Meatless Meals: Easy Instant Pot Spaghetti

Who doesn’t like one pot meals? I sure do, and the idea of making rich and satisfying meatless spaghetti with noodles, right in the pot, was an appealing one. And cleanup is a breeze – just one pot to clean! This is one of those meals that you’ll want to make again and again.

This is an easy recipe that can be whipped up whenever spaghetti strikes your fancy: basically, sauté onion and garlic in the pot; add the other ingredients, making sure to break up the noodles push them under the liquid; cook for 8 mins on Manual (high); allow 10 mins natural release, then quick release to vent the remaining pressure; stir noodles; serve; enjoy! My kind of recipe! And this is fantastic as leftovers, too…the pressure cooking seems to imbue even the pasta with full flavor.

I tend to prefer my pasta noodles a bit al dente – while soft noodles are fine in soup, soggy noodles in spaghetti would be, to me at least, less than ideal. When I initially read the recipe for this meal, I was concerned that the integrity of the noodles might be sacrificed for the convenience of one pot cooking; had it turned out to be the case, I would have (in the future) only made the sauce in the IP and cooked the noodles on the stovetop. Fortunately, it was not the case.

In fact, the finished spaghetti was thick and “meaty”…the TVP rehydrated perfectly. I’ve also made this with Beyond Meat grounds, which are much chewier than TVP, and other plant-based “grounds” should work, as well. The noodles were soft but not overcooked. It’s important, though, to only cook for 8 minutes; at 9 minutes, the noodles will have gone from just right to soggy.

Easy Instant Pot Meatless Spaghetti

Ingredients
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onions
5 oz TVP (unrehydrated)or 10 oz meatless "grounds" (like Quorn, Beyond Meat, etc.)
6 oz sliced or chopped mushrooms
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3/4 cup red wine
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
12 oz dry spaghetti
3 cups water

Instructions
Set Instant Pot (I used a 6 quart) to Sauté.
Add the oil and garlic to the inner pot and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally.
Add the remaining ingredients - breaking the spaghetti noodles into thirds helps ensure they cook properly.
Stir everything together, submerging the dry noodles under the liquid.
Close the IP lid and set it to cook on Manual (high) for 8 minutes.
When pressure cooking has finished, allow natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release (vent) the rest of the pressure.
Open the lid and vigorously stir the pasta and the sauce to prevent the noodles from clumping.
Salt and pepper to taste. I also like to sprinkle vegan or dairy parmesan on top.

Adapted from Holy Cow!'s Instant Pot Spaghetti with ‘Meaty’ Marinara.

Hope you enjoy this simple spaghetti recipe – and why not make some tonight?

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