Instant Pot Penne Pasta Italian Sausage in Tomato Cream Sauce

This is one of Ben’s favorites pasta dishes and it can be prepared in about 30 minutes. I love that everything is cooked in one pot with ingredients that are readily available. Even in the islands where meat is sometimes difficult to find or very expensive, I can usually find sausage.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb Italian sausage casing removed, cut into 1/2-inch chunks or smaller

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp garlic minced

1/2 cup dry white wine (if needed to deglaze pan)

1 cup bell peppers diced

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

¼ tsp cayenne

2 tsp of Italian seasoning (or 1 tsp dried basil and 1 tsp dried oregano)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water (don’t add extra water—just one can of broth)

14 oz. (1 can) diced tomatoes

Add 1/2-1 cup frozen spinach (optional)

6 oz. dry penne pasta

1/2 cup heavy cream

parmesan cheese shredded to sprinkle on top

Procedure

1. Select Sauté and add oil to inner pot of Instant Pot.
2. Add sausage, and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Break up the sausage if the pieces are too large.
3. Add onions and garlic. Stir until onion is translucent.
4. If needed, deglaze pot with white wine, stirring until liquid has nearly evaporated (I have never had to do this.)
5. Turn off Instant Pot.
6. Stir in bell peppers, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and broth.
7. Add can of tomatoes and pasta. Don’t stir, just gently push down to submerge in the liquid.
8. Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
9. Do a Quick Release, open the Pot and select Sauté.
10. Stir in cream, and frozen spinach (optional) and simmer the pasta for a couple of minutes until heated through.
11. Turn off Instant Pot and if desired, let the pasta rest for a few minutes to absorb any remaining liquid.
12. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan.

I hope you enjoy this pasta dish as much as we do!

Adapted from: Rachel Gurk

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