Instant Pot Pasta Carbonara Recipe - the easiest pasta dish you can make in your pressure cooker! Spaghetti noodles tossed with bacon, grease and egg and Parmesan mixture to make the sauce, make this pasta dish a huge favorite!
If you want to serve it with sauce, try my Homemade Alfredo Sauce and serve it all with a simple salad with my Italian Dressing.
I took the concept of one-pot pasta and made one of my Hubby's favorite pasta dishes, Pasta Carbonara, in my Instant Pot pressure cooker. It's unbelievably easy to make and you will have only the IP insert to clean. Win-win!
INSTANT POT PASTA CARBONARA
This Instant Pot Pasta Carbonara is one of the easiest meals you can make in your Instant Pot. It's creamy, flavorful and satisfying. Toss cooked spaghetti noodles in crispy bacon, add the mixture of Parmesan cheese and egg and stir until creamy. Garnish with chopped parsley and devour!
HOW TO MAKE PASTA CARBONARA IN INSTANT POT?
- Start by chopping bacon and garlic. Set aside.
- Place pasta, water and butter in Instant Pot, close lid, set valve to sealing position, press "manual" or "pressure cook" setting and set timer to 7 minutes. The IP will take about 10 to come to pressure. Once the timer is done, wait 1 minute, then switch the valve to venting to release pressure. Carefully open the lid away from your face. Spoon out ½ cup of pasta water into a measuring cup. Set aside. Drain pasta and discard rest of the pasta water. Keep spaghetti in the colander.
- Place IP insert back in the IP and press "saute" setting. Wait 1 minute, then add olive oil. Add chopped bacon and cook until crispy. Add garlic to IP and stir. Add one tablespoon of butter and let melt. Press "cancel/off" button. Add spaghetti back to the Instant Pot. Stir well, coating with bacon and grease.
- Slowly add egg and cheese mixture, stirring constantly, to prevent the egg from scrambling. It should turn into a creamy sauce with the spaghetti. Add reserved pasta water, a little bit at a time, and stir well.
- Serve garnished with more shredded Parmesan, chopped parsley. For a little bit of spice, sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes over each serving.
HOW LONG DO YOU COOK SPAGHETTI IN THE INSTANT POT?
That's my favorite part of this easy dish! You cook the spaghetti noodles right in your Instant Pot in just 7 minutes! Arraning it in a criss-cross pattern and adding 1 tablespoon of butter on top prevents the noodles from sticking to each other. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water after cooking, drain the rest. When the bacon is nice and crispy, you add the pasta back to the IP and toss with bacon and the grease. Talk about flavor!
INSTANT POT PASTA CARBONARA VARIATIONS:
- add more meat: add cubed chicken, ham or Italian sausage and cook with bacon, before tossing in the pasta.
- add veggies: spinach, sweet peas, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, even broccoli and cauliflower.
- use different noodles: angel hair, fettuccine, linguine or even bow tie pasta can be used to make this dish. The rule is to cook it for half the time mentioned in instructions on the box.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS INSTANT POT PASTA CARBONARA:
Instant Pot pressure cooker (I have the DUO60 6qt and Ultra 6qt <<--- affiliate links)
wooden spoon
cutting board and knife
colander
measuring cup
MORE INSTANT POT PASTA RECIPES:
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
For more IP recipe, feel free to browse our Instant Pot category.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
INSTANT POT PASTA CARBONARA RECIPE
Instant Pot Pasta Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz. spaghetti noodles
- 4.5 cups water
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 slices of bacon
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Grab a handful of spaghetti noodles at a time, break in half and arrange in a criss-cross pattern. Add water. Do not stir. Place one tablespoon of butter on top of pasta. Close the lid. Set valve to "sealing" position. Make sure the IP is set to cooking on HIGH pressure. Press "manual" setting and set timer to 7 minutes. The IP will take up to 10 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once the timer is done, press "cancel/off" button. Wait 1 minute, then switch the valve to "venting" position to release pressure. Once the pin drops and pressure is released, open the lid carefully away from your face. Spoon out ½ cup of pasta water into measuring cup and set aside. Drain pasta over colander, discard remaining pasta water. Keep spaghetti in colander.
- Place the insert back in the Instant Pot. Press "saute" setting. Wait 1 minutes. Add olive oil to insert. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Add garlic and saute with bacon for 1 minute. Add one tablespoon of butter and let melt. Press "cancel/off" button. Add pasta back to the IP. Toss well with bacon, garlic and grease.
- In a small bowl, beat egg and Parmesan together. Slowly add the egg and Parmesan mixture, stirring constantly to make sure the egg does not scramble. It should turn into creamy sauce. Add reserved pasta water, a little bit at a time, stir well. The pasta should be creamy.
- Season with black pepper. Serve garnished with chopped parsley and more grated Parmesan.
Jennifer says
Hi, I would like to add chicken, peas, and mushrooms. For the chicken I read to cube it and add it to the bacon before tossing in the pasta. At what point should the other ingredients, specifically peas and mushrooms be added? And guess that depends on whether canned or frozen should be used? Thank you for any help!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Jennifer! Adding chicken, peas and mushrooms is a great idea! You can cook the chicken first, remove onto a plate, then add bacon and cook until almost done. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Add peas as the last ingredient as they only need to be warmed up with everything. I hope this helps! Let me know how you like it!
Anna says
I have finally jumped on the instant pot wagon and I'm super excited to try this! I haven't used it yet so I just want to confirm the cook time because I'm a little confused - the pasta in total will take 17 minutes in the IP (10 minutes to come to pressure and an additional 7 to cook with the timer set)? Thanks!
Monica says
Just finished cooking it in my IP. I have to say I love the idea of cooking the pasta and then everything else on saute mode. Thank you!
Erin says
I'm going to have to try this.
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thanks, Erin!
Krista says
This is going to be a hit at my house! I love it!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thanks, Krista!
Paula says
Spaghetti alla Carbonara is my favorite ALL TIME pasta dish!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Awesome!
Taylor says
A family favorite! Love using the instant pot, too!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Taylor!
Michelle Goth says
I love carbonara! So cool that you can make it in the instant pot!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thanks, Michelle!
Sue says
Step 1 of the instructions says to set valve to the "venting" position.....shouldn't that be the "sealing" position?
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Oh my gosh, yes! Thank you for catching that, Sue! All fixed!
Sabrina says
Pasta Carbonara is such a favorite in this house. Love how easy it looks using the instant pot!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Same here! Huge hit every time!
Sommer says
The best last minute meal! Love this Instant Pot recipe!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Sommer!
Pam says
I am new to the Instant Pot and this recipe was so easy and good! Thank you!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
That's fantastic! Thank you, Pam!
Allyson Zea says
YUM YUM YUM! This is one of my favorite meals in the IP!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Yay! Perfect! Thank you, Allyson!
Julie Blanner says
This looks great! Can't wait to make it!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thanks, Julie!
Courtney O'Dell says
This carbonara was so quick and easy - going into my rotation!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Awesome! Thanks, Courtney!
Julia says
We love Carbonara! I cannot wait to make it in my Instant Pot! Thank you, Anna!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
You are very welcome, Julia! Let me know how you like it!
Julia says
Oh my! This carbonara is delicious! My Hubby and two boys loved it! Thank you so much for the recipe!