Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

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Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole is one of my all-time favourite summer tuna pasta recipes. It can be served hot or cold and is perfect for picnics, barbecues or a quick comforting lunch or dinner.

Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole
Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole for beginners

Instant Pot tuna pasta is an update of my one pot tuna pasta recipe that I originally published on the blog back in 2016. It is one of those recipes that my readers have asked me time and time again to convert to the Instant Pot and here it is!

Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

Drum roll please we finally have Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole on the blog! I have cooked this tuna pasta casserole for years and years, but it has taken me until this year, to finally make it in the Instant Pot and adapt it for our readers.

We all have different opinions of how we should make a tuna pasta casserole. It is one of those dishes that can be made in a whole range of ways.

You can do an easier version to mine or you could even make it even more complicated or grill it in the oven when it is finished with some cheddar cheese.

Or even better, use it as tuna melts!

Dominic does his by boiling some pasta, mixing it with tuna and sweetcorn and then adding mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Very simple and perfect for sandwiches or days at the beach!

For me I prefer to cook mine in the Instant Pot. I will then cook it with red wine, tinned tomatoes, tuna, pasta and a few herbs.

More effort but the flavours are amazing and then you can either take it down the beach as a tuna pasta salad or you can serve it up for lunch or dinner.

The beauty (for me) of having a good tuna pasta recipe is that you are often talking about ingredients that you have freely available in your kitchen and because the pasta stretches so far you could also consider it to be rather frugal.

Though when I am cooking it, I must lock myself in the kitchen as this black beauty is always waiting for his tuna:

"smoky after some tuna"

I am sure he has a sixth sense when I am cooking with tuna, as he will be out enjoying the fresh air and suddenly appear out of nowhere!

Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

My Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole is all about having a dump and go Instant Pot Pasta recipe, that you can cook time and time again. Plus, because it relies on pantry staples, it is perfect for before you go grocery shopping. Or if you want to clear out your kitchen cupboards.

The main ingredients include:

  • Tinned Tuna
  • Pasta
  • Tinned Tomatoes
  • Red Wine
  • Creamer
  • Seasonings

You have the tinned tomatoes, red wine, pasta and tuna that make the classic flavours of a tuna pasta casserole, as well as your favourite Italian seasonings.

Then a creamer of your choice is used to make that delicious texture of your tuna pasta. My favourite is a mix of soft cheese and a little milk. But you could use coconut milk, sour cream or mascarpone. Or maybe you have your own favourite?

Cheapest Ever Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

My Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole was originally inspired by a lady called Tina that I met when I was 16 in 1998.

She lived on a council estate and had 3 almost grown up kids to feed on a small budget.

She was the first to introduce me to cheap supermarkets and I had never been in Netto before and thought it was amazing.

She took me shopping as she grocery shopped for us and her kids for the night and made what she called a one pot tuna pasta.

The amount she had made was huge and there was enough for lunch the next day too and OMG it tasted delicious.

It cost her around $4 at the time and to say it fed 5 of us, not once but twice meant that it cost $0.40 a meal.

But it tasted so good and you couldn’t believe that something that tasted amazing was so cheap on the wallet.

101 instant pot recipes bundle

Cooking A Tuna Pasta Casserole In The Instant Pot

I find that making a tuna pasta casserole in the Instant Pot is much quicker. You can start your recipe with a sauté, dump in your ingredients, cook and then cream it when it beeps.

If you are using your tuna pasta casserole as a side dish (like we are) then you can be cooking something else at the same time and it will organise you better.

The Instant Pot we have, that we used to make our tuna pasta casserole in, is the Instant Pot Duo and you can order it here or read our Instant Pot Review.

How To Cook Tuna Pasta In The Instant Pot?

Cooking tuna pasta casserole in the Instant Pot is very easy and is all about 4 main steps. You can swap the ingredients in these steps to change the flavour of your tuna pasta, depending on how you like it.

  • Sautéing = this is when you sauté the onion and garlic in a little extra virgin olive oil in your Instant Pot.
  • Deglazing = next we deglaze the Instant Pot with the red wine, it helps enhance the flavour of the finished dish and stops the Instant Pot from becoming burnt.
  • Dump & Go = this is the best bit. You throw in the rest of your ingredients, mix and pressure cook.
  • Load it up = in the final step you give it a stir, add in your favourite creamer and serve.

I love my tuna pasta casserole cold the best. A barbecue side dish, picnic on the beach, with a salad in the summer or on a buffet.

If you want it warm, then eat it when it is done, if you like it cold, add a tablespoon of mayonnaise at the end and then leave in the fridge to chill.

MORE Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

Many people find cooking pasta in the Instant Pot rather scary. There is the fear of overcooked mushy pasta and ruined inner pots. But it is easier than you think to make Instant Pot Pasta.

Here are a few more of our favourite Instant Pot Pasta Recipes:

Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole is one of my all-time favourite summer tuna pasta recipes. It can be served hot or cold and is perfect for picnics, barbecues or a quick comforting lunch or dinner.
Prep Time3 minutes
Cook Time7 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Instant Pot
Servings: 4
Calories: 709kcal

Ingredients

Recipe Ingredients:

Instructions

  • Add to your Instant Pot your onion, garlic and olive oil and cook for 2 minutes on sauté, or until the onion has softened.
  • Add the red wine and the tinned tomatoes and deglaze the Instant Pot.
  • Add in the pasta, the tinned tuna, 250ml of cold water and the seasoning and mix with a wooden spoon.
  • Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 5 minutes on manual.
  • Use quick pressure release and manually release pressure after it beeps.
  • Stir in your creamer and serve.

Notes

When you add the tuna to your Instant Pot, do include the brine as it adds flavour to the pasta.
For our creamer we used soft cheese and you can also use milk too if it is too thick. Other good creaming options (if you don’t like soft cheese) include coconut milk, mayonnaise or mascarpone.
You can serve our tuna pasta casserole warm or cold. Though add a little extra mayonnaise if you want it cold.

Nutrition

Calories: 709kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 579mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 740IU | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 122mg | Iron: 3.7mg
Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole

Recipe This

Hi! I am Sam and along with my chef hubby Dom we love sharing with you easy everyday recipes using kitchen gadgets. We are also the authors of The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook, an amazing air fryer cookbook filled with 140+ everyday air fryer recipes. Beyond the air fryer we also love the instant pot, slow cooker, soup maker, ninja foodi, pie marker and several other kitchen gadgets. CLICKING HERE →

2 thoughts on “Instant Pot Tuna Pasta Casserole”

  1. This looks delicious 🙂 My mom always made a tuna casserole but with cream of soups instead of tomatoes. I will have to try it with tomatoes! Your kitty with tuna is like my dog with cheese. I can open a ton of things that sound like a cheese wrapper and he won’t budge. The second I grab a cheese package out of the fridge he is at my feet faster then you can blink haha!

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