One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta is a light pasta dish of Angel Hair Pasta, chicken chunks, tomatoes, basil all covered in a creamy garlic parmesan sauce. This Pasta dish is healthy, satisfying and filling.
Tomato Basil Pasta- Margherita Pizza in a Pasta Dish!
Margherita Pizza is my absolute favorite! If you aren’t familiar, it is a very basic pizza. Just crust, a simple fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato slices and fresh basil.
If I had to describe it in one word it would be FRESH.
Growing up, all I would eat was either cheese pizza or pineapple pizza. (Gasp! I know. ?) Aaaand these pizzas were usually from Dominos or Pizza Hut.
I didn’t even branch into the Pepperoni Pizza world until I was in high school. I had gone to Little Caesars for lunch with some newer friends and didn’t want to seem weird by pulling off all of my pepperoni’s.. so I ate them.. and liked them! Proof of what peer pressure can do. ?
But my life was forever changed when Dan and I packed up all of our belongings & 2 kids and moved across the country nearly 4 years ago.
New York & New Haven know how to do pizza. Period.
I was introduced to the Margherita Pizza (specifically at Modern Apizaa in New Haven. If you have the chance, GO!) while living on the east coast and I will never turn back.
This new recipe today, is basically everything good about this pizza I a pasta dish. Plus, it is light and healthy if you can believe it!
How to make Tomato Basil Pasta
Today, I am showing you how to make this pasta in your Instant Pot! I will be adding the stovetop directions in a bit, after I test the stovetop recipe a couple more times. Stay tuned If you are interested in the stovetop version!
To make the Tomato Basil Pasta in your Instant Pot, we will first start with broth, angel hair pasta and seasonings in the Instant Pot. The pasta should be just about covered with liquid.
Lay the pasta into the liquid, changing directions of the pasta, criss crossing the noodles to help prevent sticking.
Next, we’ll add in cubed chicken. I diced up 5 chicken tenders, but you could also use chicken breasts.
This is very important: the final pieces of chicken should be small and bitesized, no larger than 1 inch by 1 inch cubes.
Add the chicken cubes to the Instant Pot and season with salt and pepper.
Cook on Manual (or Pressure Cook) for 2 minutes HP, followed by a 3 minute NPR. If you like your pasta more al dente, cut each of your chicken pieces in half and then cook for 1 minute HP with a 3 minute NPR before manually releasing the pressure.
Quick note about releasing the pressure after the NPR: Whenever cooking with the Instant Pot (and especially when pasta is inside!) it is important to stay close to the Instant Pot while the pot is quick releasing (turning the knob to release) its pressure.
You’ll want to stay near and watch closely to make sure no liquid starts coming out of the vent. When cooking with pasta, the starch makes the liquid bubble up (like it would on the stove top) and occasionally it will start to come out of the vent. This is why pasta dishes always call for an NPR. It lets things settle a bit before releasing the pressure.
If, for some reason, liquid starts to come out, simply seal the pot back up with the end of a spoon and let it sit for another minute or so and then try again.
After the pressure has release, you’ll add some evaporated milk to the sauce to cream it up a bit (without the fat and calories!).
Next goes in some fresh parmesan cheese. This will thicken the sauce quite a bit.
Stir in some diced tomatoes and fresh chopped basil.
Stir to incorporate the tomatoes and basil. Then replace the lid and let the pasta sit for about 10 minutes to really let the flavors of the tomato and basil soak into the sauce.
The pasta tends soak up that sauce quite quickly, so if when you open the pot it seems to need more sauce, just add another splash of evaporated milk and give it a good stir.
Now, taste test and add salt and pepper to your liking!
How to Reheat your Tomato Basil Pasta
The pasta is best reheated on the stovetop. The pasta will soak up pretty much every last drop of sauce while in the fridge. While reheating, add some more (really depends on the serving size you are reheating!) evaporated milk, salt and pepper to bring that sauce back to life.
If reheating in the microwave, add a splash of leftover evaporated milk and stir to combine after heating through the pasta.
YIELD: 4 SERVINGS
One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta
(printable recipe below)
One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta is a light pasta dish of Angel Hair Pasta, chicken chunks, tomatoes, basil all covered in a creamy garlic parmesan sauce. This Pasta dish is healthy, satisfying and filling.
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz angel hair pasta, broken in half
- 2 tsp minced garlic, dried
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (not the powdered stuff!)
- 1 cup roma tomatoes, diced (approx 3 small tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
- Place the broken pasta into the Instant Pot, alternating directions making a criss cross pattern.
- Add the minced garlic, chicken chunks and salt and pepper to the Instant Pot.
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 2 minutes followed by a 3 minute NPR before releasing the remaining pressure manually. Turn the Instant Pot OFF.
- Add the evaporated milk to the Instant Pot and stir to combine.
- Stir in the shredded parmesan cheese.
- Stir in the tomatoes and basil.
- Replace lid and let the pasta sit for 10 minutes to allow the sauce to soak up the tomato and basil flavor.
- Season the pasta with salt and pepper again and serve.
Notes
Keep that extra evaporated milk! After the 10 minutes is up, sometimes the pasta soaks up a lot of the sauce, if you prefer yours more saucey, simply add an additional 1/4 cup of evaporated milk.
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One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz angel hair pasta broken in half
- 2 tsp minced garlic dried
- 2 chicken breast cut into 1 inch chunks
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese not the powdered stuff!
- 1 cup roma tomatoes diced (approx 3 small tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
- Place the broken pasta into the Instant Pot, alternating directions making a criss cross pattern.
- Add the minced garlic, chicken chunks and salt and pepper to the Instant Pot.
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 2 minutes followed by a 3 minute NPR before releasing the remaining pressure manually. Turn the Instant Pot OFF.
- Add the evaporated milk to the Instant Pot and stir to combine.
- Stir in the shredded parmesan cheese.
- Stir in the tomatoes and basil.
- Replace lid and let the pasta sit for 10 minutes to allow the sauce to soak up the tomato and basil flavor.
- Season the pasta with salt and pepper again and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Michelle says
I would like to double this recipe, but I’m not certain how that would work out exactly with the quantity of broth. I feel that 6 cups of broth would maybe be too much. What would you suggest?
karlibitner says
I’ve actually tripled this recipe before!! 6 cups of broth does sound like a lot, but you’ll be good! Just double the ingredients, cook time stays the same. 😊
Nat says
Another big hit with the fam tonight- I loved how easy it was and seriously so good. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers!
karlibitner says
Glad you and your fam loved it, Nat! ❤️
Vicki J. says
I am alone, so I halved this recipe and made it in my 3 qt instant pot. I didn’t have fresh basil, so I sprinkled in dried basil. OMG, this is my new favorite instant pot recipe–it was delicious!!! Reminded me of a box pasta mix I used to get, that is no longer around.
I am working my way through a lot of your instant pot recipes that I printed out. Instant Pot Skinny Creamy Ziti used to be my favorite but it has gotten knocked to the number 2 spot by this One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta. Thank you so much for all the recipes you share!
Karli Bitner says
Coming across this comment made me so happy!! Thank you!!