Instant Pot Vegan Tuscan Spinach Rigatoni

You won’t believe how creamy, filling, and rich this vegan and vegetarian Instant Pot Tuscan Spinach Rigatoni recipe is. It only takes 25 minutes to prepare and it will please even the pickiest eaters on your table.

A wonderful vegan recipe with sun-dried tomato and spinach rigatoni that is ready in under 30 minutes. Loaded with sautéed sun-dried tomato and fresh spinach, it is topped with a creamy cashew sauce.

Those who like vegan & vegetarian recipes can join my Facebook group World Best Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes. 

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Until I tried this recipe a few weeks ago I had no idea there was a vegan version of this. I was curious because I had never tried a vegan dish before. I was worried it did not have enough liquid, but mine turned out so perfect!

Those of you who have been reading our blog for some time already know that we make videos for each recipe on our YouTube channel.

You may also like some other snack recipes on my blog – Dal Palak Instant Pot | Spinach And Lentil Recipe, Instant Pot Dum Aloo, Instant Pot Lemon Rice, Mexican fiesta rice – Instant Pot Recipe.

Sharing is caring! LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

The Instant Pot pressure cooker is ideal for making this vegetarian pasta because it allows me to cook both the pasta and the sauce at once. It’s incredibly convenient for busy days: I can whip this up in less than 30 minutes with little cleanup.

With this delicious rigatoni, you’ll think you’re in Tuscany!

The ingredients were gathered before cooking for the simple reason that if you’re organized beforehand, it will come together very quickly.

The leftovers make an excellent vegetarian lunch. You can double the recipe and cook it separately when you are cooking it for a crowd. The only changes I made were to substitute spinach and cherry tomatoes for the zucchini and peas, and rigatoni for the fussili. It was pure comfort food.

This easy Instant Pot Vegan Tuscan Spinach Rigatoni is:

• Made with few ingredients
• Comes together in about 30 minutes
• Makes 4 generous portions
• It’s delicious
• It’s satisfying
• It’s incredible nutritious
• Makes a great vegan one-bowl dinner

About Instant Pot Vegan Tuscan Spinach Rigatoni

My first attempt resulted in a runny mess, but the second attempt resulted in over-cooked rigatoni. I ended up giving up and continued cooking the rigatoni in my usual manner, in spite of the long cooking time.

After reading countless pasta recipes online, I realized the math was tricky because no one gave you an exact time to cook the pasta or the exact amount of water to use. This is correct because each rigatoni needs to be cooked differently depending on what type of rigatoni is used.

It’s really simple math, but if you get it right, you’ll get the best of the best rigatoni. Our recipe calls for 500gms  of dry rigatoni and 3 cups of water.

After so long, I decided to try the Instant Pot rigatoni again. In order to save you time (and bore you), I will include the measurements in the recipe below. It came out very well this time.

The onion is sauteed first, and then the remaining ingredients (including the rigatoni) are added at the same time. Sounds simple, right? As always, all the ingredients and instructions can be found at the end of the post.

It’s rare for me to make cream-based sauces unless they are lighter versions that eliminate heavy cream. When it comes to noodles, most sauces are tomato-based or involve lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.

You can use raw cashew paste in many dishes, including this vegan creamy spinach pasta, to thicken sauces and add protein. I like to have a bag of unsalted raw cashews in my freezer to use for this vegan creamy spinach rigatoni.

How To Prepare Raw Cashews?

Raw cashews should be soaked overnight or for at least four hours in order to soften them. Cashews can be quickly cooked by placing them in a saucepan of water, bringing it to a boil, and then waiting 15 minutes. 

The cashews should be drained before use. By soaking the cashews, the blender has an easier time blending them into the sauce.

Benefits of Spinach?

The majority of us are aware that spinach can reduce cholesterol and even contains zinc, protein, vitamins A, C, E, and K. Additionally, spinach contains magnesium, calcium, iron, and many other vitamins. Its fat content is extremely low, making it ideal for people who are overweight.

Also useful for cancer prevention and asthma prevention is spinach. Furthermore, spinach benefits the health of our hair and skin.

Therefore, people should incorporate more spinach into their diets in the form of soups, salads, or with a nice twist of cuisine like me.

Check out the Instant Pot Vegan Tuscan Spinach Rigatoni Video :

Ingredients

• 250 grams – Spinach leaves chopped
• 500 grams – Rigatoni wheat pasta
• 1/2 cup – Cashew ( soaked)
• 1/2 cup – Sun-dried tomato
• 2 medium – Onion chopped
• 3/4 cup – Vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp – Olive oil
• 2 tbsp – Garlic chopped
• 2 tbsp – Nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp – Black pepper powder
• Water as required
• 1/2 cup – Vegan cheese
• 1/2 – Lemon
• 1/2 tsp – Oregano
• 1/2 tsp – Red chilly flakes
• Salt

Spinach – It is possible to use regular spinach or baby spinach for this rigatoni dish. Just make sure you wash and chop the leaves first before adding them to the dish You can even use frozen spinach for this recipe.

Rigatoni – Rigatoni: Cook the Barilla Durum Wheat Pasta for best results.

Cashew Paste – Soak cashew for 15 minutes in warm water and blend it into a smooth paste. It gives an awesome 

Sun-dried tomato – The tomato pesto has a rich, red color and a tangy flavor. It is delicious, flavorful, and versatile.

Vegetable broth – You can make vegetable stock by boiling different vegetables and spices in water, which is known as Bouillon or Broth. It is so easy to make!

Nutritional yeast – The nutritional yeast adds the perfect cheesy flavor to this recipe. It’s optional but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Vegetables – Use vegetables of your choice but here we are using spinach, garlic, lemon, and onion chopped.

Other seasonings – You will require Nutritional yeast, oregano, red chilly flakes, black pepper powder, and salt.

How To Make Instant Pot Vegan Tuscan Spinach Rigatoni Recipe Step By Step With Photo:

1. Soak cashews in lukewarm water for 15 minutes. In a bowl take soaked cashews. Add vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, squeeze out the half lemon juice. Make a smooth paste into a blender.
   
2. Turn on saute mode for 25 minutes. Hot mode started. Add olive oil, garlic chopped. Stir well till the raw smell goes away.
3. Add onion chopped. Stir well for two minutes.
4. Add sun-dried tomatoes, keep stirring for 2 minutes.
5. Add all the cashew paste. Keep stirring. Add 1 cup water, black pepper powder. rigatoni pasta. Mix well.
   
6. Add 2 cups of water. Add salt according to taste. Mix well.
7. Close the lid. Press cancel. Pressure cook for 5 minutes. Turn the valve into sealing. Once done press cancel.
   
8. After 10 minutes turn on venting for natural release. Let the pressure release completely and the red plug goes down.
9. Open the lid. Add chopped spinach leaves. Turn on the sauteed mode. Mix everything together. Add oregano, red chilly flakes.
   
10. Add vegan cream cheese or normal grated cheese. Mix everything nicely.
    
11. Press cancel. Vegan rigatoni pasta is ready to be served.

Important Suggestion To Keep In Mind

• You can deglaze your Instant Pot after sauteing the onions to prevent the rigatoni from sticking to it.
• The nutritional yeast can be substituted with parmesan if you cannot find it (vegans can use vegan parmesan).
• If you do not wish to blanch spinach in the same pot as the rigatoni, you can do it separately and then add it to the dish after.
• Any vegetable you like can be used in this recipe.
• A gluten-free version is easy to prepare by swapping the wheat rigatoni for a gluten-free variety.

Serving Suggestion 

This rigatoni makes an excellent weeknight meal served on its own or accompanied by garlic bread, dinner rolls, or bruschetta.

If you serve the rigatoni with a salad or soup on the side, keep it light and refreshing. 

Storage Suggestion

Refrigerate your rigatoni for 3 to 4 days and then rewarm before serving. Once cool, transfer it to an airtight container.

In addition to freezing well, this rigatoni keeps for about three months if it has been fully cooled. Just seal the container or ziplock freezer bag and store it at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator.

When reheating, let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat on a pan or in the microwave.

Frequently Asked Questions

What rigatoni can be used for this?

I have used Barilla Durum Wheat Pasta. You can also use colavita rigatoni, Dellalo whole wheat rigatoni, Maccheroni rigatoni or whatever you prefer.

How to make baked Vegan Tuscan Spinach Rigatoni?

Prepare the oven by preheating it to 350°F. In the meantime, we will cook the rigatoni in salted water. Once it is at a boil, add the rigatoni and cook as directed on the package. Drain and set aside.

Next, heat a pan and add olive oil and saute all the vegetables. Add all the sun-dried tomatoes, cashew sauce, red chilly flakes salt, and pepper. add a little water so that cashew paste doesn’t stick up. let it cook for 2 minutes then add the boiled rigatoni and mix well.

Then add spinach and cook for 2 minutes and then add vegan grated cheese or normal cheese as you prefer.

Add the rigatoni mixture to the greased casserole dish, along with some vegan parmesan cheese and vegan mozzarella cheese, and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. Once done, serve hot.

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Note: A rough estimate of nutrition is provided.

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