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    Home » Recipes » Instant Pot

    Healthy Instant Pot Pasta with Tomato Cream sauce

    Published: Oct 26, 2018 · Modified: Jul 22, 2023 by Maria Doss · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

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    So creamy, so rich, so amazing yet so much healthier Instant pot pasta with tomato cream sauce made with a secret ingredient. You will never miss the cream!

    instant pot  pasta with tomato cream sauce

    Creamy, orangish, velvety, luxurious tomato cream sauce.

    But, without any cream! The best healthy instant pot pasta recipe

    Don't get me wrong, I truly love creamy pastas like Instant Pot Chicken Fettucino Alfredo or one pot mac and cheese recipe.

    And this cream loaded 😊 Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Soup

    I'd love to serve healthier, lighter version on weeknights. 

    The secret? 

    Drum roll, please.....coconut milk!! 

    Sounds weird? Trust me, no one will ever know. You don't taste the coconut milk at all and it makes an orange pasta sauce without any cream. 

    best healthy instant pot pasta recipe
    orange pasta sauce

    Here are the team players in this instant pot pasta with tomato cream sauce:

    • Penne or any shape that is similar in size so that it'll be perfectly cooked at the given time. 
    • Store bought marinara sauce 
    • No-cream <---- coconut milk 
    • And the usual suspects - butter, onion, garlic, parmesan, fresh basil, salt and pepper.
    instant pot pasta with tomato cream sauce

    How to make creamy tomato pasta in instant pot?

    Step-1: Set Instant pot to hot. Saute chopped onion and garlic in some butter. 

    Step-2: Add penne, marinara sauce, coconut milk, water, salt and pepper. Cook. 

    Step-3: Finish with parm and basil. 

    I told ya, easy peasy. 

    This is a play on one of the most popular Instant Pot pasta recipes on Kitchen@Hoskins - Instant pot chicken pasta. 

    Make it for dinner and pack leftovers for lunch. 

    Or, make it in the morning <--- Effortless pasta recipe. 

    creamy tomato pasta in instant pot

    Instant Pot No-Cream Pasta with Tomato Cream sauce

    So creamy, so rich, so amazing yet so much healthier Instant pot no-cream pasta with tomato cream sauce. You will never miss the cream!
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian
    Prep Time: 6 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 18 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3 Servings
    Calories: 567kcal
    Author: Maria Doss

    Ingredients

    Group-1

    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • ½ cup chopped onion
    • 2 garlic garlic, minced

    Group-2

    • 8 ounces penne pasta
    • 1 and ¼ cup marinara sauce, I used Prego (Tomato basil garlic)
    • 1 cup coconut milk, I used canned Choakoh coconut milk
    • ¾ cup water
    • ¾ teaspoon salt or as required, refer notes
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

    Group-3

    • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
    • chopped fresh basil, to finish
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Set Instant pot to saute setting. When hot, add butter and then chopped onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes, until translucent. 
    • Press cancel and then add all group-2 ingredients and stir well. Close and lock lid (making sure that valve is set to sealing). Select manual setting (or pressure cooker) for 7 minutes. 
    • After 7 minutes, let Instant pot in the warm mode for 10 minutes. Turn valve to venting to release pressure. Open lid, stir group-3 ingredients and serve. 
    • Sauce might look a bit thin as soon as you open lid, but it will thicken in couple of minutes.
    • The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Just stir some water to loosen it up. 
      Enjoy hot or let cool and pack into meal prep containers with garlic bread on the side (if desired).  

    Notes

    1. Salt will depend on your taste level and the type of marinara sauce used. I used Prego, tomato basil garlic and used ¾ teaspoon salt.
    2. Please use only canned coconut milk and not coconut milk beverage. I used Chaokoh canned coconut milk <--- shake can well before opening.
    3. I used 3-quart size Instant pot.
    4. If you want pasta to be al dente, then cook for 6 minutes and then 10 mins of warm instead.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 Serving | Calories: 567kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 1231mg | Potassium: 699mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 749IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 5mg

    Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.

    Did you make this recipe?Mention @KitchenAtHoskins or tag #kitchenathoskins!

    Recipe loosely adapted from Pioneer Woman's recipe

    Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting kitchenathoskins.com

    All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lewis Johnson

      January 15, 2019 at 5:25 pm

      I love creamy pasta.

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        January 15, 2019 at 7:23 pm

        Me too:)

        Reply
    2. Jayceebee

      April 02, 2020 at 1:42 pm

      5 stars
      This was so easy and a huge hit in my family. Instead of coconut milk, I used 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup water, in addition to the water listed. Not so healthy but so good. I also skipped the entire first step and went to the pasta. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        April 02, 2020 at 3:07 pm

        That sounds great, glad you liked it:)

        Reply
    3. Rudy

      January 02, 2022 at 2:49 pm

      I’d like to double this recipe for the family. Can I simple double it or should I make some changes to the quantities?
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        January 04, 2022 at 3:38 pm

        Hi Rudy, I would recommend doubling if you are using a large Instant pot (preferably a 8 quart). Else, we would recommend cooking in two batches. Wishing you a wonderful holidays and new year - Maria

        Reply
    4. Jennifer Beglin

      January 11, 2022 at 5:29 am

      5 stars
      Made this tonight and it was a huge hit! My husband told me to add it to weekly rotation and he couldn’t believe it had coconut milk in it- you definitely can’t tell!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        January 12, 2022 at 2:02 am

        Hi Jennifer, that sounds wonderful! Wishing your family a very new year, Maria

        Reply

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    Hi I'm Maria, the recipe developer, photographer, and videographer behind this food blog. Here you’ll find simple everyday recipes that pack in serious flavors, with a sprinkling of creative twists to familiar dishes. I also focus on including an overview of why the recipe works, valuable tips, step-by-step photos, and videos to guide you along the way.
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