Instant Pot Vegetarian Pasta – Rigatoni Bolognese – is a healthy, filling pasta dish that’s worthy to be in your regular meal rotation, and you won’t miss the meat! All the vegetables in this hearty vegetarian pasta recipe give the dish a meaty texture. The pasta and sauce are cooked together making it a delicious one-pot meal.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Although I love traditional spaghetti bolognese with meat, a few years ago I found a Giada De Laurentiis recipe for a vegetarian rigatoni bolognese and adapted it to make a veggie pasta in the Instant Pot that’s perfect for vegetarian meals and meatless Mondays.
For the Instant Pot version of my recipe, I cook the pasta and sauce together, to make yet another delicious one-pot meal. The bolognese-style vegetarian sauce is made with lots of vegetables – onion, celery, carrots, bell peppers and mushrooms – which gives it a thick, meaty texture.
One of the things I love about making pasta in the Instant Pot pressure cooker is that I can cook everything together: the pasta and the tomato sauce.
It’s so convenient and easy to get this vegetarian pasta on the dinner table on busy weeknights: in less than 30 minutes with minimum cleanup.
Don’t be deterred by the list of ingredients! I know it’s long, but if you’re organized and can gather everything up before you start cooking, you’ll find that it comes together very quickly.
Saute your vegetables in the Instant Pot first, then put in the remaining ingredients except for the cheese and parsley, and pressure cook. That’s it.
The leftovers make a perfect vegetarian lunch the next day. You can make this Instant Pot veggie pasta for a crowd by doubling the recipe and cooking it in separate batches.
If you’re looking for tasty Instant Pot pasta recipes with meat, check out my Instant Pot Penne with Sausage and Tomato Cream Sauce or Instant Pot spaghetti recipe with meat sauce from scratch. Both are one-pot pressure cooker pasta dishes that are quick and easy.
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms are earthy, wild mushrooms that have a nice meaty texture. Dried porcini mushrooms are normally soaked in hot water, and the soaking liquid is added to the dish during the cooking process.
In this Instant Pot vegetable pasta recipe, I skip the soaking step and add the chopped dried mushrooms to the pasta along with the other ingredients.
Dried porcini can be pricey, so you can substitute dried shiitake mushrooms or mixed mushrooms.
Mascarpone
This vegetarian pasta dish is finished with mascarpone cheese and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese that’s softer and creamier in texture than regular cream cheese and is used to make Italian desserts like tiramisu.
If you can’t find mascarpone, you can try and substitute heavy cream, cream cheese, creamy goat cheese, or boursin cheese.
Seasonings
You can substitute the oregano and basil with two teaspoons of Italian seasoning. You can also sprinkle fresh basil on the pasta dish after cooking is complete.
Avoiding the Burn Notice
I have not had any issues with the ‘Food burn’ message but it’s possible for some people to get the Burn message when making this recipe. Do the following to avoid the issue:
- After sauteing onions and garlic, deglaze really well. There should be nothing stuck to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Turn off the Instant Pot for a few minutes after sauteing.
- Add water first, then remaining ingredients.
- Add tomatoes and pasta last, and don’t stir. Just push down to submerge in the water.
- You may need up to an extra half cup of water if the above steps don’t help.
FAQs
Double all ingredients but keep the cooking time.
Yes, broth can be substituted for wine, although wine does add flavor to bolognese sauce.
If you can find a ‘meaty’ mushroom, like portobello, shiitake, baby bella use those. Otherwise just use regular button mushrooms.
12 ounces is about ¾ of a 16 oz. box of pasta.
Yes, you can use something other than rigatoni. The rule of thumb for pasta cooking times is to take the cooking time on the box, divide by 2 and add 1. e.g. if the pasta stovetop cooking time is listed as 8 minutes, the Instant Pot cook time for the pasta would be 5 minutes (8 divided by 2 = 4; 4 + 1 = 5).
You can substitute an equal quantity of jar sauce. Just make sure you adjust the seasonings, especially salt, since jar sauce already has a lot of sodium.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
- Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
Instant Pot Vegetarian Pasta – Ingredients List
- Tomato paste
- Olive oil
- Black pepper
- Thyme
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Parsley
- Crushed red pepper
- Basil
- Oregano
- Sugar
- Fresh garlic
- Water or vegetable broth
- Dried porcini
- Crushed tomatoes
- Milk
- Red wine
- Onions
- Pasta
- Mushrooms
- Bell peppers
- Carrots
- Celery
More details in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post
How to Make Vegetarian Pasta in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Saute onions and other vegetables
- Saute mushrooms
- Add liquids, spices, pasta and tomatoes
- Add remaining ingredients
- Pressure cook
- Release pressure
- Add cheese and heat through
Saute onions and vegetables
- Select Saute function.
- Add olive oil to inner pot of Instant Pot.
- Add onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers and fresh
- garlic and saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Saute mushrooms
- Add mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes.
- Turn off Instant Pot by pressing Cancel.
- If there’s food stuck to the bottom, deglaze inner pot with 2 tablespoons of water.
Add liquid, spices, pasta, and tomatoes
- Stir in balsamic vinegar, milk, wine, water or vegetable broth, dried porcini mushrooms, black pepper, salt, thyme, oregano, basil, sugar, red pepper flakes.
- Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and pasta on top.
- Don’t stir but push down gently with a spatula until pasta is submerged in the liquid.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 7 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until the display reads ‘7′ (7 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 7 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 7 minutes (00:07).
- Press ‘Start’.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to Naturally Release Pressure (NPR) on the DUO and ULTRA
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). The float valve will be in the down position. This may take 15 to 30 minutes. [Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
Add cheese and heat through
- There might seem to be more liquid than you’d like, but don’t worry, the liquid will get absorbed by the pasta.
- Stir in mascarpone cheese.
- Let the creamy pasta rest for a few minutes and it will thicken up.
- Sprinkle each serving with parmesan and fresh parsley.
Instant Pot Vegetarian Pasta | Rigatoni Bolognese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup onion chopped fine
- ½ cup celery chopped fine
- ½ cup carrots chopped fine
- ½ cup bell peppers chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 cups fresh mushrooms chopped
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms chopped
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes (794 grams)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 12 oz. rigatoni pasta (340 grams)
- 4 oz. mascarpone cheese (113 grams)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 3 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Select Saute and add olive oil to inner pot of Instant Pot.
- Add onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add fresh mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes.
- Turn off Instant Pot by pressing Cancel.
- If there’s food stuck to the bottom, deglaze pot with 2 tablespoons of water.
- Stir in milk, wine, water, dried porcini mushrooms, black pepper, salt, thyme, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, pasta, but don't stir. Just push down with a spatula so the pasta is submerged.
- Stir to combine.
- Close Instant Pot lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 7 minutes.
- Do a quick release of pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- There might seem to be more liquid than you’d like, but don’t worry, the liquid will get absorbed by the pasta.
- Stir in mascarpone cheese.
- Let the pasta rest for a few minutes and it will thicken up.
- Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan and fresh parsley.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, diced chicken, etc.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
Instant Pot Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage
Instant Pot Shrimp Pasta with Garlic
Instant Pot Ratatouille
Karen
So delicious…but, once it was under pressure the ‘add water’ sign came on. I took the lid off to add some water then realised the bottom was burnt! Salvaged it by decanting it to a pan to finish cooking.
Possible mistakes: did I stir it too much after adding all the ingredients, should I have let the pan cool after the sauté stage, or add more liquid…
I’d appreciate any tips as it was lovely – I’m sure I made a basic error at some point! (I’m using a Ninja 9 in 1). Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Karen, next time, add the pasta into the liquid and don’t stir. Add the tomatoes and don’t stir. This is detailed in the section “avoiding the burn notice” on the blog post. If you want to add an extra 1/4 cup broth or water, you could also try that out. Thank you for your comment.
Alyce
I like this dish!
Based on my past experience trying to cook dishes containing wine in the Instant Pot, I added the wine (and vinegar) on the 2nd ‘saute’ step, maybe for 5 – 7 minutes, to let the alcohol evaporate before starting the pressure cook cycle.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Alyce, I’m glad you liked the recipe and were able to make modifications successfully.
Jacob Zelten
Re. the Burn message: I am convinced that there is a significant variation between individual IPs. (Personally I get Burn on *any* recipe with tomato unless I add water). Maybe it’s the thermostats, maybe its the flatness of the bottom of the pot creating hotspots… In any case, get to know your own pot and adjust accordingly.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Jacob. I do have to agree with you that every Instant Pot model and individual unit can perform differently. Regarding tomatoes, have you tried layering and not stirring (water on the bottom, tomato on top) – it helps A LOT!
EmilyOJ
Made several times and always turns out delicious! Company enjoyed it and asked for recipe.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks Emily! I’m thrilled to hear that you and your guests loved the recipe 🙂
Bethan
My son who hates pasta dishes ate it, my daughter who loves pasta dishes hated it! Typical contrary teenagers!! I thought it was ok and my husband loved it. The wine didn’t cook down enough for my taste, maybe I’ll try again and replace half the wine with stock.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for your comment – well, at least someone liked it 🙂 If they are used to meat, that could be a reason 🙂 Yes, you can definitely use broth instead of wine.