Instant Pot Marry Me Pasta

There's a trend going around on social media for a dish called "Marry Me Chicken." It's chicken bathed in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce. This trend is strangely kind of taking a life of its own, and now the "Marry Me" recipes are shorthand for anything with a sun-dried tomato cream sauce.

Today, I bring you a vegetarian version, Marry Me Pasta. There's no chicken, but there are meaty mushrooms and fresh spinach. It's a nice cozy dish as fall approaches.

As I've written about before, I love to make creamy pastas in the Instant Pot. Using a one-pot method retains the starch from the pasta, which helps emulsify the dish and make it more creamy. It also has the side effect of making it super easy!

Instant Pot Marry Me Pasta
3/4 cup (about 6 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped (save 2 T of the oil!)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste
5 cups water
1 1/2 t Better than Bouillon (I like vegetable or "no chicken" flavors), optional--add more salt if not using
1 lb small pasta, like bowtie
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
~6 ounces fresh baby spinach

handful of torn fresh basil, optional

Sauté mushrooms in sun-dried tomato oil until golden. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and black and red pepper, sauteing for a couple minutes. Stir in water, Better than Bouillon if using, and pasta. Seal and set to 4 minutes on high pressure. Do a quick pressure release when finished cooking. 

Stir in remaining ingredients. If sauce is too liquid, let it stand for a few minutes. The pasta will absorb the excess moisture. If pasta is too dry, add more water until desired consistency is reached.