This Creamy Pesto Pasta is a quick and easy way to cook your noodles and add even more flavor to your dinner! The pesto cooks with cream to make a Creamy Pesto Pasta that is delightful! Keep reading for instructions on how to make it.
A few months ago, Hamilton the Musical came to Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is about 3 hours from my house. For Christmas, my mom bought my family tickets. I was SOOOO excited (I’m Hamilton obsessed).
On the night of the event, we all dressed up nicely and went out to dinner at a popular Italian restaurant in the heart of Grand Rapids. The food was incredible, and to this day I can’t stop thinking about the meal I had there: Creamy Pesto Pasta.
The idea of this dish is so simple, but the execution was delicious. The pasta was creamy, flavorful, and exciting. And the chicken in it was fab!
I love making Instant Pot pastas because they literally make my life just SO much easier. So, I decided to convert the recipe to an Instant Pot one. And here we are folks!
What Ingredients are in Creamy Pesto Pasta?
Heavy Whipping Cream
Pesto: You can use a traditional recipe or try substituting this Walnut Pesto Recipe.
Chicken broth
Rotini
Parmesan Cheese
How to Make this Recipe with the Instant Pot
In your Instant Pot, put your heavy whipping cream, pesto, and chicken broth. Then add the rotini.
Use a spoon to make sure that the rotini is covered in the liquid.
Add the lid onto the Instant Pot and press MANUAL or HIGH for 6 minutes. When the cooking cycle is complete, perform a Quick Release.
Open the lid of the Instant Pot, and add the parmesan ¼ cup at a time, stirring in between.
Enjoy!
How to Make this Recipe on the Stovetop
If you want to make this recipe but don’t have an Instant Pot (you can buy one here… it will change your life!), have no fear! We can do that too.
Cook the pasta in a separate pot.
In a smaller pot, combine the cream and pesto together as normal. Heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the pesto cream. Mix in the parmesan cheese ¼ cup at a time, stirring in between. Enjoy!
Can I Use a Different Type of Pasta?
Yes, you absolutely can use a different type of pasta if you’d like! Make sure, however, that if you choose to use a different kind of pasta, that you check the normal Instant Pot cook times on it.
For example, pappardelle (like in my Instant Pot Vodka Sauce) cooks for 6 minutes with a 6 minute natural release. Fettuccine (like in my Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo) cooks for 8 minutes with an 8 minute natural release.
Elbow noodles (like in my Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese) have the same cook time as this recipe at 6 minutes with a quick pressure release.
It’s very important to make sure that you’re using the correct cook time, as it can make a large difference in the outcome for you Instant Pot Pasta. You don’t want your pasta to be undercooked or too mushy!
What Goes Well with your Creamy Pesto Pasta?
If you want another dish to pair with this recipe, I would recommend adding a protein. If you have either frozen chicken breasts or frozen shrimp, you can add them to the top of your noodles and cook normally.
This should thaw your frozen meat and bring it to the perfect temperature to enjoy alongside your Creamy Pesto Pasta!
If you have raw chicken breasts that you want to cook, I would recommend following this recipe from Cooking with Karli, as it provides me with perfect chicken breasts every time!
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Creamy Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 cup Pesto
- 1 cup Chicken broth
- ½ lb Rotini
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
How to Make this Recipe in the Instant Pot
- In your Instant Pot, put your heavy whipping cream, pesto, and chicken broth. Then add the rotini.
- Use a spoon to make sure that the rotini is covered in the liquid.
- Add the lid onto the Instant Pot and press MANUAL or HIGH for 6 minutes. When the cooking cycle is complete, perform a Quick Release.
- Open the lid of the Instant Pot, and add the parmesan ¼ cup at a time, stirring in between.
- Enjoy!
How to Make this Recipe on the Stovetop
- If you want to make this recipe but don’t have an Instant Pot, have no fear! We can do that too.
- Cook the pasta in a separate pot.
- In a smaller pot, combine the cream and pesto together as normal. Heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the pesto cream. Mix in the parmesan cheese ¼ cup at a time, stirring in between. Enjoy!
Linda says
I’d like to try this recipe. Can it also be made in a crock pot?
Thank you!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Linda, I unfortunately have not tested this recipe in a crockpot. If you try it, let me know what you think!
Suzanne McCulloch says
Could you add chicken at the beginning of the cooking?
The Foreign Fork says
Hey Suzanne, yes you can!
Mickey says
I followed the given directions but got a food burn warning on my Instant Pot quite soon after it came to pressure. I took out the unburned pasta/liquid and finished it on the stove top. Taste was okay but it created quite a mess to clean up. Not sure what happened.
The Foreign Fork says
I am so sorry that that happened to you Mickey! A burn warning is always a bummer…. I’m surprised you had the burn notice, but there are quite a few factors that can affect the Instant Pot, including altitude, type of noodle, if you stirred or didn’t etc. If you try it again with more success please let me know!
TANNER LOWE says
TRYING THIS TONIGHT, CANT WAIT! WILL REPORT BACK
The Foreign Fork says
Hurray! Can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂