One Pot Tomato Parmesan Pasta

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes

4 cups water

16 oz short pasta shape*

3 tbsp butter, cut into cubes

1 tsp dried oregano

1 ¼ tsp kosher salt

2 cloves garlic (chopped or smashed, optional)

½ cup grated parmesan, plus more for topping

* I love the “pipe rigate” shape (as seen above) but any short and fat ridged pasta will work great.

Note: I like this pasta recipe as is without any add-ins but with a simple side salad

Add in 2 cups chopped mushrooms with the pasta

Stir in 4-6 cups spinach at the end until wilted

Cooke ½-1 lb ground meat (in 1 tbsp oil, ½ tsp salt, breaking into bite-sized chunks) before adding the rest of the ingredients. Or stir in 1-2 cans of drained white beans at the end.

In a 6-quart Instant Pot, follow the recipe, but reduce the water to 3 cups. The pasta will be mostly submerged with some pieces sticking out.

Lock the lid in place and set the vent to “sealing”. Select “manual pressure” (set to high) and set the timer for 5 minutes. Once the timer goes off, carefully move the vent to “venting” to release the pressure. Turn off the instant pot, add the parm, and give everything a good stir.

The sauce will thicken up and cling better to the pasta as it sits and cools a bit (recommend letting it sit for 5-10 minutes).

Directions

In a large pot with a lid, add the tomatoes and juices and use your hands to break up the tomatoes into chunks/release the juices (beware of splatter!)

Add the water, pasta, butter, oregano, salt, and garlic (if using). Stir everything to combine, then cover with a lid and increase the heat to high to bring to a boil. Give the pasta a stir, scraping up any pasta that’s stuck to the bottom of the pot. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer rapidly (covered) for 10 minutes, stirring halfway to scrape up any pasta that might be stuck on the bottom.

Remove the lid, give it another stir, and let it simmer for 5-10 more minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally to ensure no sticking. You’ll know it’s done when the liquid has reduced into a saucier consistency and the pasta is cooked to your liking.

Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan. Taste and add more salt, if needed. Note that the sauce will thicken up and cling better to the pasta as it sits and cools a bit (recommend letting it sit for 5-10 minutes).

Serve topped with more parmesan and some black pepper. Serve with a simple side salad, if you’d like.