Instant Pot

Fettuccine Alfredo With Butternut Squash & Mushrooms

January 20, 2019
4.5
11 Ratings
Photo by Rocky Luten
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 3 or more
Author Notes

This is one of my favorite ways to get a big bowl of creamy, comforting, meat-free pasta on the table in under 30 minutes. (Believe me, I was surprised to be able to cook perfectly al dente noodles in the Instant Pot, too!) I'm an ardent fan of butternut squash, which features prominently here. I like to pair it with crispy, browned cremini mushrooms, but you can riff to your heart's desire—smashed and browned chickpeas would be nice, as would be bacon or pancetta, if that's more your style! —Ella Quittner

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms, in pieces roughly the size of beans
  • 1 large yellow onion, finely diced (about 2 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons (heaping) kosher salt, plus 1 large pinch
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black or white pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds chopped butternut squash, seeds and skin removed, in roughly 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 pound (dried) fettuccine noodles
  • 1/4 cup water, room temperature
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan (tightly packed, about 2.5 ounces), plus more for serving
Directions
  1. Turn your multi-cooker on to its sauté setting. Add the butter, let it melt, and then add the mushrooms. Sauté until they’re browned all over, about 5 minutes. Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions, squash, 2 heaping teaspoons salt, and pepper. Sauté a few more minutes, mixing every so often, until the onions are beginning to turn translucent.
  2. Add the wine. Pause for a few moments to let the wine come to a simmer, as you scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the cream and nutmeg, stir, and let the mixture come back to a simmer. Take the uncooked noodles in a bundle and use your hands to break them in half, so you have noodles that are 1/2 the length of normal fettuccine. Add them to the pot of vegetables and liquid, along with 1/4 cup water, and stir to submerge the noodles as much as you can (it’s okay if they’re sticking out a tiny bit at the top—they'll slump into the liquid as they cook). Put the lid on the cooker and turn to pressure cook mode on high for 5 minutes (or for 6 minutes if you like your noodles more well-done, less al dente).
  3. Once the pressure cooking has finished, let the pressure release naturally for a few minutes before turning your steam valve to allow a quick release. Add the grated Parmesan, the reserved browned mushrooms, and the additional pinch of salt. Toss with the pasta and sauce until the cheese has melted and the sauce becomes a creamy, glossy coating to the noodles. (The fettuccine will cook a little more as you toss.) Let any softened chunks of squash that want to break up as you stir do so. Top individual bowls with more grated Parmesan.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Melissa S.
    Melissa S.
  • Jung-Ah Yum
    Jung-Ah Yum
  • Ella Quittner
    Ella Quittner
  • NXL
    NXL

28 Reviews

Melissa S. June 20, 2022
I didn’t have the white wine but I wanted to make this badly. So I did it without and this came out delicious!! I just added extra water to the recipe lol and no burning issue for me either. So so good!
 
NXL September 20, 2021
Fantastic with one slice pepper bacon chopped and browned, rest of recipe as written.
 
Lisa March 5, 2021
Made exactly as described, but used bucatini instead of fettuccine and parm for the cheese. Turned out perfectly and absolutely delicious....5 star recipe
 
Jung-Ah Y. October 29, 2020
I have dry tagliatelle egg noodles, would they still work for this recipe?
 
Susannavan October 18, 2020
Made it last night for a socially distanced dinner party of six. Doubled the recipe. I was a bit nervous having never made it before. Followed the recipe exactly and it was perfection.
 
JenBohn September 16, 2020
Made this tonight, thought it was amazing!!!! I had a few issues but therefore I learned a lot so I'm sure it'll go smoother next time. No matter - the flavors are amazing!
 
Steph B. March 1, 2020
I like this recipe a lot, but I find that each time I've made it the milk breaks/curdles after pressure cooking. Is this typical? It doesn't matter too much once I stir everything up and it tastes delicious, but it does affect the look slightly.
 
Susannavan October 18, 2020
Do you pour the cream very slowly? This should prevent curdling.
 
Alyson C. January 28, 2020
So, we enjoyed this and will make it again. Followed directions exactly - maybe squash slightly larger chunks than indicated in recipe - and cooked pasta for 6 minutes. Will try 7 minutes next time as pasta a bit undercooked. I think it’s important to make sure that ,sunrooms cook enough to release liquid, as it’s needed for the success of the recipe. Hoping I don’t get the ‘burn notice’ that other reviewers got when I go to 7 minutes. Otherwise it’s a great meal or side dish in short order.
 
Alyson C. January 28, 2020
Mushrooms... not sunrooms. :)
 
Emma.watkins December 28, 2019
Got food burned twice, and even cleaned out the pot between tries. Also tried it a normal pressure, still got food burned warning. Should have done it on the stovetop!
 
Molly March 12, 2019
This did not work at all. Got the burn warning on the instant pot. opened it up and added more water and again got the burn warning. finally decided to take everything out and cook it on the stovetop. Waste of time trying to do it in the instant pot.
 
shayna February 12, 2019
Do you think I could do this with tagliatelle? I have some that's slow dried in those fancy little piles. The cook time is 8-10 minutes on the package, it just looks like it's wider (and maybe thinner?) than boxed fettuccine.
 
Ella Q. February 12, 2019
Yes, I think that'd work. Keep me posted if you try it!
 
shayna February 13, 2019
It worked great! This is a terrific recipe. Picky toddler approved as well, which is always a plus.
 
Ella Q. February 13, 2019
Great, I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
 
Heidi H. February 5, 2019
Just tried this - noodles were not cooked! Very sad family.
 
LEXI January 29, 2019
So amazing ... we made it with wild foraged porcinis we found and I added walnuts. Love it in the instant pot.
 
Ella Q. January 30, 2019
So glad you enjoyed, Lexi!
 
Jay January 29, 2019
Great recipe!! Homey enough to feel like grandma’s but sophisticated enough to wow company. Didn’t use the pot but that shouldn’t stop you either just double the cooking times. My next step is to “veganize” it. Cue the Young Frankenstein roof scene.
 
Ella Q. January 30, 2019
Thanks for the note, Jay! Glad you enjoyed.
 
Amy January 25, 2019
Question - what step is the squash added. Did I miss it in the instructions? Thinking it goes in when the pasta does? Would love to make this but want to make sure...Thanks!
 
Ella Q. January 26, 2019
Hi Amy! The squash gets added at the end of step 1: "Add the onions, squash, 2 heaping teaspoons salt, and pepper. Sauté a few more minutes, mixing every so often, until the onions are beginning to turn translucent."

Hope you enjoy!
 
Kelsie January 24, 2019
Hi - is it possible to make this on the stove top or would it not cook evenly enough?
 
Ella Q. January 24, 2019
Hi Kelsie,

You could totally make something similar on the stovetop. I'd crisp up the mushrooms and set aside, then sauté the onions, deglaze with wine, and add the squash and cream, and simmer until the squash is tender. (Meanwhile, make the pasta in another pot, and then mix into the sauce with the cheese and mushrooms when ready.) In theory you could also cook the noodles straight in the sauce (I do this a lot) but I haven't tested it on the stovetop with these liquid proportions, and it'd be a bit different because there's so little evaporation with the Instant Pot. So in other words, feel free, but just keep an eye on liquid levels as the noodles cook.

Ella
 
liliana September 13, 2020
Bravo for eliminating the multi-cooker and simplifying life.
 
Mainer February 28, 2021
For many people the multi-cooker simplifies life: time saving, one pot, etc. Which is why the device is so popular.
 
liliana February 28, 2021
And takes up a generous chunk of extra space.
I prefer a book to reading extended multi-cooker instructions.
Although, no doubt you also have a comeback for that in terms of time.
Pots? One for sauce, one for pasta. The latter only needs rinsing.