Instant Pot garlic parmesan pasta
Six cloves of garlic, butter and a cup of parmesan melt into a creamy sauce around pasta cooked right in the broth, one pot and done.
- 25 min total
- 10 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.18 a serving
- 720 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 lb penne
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 720 calories, 24 g protein, 93 g carbs and 28 g fat, and costs about $2.18 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No penne? Rigatoni or elbow macaroni works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the garlic.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Set the Instant Pot to , the butter, and cook the garlic 1 minute, . Press Cancel.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Timer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: Pull it before it browns. Burnt garlic turns the whole pot bitter.Pour in the broth and salt and scrape the bottom so nothing is stuck.
Add the penne and press it down under the liquid.
Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: It takes about 10 minutes to come up to pressure before the countdown starts. That’s normal.When it beeps, carefully turn the valve to Venting with a long spoon, keeping your hand and face away from the steam.
Stir in the cream and parmesan until creamy and let it sit 2 minutes to .
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Timer: 2 min
Serve with the pepper and parsley on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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30-minute dinners ›One-pan dinners ›What to make with pasta and parmesan ›