This Instant Pot ham and peas pasta dish has a delicious creamy garlic Parmesan sauce. It’s quick and easy (under 30 minutes), family friendly, and so good.
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Hello, my friends!
How are you doing? I’ve had so many messages from people in the last few weeks sharing recipes that they’ve been making. And I love seeing the pictures and cheering with you over the successes. It does my heart a lot of good to see all the yummy food you are cooking for yourselves and your families during this time.
And today I’m popping in to share another awesome recipe with you, this Instant Pot ham and peas pasta dish.
Can you believe this is two Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker recipes in a row? BTW have you made that honey glazed chicken I posted last week yet? Soo good.
With everyone home all of the time, I’m finding that quick and easy recipes is definitely a theme going on around here. And this recipe definitely fits that theme, taking less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish.
My sister always makes a really yummy baked ham alfredo pasta dish that she brings to our family gathering and I wondered if I could recreate something like it for the Instant Pot (aff. link). I decided to adapt this Alfredo Fettuccine slightly by adding some ham and a few extra seasonings to give it the flavor I was going for.
When there were no leftovers after making it the first time I made it, I knew that I had found a winner.
I added peas for a bit of color, but if you have kids that totally rebel against green things in their food, you could always serve them on the side. What is it about kids anyway liking to eat their food colors separately? I dunno. I just know it’s a thing around here. But even my four-year-old didn’t seem to mind them in this dish.
How to make this Instant Pot Ham and Peas Pasta Dish
First melt the butter and sauté the garlic (I doubled the recipe). If you have a little helper to stir with you, this is a perfect recipe for them to help with.
Pour in the broth and cream and then add the seasonings. Ooh and awe with your helper over all of the pretty color swirls happening in the pot.
Next add the pasta (I break the spaghetti noodles in half so they fit better in the pot). You don’t want to add it all in one clump or the end product will be a huge clumpy mass of pasta. I like to sprinkle it a few at a time in crisscrossing layers. Make sure you don’t stir after adding the pasta.
Press the noodles gently with a spoon until they are submerged under the liquid in the pot. Again, do not stir or your pasta may clump together in unpleasant ways. You will know you are done when all of the pasta is completely submerged underneath the liquid.
Then put the lid on and cook it. After the cooking time + natural release time is up (natural release time just means you wait until you release the pressure on the Instant Pot for a few minutes). Then release the pressure.
When opening the pot, it should look something like this. Grab your helper to admire these colors.
Add the cheese, frozen peas and chopped ham. You could easily use leftover ham in this dish.
Stir and let it sit for a few minutes to melt the cheese and thaw the peas.
Then dig in.
A few things to note about the recipe
Does the brand of pasta matter? Can I use a different type of pasta?
The brand and type of pasta matters as far as the cooking time goes, but you should be able to easily make this recipe with different brands and types.
I’m not a fan of overcooked pasta so I like to follow this handy rule of thumb when trying to decide how many minutes to cook pasta in an electric pressure cooker:
Take the al dente cooking time listed on the package, cut it in half and subtract another 1 to 2 minutes.
Is there anything I should know about doubling it?
Because the pot will be full-er you may need to add a few minutes of additional natural release time to the recipe when you double it.
For a single recipe, 3 minutes cook time + 6 minutes natural release is what I most often use (for the American Beauty brand of pasta). But I’ve found that for a doubled recipe, 2 minutes of cook time + 9-10 minutes of natural release time is usually just about right.
If the pot starts to splatter when doing the quick release, do not freak out. Just cover it with a dish towel while it releases so it doesn’t make a huge mess. Or alternately you can turn it back and let it release naturally another few minutes before doing the quick release.
What kind of chicken broth should I use?
If you’ve been around long enough to read even just a few of my recipe posts, it shouldn’t surprise you at all that I use this chicken bouillon substitute + water in place of the chicken broth in this and SO many other recipes I post.
Make it.
Use it.
It’s completely vegan, contains no MSG, whips up quick, and uses pantry-friendly ingredients. It’s pretty much awesome.
But regular chicken broth will work just fine too. If you don’t have low sodium chicken broth make sure you don’t add the additional salt in the recipe (and just salt to taste at the end).
In conclusion…
I’ll keep it short and sweet. You really need to make this dish soon. Okay, bye for now.
Instant Pot Ham and Peas Pasta with Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce
A creamy kid-friendly comfort food pasta dish we love.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 4 large cloves fresh garlic minced
- 2 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth see note
- 1 cup heavy cream see note
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme or ¾ teaspoon chopped fresh
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil or ¾ teaspoon chopped fresh
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley broken in half
- ½ pound (8 ounces) spaghetti broken in half
- ½ cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup (5 ounces) frozen peas
- 2 cups (8 ounces) diced cooked ham leftover ham works great, see note
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh chopped parsley & additional Parmesan cheese for serving, if desired
Instructions
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Using the low saute function melt the butter in the insert of a 6-quart Instant Pot and then add the minced garlic. Saute for just a couple of minutes, stirring often, until aromatic.
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Pour in the broth and cream and then add the salt, pepper, thyme, basil, and parsley.
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Add the pasta by sprinkling it in layers (don't add it all at once or it will clump); don’t stir, but if there are noodles popping up, make sure they are pressed down in the liquid completely.
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Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and select “manual” or “pressure cook” and cook on HIGH pressure for 2 or 3 minutes, depending on how tender you like your pasta, the brand of pasta you are using, and how long you are planning on letting it naturally release (see next step and notes to guide you).
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Let the pressure release naturally for 6 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure. If the pot starts to splatter when doing the quick release, cover with a dishtowel or turn the knob back to pressure and let it release naturally another 4 to 6 minutes naturally before doing the quick release.
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Add the Parmesan cheese, peas and ham and stir thoroughly. Then let it sit for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve the pasta immediately with fresh chopped parsley, and additional Parmesan, if desired.
Recipe Notes
1. For the broth, I often use 2 ½ cups water + 1 ¼ teaspoon chicken bouillon substitute. If you only have regular chicken broth, leave out the added salt in the recipe and add salt to taste at the end.
2. I’ve only made this with heavy cream, but I think you could substitute half-and-half or whole milk. It won’t be as creamy and may a little runnier but I think it should still work.
3. This recipe would adapt very well to meatless, just leave out the ham. As a variation you could leave out or add extra cooked vegetables at the end if you like too, adjusting the salt if needed.
4. A good rule of thumb when trying to decide how many minutes to cook pasta in an electric pressure cooker is this: take the al dente cooking time listed on the package, cut it in half and subtract another 1 to 2 minutes.
5. I normally double this recipe for my family in my 6 quart Instant Pot. When doubling, I’ve found that I usually add more time to the natural release time, otherwise it will sometimes splatter out more liquid during the quick release. For a single recipe using the American Beauty brand of spaghetti, I normally use a 3 minute cook time + 6 minute natural release time. For a doubled recipe, I normally use a 2 minute cook time + 9-10 minute natural release time.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
