ONE POT PENNE & MEATBALLS (IN THE INSTANT POT)

A lemonlavenderlove recipe

I love quick, easy, and tasty meals. I also love love, love last minute meals that you can put together with stuff from your pantry. Bonus points for only using one pot. This is yet another reason to love my Instant Pot.

Pasta and pasta sauce are staples in our pantry. Whether or not you have an Instant Pot, pasta dishes are quick and easy (if you use the prepared sauce and store-bought pasta). But you gotta love the versatility of using the Instant Pot and only getting one pot dirty.

We had a leftover bag of Kirkland Signature Italian Style Beef Meatballs in our freezer so I decided to throw them in to get some protein with the pasta. I’ve heard that Trader Joe’s frozen meatballs are tasty so the next time I’ll try them out. What’s your favorite frozen meatball?

INGREDIENTS

·         1-2 pounds frozen meatballs (I used about 1/3 bag of Kirkland Signature Italian Style Beef Meatballs)

·         3 cups (24 ounces) water

·         16-18 ounces penne pasta (the bag I used was 17.6 ounces)

·         48 ounces pasta sauce, divided (I used two 24 ounce jars of pasta sauce)

·         1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, optional to add some heat

·         Parmesan, grated

Do not forget that for a perfect pressure of your pot have to change their rings every 18 or 24 months

DIRECTIONS

1.       Add meatballs to the bottom of your Instant Pot.

2.       Pour the 3 cups of water over the meatballs.

3.       Add pasta over the meatballs and water.

4.       Pour one jar (24 ounces) over the pasta.

5.       Sprinkle red pepper flakes over the pasta sauce.

6.       Do not stir.

7.       Cover and lock the lid.

8.       Select “Manual” mode and press the “-” button until it reads 6 minutes (for al dente) or 7 minutes. Also make sure set the top knob to “Sealing” and not “Venting”.

9.       The Instant Pot will beep at you when it finishes cooking the pasta and meatballs.

10.   To avoid over-cooking, move the top knob from “Sealing” to “Venting” to manually release the pressure.

11.   The pasta should be al dente. If it’s still a little crunchy you can set the Instant Pot to simmer and cook it for several more minutes until pasta is tender.

12.   The pasta wasn’t saucy enough for us so we ended up adding an additional jar of sauce after everything was cooked. Pour the additional jar of sauce over the pasta and stir until everything is thoroughly coated with sauce.

13.   Grate fresh Parmesan over the hot penne and meatballs.