This Instant Pot cooked one-pot ricotta lemon pasta is creamy, cheesy and a little tangy. It’s easy and absolutely delicious for a midweek dinner or weekend lunch. The dish is made with fusilli pasta and a creamy sauce made with buttery garlic, lemon zest and juice, plus equal parts ricotta and Parmesan cheese.
One-Pot Ricotta Lemon Pasta In Instant Pot
Instant Pot lemon ricotta pasta is a one-pot dinner wonder that is extremely delicious and easy to make. Creamy, cheesy and zesty, this pasta dish is a great meatless weeknight dinner or weekend lunch that comes together in under 30 minutes.
In this recipe, fusilli pasta is cooked in the Instant Pot and finished with a creamy, tangy sauce made with equal parts ricotta and Parmesan cheese, plus a little butter, garlic and lemon juice.
The classic combination of ricotta and lemon gives this dish elegance and freshness while still being super comforting and cosy. It’s very easy to make and is perfect for a midweek dinner or weekend lunch.
It’s a vegetarian pasta dish (check the Parmesan) that can be served as is with a little salad on the side or you can pimp it up with a topping of grilled asparagus or colorful cherry tomatoes. See our suggestions for ricotta pasta variations.
Ricotta Lemon Pasta Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this pasta dish. This is a versatile recipe and you can swap and add things to your liking.
- Pasta: The best pasta for this dish is the one that can hold on to that delicious creamy ricotta sauce. Ribbed penne or rigatoni is great or you can use fusilli as we did. The spirals are great for catching sauce.
- Cheese: Creamy ricotta and Parmesan are the two chosen kinds of cheese. You can lighten it up by using fat-reduced ricotta. Parmesan can be swapped with Pecorino, Cheddar or Gruyere cheese.
- Garlic: We love a touch of garlic in this dish but it can be omitted.
- Lemon: A medium-sized lemon should give you enough juice and zest for this pasta. If you don’t have fresh lemon, you can add store-bought lemon juice and skip the zest.
- Pasta water: Not an ingredient per so but important addition to make the sauce. Make sure to reserve 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta water after cooking.
You will find the full recipe with ingredients and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below.
There are two simple stages to making this one-pot ricotta lemon pasta in the pressure cooker. The first stage is to cook the pasta. The second stage is strain the pasta and to make the sauce using the Saute setting. Then, everything is combined into one-pot deliciousness. Let’s break it down step-by-step. You can use a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot
STAGE ONE – COOK THE PASTA
Step 1. Add dry pasta, water and salt to the Instant Pot. The water should just cover the pasta.
Step 2. Secure and lock the lid and set the Instant Pot to 5 minutes on HIGH pressure. The pressure will take about 10-12 minutes to build up and the timer will start. Once the timer is done, do a quick release to depressurize the pot.
Note: Halfway through, the steam jet will get a bit frothy and fizzy, which is pretty normal when cooking pasta. You can hover a towel above the steam jet to catch some of the liquid.
Step 3. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set aside. Strain the rest of the liquid and leave the pasta in the sieve. Return the pot to the Instant Pot base.
STAGE TWO – MAKE THE RICOTTA LEMON SAUCE
Step 4. While pasta is cooking, zest the lemon and squeeze the juice; dice the garlic.
Step 5. Press the Saute function and add the butter and garlic to the Instant Pot. Cook for a couple of minutes until garlic starts to get golden. Add the lemon zest and stir through. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water and stir through. Press Cancel to stop the Saute process.
Step 6. Now add the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and lemon juice (about 3 tbsp). Stir the sauce until the cheeses have melted and combined. Then add the pasta and fold through the sauce.
Step 7. Garnish with a little fresh parsley or basil and chili flakes (optional but pairs well).
Optional: While the pasta is cooking, you can grill or pan-fry asparagus, zucchini, broccoli or any other green vegetables or slice a handful of cherry tomatoes. Serve over cooked pasta for extra veg.:
Ricotta Lemon Pasta Variations
With grilled asparagus: In a medium pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cut a bunch of asparagus in halves and remove the hard ends. Pan-fry over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times and season with salt.
With cherry tomatoes: This is a super simple addition that works really well. Cherry tomatoes! Slice them in halves or quarters and scatter over the top. You can stir in some fresh basil too.
- Stir in fresh arugula or watercress
- Top with smoked salmon
- Stir through shredded chicken
- Top with crispy bacon or pan-fried mushrooms
- Stir in a can of salmon or tuna
Leftover ricotta pasta can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 days. Reheat with a splash of water to thin out the sauce.
We do not recommend freezing this pasta dish.
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
- Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta & Bean Soup)
- Instant Pot Pasta Primavera
- Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Pasta Bake (Only 5-Ingredients!)
- Want even pasta recipes? 20+ Instant Pot Pasta Recipes For Every Occasion
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One-Pot Ricotta Lemon Pasta (Instant Pot Recipe)
Ingredients
- 14 oz fusilli pasta 400 grams
- 6.5 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp lemon zest about 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp lemon juice about 1-1.5 lemons
- 1 cup ricotta cheese about 8-9oz / 250 g
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup cooking pasta water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes optional but very nice
- 1 tbsp parsley for garnish optional
Optional toppings
- Grilled asparagus, sliced cheery tomatoes or roast tomatoes, smoked salmon, grilled mushrooms.
Instructions
- Add dry pasta, water and salt to the Instant Pot. The water should just cover the pasta.
- Secure and lock the lid and set the Instant Pot to 5 minutes on HIGH pressure. The pressure will take about 10-12 minutes to build up and the timer will start. Once the timer is done, do a quick release to depressurize the pot.
- Halfway through, the steam jet will get a bit spurty, which is pretty normal when cooking pasta. You can hover a towel above the steam jet to catch some of the liquid.
- While pasta is cooking, zest the lemon and squeeze the juice; dice the garlic.
- Scoop about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set aside. Strain the rest of the liquid and leave the pasta in the sieve. Return the pot to the Instant Pot base.
- Press the Saute function and add the butter and garlic to the Instant Pot. Cook for a couple of minutes until garlic starts to get golden. Add the lemon zest and stir through. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water and stir through. Press Cancel to stop the Saute process.
- Now add the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and lemon juice (about 3 tbsp). Stir the sauce until the cheeses have melted and combined. Then add the pasta and fold through the sauce.
- Garnish with a little fresh parsley or basil and chili flakes (optional but pairs well).
Optional
- While the pasta is cooking, you can grill or pan-fry asparagus, zucchini, broccoli or any other green vegetables or slice a handful of cherry tomatoes. Serve over cooked pasta for extra veg.
It’s nice to have such a simple and flavorful recipe to fall back on when nights are busy. It uses ingredients I always have on hand. Thanks so much!
Agreed, it’s the perfect weeknight recipe.
I love the freshness of the lemon and the creaminess of the ricotta together
This is going on my weekly dinner rotation! This pasta was so easy and very little clean up. Bonus: it makes for great lunch leftovers.
This looks fantastic! I’m always on the lookout for new one pot meals so I’m looking forward to giving this one a try.
I looove ricotta, and this pasta looks like such a delicious way to use leftover ricotta before it goes bad!