You Can And Should Make Your Pumpkin Pasta In An Instant Cooker

There's nothing better than a cozy, carby dinner on the couch. When you're looking to make a no muss, no fuss kind of meal, the Instant Pot reigns supreme. In the case of Mashed recipe developer Miriam Hahn's Instant Pot pumpkin pasta recipe, it allows you to have dinner ready in as little as 10 minutes, so you can maximize your time on that couch.

You already know a recipe that contains penne pasta, white miso, pumpkin puree, and dried sage is going to be warming and grounding — the perfect dish to bring you back down to earth after a long day. But that's not the only reason to love this recipe. "I like making [this dish] in the Instant Pot because it is quick and easy," Hahn told us. Requiring just five minutes of prep time and five minutes of cooking time, using the Instant Pot for pumpkin pasta gives you a high quality meal faster than you could pick up fast food.

Although Miriam Hahn's pumpkin pasta recipe does call for sautéing garlic and onion, when you use an Instant Pot, you needn't dirty a single other pot or pan to get this done. "The sauté function on the Instant Pot is one of my favorite features because it allows you to sauté in the same cooking vessel — something you can't do in a slow cooker," the recipe developer explained. Simply sauté the onion and garlic as your first step, and then mix the other ingredients into the pot before setting it to cook. "Plus, the Instant Pot is super easy to clean," said Hahn.

While Hahn likes to serve this dish topped with fresh herbs and a side salad, you can also add some protein to the mix. If you're a big fan of easy Instant Pot chicken recipes, perhaps you can include a little poultry. If you're trying to impress company with your oh-so-speedy cooking chops, this pairs excellently with pan-seared salmon and Brussels sprouts.