INSTANT POT GLUTEN FREE PALEO NOODLES
Oh lordy, here we go, the paleo police have been notified and are armed and ready. This dish is not officially paleo. And if you noticed by my (carefully) named blog, I am not super strict paleo. I have been doing this for 3 years and am no stranger to scrutiny. I am no stranger to criticism. But the bottom line is this, clear and simple: My family eats healthy.
They are fed high quality meats, are 100% gluten free, have very little exposure to dairy and have limited sugar intake. They eat organic when possible and have a lunch packed for them which includes fresh produce everyday. They also eat rice and some gluten free grains.
THIS RECIPE IS FOR THEM. This recipe is also for you if you fall into a similar category as my children and husband. This recipe is for busy weeknights coupled with the need for a home cooked meal that’s a crowd pleaser. If you are strict paleo, or are otherwise restricted, this recipe is not for you. Now that I have put that disclaimer out there, I will add that this recipe CAN be made paleo by substituting tapioca based noodles. You could also use a paleo pasta recipe or ready to eat product like Cappello’s, HOWEVER, I do not have instructions for anything other than dried pasta which I have used here. You will want to experiment in order to find appropriate cook times for other types of pasta.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound organic ground turkey (or beef)
- 1 tablespoon cooking fat (avocado oil, olive oil, ghee)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup chopped carrots (you can also add other veggies to this mix)
- 1 – 26 ounce jar of organic pasta sauce (or homemade of course)
- 26 ounces of water
- 4 cups dried rice noodles (I used one similar to THIS), you can also make it paleo by using tapioca noodles
- Sea salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- PLEASE NOTE: if you use tapioca or rice noodles that are thinner like spaghetti, you will likely need to decrease cook time
- Begin by pressing the “Saute” feature on your Instant Pot
- Add in your cooking fat and onion
- Saute the onion for a few minutes or until it begins to soften
- Add in the ground turkey and brown it slightly, breaking it up as you do (it does not need to be cooked all the way through)
- Add in the remaining ingredients and give it a quick stir
- Secure the Instant Pot lid and press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button
- Now close off the pressure valve and press the “Manual” button
- Next press the “-” button until “7” is displayed – please note, this number may vary slightly. For spiraled gluten free pasta this gave us a perfect texture
- Allow the cook time to complete then quick release the pressure valve and remove the lid when safe to do so
- Give it a quick stir and serve
I think my mostly paleo family would love this. Thank you for posting!
Just wanted to suggest if you sear that ground beef on both sides before breaking it up you’ll get better results. I just learned this tip and I’m pretty shocked at how much better the meat tastes, did a side by side comparision. I let it cook till it’s easy to flip to the other side.
Question – would this get mushy if you stored it overnight and then heated it and put in the kids’ insulated lunchboxes for lunch the next day?
It might be ok, I haven’t tried it! I think just don’t overcook and it should be ok.
Can regular pasta be used , do you think the cook time will change? Thank you
Yes you can use regular pasta but I am not sure of the time change as I have not cooked regular pasta in many years.
I think zucchini noodles would work too. I think you could reduce cook time to 5 minutes.
Yes definitely reduce if you are doing zucchini noodles!
I have the instapot with the dial, therefore don’t have a “7”…do you know which setting this would be under? Would it just be pressure cooker? Many, many thanks….this sounds so good and I just received the pot for Christmas. Getting my feet wet.
Yes just pressure cook on manual setting.
Excited about your blog but would love to have more precise details like estimated cook time (manual “7” doesn’t tell me), and pasta weight rather than cups since volume varies by pasta shape. I am using Trader Joe’s rice fuselli which comes in a 16 oz package, estimated eight 2-oz. servings. No volume is given on the package so I will have to measure cups to make sure the water proportion is correct. I got your tip that spaghetti won’t work not to mention hard to measure in cups, but what about other shapes? flat noodles vs shells, etc. Soggy rice pasta is my greatest cooking fear, so I care about the details. Thanks. Look forward to trying more of your recipes if this one pans out (ha ha)
Hi Karen, I’ve tried this with a few different types of gluten free noodles and I have varied the weights of the noodles significantly. I have followed the recipe exactly and alternatively I have basically dumped in different types of pasta, along with the measured sauce and water and so far spirals, macaroni, small shells and similar have all performed similarly. I have not tried giant shells. I have tried fettuccine type noodles and all have performed well at 7 minutes high pressure. Hope that helps!
This was SO good! I used the Pad Thai rice noodles I had on hand, and your suggestions about veggies helped me use up the zucchini that was in the fridge. Thank you for such a tasty, easy recipe!