How to Cook Cassava Pasta in Instant Pot (Jovial brand, Paleo, AIP)

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Jovial’s wonderful Paleo, AIP, Gluten-free and Vegan cassava pasta is extra easy to cook in the Instant Pot! With no stirring or monitoring, it’s now my favorite way to cook Grain-free pasta.

As cassava pasta is made with different ingredients than regular pasta, the cooking times, instructions and liquid requirements vary from traditional pasta cooked in the IP, so this recipe shows you how!

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How to Cook Cassava Pasta in Instant Pot

If you haven’t already had it, Jovial’s cassava pastas (here) taste every bit as good as regular pasta.

But because they’re made with a starchy root, the starch can cause undesirable and different results in the Instant Pot than traditional pasta. A different cooking method is needed!

Obviously, we don’t want mushy-overcooked or hard-undercooked noodles.

The perfect texture can be achieved easily, though — and with SUCH a short cooking time! 

How to make perfectly cooked cassava pasta in the Instant Pot

There are two keys to cooking cassava pasta in the Instant Pot:

1. a shorter cooking time at HIGH pressure
2. and a longer natural release.

The other important nuance for just the Spaghetti noodles is: Strain and rinse them, right after you release the pressure, with cold water. (More on this below.)

CASSAVA PASTA COOKING TIMES IN INSTANT POT

Below, I’ve outlined the cooking times for different pasta varieties:

• Macaroni Elbows, Farfalle, Fussilli and Penne: 1 Minute at HIGH + 10 Minutes Natural Release
• Orzo: 0 Minutes at HIGH + 10 Minutes Natural Release
• Spaghetti: 1 Minute at HIGH + 10 Minutes Natural Release; then immediately drain and rinse with cold water. (Note: You’ll need to break the dry spaghetti noodles so they fit in the insert pot.)

If you haven’t seen it used before, “0 Minutes” is actually a time setting on the Instant Pot. This cooking time means that all of the cooking happens while the machine heat ups and comes to pressure.

More cooking continues as the Instant Pot releases that pressure. That’s why the “10 Minutes Natural Release” is just as important for proper cooking of pasta as the cooking time itself.

WATER TO PASTA RATIO

The amount of water to pasta for cassava noodles is around 1.5 cups for every 4 ounces of noodles + 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.

I add an extra half cup water to give the pasta plenty of room to cook and get perfect results: So, 3.5 cups water for one 8 ounce box of pasta + 1 teaspoon sea salt.

Spaghetti noodles are the one exception. They need a bit more water. I use 5 cups of water for an 8 ounce box of pasta.

If you have more water with the other varieties, it’s probably not an issue, as it can always be drained off. But you definitely need enough: the pasta absorbs liquid as it expands during cooking, so you need enough liquid for it to cook through. 

I don’t add extra water, though, because this increases the time the Instant Pot needs to come to pressure and release pressure.

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5 from 14 votes

How to Cook Cassava Pasta in Instant Pot (Jovial brand, Paleo, AIP, Gluten-free)

Jovial's wonderful Paleo, AIP and Gluten-free pasta is extra easy to cook in the Instant Pot. With no stirring or monitoring, it's now my favorite way to cook grain-free pasta. As cassava pasta is made with different ingredients than regular pasta, the cooking times, instructions and liquid requirements vary from traditional pasta cooked in the IP.

Prep Time3 minutes mins

Cook Time16 minutes mins

Total Time29 minutes mins

Course: DInner, lunch, Pasta, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: aip, cassava, gluten-free, grain-free, instant pot, Jovial, paleo, pasta

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Megan

Cost: 5.00

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

• 3-½ cups water 800 ml; use 5 cups water for spaghetti noodles
• 0.5 lb cassava pasta 1 small box (250 g)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

• Add water and sea salt to the Instant Pot's inner pot. Add pasta. (No need to stir.)
  
• Put the lid on, lock and seal. Press the "Manual/Pressure" button, and cook at HIGH pressure.
• Using the "-" button, adjust the time to 1 minute (or 0 minutes for orzo).
• The Instant Pot will take 5 to 7 minutes to come to pressure.
• Once the timer sounds, natural release of steam will begin. Allow 10 minutes for this natural release. (Set a timer so you don't forget.) During this time the pasta will continue to cook.
• After 10 minutes, use the Quick Release Method to open the seal and carefully release the remaining pressure. Open the lid, stir the pasta and strain. For spaghetti: Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. (Recipes often recommend you reserve ¼ to ½ cup of the starchy cooking liquid to add to your pasta sauce/mix-ins. Accordingly, pour some of the liquid into a small dish or retain [eyeball it] some with the noodles. Do not fully strain and rinse pasta unless you're planning to make a cold pasta salad or using the Spaghetti.) The photo below shows pasta right after removing the lid, before straining.
  
• Don’t leave the pressure to release for any longer than 10 minutes, as the pasta will keep cooking.
• Serve, topped with sauce or favorite pasta toppings. If you wish, first stir in a couple tablespoons of olive oil or other ancestral fat of choice.
  

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg

Find a variety of Jovial’s Cassava Pasta shapes HERE.

Try cassava pasta with one of these Paleo and Gluten-free dishes or sauces:

• Italian Cassava Penne with Sausage, Artichokes and Olives (This dish can be made with or without the “cheese” topping, as a casserole, or just as a simple Italian one pot pasta dish. — Paleo, AIP, Gluten-free
• No-Tomato Sauce (“NoMato”) — Paleo, AIP, Nightshade-free, Instant Pot
• Quick and Easy Blender Cheese Sauce — Primal, Gluten-free

What if your pasta sticks together

When you first open your Instant Pot, some varieties of pasta stick together more than others. I found that Jovial’s Spaghetti and Orzo do this a bit, but not the others.

Do not panic. 🙂 Simply strain noodles and run cool water over them while you use your fingers to separate any sticking noodles. This takes more time with the spaghetti, but they’ll all come loose and be cooked correctly. See photo to the right for a couple spots where the noodles stuck together.