Winter Doldrums Dinner is an Instant Pot pasta with lemon slices, parmesan cheese and brown butter. It’s a simple and bright dish that will help you feel more springy!
Lemon, Brown Butter and Parmesan Rigatoni Instant Pot Recipe
By this time of year aren’t we all ready for spring??? It’s been dark and cold and snowy for what seems like a very long time. I always think to myself this time of the year, “why didn’t I book a tropical vacation for the last week in February???” It’s like we are all at our wit’s end. Haha!
Well today’s recipe is a bright sunny lemon-y dish that I think will perk you up a bit! It only has a handful of ingredients and can be made from start to finish in your Instant Pot. My son was going crazy over this pasta and was raving about it! “How did you make something so good??” I love compliments like that!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Chicken broth–or water and 1 Tbsp of Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- Rigatoni pasta–you can also use penne pasta
- Butter
- Lemon
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh ground pepper
- Kosher salt
Steps
Pour broth into Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the pasta.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time it up move valve to venting. If foam starts escaping the valve then turn it back to sealing and wait 20 seconds before trying to release the pressure. Remove the lid.
Dump the pasta and any remaining broth into a bowl. Set aside. Dry out the Instant Pot.
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (“normal” setting). When display says HOT add 2 tablespoons of the butter and let it melt.
Add in the lemon slices and cook, stirring often. Cook until the bottom of the pot is browned in spots (about 5 minutes). Move 1/3 of the lemon slices to a plate.
Add ¾ cups of the pasta liquid into the Instant Pot. Cut remaining 2 tablespoons of the butter into 4 pieces. Add one piece at a time and stir until it melts.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop the pasta into the Instant Pot. Sprinkle the parmesan into the pot, a little at a time until melted. If needed to thin out, add more of the pasta water.
Turn off Instant Pot. Add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve pasta and top with reserved lemon rounds and extra parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes/Tips
- You can add in some cooked shrimp or chicken to make it a more substantial meal.
- Try adding in some red pepper flakes for a spicy kick.
- Try adding in some steamed vegetables like broccoli or asparagus for some extra color and nutrition.
- Serve with a garden salad and Italian salad dressing. You can also serve it with a slice of garlic bread.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with lemon are Instant Pot lemon rice and Straight From Heaven Soup.
More Instant Pot Meatless Meals…
Instant Pot Everything Soup
An easy dump and go soup with lentils, vegetables, tomato sauce, corn and salsa. A random assortment of ingredients that creates a delicious vegetarian soup.
Instant Pot Hibachi Fried Rice
The yummiest fried rice similar to what you order at your favorite hibachi restaurant only it’s made at home in your Instant Pot!
Top Gun Maverick Salad
Spinach salad with wheat berries, strawberries, goat cheese, pecans and dressing. A perfect summer supper or side dish.
Instant Pot Fat Burning Soup
A flavorful soup with lots of veggies including cabbage, carrots and cauliflower. With only 87 calories per cup of soup you can eat this with no guilt!
Instant Pot 5-Ingredient Broccoli Pesto Tortellini
With just a few ingredients and a 1-minute pressure cook time you can have an amazing pesto pasta one-pot dinner!
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Lemon, Butter and Parmesan Rigatoni Instant Pot Recipe
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
An Instant Pot pasta with lemon slices, parmesan cheese and brown butter. It’s a simple and bright dish that will help you feel more springy!
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
- 4 Tbsp butter
- Half of one lemon, very thinly sliced into rounds and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Fresh ground pepper
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Pour broth into Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the pasta. Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time it up move valve to venting. If foam starts escaping the valve then turn it back to sealing and wait 20 seconds before trying to release the pressure. Remove the lid.
- Dump the pasta and any remaining broth into a bowl. Set aside. Dry out the Instant Pot.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (“normal” setting). When display says HOT add 2 tablespoons of the butter and let it melt. Add in the lemon slices and cook, stirring often. Cook until the bottom of the pot is browned in spots (about 5 minutes). Move 1/3 of the lemon slices to a plate.
- Add ¾ cups of the pasta liquid into the Instant Pot. Cut remaining 2 tablespoons of the butter into 4 pieces. Add one piece at a time and stir until it melts.
- Use a slotted spoon to scoop the pasta into the Instant Pot. Sprinkle the parmesan into the pot, a little at a time until melted. If needed to thin out, add more of the pasta water.
- Turn off Instant Pot. Add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve pasta and top with reserved lemon rounds and extra parmesan cheese, if desired.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
2/28/23 – Made this for 2. It is an easy light tasting recipe. I sautéed some chicken sausages to make this a complete meal. I will make this again. It’s a quick recipe. I used the 3 quart instant pot. Makes enough for 3 servings.
Note: This can easily be made without an Instant Pot. Just cook the pasta in broth on the stovetop. Tho, the IP cooked the pasta perfectly.
★★★★★
Thanks for the helpful review! I love the idea of chicken sausages!!
Another of Karen’s terrific recipes in my inbox today 🙂
It turned out perfectly “al dente”…easy and delicious, especially if you’re a lemon lover.
I always have a bag of “riggies” pasta, lemons and real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on hand, so it was dinner tonight along with seasoned pan seared shrimp and steamed asparagus.
Simply delicious!!! 😋
★★★★★
Oh wow that does sound amazing with the shrimp and asparagus!!
I made this today with half a bag of penne and a container of mixed parmesan, asiago, mozzarella, etc. and it was delicous! I used a small whole lemon, sliced. This was very tasty and will serve it will salmon tonight. The broth added alot of flavors so will leave salt and pepper to each person to add. Will make again!!1 Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the 5 stars Patsy! So glad you liked it 🙂
Can I use penne or bowties w same cooking time??
Hello Diane,
You definitely could substitute in either of those pasta shapes for this recipe and keep the cook time the same 🙂
thank you! recipes on this site are great. I’ve learned alot!
I may increase cooking time to 2 minutes for bowties or penne. Will be great!