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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Every time I make this Instant Pot bolognese, the aroma of the mushrooms and herbs fills my kitchen, and I’m instantly reminded of why I love this recipe.
My family (who sometimes act like they’re are allergic to vegetables!) clean their plates every time. It’s become our go-to for Meatless Mondays and those evenings when we’re craving comfort food without the guilt.
I cook the pasta and sauce together for this healthy Instant Pot bolognese recipe. The bolognese-style vegetarian sauce is made with many vegetables – onion, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and mushrooms – giving it a thick, meaty texture.
The leftovers make a perfect vegetarian lunch the next day. You can make this vegetarian bolognese for a crowd by doubling the recipe.
If you’re in the mood for a tasty Instant Pot pasta recipe 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.
📍Why Choose Vegetarian Rigatoni Bolognese?
- It’s packed with vegetables, and high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It’s lower in saturated fat than meat-based sauces, making it heart-friendly.
- Vegetables are less expensive than meat, making this a budget-friendly option without sacrificing flavor.
- Perfect for entertaining, this dish caters to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. It’s so hearty and flavorful that even carnivores won’t miss the meat.
- Unlike traditional bolognese, which often requires hours of simmering, this Instant Pot version is ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Instant Pot Vegetarian Pasta Ingredients List
More details in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
Here are some tips that will help you make a perfect Instant Pot vegetarian rigatoni recipe:
🍄 Mushrooms: Use dried porcini for earthy, meaty texture. Skip soaking; add directly to pasta because they will rehydrate in the Instant Pot. Substitute with dried shiitake or mixed mushrooms if porcini are pricey.
🧀 Mascarpone: It’s an Italian cream cheese, softer than the regular kind. Alternatives: heavy cream, cream cheese, creamy goat cheese, or boursin.
🌿 Seasonings: Swap oregano and basil for 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning. You can also garnish with fresh basil at the end before serving.
🔥 Avoiding the Burn Notice:
- Deglaze thoroughly after sauteing.
- Cool the Instant Pot briefly after sauteing.
- Layer the ingredients: Add liquid first, then the rest. Add tomatoes and pasta last; submerge the pasta but don’t stir.
- If needed, add up to ½ cup extra water.
❓ 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, or baby bella, use those. Otherwise, use regular button mushrooms.
12 ounces is about ¾ of a 16 oz. box of pasta.
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.
✏️ Important Tips for Making Pasta in the Instant Pot
- To avoid the Instant Pot food burn message, add the dry pasta at the end right before pressure cooking, and don’t stir it. Just push down on it with a spatula until the pasta is submerged in the liquid.
- Any type of pasta shape (shells, spiral, penne, farfalle, ziti, rigatoni) will work for this recipe, but you may need to change the cooking time. I use the Barilla brand of pasta.
- The general rule of thumb for cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is to take the time that the pasta box says, divide by 2 and add 1. e.g. if the stovetop cooking time on the pasta box is listed as 8 minutes, you would pressure cook for 5 minutes (8 divided by 2 = 4; 4 + 1 = 5).
- For al dente pasta, pressure cook for half the time recommended on the box.
- The longer the pasta sits in the Instant Pot, the more it cooks. So, it’s important to release pressure as soon as cooking is complete. To avoid a mess, release the pressure in bursts, as detailed in how to natural release Instant Pot.
⏲️ How to Make Vegetarian Pasta in Instant Pot
- Saute onions and other vegetables
- Saute mushrooms
- Add liquids, spices, pasta and tomatoes
- Add remaining ingredients
- Pressure cook and release pressure
- Add cheese and heat through
- Select Saute function and add olive oil to Instant Pot. Add onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers and fresh garlic and saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot by pressing Cancel. If there’s food stuck to the bottom, deglaze the inner pot with two tablespoons of water.
- Stir in balsamic vinegar, milk, wine, water or vegetable broth, dried porcini mushrooms, black pepper, salt, thyme, oregano, basil, sugar, and 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.
Program the Instant Pot and release pressure
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 7 minutes.
- The display will go from On to 07:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a quick release of pressure. Release the pressure in bursts, to avoid a mess. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.
- There might seem to be more liquid than you’d like, but don’t worry; the pasta will absorb the liquid.
- 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
Rani says
Any recs in what (And in what quantity) to substitute in lieu of dried porcini mushrooms (not available).
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Rani, if you can find a ‘meaty’ mushroom, like portobello, shiitake, baby bella use those. Otherwise just use regular button mushrooms. Maybe about 1.5 cups. Hope you like the recipe 🙂
Jasmine says
This is the first recipe I’ve tried in my instant pot and It is so flavorful, and delicious!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Jasmine, I’m really glad you liked the recipe. It really is so hearty!
Archana says
This is an amazing recipe.. I just skipped red wine. My family loved it… Thanks a lot for this wonderful recipe… Will definitely make it again
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Archana, for letting us know the modification you made – that’s helpful to other readers who wish to skip the wine. I’m really glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Prerna says
Hello! I’m planning to make this tomorrow using the 3 quart instant pot. I will half the quantity of ingredients. My question is should the manual mode pressure time of 7 minutes reduce also? Or stay the same? Also is there anything I can replace the milk with? Trying to omit dairy.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Prerna, yes you would halve all the quantities but keep the cooking time the same. The dairy comes from milk and cheese. Replacing them would change the taste a lot. I’m not sure how almond milk would work – it would give it a different taste but maybe okay?
Maggie says
Hello! I am planning on making this tonight, however it needs to be dairy free. Do you think I could substitute the milk for coconut milk and the cheese for Nutritional Yeast? I know it won’t taste quite the same, but hopefully more or less?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Sorry, Maggie, if this is too late. I suppose you could make those substitutions but it will be a completely different taste, not sure. I use coconut milk for curries, etc but never for Italian 🙂
Rohan says
Thank you for the recipe! I have a 3 quart IP, so if I want to make the sauce to later serve over pasta, as opposed to pressure cooking the pasta, how should I adjust the cooking time?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Rohan, the recipe contains quite a bit of extra liquid to allow liquid to be absorbed by the pasta. Reducing that liquid will probably result in a burn message when you pressure cook, because of the tomatoes. You could cook in ‘Saute’ mode or on the stovetop.
Deb says
silly question: how much is “12 oz” of pasta? the box says 1 lb (?16 oz?). Can I use a whole box? or do I remove ⅓ of the pasta? Thanks
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Deb! The recipe was tested for 12 oz (I use a kitchen scale), which is 3/4 of the box. If you use the whole box, make sure you increase the quantity of liquid by about 2/3 cup (e.g. milk, water, broth, wine, etc). It should work.
Joseph says
Made the meal for my fiance and she loved it. Thank you for postung.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Lucky fiance 🙂 I’m so glad to hear y’all liked the recipe. Thank you for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe!
Hallie says
Can you half this recipe and make it in 3 quart? I’m new to this. Thanks.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hallie, I haven’t tried making it in a 3 quart, but I don’t see any reason why not, because there will be enough liquid for the 3 quart to come to pressure.
Rani says
Sorry if this is silly question but I’m new to Instant Pot. In order to deglaze, do I remove the contents, then clean the pot and then put the contents back in?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Not a silly question, Rani. You do not need to remove the contents. You just add a tablespoon or two of liquid and scrape the bottom. Key to deglazing is that the pot needs to be hot and that helps dislodge the browned food from the bottom. Good luck with your new Instant Pot!
Rani says
Great thanks! Does the water just burn off?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
That’s right, Rani – it does evaporate. The key is not to add too much liquid – just a few Tbsp at a time.
Neha says
Hello! Can you double this recipe in the six quart IP? I’d like to make this, but need it for about fifteen people!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Neha, I don’t know if you can double the recipe, I haven’t tried that. You need to make sure that the pasta and liquid together don’t go past the halfway mark, to account for expansion. You might be able to do 1 1/2 times.
BDK says
Can you substitute something or simply eliminate the wine?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
You can substitute the wine with broth, but the flavor will be different since red wine adds depth to the dish. You might be able to eliminate it but the quantity of liquid will change, and I’ve not tried making the dish with less liquid 🙁
Dhanya says
Hi Neena,
Do you think the flavor of the pasta be affected greatly if I simply omit the dried porcini mushrooms?
Thanks,
Dhanya
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Dhanya – you should be fine, maybe add a few more of the other mushrooms for more bulk, but not necessary. The dried porcini absorb some of the liquid.
Zack says
I made this yesterday and all was going well until I got the “burn” message about two minutes into pressure cooking. Was able to thicken the sauce up some on sauté and it still came out tasting pretty amazing. But I was wondering if you might know what I did wrong. The only difference I know of is that I was using a ceramic non-stick insert instead of the standard aluminum. I was using the IP Duo 6qt. Prior to pressure cooking I scraped the bottom and nothing was stuck to it as far as I could tell. Any advice would be great! Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Zack, some newer Instant Pots have been showing the burn message, especially the 8 quarts. Next time try this:
– Stir everything up except crushed tomatoes and pasta
– Then add those final two ingredients last and DON’T stir; just push down to make sure they’re covered by the liquid.
– You might need to add a 1/4 cup more liquid, but you might want to try without first.
Keep me posted if you find anything out. Thanks for your question.
Zack says
So I can’t speak for this one yet, but I just tried your adaped instructions with the penne with sausage in tomato cream sauce And that worked perfectly! No “burn” message. Thanks so much for the help!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Oh, great! That’s great to know. Did you add any additional liquid in that recipe? Thank you for updating us!
Zack says
No additional liquid other than the fact that I used two 15oz cans of crushed tomatoes instead of one 28oz can but I doubt the 2oz made much difference. No additional water though just water first in with the sausage, then noodles, then peppers and other ingredients, then crushed tomatoes. Came out perfectly!
Karen says
Want to make this but hubby is lactose intolerant. What can I substitute for mascarpone cheese?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Karen, thanks for the question. The mascarpone balances out the tomato and thickens the sauce a bit. I haven’t used a vegan cream cheese, but is that an option for you? Otherwise, try and omit the cheese and see how you like it. The pasta and sauce thickens on its own after cooking is complete but if you want to thicken some more, just cook on saute mode for a few minutes, stirring often.
An Instant Pot enthusiast in NY says
Excellent recipe! I subbed eggplant for the 2 cups of fresh mushrooms and it still turned out really yummy! I also don’t eat onion or garlic and omitting those still produced a delicious pasta dish. (I increased the amount of carrot and celery to compensate for the omitted onion.)
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you for the comment – I’m really glad you liked it and were able to change it suit your tastes!
Kristi says
Hi! Excited to try this recipe but I’m new to the instant pot——is the pasta I cooked when you put it in? Or did you cook it ahead of time? Thanks!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Kristi, the pasta is uncooked. Hope you like the recipe. and enjoy your new Instant Pot!
Karen says
Oh my gosh, so good. I didn’t even wait for him to get home! Shhhhhh
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Karen – haha! That’s usually me with anything having to do with chocolate ? I’m so happy you liked it!
Monica says
Delicious! Another family favorite. So rich and flavorful, didn’t miss the meat one bit.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Monica! I think the mushrooms and other vegetables add a nice ‘meaty’ texture to the pasta. Just made this myself two nights ago.
Cheryl says
Simple, healthy, tasty – we loved it. Thank you!