Instant Pot Penne Pasta and Meatballs
Instant Pot Penne Pasta and Meatballs made with frozen meatballs is an easy dump & start instant pot recipe that you can make with pantry ingredients. A great family friendly Instant Pot Pasta dinner that packs a punch.
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Servings: 6 people
Calories: 259kcal
Cost: $3
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Penne Pasta **uncooked. 454 g / 16 ounce.
- 1.5 pounds Frozen Meatballs **we used turkey meatballs. You can use any frozen meatballs that you prefer. Homemade frozen meatballs would work too.
- 23 ounce Marinara Sauce **or any pasta sauce. 652 g.
- 10 ounce Rotel Tomatoes **we used hot rotel. Read **NOTES below for sub.
- 1 cup onion **finely chopped yellow onion.
- 2 tsp garlic **minced
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce ** OPTIONAL or use red wine vinegar.
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese **shredded.
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt **according to your own personal preference.
Seasonings
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Liquid
- 2 tbsp Better Than Bouillon **chicken base. Dilute this with the 3 cups water mentioned below to make an instant flavor packed chicken stock.
- 3 cups water **warm water.
Instructions
- Dump ingredients: Follow this order - Add frozen meatballs directly from the freezer into the steel insert of the instant pot. Than throw in the pasta and spread them in a sigle layer on top of the meatballs. Pour in the chicken stock all over the pasta. DO NOT mix. Throw in the onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce. Pour the Marinara sauce on top of the pasta and make sure that the pastas are all covered with sauce. Add the rotel (do not drain the juices). Now, sprinkle the seasonings on top, add the olive oil and DO NOT mix or stir!
- Pressure Cook: Secure the lid of the instant pot, seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 5 mins. Once, the pressure cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep, immediately perform a quick pressure release manually by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. Open the lid carefully when the metal pin drops. You'll have a beautiful bubbling sauce on the top. TURN OFF the instant pot.
- Mix & Serve: Now, gently stir the penne pasta and meatballs with the spatula and mix well all the ingredients in the pot. Do a taste test and check for salt, you may add a few dashes salt to make the flavors pop. Add salt according to your personal preference. Now, throw in the shredded Mozzarella all over the pasta & put back the lid. Rest for 5 mins or until the cheese melts. Open the lid and serve the penne and meatballs right away. You may give it a quick stir to mix in the melted cheese. Top with more cheese, garnish with fresh chopped basil and serve. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Rotel Sub: If you do not prefer chunky tomatoes in pasta dishes than you may sub the Rotel mentioned in the recipe with a 8 ounce can of tomato sauce.
- Meatballs quantity: We prefer 1.5 pounds meatballs to 2 pounds pasta. But if you prefer more meatballs and less pasta go ahead and add 2 pounds meatballs. In case you prefer more pasta and less meatballs than add 1 pound meatballs. The recipe & cook time would remain the same in both the cases.
- Our preferred Meatballs: We used Kroger's Turkey meatballs for todays recipe. They are soft, juicy & delicious. You can use any meatballs that you prefer like beef, Italian sausage, turkey, chicken. We prefer the frozen meatballs from Johnsonville, Bremer's, Traders joe, Kroger's (store brand), Farm Rich.
- Vegan Penne & Meatballs option: You can even veganize the recipe and use 365 Organic meatless meatballs, Gardein meatless meatballs and sub the chicken stock with vegetable stock or normal water.
- Is the recipe spicy? Yes, todays recipe is slightly spicy as we used HOT Rotel, a lot of cayenne and red pepper flakes, that's how we love it.
- Non-spicy version: Skip or reduce the cayenne amount and use Regular Rotel (not with Habanero, use the one with green chili) or sub the Rotel with tomato sauce (8 ounce can).
Nutrition
Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 728mg | Potassium: 485mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 771IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 133mg | Iron: 3mg