This vegan Instant Pot Tomato Pasta Sauce should be a staple in your kitchen. So much better than bottled, this homemade sauce can be made in large batches ready for when pasta craving hits! Delicious and robust pasta sauce is packed with sundried tomatoes and kalamata olives which provide the most delicious sunshine-packed taste and nutrition.
INSTANT POT SUNDRIED TOMATO AND OLIVE PASTA SAUCE
This pasta sauce is one that my Mum has made for years. She used to make a creamy pasta bake on weekends with tomato sauce and a white cheese sauce in the oven.
Recently, I made air fryer pasta bake using this tomato sauce and cheese sauce, in less than an half an hour.
This sauce is so rich and thick and is easy to make with pantry staples. I love using fresh tomatoes when I have them to hand, but if you don't have any, then you don't need to!
Sundried tomatoes are much loved in our family. I tried them the first time in a vegetarian sandwich with mozzarella and rocket salad almost 20 years ago at Lourve Museum Paris!
We love to use sundried tomato in our:
and our readers' favourite recipe Sundried Tomato, Chickpea cakes with cashew and oats
Homemade Pasta Sauce
As a uni student, I've gone through my fair share of jarred pasta sauce! I've always loved and appreciated the luxury of fresh, homemade food but at university, meal prep became all about efficiency.
On a few occasions, I'd cook from scratch but I was most partial to jarred pasta sauce!
The beauty of making homemade pasta sauce is that you are fully in control of the flavour. Also, adding fresh ingredients amplifies the taste and nutritional value.
✓ Vegan and Gluten-free
✓ Packed with flavours
✓ Budget-friendly
✓ No peeling, coring or deseeding required
Instant Pot Tomato Sauce
My Mum has been making variations of this recipe for almost 3 decades now! However, it has always been made on the stovetop.
Making this pasta sauce in the Instant Pot has eliminated the need to stir for over 20 minutes until the tomatoes soften and cook. Using the Pressure Cooker function means that the cooking time is reduced to 5 minutes!
We used our new Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus to make this sauce. There was no compromise to the taste, perfect pasta sauce in less time!
Kalamata Olives
Difference between Black Olives and Kalamata Olives
Black Olives are harvested in Mediterranean countries as well as the USA, Australia and Argentina, and are black in colour. They are harvested once fully ripen on the tree however they can be artificially ripened too.
Black olives are also known as California olives and round in shape and are not as expensive as kalamata olives and saltier in taste.
Most often Kalamata Olives are grown near Kalamata city in Greece, and they are dark purple in colour (see in our pictures) although they are a black olive variety, almost like almond shape and have a rich fruity taste.
Kalamata olives are harvested or handpicked when they fully ripen and dark in colour, in the UK, they are quite expensive.
Ingredients
These easy to find store cupboard ingredients are used to make this sundried tomato and olive pasta sauce.
Fresh tomatoes - use fresh tomatoes if you have them to add flavour and bulk. I once made this sauce with a friend and she had a variety of fresh tomatoes from her parents' garden - it was heavenly!!
Tinned tomatoes - I like to used peeled plum tomatoes as they have a rich flavour and bring a lovely red colour to the pasta sauce better than tinned chopped tomatoes
Onion - we used white onion
Garlic - fresh garlic is the best here
Sundried Tomatoes - we used bottled sundried tomatoes but you can also use loose
Kalamata olives - if you use kalamata olives check if they need pitting ... I've made the mistake of grinding olive stones into the sauce before. At least I know my hand blender is up to the task...
If you do not want to use kalamata, use whichever black olives you have to hand
Herbs - I love changing this up! I usually add either Provencal herbs or Italian herbs. You can also use your own custom blend of dried oregano, basil, marjoram etc
Fresh herbs - although not shown in the video because we didn't have any to hand at the time, adding lots of fresh Italian basil just before blending the sauce and after cooking is just sublime!
Red chilli flakes - these chilli flakes provide gentle heat.
Sugar - adding white granulated sugar helps cut through the acidity of the tomatoes. You can use honey, maple or agave syrup too. (forgot to add in the video)
Salt - regular, pink or Maldon will do.
Black Pepper - freshly ground much better.
Oil - we use olive oil. Sometimes we use a little of the oil from the jar of the sundried tomatoes for an extra punch of flavour! Why waste it?! Do not use extra virgin olive oil when sauteing the onions as the oil will burn.
For a richer taste, you may use butter, but it won't be a vegan sauce.
Serving
This is our go-to pasta sauce and we absolutely love to use it for our pasta bake. Just pour it on cooked Spaghetti, or use it as gravy for meatballs.
I think it is pretty good for lasagna, over vegetables or in our vegetarian Aubergine Parmigiana too.
If I have leftover Ricotta and lemon Pasta, next day I stir in this sauce, sprinkle some cheese on top and bake it in the oven.
A couple of times I have used this sauce as a pizza sauce too and it works so well.
Equipment
You will need an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker. A manual pressure cooker works fine too!
You will need a blender, either a stick blender or a jug blender. It's fine if your sauce is slightly chunky or you can have it smooth - depending on what you like.
How to make Tomato Pasta Sauce in the Instant Pot
(exact measurements can be found in the printable recipe card below)
1. Set your Instant Pot to Saute Mode
2. Add oil to the inner pot
3. Add onion and garlic
4. Saute until translucent and soft
5. Add all the remaining ingredients
6. Add some water
7. Close the Instant Pot, check vent is on Sealing
8. Pressure Cook for 5 mins on high
9. Either quick release or allow to manually release the pressure
10. Blend your pasta sauce
How to store
This pasta sauce can be made in advance and stored away for later use.
Store in the fridge in a sealable and wide mouth container or a jar. The sauce will keep fresh for up to 5 days.
This easy pasta sauce is suitable for freezing. If you like this recipe and make it in a big batch and store it in small portions in a freezer-proof container or zip lock bags.
It stays good for up to 3-4 months, whenever you need it just thaw in a microwave or leave it on the kitchen worktop and then heat it in the pan.
If you fancy you may add any other vegetables of your choice later in this sauce.
More Instant Pot Recipes
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INSTANT POT PASTA SAUCE WITH SUN DRIED TOMATOES & KALAMATA OLIVES
This vegan Instant Pot Tomato Pasta Sauce should be a staple in your kitchen. So much better than bottled, this homemade sauce can be made in large batches ready for when pasta craving hits! Delicious and robust pasta sauce is packed with sundried tomatoes and kalamata olives which provide the most delicious sunshine-packed taste and nutrition.
Ingredients
- 4 medium fresh tomatoes
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 can chop or plum tomatoes 400g
- ¼ cup kalamata olives
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 big white onion roughly chopped
- 5 big garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp. red chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp. herb de Provence
- ½ tbsp. dried lavender
- ½ tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat Instant Pot's inner pot using a saute function.
- Once heated add olive oil then onion and garlic.
- Saute for 1-2 minutes, don't brown them.
- Add fresh, sun-dried and tinned tomatoes, stir,
- Then add olives, herbs, salt, black pepper and red chilli flakes.
- Add little water.
- Close the lid and press pressure cook HIGH for 5 minutes., make sure the knob is in a sealed position.
- Allow pressure to release naturally for 10-12 minutes before quick release.
- Open the lid and blend it.
- Use it right away or cool and store in the jar and keep it in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 100g | Calories: 1kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 3mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
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