When I first got my Ninja Foodi, the thing I wanted to do was make a pasta dish in it.

Specifically, I wanted to make a French Onion Pasta dish from the new Slimming Eats cookbook.

However that book doesn’t share information on how to cook this dish with an instant pot of any kind, so I was on my own!

I went ahead and made the dish anyway, thinking I’d just Google it when I got to the pasta step.

But when I came to add the pasta and tried to find out how long, or even how to, cook pasta in the Ninja Foodi, the results were super unhelpful.

All I could find was specific pasta dish recipes, which all had different ingredients which made up the liquid portion of the meal.

As a result, I was left totally confused and anxious for the entire time I cooked pasta in the Ninja Foodi, no idea if I was doing it right!

Fortunately, I cracked it.

So in this blog post, I want to share with you exactly how to make pasta in the Ninja Foodi, without all the confusion and uncertainty! 

Can you cook pasta in the Ninja Foodi?

Yes, you can cook pasta in the Ninja Foodi! Use the Pressure Cooker setting and make sure you have enough liquid in your pot to cover the pasta.

Funnily enough, this was my first question when I came to the pasta step of my recipe.

You see, the Ninja Foodi comes with lots of manuals and guidelines on how to cook various things, like rice, but not pasta.

So I had no idea you cooked pasta using the Pressure Cooker function. Even this was a guessing game the first time I used it!

What types of pasta recipes can you make in the Ninja Foodi?

You can make any type of pasta recipe in the Ninja Foodi. From spaghetti bolognese to macaroni cheese, or even a pasta bake, they’re all suitable!

I have the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 and I like to Air Fry my favourite pasta recipes at the end to give them a nice, crunchy top layer!

How long do you cook pasta in the Ninja Foodi?

The time you need to cook pasta in the Ninja Foodi varies depending on the pasta you are cooking and how you like your pasta!

A lot of guides online share times for al dente pasta, but in my house, we like fairly soft pasta.

Through experimenting, I’ve found halving the recommended cooking time for traditional hob cooking works best.

For example, if it recommends 12 minutes, 6 minutes will be enough in the Foodi.

How much liquid do you need to cook pasta in the Ninja Foodi?

You need 1.5 (350ml) cups of liquid for every 8oz (226g) of pasta in the Ninja Foodi.

There won’t be any liquid left at the end following these guidelines.

If you’re using the liquid to make up the sauce of your pasta dish as well, or you plan to use the Steam Air Fry option to bake your pasta dish after it’s cooked through, you will need more liquid than this.

How to Make Pasta in the Ninja Foodi

I’ll be sharing some of my favourite Ninja Foodi pasta recipes here over the next few weeks, so check back, and I’ll add my favourites below!