Instant Pot Mushroom Stroganoff with Vodka
Make this stroganoff your dinner tonight, seriously! Made with caraway-spiked vodka, and a hearty mushroom base, you get all of what you love about mushroom stroganoff, without the all the butter and cream.
If you have an Instant Pot, please make this. Please. Pasta fans especially, this one is for you. It is an Instant Pot Mushroom Stroganoff. And, as many of you know, within the Instant Pot community, mushroom stroganoff is quite popular. You see many versions of it highlighted. Some are over-the-top decadent, others are quite healthy and hearty. This is my take, trying to land squarely in the later camp.
My rogue move? Infuse a bit of vodka with crushed caraway seeds. Use it to spike your mushroom base as it cooks. So, a bit like penne alla vodka, but the mushroom stroganoff version. You can use whatever pasta you like (whole-grain, gluten free, chickpea, rice, etc.), I use creamy nut milk in place of actual cream, and a splash of olive oil to kick things off to start, in place of slabs of butter. You won't miss any of it. This version is vegan, vegetarian, cozy, comforting, simple, and adaptable.
Here's a quick video where you can see how this comes together. There are also more videos here if you're interested:
Serving Suggestions
I'm going to argue that you need to counter all of this brown with a good amount of green. I enjoy this with a sizable green salad, or stir some chopped kale directly into the stroganoff, as it completes cooking. I make note of the specifics down below.
Pasta Selection
One of the great things about this recipe is that you can use whatever pasta you like, and you can experiment with favorite shapes. I've had success with penne, and rotini, but you can absolutely use whatever you (or your family) really likes. I often reach for one of the legume/bean based pastas for weeknight pastas, and play around with more traditional (and homemade wheat noodles) on the weekends. Mix it up some, this recipe is perfect for it.
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Instant Pot Mushroom Stroganoff with Vodka
If your mushrooms look dirty or dusty, wipe them with a damp cloth or paper towel. I used chickpea pasta here, and it works great! (Banza). If vodka is inconvenient, substitute a craft beer (bourbon stout was delicious), or white wine.
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
- 1/3 cup vodka
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 1 pound brown mushrooms, stemmed, chopped 1/2-inch
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
- 1 3/4 cup mushroom broth (or vegetable broth)
- 2 cups dried pasta (see headnotes)
- 1/2 cup homemade cashew cream*, or almond milk
- to serve:
- lots of dill, or chives and some toasted almonds
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In a small bowl combine the caraway seeds and the vodka, set aside. Sauté the olive oil and onions in the Instant Pot on the highest SAUTE setting for a minute or two. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms, and cook for a few minutes more, until everything softens up a bit. Stir in the tomato paste, and then the flour, and cook, stirring gently, but constantly for another few minutes, to toast the flour a bit. Add the mustard, salt, and pepper, broth, and pasta. Give one last stir to distribute the pasta evenly, and press CANCEL to stop the SAUTE.
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Close the pot, and secure the lid. SEAL the valve. Select PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL) and calculate your cooking time. To do this, refer to your pasta package, the time will be half of the shortest recommended cooking time, rounded down to nearest minute. For example my pasta package recommended 7 - 9 minutes. Take the smaller number (7), cut in half (3.5), round down to nearest whole number (3). SET/ADJUST TIME - in my case, to 3 minutes. When finished, carefully QUICK RELEASE pressure by shifting the valve to VENTING. Gently shake or tap the pressure cooker, and then carefully open away from you. Stir in the vodka-caraway mixture, simmer for a few more minutes, and stir in cashew milk. Taste and adjust seasoning, serve topped with lots of dill and almonds.
*Puree 1 cup of cashews, and 2 cups of water in a high-speed blender for a full minute or two. If you don't have a high-speed blender, please soak the cashews in water for at least an hour before blending for smoothest consistency.
Stovetop Version: Follow the instructions, up to the point of adding the pasta, cooking in a large skillet (instead of the Instant Pot). Cook the pasta separately in a pot of salted water, and stir it into the mushroom mixture. Finish with the cashew milk, and toppings.
Kale-boosted Variation: Stir a few big handfuls of well-chopped kale into the mushroom stroganoff just after it finishes cooking. Let it collapse a bit over a couple of minutes, and stir in the cashew cream before serving.
For reference, this is the Instant Pot I used for this recipe: Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 Qt 9-in-1
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Comments
Delicious. First recipe I've used the Instant Pot for and it worked like a charm. Used stout spiked with bourbon for the alcohol portion. Yum!
Hi Heidi, I was wondering if spinach can be used in place of the kale. Thanks, Jennifer
HS: Hi Jennifer, sure! That's a totally reasonable substitute...
I have a pressure cooker which is about 10 years old. Will this work? Or is the InstaPot the way to go? Thanks!
HS: HS: Hi Benjamin, you can certainly use a pressure cooker, or just prepare it stovetop.
Made this, and I kept getting the BURN warning on the pot, which I expected as I almost always have issues cooking gluten free pasta in a one-pot type dish. I intended to only cook for 3-4 minutes, and used Ronzoni gluten free penne pasta. The first time it did it, it hadn't even come up to pressure yet, so I stirred, let it cool off for a second and then started it over. Then just after coming to pressure it happened again, and some pasta was burned/stuck to the bottom. The pasta was already cooked by then, so I dumped everything that wasn't stuck and put it on the stove and let it simmer a little longer, with the almond milk added to soften the mushrooms a little more. Good flavor after the burning fiasco! Is there a different GF pasta that won't stick, have you tried making the recipe with it?
HS: Hi Allison, strange! The pasta you see in mine is GF (Banza brand), and I've tested with multiple shapes in the 6 qt. IP....I think, perhaps, if this is a recurring issue with your pot, when you know you might have trouble, bump up the amount of broth or liquid in a recipe? I think that's where I would start. Maybe an extra 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup? Start there, and see if you can solve it. Or! Another approach, maybe try cooking for less time on the front end, so that your ingredients retain more moisture? Or a combination of both. xx! -h
Extremely easy and just delicious. I expected to have leftovers but my husband and I finished everything off. And, thanks to your tip, our pasta came out perfect. Thank you!
This was fantastic! I think I'm going to make it again tonight since there are not enough leftovers :D
This was fantastic! A little strong on the caraway for me, but that is easily adjusted. In fact, I'm eating leftovers for lunch now :) Any thoughts on doubling the recipe? This is always tricky with an IP (never as straightforward as use 2 of everything!), so I thought I would ask!
HS: Liz, I think for this one, I'd just go for double....but let us know how it goes :)
Heidi, do you find that the flavors develop and blend enough with the instant pot?
HS: Hi Summer, it really seems to depend. I've been loving it for broths. I actually think a more common issue is that you can end up with muddied flavors - but there are ways I've been trying to avoid that. For example in the Minestrone, I add a number of the ingredients after the cook, to keep some of their brightness and clarity.
Hi! Do you think this dish is ok for kids or is the vodka/alcohol still pretty pronounced after cooking? Does it cook off? Thanks!
HS: No - it should cook off :)
Can you use a crock pot instead?
HS: Hi Marlitt! Yes, absolutely.
I made this today without vodka, and it turned out very nicely. I may need to add more broth next time. Thank you.
Holy cow!!! I just made this, haven't even sat down with it yet, but served myself up a small dish to sample...it's incredible! Thank you, thank you. I'm working on going vegan, mostly gluten free, and this is just a beautiful dish to add to my repertoire. One question...I'm new to the Instapot, so I'm not sure of its limits. Could this be doubled when using the Instapot?
HS: Hi Jennifer, yes - I don't see why not (esp. if you have a 6 qt or larger)...Glad you liked it!
Just made this tonight using your instant pot mushroom broth for the liquid. WOW!!!! All four of your instant pot recipes have been hits with us..... looking forward to the next one!!! Thank you, Heidi.
HS: Thanks Brent! I make it with that broth too...def. worth the little bit of extra effort, right? :)
OMYGOSH!!! Heidi this mushroom stroganoff is outstanding. I too got a Instant Pot on Black Friday and have made all of your creations. But have to say this is my fave. I substituted the caraway seeds (who doesn't have caraway seeds...but apparently I didn't) for anise, and it was lovely. I used left over mushroom broth from previous mushroom soup recipe and added real cream I get from a local farmer. Still have minestrone soup in my freezer that I change up everytime we eat it with different toppings. Have to say Im LOVING my Instant Pot and your recipes are the best. Keep them coming.
HS: Thanks for the nice note Lanny - so happy these recipes are making the jump into your kitchen! Love the anise swap idea actually - brilliant!
I made this today, it was fabulous! I was intrigued with the idea of cooking the pasta in the pot and not separately. I was out of plain vodka and I'm not a fan of caraway, so I left them out (I know- your super special ingredients!). I did add a splash of balsamic vinegar and coconut aminos. I did have to close the lid and turn the pot back on for a couple more minutes because my whole wheat penne pasta wasn't even al dente. My husband and I both loved it. I'll be making this again soon.
I just made this without the Instant Pot. I didn’t cook the pasta separately, I just threw it into the mushroom mixture with extra water. I added about half a bunch of Dino kale. I had some tahini so I put a couple tablespoons of that instead of cashew cream. Turned out great!
HS: Heartily endorsing your substitutions Monica! xx!
I bought an instant pot last year, but I didn’t try using it until today. The mushroom stroganoff recipe sounded so good that it made me overcome inertia and give this kitchen gadget a try. I’m so glad that I did. This recipe is so good and the instant pot is surprisingly easy. The sauté mode is great! Thanks for the recipe and inspiration.
HS: Whoop! Love this. And, yeah - the sauté mode sort of makes the whole thing worth it...
Heidi--LOVING all the WFPB recipes you're up to, especially now with the instapot addition. Keep them coming, please! xo
Does cooking the pasta in the InstantPot make the dish murky? How was it when using your method?
HS: Hi Mahnaz, no, it is fine. I think the creaminess of this dish helps with that though...
Might coconut work well here? Or would the coconut flavor be too strong?
HS: Hi Mark, I think it'd be delicious, especially if you imagine using it in some sort of curry, etc.