Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Pasta

This Instant Pot Shrimp Pasta has a delicious sauce with butter, Parmesan, fresh garlic, cracked black pepper and parsley.

I’m always amazed at how simple it is to make pasta in the Instant Pot. Adding just a few additional ingredients, like shrimp, butter, and Parmesan is a simple way to make a delicious pasta dish that’s as impressive as it is easy to make.

First thing you do is cook the pasta in the Instant Pot for just 6 minutes, add the shrimp, stir in the cheese and pepper, then serve it with fresh parsley. It really doesn’t get any easier than that.

» You will also like how easy it is to make this Instant Pot Frozen Shrimp.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Uncooked spaghetti noodles – You’ll need 8 ounces of pasta for this recipe. You can double the recipe to serve more, if you want.
• Butter – I use salted butter to add additional flavor.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic gives the most flavor, but you can use garlic powder or salt if you don’t have it.
• Chicken broth – I use regular sodium chicken broth so I don’t have to add much additional salt to the dish. If you use low-sodium, you will probably need to add additional salt beyond what is called for.
• Lemon juice – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for brightness and acidity.
• Shrimp – I always buy pre-shelled, cleaned and deveined shrimp to make it super simple. You can also buy them already cooked, in which case you just need to add them to the pasta water to heat them up. Don’t add them frozen.
• Parmesan cheese – I really prefer to shred my own Parmesan cheese from a block, but if you don’t have that option, at least use a packaged freshly grated Parmesan – shaved or shredded. Don’t use a finely ground cheese or the unrefrigerated kind in the green can.
• Salt – This dish requires more salt than you might think to really bring out the flavors. Start with a teaspoon and continue adding until it starts to enhance the flavor of the sauce.
• Ground black pepper – This is optional. I like to grind fresh pepper over the top of the finished dish. Yum.
• Fresh parsley – or other fresh herb, like cilantro or rosemary, for garnish.

How to Make Instant Pot Shrimp Pasta

Step One: Cook the Pasta

Set the spaghetti noodles in the pot. I find that to make sure they fit, it’s necessary to break them in half. Add the broth and butter. Make sure the pasta is completely submerged.

Lock on the lid and set the vent to sealing. Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. When the time is up, do a quick release of the pressure. Be careful when venting as this is a starchy pasta. You might want to drape a kitchen towel over the vent if yours doesn’t have a vent cover.

With “Keep Warm” still on, add the shrimp to the Instant Pot. Close the lid and let it sit for 4 minutes to cook the shrimp. As long as the shrimp isn’t frozen, they will cook through in this amount of time.

If you are using pre-cooked shrimp, there’s no need to let it sit for 4 minutes. The shrimp will heat through during the rest of the process.

Open the lid and stir the pasta and shrimp. It will still be a bit soupy at this point. Add in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, butter, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.

Allow the pasta to sit in the Instant Pot on Keep Warm for a few minutes to soak up the liquid and thicken. The longer you leave it, the more thickened it will become. So if it’s too soupy for you, just let it sit longer.

Serve with parsley as a garnish.

How Long to Cook the Pasta

Since everyone’s noodle preference is different, you might want to adjust the cooking time for the pasta. I personally think 4 minutes is the perfect time for spaghetti. It’s a great balance between al dente (with some bite remaining) and too soft.

For fettuccine or linguine, you might want to cook for 6 minutes, as it’s thicker than spaghetti. For angel hair pasta, I would go with 3 minutes.

If you like your noodles really soft, cook them for 6 minutes. If you’re not sure, go with 5 minutes. I think most people will find the 4 minute pasta to be just right.

Do I Have to Use Shrimp?

Shrimp is fantastic in this recipe and it’s very quick and easy to cook. I definitely recommend trying it to see how you like it. However, you don’t have to use any protein in this dish. Leave the shrimp out to make a vegetarian meal.

You can also add chicken to this dish instead. The chicken will need to be cooked with the pasta. To add chicken, slice raw chicken into strips and add it on top of the dried pasta. Cook it for 5 minutes along with the pasta. You can then remove it and cut it into smaller pieces, shred it, or leave it in strips, as you wish.

Won’t the Pasta Be Too Liquidy?

You might think that adding 2 cups of liquid will make the sauce too watery in the end, but it doesn’t. The pasta will continue to soak up some of the remaining liquid as it rests. Don’t get worried and dump out the water.

Once you add the butter and cheese and let it melt, stir it all up, and let it sit for a few minutes, it will be perfect.

If for some reason this doesn’t work or you and the pasta is still soupy, pour it into a colander and let it drain a little bit. Yes you will lose some sauce, but at least the pasta won’t be overcooked from trying to boil off more of the liquid. Now you know for next time that you need less water to cook your pasta.

Tips and Notes

• Don’t sauté the garlic any longer than 30 seconds or it might burn and that leaves a very bitter taste.
• Break the noodles in half and add them to the pot, pressing down to fully submerge. Just make sure the noodles are under the liquid so they get cooked properly. Breaking them in half really helps.
• Sometimes spaghetti gets clumped together in the Instant Pot. If that happens, just use two forks to pull the strands apart and let them sit a bit longer to finish cooking through.
• If the sauce is still thin, allow the pasta to sit in the Instant Pot on Keep Warm for a few minutes to soak up the liquid. It will thicken as it sits. Just don’t let it sit too long or the sauce will become thick and dry.

Other Pasta Recipes to Try in the Instant Pot

Once you see how truly easy it is to cook pasta in the Instant Pot you will want to try more.

• Simple Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
• Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
• Instant Pot Mac & Cheese
• Instant Pot Lasagna

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