4 Minute Pasta Recipe
By :Thasneen Naina
Votes: 28
Rating: 4.25
Rate this recipe!
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Course Main Course
Cuisine Modern
Difficulty Easy
Browse Category Kid-Friendly, Rice & Pastas
Duration less than 15 min
Diet Vegetarian
Cooking Technique Pressure Cook, Sauté
Main Ingredient Broccoli, Cheese, Pasta
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp dry red chili flakes
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper chopped
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 1 cup salsa or tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano or parsley or basil or Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups macaroni pasta whole wheat
  • 1 and 1/2 cups Water
  • 1 and 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese
  • 2 handfuls cilantro or parsley chopped
Course Main Course
Cuisine Modern
Difficulty Easy
Browse Category Kid-Friendly, Rice & Pastas
Duration less than 15 min
Diet Vegetarian
Cooking Technique Pressure Cook, Sauté
Main Ingredient Broccoli, Cheese, Pasta
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp dry red chili flakes
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper chopped
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 1 cup salsa or tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano or parsley or basil or Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups macaroni pasta whole wheat
  • 1 and 1/2 cups Water
  • 1 and 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese
  • 2 handfuls cilantro or parsley chopped
Votes: 28
Rating: 4.25
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Instructions
  1. Turn on the Instant pot.
  2. Click Saute button, click Adjust- set temperature to Normal.
  3. Let the display show HOT.
  4. Add oil, add dry red chili flakes, saute for a few seconds.
  5. Add onion, season with 1/4 tsp salt. Saute for a minute.
  6. Add green pepper, yellow pepper, broccoli florets or any kinds of mixed veggies.
  7. Add salsa or tomato sauce, ground cumin, dried oregano, pasta and water. Combine well.
  8. Close the pot with the lid.
  9. Turn vent to Sealing.
  10. Click Manual- High pressure- set time to 4 minutes.
  11. Before you know it will beep and do a quick pressure release.
  12. Open the lid, combine well.
  13. Add cilantro and cheese, add salt to taste.
  14. Done, delicious and creamy pasta is ready to be enjoyed.
  15. If you prefer, you could even add boneless chicken breast and cook along with veggies and pasta.
Recipe Notes

Cooking time might vary for other kinds of Pasta. 4 minutes worked well for Macaroni pasta.

34 replies
  1. jclarke
    jclarke says:

    Maybe I overdid it on the pepper flakes, but this was WAY to spicy. It also lacked flavor in general. I won’t be making this again.

  2. Prettyfaithful1
    Prettyfaithful1 says:

    I used this as a base recipe. I suggest it as such. Change the ingredients (including the pasta shape) to suit your taste and create your own recipe. I basically used this recipe to gauge timing foe my own. As a basic recipe, it wasnt bad and my end product was good. Im making tweeks and will likely post my own recipe.

  3. Heidi Brottlund
    Heidi Brottlund says:

    I thought it was too spicy! I had to make another meal for my kids. I recommend not using the red pepper flakes at all. I added sour cream which was good.

  4. Mlapeare
    Mlapeare says:

    Super quick and easy. I would reduce the chili flakes this is way to spicy for a child to enjoy.

  5. Shapoopie88
    Shapoopie88 says:

    While im sure this recipe is fantastic for people who like spice, i dont know that it should be included under “kid friendly”

  6. mcrb92
    mcrb92 says:

    Easy to make, took some time to prep though. I used garlic instead of red peppers since I was making it for my toddler too. Turned out pretty well for a vegetarian dish. Definitely needed to add more water than recommended, and more salt for sure.

  7. Miss Taylor
    Miss Taylor says:

    I needed to finish cooking the macaroni in the oven because it was not fully cooked. The ratio of water & pasta is wrong. I donot believe that this recipe was tested. It tirned out fine after i added more water & baked in the oven.

  8. Grammadonna
    Grammadonna says:

    Very good *except*…for waaaaay too much red chili flakes…1Tbsp??? Yikes!!!
    Possibly that is a typo, and meant to be 1tsp…however, a “pinch” would probably be enough.

  9. emaxon
    emaxon says:

    This is great as a base recipe. It definitely needs more salt than recommended and overall turned out pretty bland. I left out the red chili flakes as other reviewers had said since I was feeding my daughter. I went with the tomato sauce version (almost doubled the cumin and oregano to make up for less flavor) and used chicken broth instead of plain water. Still pretty boring. The water to pasta ratio worked for me. Pasta was cooked through. Like I said, this has potential but not great as-is.

  10. InstantWhat
    InstantWhat says:

    This acted as a great base recipe to build on. I added a pound of ground beef and about 2 cups of frosen vegetables (peas, corn, carrots), amd doubled the sauce because i like my pasta saucy. I added more salt and pepper and some italian seasoning. It honestly turned out awesome ! My kid loved it!

  11. Thomasina63
    Thomasina63 says:

    turned out quite well, I used hot italian sausage instead of red pepper flakes and it was quite spicey. Prep time took me more like 25 minutes, not 3..

  12. Instant Pot
    Instant Pot says:

    Hi Thomasina63,

    The prep time was provided by our contributors.

    I personally am slow at prep so it always takes me longer to prep than it states.

  13. Malibushylah
    Malibushylah says:

    First time making anything in this pot. Had some hiccups with the wifi not working when it should in the middle of cooking this. As a result, it burned on the bottom. No bueno. But it came out great! The only thing was that the kids hate spicy food so next time, no red pepper flakes.

  14. lufamily524@gmail.com
    lufamily524@gmail.com says:

    This was so easy and delicious. I’ll cut back on the pepper flakes next time though.

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