Instant Pot Pasta Primavera Recipe: Quick Veggie One-Pot Meal

This Instant Pot Pasta Primavera is tossed in a bright lemon‑garlic butter sauce with crisp‑tender spring vegetables.

Serve it warm or chilled — it’s simple to prepare and makes a great potluck or lunch dish. You can swap the pasta for your favorite shape.

Instant Pot Pasta Primavera Pasta Salad

Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is straightforward once you know the trick: make sure the pasta is submerged in broth or water to ensure even cooking. For this recipe I used pappardelle, but penne or rotini work well too. As a general guideline, use 1 ½ cups of liquid (water or broth) for every 4 ounces of pasta.

Ingredients in Instant Pot Pasta Primavera

This pasta salad highlights a variety of spring vegetables and a simple sauce made from vegetable broth, garlic, lemon, and butter.

• 1 lb pasta (pappardelle shown; rotini or penne are good substitutes)
• Carrots, thinly sliced
• Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1‑inch pieces
• Sweet onion, diced
• Cherry tomatoes, halved (for tossing and garnish)
• Zucchini, sliced and quartered
• Red pepper, julienned
• Broccolini (baby broccoli)
• Lemon zest and juice
• Italian seasoning, salt, red pepper flakes
• Vegetable broth
• Dry white wine
• Butter
• Parmesan, shredded
• Fresh basil
• Cornstarch (1 tablespoon) + 1 tablespoon water for a slurry

How to Make Instant Pot Pasta Primavera

1. Prep the vegetables: slice the zucchini, thinly slice the carrots, trim and cut asparagus into 1‑inch pieces, julienne the red pepper, halve the cherry tomatoes, and dice the onion. Mince the garlic.

2. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add butter, lemon zest and juice, white wine, garlic, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Sauté briefly to combine the flavors.

3. Add the prepared vegetables except the cherry tomatoes and sauté for 3–4 minutes. You want vegetables that remain crisp‑tender rather than soft, so do not pressure cook them with the pasta.

4. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sautéed vegetables and set them aside. Leave the cooking juices in the pot — they form the base of the sauce.

5. Add the pasta to the inner pot and pour the vegetable broth over it so the pasta is covered. Close the lid and set the valve to sealing.

6. Pressure cook on High (Manual) for 4 minutes.

7. When the cook time ends, perform a careful quick release following your pressure cooker’s instructions. Keep faces and hands away from the vent to avoid burns.

8. Open the lid away from your face and remove the pasta with a slotted spoon. The remaining liquid will be a lemon‑garlic butter sauce.

9. Set the Instant Pot back to Sauté. Stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water, then add the slurry to the pot and cook briefly until the sauce thickens, about 1–2 minutes.

10. Toss the cooked pasta with the reserved sautéed vegetables and the thickened lemon‑garlic butter sauce. Finish with halved cherry tomatoes, shredded Parmesan, and fresh basil.

📖 Recipe

Instant Pot Pasta Primavera

Dana

This Instant Pot Pasta Primavera is tossed in a delicious lemon and garlic butter sauce with crisp spring vegetables.

4.86 from 7 votes

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 4 mins

Total Time: 14 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Calories: 510 kcal (estimate)

Equipment

• Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker

Ingredients

• 1 lb pappardelle (or rotini/penne)
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth (adjust ratio if using a different pasta)
• 1 cup broccolini
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1‑inch pieces
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, sliced and halved
• 1 red pepper, julienned
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup grated Parmesan (for garnish)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Fresh basil for garnish
• 1 tbsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water (slurry)

Instructions

1. Wash and prepare all vegetables.
2. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and white wine. Sauté briefly.
3. Add all vegetables except the cherry tomatoes and sauté 3–4 minutes, until crisp‑tender.
4. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and leave the juices in the pot.
5. Add the pasta to the pot and pour the vegetable broth over so the pasta is covered. Close the lid and set the valve to sealing.
6. Pressure cook on MANUAL/HIGH for 4 minutes.
7. Carefully perform a quick release according to your pressure cooker manual.
8. Open the lid away from your face and remove the pasta with a slotted spoon.
9. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Mix the cornstarch and water, then add the slurry to the pot and cook until the sauce thickens, 1–2 minutes.
10. Toss the pasta and reserved vegetables with the lemon‑garlic butter sauce. Top with halved cherry tomatoes, Parmesan, and fresh basil.

Notes

Please refer to your pressure cooker’s manual for safe quick‑release instructions.

Nutrition (estimate)

Serving: 1 | Calories: 510 kcal | Carbohydrates: 70 g | Protein: 20 g | Fat: 16 g | Fiber: 6 g

Nutritional information is an estimate based on third‑party calculations. Actual values may vary depending on ingredients and serving sizes.

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