Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta (Instant Pot)

This quick recipe cooks the pasta and sauce all at once! Add in a handful of spinach, cheese and meat at the end for a simple weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water or chicken broth

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 lb. box of rotini

• 1 24 oz. bottle of spaghetti sauce (I use tomato basil garlic pasta sauce)

• 1/2 Tbsp dried basil (or 1/4 cup fresh)

• 2-3 cooked chicken breasts or 1 lb. cooked ground turkey (see note)

• 2-3 large handfuls of spinach (it will wilt down so you can put in a lot!)

• 1/2 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of your instant pot with cooking spray. Pour in the water (or chicken broth) following by the cream and salt and then stir.

2. Pour in the rotini pasta. Do not stir but make sure the noodles are spread out evenly and not domed in the center.

3. Pour on the entire bottle of spaghetti sauce evenly on top of the noodles and do not stir.

4. Make sure the instant pot is set to seal and press "manual" and set for 3 minutes (see note if not using Great Value rotini). Let the pot naturally release for 10 minutes and then release the pressure.

5. Remove the lid and stir in the basil, meat, spinach and parmesan cheese.

Notes:

• This makes a lot of pasta so plan for leftovers or try halving the recipe.

• Ground turkey: If using ground turkey, I usually add 1-2 tsp of Italian seasoning and a little salt & pepper while browning the meat to add some flavor!

• Pasta cooking time: This is based off of the cooking time of Great Value's rotini. If using other brands or types of noodles, find the lowest even number of cooking time on the instructions, cut in half and then subtract 2 minutes. For example, if your pasta cooking instructions were originally 12-14 minutes, you would divide 12 in half (6 minutes) and then subtract 2 minutes to get a total cooking time of 4 minutes. If that seems too complicated, try it for 3 minutes and then decide if it needs another minute or two after that!

• Stovetop instructions: Cook pasta according to box instructions and drain. In a large pan or pot, combine the pasta with all of the remaining ingredients (except for the water/chicken broth) and stir well over low heat. Stir until the spinach has wilted and enjoy!

Love this recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment or messaging me on Instagram! I'd love to hear what you think.