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This Instant Pot Pesto Pasta with King Oscar Sardines is packed with nutrients and clocks in at 15 minutes! It’s the perfect weeknight fix.
This post is sponsored by King Oscar | Thank you for supporting the brands I trust.
A wholesome pasta dinner in 15 minutes or less.
A quick and cozy pasta dish that gives you fresh veggies and a hefty amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in every bite? Yes, please! This weeknight wonder has it all. Simple ingredients, minimal prep, little clean up, and a very brief cook time. This is literally what every weeknight dinner should be like. From Monday through to Thursday, anyway. As you know, we reserve Fridays for pizza ;)
Unsure about sardines? Let me to convince you.
Full disclosure: I used to turn my nose up at sardines. But here I am, throwing these fantastic little fish into any recipe I can in order to take advantage of everything they have to offer—a whole lot of nutrients and a ton of flavor. And hey, I don’t push sardines for my sake; I push the consumption of sardines because they’re a heart-healthy choice that too often get a bad rap. I just like to be the one to help people see the proverbial light. Quality is everything, though. Not just any sardine brand will satisfy. If you’re already a sardine aficionado, I probably don’t have to tell you about King Oscar. But if you’re just dipping your toes in, look for that red and gold packaging.
This recipe calls for just 6 main ingredients!
With big flavors comes the illusion that there’s a long list of ingredients. But that’s not the case here. Pesto is bursting with flavor, tomatoes bring a ton of freshness, and King Oscar’s Mediterranean Style Brisling Sardines speak for themselves when you pop open that lid. Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need to make this crave-worthy pasta:
Penne pasta. Or any kind of short pasta, like rotini or rigatoni. I find that short pasta cook more evenly in the Instant Pot.
Pesto. Use a good quality pesto. Homemade is best, because you get way more of a bang in your flavor, but store-bought totally works. When using store-bought, I like opt for a creamy Genovese pesto.
Fresh lemon juice + zest. This sounds like an ingredient you could skip, but don’t! The lemon adds such a wonderful brightness and it helps all of the other flavors pop. But definitely use fresh lemon juice, not the bottled kind.
Baby spinach. This is just such an easy way to throw some nutrients into your bowl.
Grape tomatoes. Fresh little grape (or cherry) tomatoes are perfect in this pasta. They offer up that little bit of acidity every pasta dish needs.
King Oscar’s Brisling Sardines, Mediterranean Style. Ok, so here’s the deal. KO’s Mediterranean-style brisling sardines are perfect for this dish because of their flavor profile. The fillets are packed in extra virgin olive oil along with sliced black olives, red bell pepper, garlic, and herbs of Provence. But if you can’t find this particular variation, you can easily swap them with a different KO product, like their brisling sardines with lemon or their Mediterranean mackerel.
How long do you cook pasta in the Instant Pot?
Cooking times vary by pasta type, but here’s the trick to perfectly pressure-cooked pasta: look at the suggested cooking time on the package of your pasta, and cut the time in half. If it’s an odd number, round down. So, if the package suggests 11 minutes until pasta is cooked to al dente, round down to m10, cut that time in half, and you’re setting your pasta to cook for 5 minutes. If the package suggests 15 minutes, you’ll pressure cook the pasta for 7 minutes.
Equipment you’ll need:
- Instant Pot
- Sharp knife
- Microplane
- Spatula or spoon
Here’s how to make this easy tasty pesto pasta.
- Dump the pasta into your Instant Pot. Add the water, then close and secure the lid. Set the valve to “sealing”, and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes or half the time suggested on the package.
- When the time is up, hit the quick release button. Once all of the pressure has been released, remove the lid and stir the pasta. All of the water should be absorbed, but if there’s any left, simply drain it.
- Add the pesto, spinach, tomatoes, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cheese, and sardines to the Instant Pot. With a spatula or spoon, toss the pasta, breaking down the sardines into bite-sized bits, until everything is well mixed.
- Serve, and garnish with fresh basil if desired.
Hope you enjoy!
If you plan on making this recipe, be sure to snap a pic and tag us on Insta! @killing__thyme.
Other Instant Pot pastas to dish up on weeknights:
- Pasta Primavera
- Creamy Tomato Pasta with Ground Turkey and Spinach
- Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese
- Spicy Shrimp Scampi
Instant Pot Pesto Pasta with King Oscar Sardines
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- sharp knife
- Microplane
- Spatula or spoon
Ingredients
- 8 oz penne, Or another type of short pasta
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup pesto
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 1/2 cup ribonned spinach
- 1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1 can of King Oscar Brisling Mediterranean Sardines (don't drain the oil)
- 1-2 TBSP freshly grated parmesan or pecorino-romano
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Dump the pasta into your Instant Pot. Add the water, then close and secure the lid. Set the valve to "sealing", and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes or half the time suggested on the package. (See notes.)
- When the time is up, hit the quick release button. Once all of the pressure has been released, remove the lid and stir the pasta. All of the water should be absorbed, but if there's any left, simply drain it.
- Add the pesto, spinach, tomatoes, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cheese, and sardines (with the oil) to the Instant Pot. With a spatula or spoon, toss the pasta, breaking down the sardines into bite-sized bits, until everything is well mixed.
- Serve, and garnish with fresh basil if desired.
