This Instant Pot Sausage Pasta is the perfect easy one-pot meal that’s packed with classic Italian flavours and on the table in 25 minutes or less!
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Friends, I need to know – what’s your family’s favourite go-to meal that you enjoy on the regular? For our family, this Instant Pot Sausage Pasta is where it’s at. It’s packed with SO much flavour (if you like Italian, you’ll LOVE it!), it’s made with super simple ingredients, and it just might be the best pasta I’ve ever had.
Cooking Pasta in the Instant Pot
Cooking pasta in its own sauce is the best way to create the most delicious, silky sauce because as pasta cooks it releases starch into the sauce – and rather than pouring all that starch down the drain with the pasta water, using the pasta’s own starch to create a thick and velvety sauce is absolute perfection. As this Instant Pot Sausage Pasta cooks the Instant Pot does all the work (which is why we love it SO much!) and leaves you with perfectly cooked pasta in a thick, rich, meaty sauce that’s SO delicious.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Sausage Pasta
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- Italian Sausage
- Yellow Onion
- Red Onion
- Red Bell Pepper
- Italian Seasoning
- Canned Diced Tomatoes
- Rigatoni Pasta
- Chicken Stock
- Salt and Pepper
- Fresh Spinach
- Parmesan Cheese
How to Make Sausage Pasta in the Instant Pot
Making Instant Pot Sausage Pasta is SO easy! Use my PRO TIPS for the perfect Instant Pot Pasta every time!
- Sauté the Italian Sausage first. Cooking the sausage first makes for a short pressure cooking time and it creates amazing flavour!
- Deglaze the pan to prevent burning. If you want to avoid that dreaded “burn” notice, deglaze the pan with a splash of stock and scrape up any caramelized bits before pressure cooking.
- Layer the liquid and the noodles. Before pressure cooking, remove the sausage and veggies and layer with the liquid and noodles until everything is added.
- Do NOT stir before cooking! Resist the urge to stir before cooking. Stirring makes the noodles clump up and causes the noodles to sink to the bottom where they’ll burn. For even cooking, cook the ingredients in layers (as mentioned in the instruction above) and wait until after the pressure is released to stir.
- Cook on High Pressure for 7 minutes. The noodles only need 7 minutes to cook to al dente and absorb the liquid!
- Quick Release. Release the pressure manually. If you let the pressure release naturally the noodles will be WAY over-cooked.
- Stir well while it’s hot. Add the Parmesan cheese and use a pair of tongs to toss the cooked noodles in the sauce. This will help any noodles clumped together to become unstuck, and it will distribute the noodles and the sauce evenly throughout the pot for easy serving.
- Serve immediately. Since the sauce contains a lot of starch from the pasta, it’s best to serve this dish immediately while the sauce is velvety smooth. Top with some freshly chopped herbs (To reheat as leftovers, add a splash or two of water to a pan and reheat on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting).
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Can I make Instant Pot Sausage Pasta on the stovetop?
Yes! Check out this One Pot Italian Sausage Pasta recipe for the stovetop version!
Why Should I Buy an Instant Pot?
If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet and you’re navigating a busy life while trying to feed a hungry family 7 days a week, I’d highly recommend investing in an Instant Pot. Mine sat un-used on a shelf for 6 months until I finally had the courage to give it a try, but once I did I was hooked. I most often use the 8-Quart Instant Pot Duo (affiliate link) because I’m feeding a family (and we like having leftovers for the next day), but I test all my Instant Pot Recipes in the 6-Quart Instant Pot Duo (affiliate link) as well so you can be sure they’ll work for you too! If you’re looking for more delicious Instant Pot recipes, check out ALL my Instant Pot recipes HERE!
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I hope you love this Instant Pot Sausage Pasta recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite side dish to serve with spaghetti? I’d love to know!
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Instant Pot Sausage Pasta
Equipment
- Instant Pot or other Electric Pressure Cooker (6 quart or 8 quart)
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- a pinch or two of salt and pepper
- 4 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 1 pound Rigatoni pasta
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese optional
- chopped fresh parsley for serving optional
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and add the olive oil.
- Add the Italian sausage (casings removed) to the Instant Pot and break the sausage up into small pieces as it browns.
- Add the diced onions and chopped bell peppers, along with the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Stir everything together and let the veggies soften while the sausage browns.
- Remove the sausage and veggies to a plate and add a splash of chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Scrape up all the caramelized bits - this will help you avoid the dreaded burn notice while pressure cooking.
- Add about 2 cups of the stock to the Instant Pot and cancel the saute mode.
- Add about half the noodles gently into the stock, along with half the diced tomatoes and then half the meat/veggie mixture.
- Add the rest of the stock, and then gently add the rest of the noodles, the rest of the tomatoes, and then the rest of the meat/veggie mixture.
- Don't stir. Just make sure the noodles are completely submerged in the liquid.
- Add the lid to the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing. Set the Instant Pot to cook on High Pressure for 7 minutes (the Instant Pot will take about 8 minutes to come to full pressure before the 7-minute cooking time begins).
- Once the Instant Pot has finished the 7-minute cooking time, release the pressure manually by moving the valve to venting. It's best to do this under a hood fan if you have one in your kitchen, and by using a long-handled kitchen tool to move the valve (to prevent burning yourself).
- Once the pressure has released completely, remove the lid immediately.
- Stir the noodles and the sauce, helping the noodles separate if any are clumped together. As you toss a meaty sauce will form around the pasta. You can add the parmesan cheese at this stage too, or simply serve the pasta with parmesan cheese on top.
- Serve the pasta immediately in its sauce with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and some chopped fresh herbs (optional).
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