Vegan Instant Pot Rigatoni Recipe
This vegan Instant Pot rigatoni recipe is a hearty and flavorful pressure cooker pasta made with inexpensive pantry staple ingredients! Loaded with thick rigatoni, rich tomatoes, and savory spices this easy 20-minute pasta is loaded with flavor in each bite.
Serve with a salad and a thick slice of homemade garlic bread for the ultimate stay-at-home Italian meal. A restaurant-quality vegetarian dinner that cooks in 5 minutes that the whole family will love.
Want more plant-based Instant Pot recipes? Try our Instant Pot carrot ginger soup, Instant Pot vegan refried beans, and our favorite Instant Pot navy bean soup recipe!
Note: This recipe was updated 10/4/25 with clearer cooking instructions, recipe FAQs, and step-by-step photography.
This easy pressure cooker rigatoni is a delicious & quick meal to make on busy weeknights! Ready in less than 30 minutes, this hearty and tasty pasta is my favorite recipe to make with inexpensive pantry staple ingredients and my pressure cooker. I love serving this easy pasta recipe with a simple kale and pear salad – it’s a great dinner any night of the week!
This is one of the best pantry pasta recipes I’ve tried, and pressure cooking it takes it to a whole new level of ease. With just one pot, this simple pantry pasta is a fantastic weeknight favorite. It’s versatile and can be customized to your family’s tastes with add-ins!
Notes from Our Kitchen
- This pasta is creamy, saucy, and SO flavorful!
- It tastes decadent, but is super simple to make.
- The bright tomatoey flavor is pressure-cooked into each bite.
- An easy weeknight meal, ready in under 30 minutes!
- It’s vegan, vegetarian, meatless, and dairy free.
- Cooks of any skill level can make this recipe by following our stay-by-step photos and directions below!
Pantry Staple Pastas
This Instant Pot pantry rigatoni recipe is a fantastic pantry-staple meal! It uses almost all ingredients you would have in your dry pantry or cupboards – from canned tomatoes to balsamic vinegar to spices. You probably already have a lot of these ingredients on hand!
Keeping a well-stocked pantry makes it easy to come up with delicious meals using a few staples you can rotate. By stocking up on whole ingredients you can cook delicious dinners like this without a trip to the store!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
- Tomato Paste: I use tomato paste, which has amazing flavor.
- Balsamic Vinegar: I use balsamic because it has a really great flavor – red wine vinegar would also be delicious.
- Garlic Salt
- Pepper
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Diced Tomatoes: I like using boxed tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them.
- Rigatoni Pasta: I used a thick rigatoni pasta for this dish, but you can use any medium pasta shape you have on hand.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh garlic cloves, or garlic powder
- Italian Seasoning: I use a pre-mixed spice blend of parsley, oregano, thyme, and basil.
Optional Add-Ins for this Easy Pasta Dish
- Cooked Sausage – you can add a spicy or mild Italian sausage or a turkey sausage into the pressure cooker for added protein.
- Cooked ground meat – add in ground beef or ground turkey or ground chicken too.
- Sliced bell pepper, fresh spinach, peas or broccoli. There are lots of vegetables you can add in, fresh or frozen!
- Add in 4 ounces of cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, or heavy cream for a creamier pasta.
- Add in 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese.
How To Make Rigatoni in the Instant Pot
Step 1: To the Instant Pot, add the olive oil and the garlic, and set it to Saute mode for 3 minutes.
Step 2: Add in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper, the chili flakes, and the vegetable broth.
Step 3: Add in the rigatoni noodles to the pot, and stir well to combine with the tomato sauce mix.
Step 4: Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/High Pressure for 5 minutes. Once finished, quick release the remaining steam, taking care not to have your hands or face near the pressure valve vent.
Step 5: Once float valve has lowered, carefully open the lid. Stir the pasta well to combine the pasta sauce, rigatoni, and all ingredients. Place the lid back on, turn the Instant Pot off for 5 minutes for pasta to soak up the last of the sauce before serving.
Step 6: Top with fresh basil, black pepper, or Parmesan cheese before serving. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you don’t need an Instant Pot brand, you can use a similar electric pressure cooker – just be sure to follow the same cooking times.
Yes, this recipe is written as vegan, and you can add a plant-based parmesan cheese if desired.
Store any leftover pasta in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat before enjoying again.
Dietary Modifications
- The recipe as written is vegan, vegetarian, and dairy free. Make sure any optional add-in ingredients are also suitable for your diet.
- To make this recipe gluten free, ensure the pasta and any pantry ingredients are certified gluten free before using.
More Inexpensive Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Penne Pasta Recipe
- Pressure Cooker Root Vegetables & Lemon Caper Sauce
- Vegetarian Instant Pot Baked Ziti with Ricotta Cheese
- How to Cook Beets in the Instant Pot Recipe
- Instant Pot Cowboy Beans Recipe
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Our cookbook One Ingredient, Five Ways has tasty no-waste plant-based recipes for everyone
Vegan Instant Pot Rigatoni
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic
- 6 ounce tomato paste
- 1 14 ounce Diced Tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes optional
- 5 cups Vegetable Stock
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta
- Optional Toppings: fresh basil, vegan parmesan cheese, more chili flakes, etc.
Instructions
- To the Instant Pot, add the olive oil and the garlic, and set it to Saute mode for 3 minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper, the chili flakes, and the vegetable broth.
- Add in the rigatoni noodles to the pot, and stir well to combine with the tomato sauce mix.
- Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook/High Pressure for 5 minutes. Once finished, quick release the remaining steam, taking care not to have your hands or face near the pressure valve vent.
- Once float valve has lowered, carefully open the lid. Stir the pasta well to combine the pasta sauce, rigatoni, and all ingredients. Place the lid back on, turn the Instant Pot off for 5 minutes for pasta to soak up the last of the sauce before serving.
- Top with fresh basil, black pepper, or vegan Parmesan cheese before serving. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
Optional Add-Ins
- Cooked Sausage – you can add a spicy or mild Italian sausage or a turkey sausage into the pressure cooker for added protein.
- Cooked ground meat – add in ground beef or ground turkey or ground chicken too.
- Sliced bell pepper, fresh spinach, peas or broccoli. There are lots of vegetables you can add in, fresh or frozen!
- Add in 4 ounces of cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, or heavy cream for a creamier pasta.
- Add in 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese.
Nutrition
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A great flavor
I love pasta and this one fills the bill
Thank you!