Creamy Instant Pot Pasta

A good week in real estate: 2 closings, 6 new leads, the satisfaction of matching families with houses the way Mama matches fillings with phyllo — instinctively, confidently. I brought spanakopita to an open house. The buyers ate it. They made an offer.

Sophia came home with a science club award and announced it with the casual confidence of a girl who expects excellence from herself and receives it. She has Nikos's pride — the kind that pretends not to care while caring so fiercely it has its own gravitational field.

I stood in my kitchen this evening and looked at the counter where I have made a thousand meals for my family and thought: this is what I do. I feed people. I sell them houses and I feed them food and I keep showing up because showing up is the only recipe that never fails.

I made pastitsio from Mama's recipe — the Kalymnos version with extra cinnamon and a bechamel so thick you could mortar bricks with it. I served it with bread and olive oil — always too much olive oil, because in this family there is no such thing as too much. We ate and the conversation was easy and the evening was warm.

Sophia told me this week that she is proud of me. I was not expecting it. We were in the car, driving to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner, and she said Mom, I am proud of you. I said for what. She said for everything. For the bakery. For the houses. For making dinner every night even when you are tired. I gripped the steering wheel and blinked and said thank you, koritsi mou. She said do not cry. I did not cry. Much.

Mama’s pastitsio is a Sunday project — the kind that fills the kitchen with cinnamon and patience — and this was a Wednesday. The week had already given me more than I expected: two closings, Sophia’s award, and those words in the car that I am still carrying with me. Some evenings call for the full ritual, and some evenings call for something that gets dinner on the table while you are still blinking back the good kind of tears. This creamy Instant Pot pasta is what I reach for when I want that same warm, blanketing feeling of a béchamel without the hour at the stove — it is fast, it is rich, and it never fails to make the table feel like a place worth gathering around.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

12 oz penne or rigatoni pasta
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Kefalotyri cheese, divided
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Sauté aromatics. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add butter and olive oil. Once melted and shimmering, add the diced onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring frequently so it does not burn.
Add pasta and liquid. Pour in the broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the dry pasta, salt, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg. Stir to combine and ensure pasta is submerged as much as possible.
Pressure cook. Secure the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook on Manual (High Pressure) for 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 8–10 minutes to come to pressure.
Release and open. When the cook time ends, perform a quick pressure release by carefully turning the valve to Venting. Once the pin drops, open the lid. The pasta will look slightly soupy — this is correct.
Make it creamy. Set the Instant Pot back to Sauté mode on Low. Stir in the heavy cream and milk. Let the sauce simmer gently for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until it thickens to a rich, coating consistency.
Finish with cheese. Turn off the heat and stir in 3/4 cup of the grated cheese until fully melted and incorporated. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with the remaining cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately with crusty bread and, as always, too much olive oil.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creamy Instant Pot Pasta — The Comfort That Shows Up Every Time