Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage

5 from 16 ratings

from kristineskitchenblog.com

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!

Prep Time15

Cook Time2

Pressurize20

Total Time37

Servings: servings

Calories: 325kcal

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.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is only an estimate.