so. So I would put the water for boil well in advance if I plan to make pasta.
I started coming across various pasta recipes in the instant pot and thought I should give it a try too and I did. Disaster!! The first attepmt was a runny mess. The second time, I ended up with over cooked pasta. So I gave up on it and went about my usual method, even though it took me forever to get some pasta cooked.
Now that, its been so long since my Instant pot pasta fails, I decided to give it a try again. It’s a new year, new beginnings, I figured I should be brave and try again. Now I saw a lot of recipes and no one gives you the exact time to cook a pasta or the exact amount of water to use. That was the problem. But after going through various pasta recipes online, I figured the math. They are actually right because, each pasta needs a different cooking time depending on the kind of pasta you use. It’s actually a simple math and if you get it right you are in pasta nirvana 🙂
I will not bore you with the measurements here ( I will include them in the recipe below.) But I did try this recipe with gluten free pasta and did not like the texture. Maybe I did something wrong. But a normal pasta came out really well.
The sauce for this pasta is really simple and so so good. If you have some picky eaters in the house, this is one good way to sneak in some greens. They would gobble it up without any fuss. Nutritional yeast is a kitchen staple in most vegan households. But if don’t have it, and if you don’t want to make a vegan version, just substitute it with parmesan cheese. Let’s check out the recipe for our instant pot pasta with vegan broccoli and spinach sauce now!
Creamy and delicious vegan pasta cooked in the instant pot with a delicious vegan sauce made with the goodness of broccoli, spinach and avocado.
- 2 cups uncooked pasta I used penne
- 1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
- 11/2 tbsp finely minced garlic
- 1/4 cup minced shallots / finely chopped onions
- salt to taste
- water to cook the pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup tightly packed spinach
- 1/2 avocado (optional)
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
-
1/4
cup
nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup cashews ( can substitute with any nut of choice)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ( use more or less as per spice levels)
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional)
- salt as needed
- water as needed / can also use almond milk
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First soak the cashews in some water.
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Switch on the saute mode in your IP and add the olive oil. When it heats up, add the garlic, shallots / onions and saute until translucent.
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Next add the mushrooms and saute for a couple of minutes, until they become golden brown and caramalised. Add a tbsp or more or water if needed to deglaze the pan.
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Now add the uncooked pasta, water just enough to cover the pasta (Do not be tempted to add more) and 1/2 tsp salt.
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Add the chopped broccoli and spinach in a small bowl and keep the bowl on a trivet on top of the pasta in the IP ( The bowl should be smaller than the IP vessel as it needs to fit inside) Don’t add water inside the bowl to cook the vegetables. They will be blanched in the pressure and steam from the pasta cooking.
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Close the IP lid and cook the pasta. Now for the cook time – If your pasta box instructions says cook for 9 to 11 minutes, take the lowest time and subtract 1 ( 9-1=8) and halve that number (8/2=4) and again subtract 1 minute from that no. (4-1= 3 minutes) So you will be cooking it for 3 minutes and release pressure immediately. This will give you al dente pasta. If you want it well cooked, I guess you can cook it extra 1 minute ( 4 minutes )
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When the pasta is done cooking, you would release pressure immediately and take out the steamed/ cooked broccoli and spinach. Switch off the keep warm mode to prevent additional cooking of the pasta.
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Add the steamed vegetables, basil, soaked cashews, avocado, red pepper flakes, salt, apple cider vinegar, lemon zest nutritional yeast, water / almond milk and blend it to a smooth creamy puree.
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Now add this creamy sauce to the cooked pasta in the IP and mix. Adjust salt as needed. Add more milk / water to adjust the consistency of the pasta if needed.
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Serve hot with sauteed veggies. I served it with some caramalised mushrooms and micro greens.
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Soak the cashews in some water
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Boil water and cook the pasta as per the instructions in your pasta box and set it aside. Reserve some pasta water for the sauce.
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Boil another pan and blanch the broccoli and spinach. First blanch the broccoli, then add the spinach. You could also steam or saute until the broccoli is slightly tender. Set it aside to cool. Spinach gets blanched very fast. It would need only a minute in boiling water.
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Now add the blanched broccoli / spinach, soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, pasta water, apple cider vinegar, basil, lemon zest, salt to a blender and blend to a smooth creamy puree. This is your pasta sauce.
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Now heat a pan and add the olive oil. When it heats up, add the chopped garlic, shallots / onions and saute until the onions turn translucent.
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Now add the mushrooms and cook until nice and golden.
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Add the cooked pasta and mix.
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Add this creamy sauce to the pan with the cooked pasta and mix.
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Serve hot with a side of sauteed veggies / more greens.
- It is important to deglaze your instant pot after sauteeing the mushrooms. If not the pasta might stick to the pan.
- If you can’t find nutritional yeast, you could substitute it with parmesan ( vegans use vegan parmesan)
- Adding avocado is optional. It tasted creamy without avoacado too.
- If you don’t want to blanch the broccoli and spinach pot in pot with the pasta, do it separately in a pan and use it for the sauce.
Liked this instant pot pasta with vegan broccoli and spinach sauce? If you tried it, do share a picture with the hashtag #cookingwithpree on Instagram or Facebook. Would love to know what you guys have been cooking
Looking for more Instant pot or Vegan recipes? Check out Pinterest boards for inspiration. Happy cooking!
This is a long time pending review. Preethi’s Instant pot pasta with vegan broccoli and spinach sauce recipe is just awesome!!! Such a good and nutritious variation from tomato based pasta. We all loved it including our toddler. Have made it thrice in the past 2 months and every time, pasta just vanishes in no time!!!
Keep up the good job Preethi. Loving your recipes. I will keep trying more from your website.
Thank you so much for the feedback mathangi 🙂 This is my kid’s favorite pasta too. She prefers this to the tomato based one:)