My instant pot spaghetti was a total fail until last night

I always made spaghetti in a big pot on the stove, but wanted to use my Instant Pot to save time. The first 3 times I tried, the noodles came out mushy and the sauce was watery. Last night I finally figured out the trick: I broke the noodles in half and only used 4 minutes on high pressure instead of 8. The texture was perfect, exactly like stove-top. Has anyone else had a hard time getting pasta right in a pressure cooker?

4 comments

4 Comments

robert_lopez6421d ago

Nah I was totally on the other side of this for years. I used to think breaking noodles was some kind of crime against pasta, like you had to keep them whole or you were doing it wrong. But after three batches of gluey spaghetti I finally caved and snapped them in half and yeah, it made a huge difference. Four minutes at high pressure with quick release gave me perfect al dente, no mush at all. I still feel a little weird doing it but the results don't lie. The olive oil trick you mentioned does help too, I started adding a splash and it stopped the noodles from sticking together in one solid block.

robert_lopez6421d ago

Wait is it really that serious though? I mean don't get me wrong I get why people get annoyed with mushy noodles but I feel like breaking them in half is kind of overkill. I just use a bigger pot and keep them whole and they turn out fine. Maybe my standards for al dente are lower than yours or something.

sageadams21d ago

The olive oil trick is real. I had the same gluey spaghetti disasters until I started snapping noodles and adding a splash of oil. Now I do 3 minutes on high with quick release and its perfect every time. @nora_walker57 I used to rinse them after but skipping that step actually works better for me. Still feels wrong breaking them though, like Im breaking a rule.

nora_walker5721d ago

The trick with breaking the noodles in half is a game changer, right? I had the exact same mushy noodle disaster my first few times. Someone told me to also rinse the noodles under cold water after pressure cooking to stop them from cooking further, which helped me dial in the timing. For me, 3 minutes on high with a quick release worked better than 4, but maybe my pot runs hotter. I also add a splash of olive oil to the water before cooking to keep them from sticking together in a big clump.