Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage
In this Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage, penne pasta, Italian sausage and veggies all cook together in marinara sauce in your pressure cooker. It’s one of our favorite easy Instant Pot meals for busy weeknights!
I’m always trying out more easy Instant Pot recipes, to help you get dinner on your table with less time and effort. This Instant Pot pasta is one of my family’s new favorites! It’s quick, flavorful, and you’ll only have one pot to wash after dinner.
I love one pot pasta dishes, like this one pot baked ziti. Not only are they super easy to make, but the pasta turns out so flavorful because it soaks up some of the pasta sauce as it cooks. My Instant Pot Spaghetti, Instant Pot Taco Pasta, Instant Pot Mac and Cheese and Instant Pot Beef and Noodles are family favorites because they’re so easy and tasty.
When you make this Instant Pot pasta, you can brown the sausage and onion right in the Instant Pot using the sauté setting. Then you’ll add bell peppers, pasta, water and marinara sauce and pressure cook. Finally, you’ll stir in fresh spinach and mozzarella cheese. This Instant Pot pasta is a family-friendly dinner that includes veggies, pasta and whole grains for a wholesome meal.
If you enjoy Italian sausage recipes, also try my one pan sausage and veggies. It’s another of my favorite quick meals for busy days!
How to Make Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage
Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is so simple, you might not want to cook it on the stove again!
The first step to making this Instant Pot pasta is to brown the sausage and onion using your Instant Pot’s sauté mode. Then you’ll add chopped bell peppers, Italian seasoning, water and one cup of marinara sauce. At this point you want to give everything a good stir and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. This helps to prevent a burn warning during pressure cooking.
Next you’ll add your uncooked pasta to the pot. I used whole wheat penne pasta. See my notes below for how to cook other kinds of pasta in your pressure cooker. Press the pasta down into an even layer, but do not stir.
Finally, you’ll pour more marinara sauce over the pasta (again, do not stir), seal the Instant Pot lid, and pressure cook for 2 minutes. The Instant Pot will take some time to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down. You want to pay attention to the pot so you know when the cook time ends. When the pressure cooking cycle ends the pot will beep and then begin counting up with an “L” in front of the numbers.
As soon as the cook time ends you need to quick release the pressure or your pasta will end up overcooked. You’ll do a controlled quick release, by carefully turning the steam release valve a little bit at a time so that the steam escapes slowly.
Once all the steam has escaped and the pin drops down you can open the Instant Pot lid. Stir in some chopped fresh spinach and shredded mozzarella cheese, if desired. The spinach will wilt down in the hot pasta and is a great way to sneak in some extra veggies. The mozzarella adds more flavor and creaminess to the dish, but is optional if you are avoiding dairy.
What kind of sausage to use
I recommend choosing Italian sausage because its flavor will best complement the other flavors in this pasta dish. You can use either cooked or uncooked sausage in this recipe, and chicken, turkey or pork sausage will all work. I often make this recipe with fully cooked chicken sausage, which I slice into rounds and add to the Instant Pot to brown. (I use and recommend Aidells brand – this post is not sponsored, I’m only sharing what I use and enjoy.)
To use uncooked sausage links, slit the casings open and remove the sausage from the casings before adding it to the Instant Pot. As you brown the sausage, break it up into smaller pieces using your spoon or spatula.
Can I make this Instant Pot pasta with white pasta instead of whole wheat?
Yes, white pasta will work well in this recipe. Since white pasta takes a bit longer to cook than whole wheat pasta, add one minute to the pressure cooking time if using white penne.
How long to cook other pasta shapes in the Instant Pot?
Pasta cooking times can be tricky in the Instant Pot, because it depends on how long the pot takes to reach pressure, which depends on the volume of liquid and other ingredients in the pot, among other factors. I always err on the side of under-cooking pasta in the Instant Pot because you don’t want to end up with mushy pasta. The pasta cooks not only during the pressure cooking time, but also while the pot is coming to pressure and while the pressure is releasing during the quick release. Always use a quick release for pasta to prevent over-cooking.
If your pasta package gives a stovetop cook time of between 6-9 minutes for al dente, I would cook it for 2 minutes in this Instant Pot pasta recipe. If your package gives an al dente cook time of 10-12 minutes, I would try 3 minutes of pressure cooking, and if your package says to cook 13+ minutes on the stove, I would try 4 minutes of pressure cooking when making this recipe.
Cooking Tips for Instant Pot Pasta
- I take a cooking shortcut with this recipe by using jarred marinara sauce. I recommend using a sauce with minimal ingredients and no added sugar. The jarred sauce that I use contains only tomatoes, olive oil, onions, salt, garlic and spices. The flavor of the sauce really impacts the flavor of this pasta dish, so it’s important to use a good quality sauce.
- When you first open the Instant Pot lid after the sausage and pasta pressure cook, you might see some extra liquid in the pot. Give the pasta a stir and the extra liquid will be absorbed as the pasta rests.
- You can easily make this pasta dish dairy-free by leaving out the mozzarella cheese.
- You can leave out the Italian sausage for a vegetarian pasta. You can add other veggies, such as cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini or green beans to this dish. The vegetables will become soft with pressure cooking.
Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound Italian chicken sausage, see notes
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 12 ounces whole wheat penne pasta, about 4 ½ cups dry
- 25 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 3 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
- 2 ounces (½ cup) mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot sauté function and add the olive oil to the pot.
- If using sausage that is already cooked, slice it and add it to the Instant Pot. If using uncooked sausage, remove it from the casings and add it to the pot.
- Add the onion to the pot and sauté the onion and sausage until sausage is browned and onion has softened (for uncooked sausage, break it up into smaller pieces as it cooks). Press cancel to turn off the sauté function.
- Add the bell peppers, water, Italian seasoning and 1 cup of the marinara sauce. Stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the penne pasta to the pot and do not stir. Press the pasta down into an even layer. Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the top of the pasta; do not stir.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and move the steam release valve to the sealing position. Set the cook time to 2 minutes at high pressure. (This 2 minute cook time is for whole wheat penne pasta with a stovetop package cook time of 9 minutes for al dente. You can adjust your pasta cook time as needed, see my tips in the post above.)
- The Instant Pot will take about 20 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down. As soon as the cook time ends, quick release the pressure by carefully moving the steam release valve to the venting position. When all of the steam has escaped and the pin drops down, carefully open the Instant Pot lid. You may see a little bit of extra liquid in the pasta, but this will be absorbed as the pasta rests.
- Stir the pasta and then stir in the spinach, followed by the shredded mozzarella cheese. Serve.
Notes
- I usually make this recipe with fully cooked Italian chicken sausage, which I slice into rounds and add to the Instant Pot. To use uncooked chicken, turkey or pork sausage, remove from casings and add to the Instant Pot, crumbling and browning the sausage on sauté.
- I have found 2 minutes of pressure cooking to be perfect for whole wheat penne with a package cook time of 9 minutes. Follow these guidelines for other pasta types: Pressure cook 2 minutes for package cook time of 6-9 minutes, pressure cook 3 minutes for package cook time of 10-12 minutes, pressure cook 4 minutes for package cook time of 13 or more minutes.
Would you mind sharing what marinara sauce you found with so few ingredients?
I like both the Costco (Kirkland) brand marinara and Mezzetta brand, which I buy at Safeway. Both have just a few, recognizable ingredients.
I used more liquid (a can of crushed tomatoes – 27oz in addition to the jar) & full 16oz box of pasta. My boys like more sauce & eat a lot so I wanted to make sure there would be enough.
It turned out great. Will make again.
This is my favorite instant pot recipe. I added mushrooms, califlower and broccoli. Used a habanero Italian sausage.
I am new to the Instant Pot. What if the sausage is frozen ?Â
For this recipe, I would recommend thawing your sausage before making the recipe.
I have a larger family and would need to double the quantity. Is there anything in particular I should be doubling in the recipe, perhaps the water, or cooking time?
You should double all of the ingredients but keep the cooking time the same. Be sure to not exceed the fill line of your Instant Pot, and keep in mind that the pasta will expand as it cooks.
I assuming its red bell pepper, not green, that you used, correct?
I usually use red, orange or yellow bell pepper because that is what my family prefers. You can use whatever color you enjoy and have on hand.
This recipe tastes great, and reheats extremely well in the microwave. Â I made it with cooked mild Italian sausage, Trader Joe’s bolognese sauce (the only pasta sauce I had on hand), two oldish bell peppers, and cauliflower (added before pressure cooking). Â My experience proves how flexible the recipe is. Â The penne was perfect, too. Â
Bummed! My instant pot wouldn’t come to pressure. I layered as directed and it didn’t work. Any thoughts on what happened? Also, I used a 3qt IP, could that have caused the issue?
Hi Snow,
If your Instant Pot is new, read my instant pot guide and water test to make sure your pot is working correctly. Also, I do not test in the 3 qt. The 3 qt has a smaller heating element and this recipe may have been too large a recipe for it to pressurize in a reasonable amount of time.
We’re always on the run, and I really like this recipe! Used some ground Italian sausage I had and some cheesy marinara. Instead of spinach, I threw in 2 huge handfuls of kale in on step 4. Turned out really well! Thanks for the recipe.
Kristine. I cooked this recipe last night. It came out amazing. I used Cucina Auntica Marinara sauce. Great recipe. Thank you!
Delicious!  Best pasta recipe I’ve cooked in the instant pot. Used white penne and 4 minutes of pressure. Perfect.Â
My husband loved it! So quick and easy I also enjoyed it, very yummy, we had seconds!! I added mushrooms and only half of a large bell pepper, I had to wing Italian seasoning as I was out, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, I also tossed in a bay leaf and used a brown rice gluten free pasta spirals. Cooked to your recommendations it came out perfect and my hubby couldn’t believe it was GF…Thank youÂ
This recipe was amazing and so easy to put together. I used sweet Italian sausage (removed casings) and sauteed with the onions first. I used both red and yellow bells, our favorite jarred Marinara from Aldi, and white penne. 4 minutes was the perfect cook time. We left out the cheese and my whole family loved it. I will definitely make this again and will maybe add some more veggies next time!
If I’m doing half the servings for this recipe, does that mean I should also half the amount of time to cook in the instant pot? I’m assuming so, but wanted to make sure!
Hi Ali,
You should keep the cook time the same to make sure the pasta is done.
I made this last night and it came out perfecto. Sooo good!!!! I added mushrooms and used Rao’s Marinara sauce. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
So good and so easyÂ
Skipped the bell pepper and spinach and added more sausage and used hot italian and ever evergood garlic sausage. Added mushrooms and used Dave’s creamy parmesan Romano sauce.
It turned out sooo good.
I made this tonight with the following variations:
1/2 the water
pasta nests ( whatever they are called )
vodka pasta sauce out of a jar
a can of mushrooms
an entire Boursen cheese package stirred in at the end instead of mozz.
I am in absolute heaven.
This will give me four large meals.
THANK YOU 🙂
My first time making pasta in the IP and it was perfect! I was a little anxious to cook pasta in this way, but our pasta was cooked perfectly. Used frozen peppers and onions for convenience, and I didn’t add any spinach or mozzarella just based on what we had. This would be great for company, and we’re looking forward to stocking our freezer with it!
Excellent dish, I used fuselli pasta on 3 mins and it turned out a little soft but not mushy. Next time I will cook for two mins. Definitely keeping this recipe handy
This is an excellent recipe as is, and I love that you included different cooking times based on the box. With so many types of pasta in my pantry, this adds flexibility. And the same for being able to clear the fridge of extra odds and ends. I’ll be making this regularly. Thank you!
This was very delish! Makes a ton to feed a small army at 8 servings; next time I will reduce to 4 servings but wanted to first try recipe as stated. Unfortunately, I lost all my beautiful winter greens in my garden from the recent “snow-mageddon” winter storm here in Texas but I substituted kale per another viewer’s comments because I had a bag in my fridge. Very tasty! Also set pressure cook for 3 minutes since I had regular penne pasta (thanks for adding that in the Notes section!). Definitely would make again!
I have made this a few times now, and it is a hit with our family – thank you!! Quick question- I want to make this for friends, but one of them has a gluten allergy. Has anyone tried this with gluten-free pasta?
I haven’t tried this with gluten free pasta, but one commenter said that she used brown rice gluten free pasta spirals and it worked well.
Thanks! Remembered to include my 5 star rating this time!
Delish! Used bow tie pasta as it was all I had, Tex mex cheese and sweet basil marinara. Halved it to four and it was excellent! Will definitely make this again!
Can I use Alfredo sauce for this?
I’m not a fan of marinara sauce.
Generally, it is best not to pressure cook dairy based sauces so I don’t recommend alfredo sauce for this recipe.
This is fantastic! So quick and easy. I like the idea of sausage slices so I precooked my sausage. Cooked the pasta for 3 minutes. Perfect! I have a very, picky husband and he loved it. Top marks! I used the President’s Choice Marinara sauce from, The Real Canadian Superstore. A very, good sauce with just your basic ingredients. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you so much!
Do you have any recommendations on how to adjust the recipe to use 16 oz of penne instead of 12 oz since I would prefer to use the whole box and my kids love pasta? (I also plan on using a little more sausage since the grocery store only had 12 oz packages.) I saw in the comments that someone added a can of diced tomatoes but could I get away with an extra 1/4 or 1/2 cup of water? Thank you.
I can’t say for sure without testing it myself, but since you’d be increasing the pasta from 12 to 16 ounces, I’d increase the water from 3 to 4 cups to follow the same pasta to water ratio. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.
This is literally the best instant pot pasta we have ever made. SOOO good. I recommend sweet basil Italian sausage. YUM!
Do you not need to add any salt to the water in this recipe? Is it not bland without salt? Thank you!
Most store-bought marinara sauces already have plenty of salt added, so I don’t add additional salt. Everyone’s tastes are different, so you can add salt if you wish. Enjoy!
I like things on the well seasoned side but didn’t add any salt to this recipe and didn’t feel like anything was missing. If I’d used ground beef I might season the beef. I used andouille sausage and didn’t think the dish was bland at all. Maybe because the sausage is browned at the beginning so it seasons the olive oil?
Can you give me a recommendation for a substitute for the Italian Sausage? We don’t like it. I use my Instant Pots several times a week. Many times, I will have both going at the same time.
I have several of your recipes lined up for the coming week. Can’t wait to try them.
Thanks
Gail
Hi Gail,
You can use ground beef or ground turkey if you don’t care for Italian sausage. You might also like my Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe.
Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish. I make it with pre-cooked sausage and omit the spinach as my daughter does not like it. It has been in my regular meal rotation now for over a year and i can’t get enough of it. My daughters boyfriend even says it a keeper.
I didn’t have spinach but didn’t miss it. Added tablespoon of cream cheese at the end and substituted pepper jack cheese for the mozzarella cause that’s what I had on hand. Also added 1/4 teaspoon of dried pepper flakes. The result was a nice creamy sauce with a slow burn. Delicious. Will definitely make again.