Name: Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 4 cups chicken broth; 2 cloves garlic (minced); salt and pepper (to taste); 16 ounces penne pasta (uncooked); 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk; 2 cups marinara sauce; 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese; ½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese; Fresh basil and shredded Parmesan for garnish (if desired)

In our house, we all love a good pasta recipe. Well, this Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta is always a hit with our family! It is so creamy, cheesy, and has wonderful flavor.

Our Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta may become your favorite quick dinner! This is honestly the BEST dinner recipe for families. Even picky eaters love it.

Do you want to try out some more recipes with the new Instant Pot? Try our Instant Pot Spicy Chicken and Rice Bowls, Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup, and our Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

WHICH INSTANT POT IS BEST?

Our favorite Instant Pot has over 34,000 4-star reviews on Amazon. You can find it HERE! It’s also one of the more affordable electric pressure cookers available.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta

Related Article: An entire pan of homemade breadsticks done in 45 minutes! Check out our Sheet Pan Garlic Breadsticks for a delicious side dish!

Ingredients in Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta:

Chicken broth
Evaporated milk
Cloves of garlic
Salt
Pepper
Penne pasta
Marinara sauce
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil

I have only ever made this using evaporated milk, but you could possibly substitute whole milk or even half and half if you don’t have any evaporated milk on hand.

You could even try and make your own marinara sauce with this easy marinara sauce recipe!

Mozzarella Cheese, Parmesan Cheese and a can of Pasta Sauce

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INSTANT POT PASTA NECESSITIES:

Instant Pot
Measuring (like TH I S one)
Spatula or wooden spoon

How to make Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta:

This creamy Instant Pot pasta recipe is super simple! You can get it ready to go in a matter of minutes.

Start by combining the chicken broth, garlic, salt, pepper, and penne pasta into the pot in the Instant Pot.

Mix it all together, then put the lid on and turn it to secure it before turning it on.

Instant Pot Insert with noodles and milk

Once the lid is secure, switch the knob to the “sealing” position and press “manual” to cook the pasta for 5 minutes.

A tip for cooking pasta in the Instant Pot: take the cooking time recommended on the package and divide it in half. Then subtract 2 more minutes from that number and that is about how long you should cook pasta in the Instant Pot (usually 4-5 minutes is the magic number).

Then, after the Instant Pot beeps to let you know that it is done cooking, let it do a natural release for 5 minutes (this means you don’t have to do anything but let it sit there for another 5 minutes.

The numbers on the display of the Instant Pot will now start to count up – don’t be alarmed, this is just to let you know how long it has been naturally releasing pressure for.)

After the 5 minutes of natural release, move the knob to the “venting” position and the Instant Pot will do a quick release with the rest of the pressure that was built up.

Once the pin drops, you can remove the lid and then pour in the evaporated milk and marinara sauce into the pressurized noodles. Then, mix everything together so that the pasta is evenly covered with sauce.

Then, add in the Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese and stir everything up until the cheese is completely melted.

All that is left to do is serve the creamy pasta immediately and top it with fresh basil and parmesan cheese!

If you wanted to add protein to this, you could add in some cooked Italian sausage or even cooked shredded chicken. Just mix it in at the end.

Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta in a white bowl

EASY DINNER RECIPE

If you are looking for another great recipe that you can just dump in the Instant Pot and go, then you will want to check out this amazing EASY Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe on our YouTube channel.

It is one of my favorite go-to recipes during the week.

Nothing like preparing dinner in under 10 minutes and letting the Instant Pot do its thing!

More of the best Instant Pot recipes to try:

Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta Recipe

5 from 1 vote

In our house, we all love a good pasta recipe. Well, this Instant Pot Cheesy Penne Pasta is always a hit with our family! It is so creamy, cheesy, and has wonderful flavor.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Pressurize Time 10

Total Time 25

Save Print Pin

Ingredients

▢ 4 cups chicken broth
▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
▢ salt and pepper, to taste
▢ 16 ounces penne pasta, uncooked
▢ 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
▢ 2 cups marinara sauce
▢ 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
▢ ½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
▢ Fresh basil and shredded Parmesan for garnish (if desired)

Equipment

Instructions

Pour chicken broth, garlic, salt, pepper, and penne pasta into Instant Pot. Secure the lid, switch the knob to "sealing" and cook on "manual" for 5 minutes.
When it is done cooking, let the pot do a natural release for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and pour in evaporated milk and marinara sauce. Stir the sauce into the pasta so that all the pasta is covered evenly.
Add in Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese and stir until cheese is melted.
Serve immediately and top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes

If you want to add protein to this, you could add cooked and shredded chicken at the end or cooked and crumbled Italian sausage.

Nutrition

Calories: 479 kcal · Carbohydrates: 68 g · Protein: 24 g · Fat: 12 g · Saturated Fat: 7 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Cholesterol: 35 mg · Sodium: 1392 mg · Potassium: 762 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 11 g · Vitamin A: 686 IU · Vitamin C: 18 mg · Calcium: 430 mg · Iron: 2 mg

Cuisine: American, Italian

Course: Main Course

Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.

Recipe adapted from Cooking with Karli

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Questions & Reviews

Sonya says:

I thought you cannot pressure cook any dairy ? I’m confused and fear making this wondered if you put it out after realizing the advice given in Mac n cheese video
Camille says:

I am so sorry about that - I gave the directions in the wrong order. I corrected it in the recipe and you should be good to go! Thanks for the comment!
Sue birkenheieir says:

Can I make this in a regular big pot ,I would like too make this next Christmas,for a big crowd thank you.
Jessica says:

I don’t have a manual button? I have the usual insta pot... do you mean pressure cook and then put on 5 minutes? Sorry I’m new to the instapot thing just trying to figure it all out 😬
Jen says:

Just made this and it was a hit with my picky pete kid!! I'm not sure what I did differently though, mine was swimming ton of juicy sauce. We just drained it before plating it and it was delicious!! Thank you for sharing!
Cyd says:

Manual/Pressure Cook are the same thing depending on what Instant Pot you have. You'll love your instant pot!
Alicia says:

Did you drain the pasta before adding the milk and sauce
Cyd says:

No need to drain the pasta before adding the other ingredients.
Kate says:

The mozzarella (added last, after the sauce & milk) turned into a blob. What did I do wrong?
Cyd Adamson says:

Were you cooking the whole time? That should help. And cook just until cheese is melted.
Rose says:

I loved this recipe but it was soupy. I tried it and followed the recipe today.
Jess says:

For some reason it was very soup like. I added spinach and cream cheese and let it cook more well I stirred it. Turned out perfectly and not soupy. In case this happens to someone else. I also added more cheese to help thicken it.
Debra Pendleton says:

Like many others who commented, mine turned out really soupy. I added more cheese but we still just ended up eating it out of bowls as soup. Disappointed.
Jane Carlson says:

How would I change the directions to use a slow cooker?
Momma Cyd says:

Not all recipes convert over. But here is a post that can help you. https://mycrazygoodlife.com/convert-instant-pot-recipes-crockpot/
Sharon says:

Could frozen meatballs be added to this recipe? Would the cook times change?
Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:

You definitely can. I would saute the frozen meatballs in the bottom of the Instant Pot a little bit (you may need to scrape the bottom of the instant pot after sauteing to avoid a burn notice), then add in the rest of the ingredients. You may also need to add in a little extra liquid to make sure all the noodles are covered, too, so they can cook, but would keep the time at 5 minutes. I would also double check the temperature of the meatballs to make sure they're cooked all the way through before eating them, but I think it will work!