Instant Pot Italian Sausage Pasta

You’ve probably heard of the Instant Pot ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But these simple & easy to follow recipes work with any pressure cooker! All pressure cookers work on the same, simple principle: Steam pressure.

Within the sealed pot, the steam builds up therein to a very high pressure, which helps food cook much faster than other traditional methods, such as with crock pots and or ovens!

This is a simple and delicious recipe for a hearty sausage and pasta meal. You can customize the heat level to your own preference. I’m a bit of a chile-head so I’m always going to choose hot Italian sausage and add a smidge extra heat while cooking. But you can choose sweet or mild Italian sausages and omit the extra red pepper flakes or black pepper if it’s not your thing.

Today’s Ingredients:
2 TB olive oil
1 big onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried thyme (1 TB fresh)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
¼ tsp black pepper (optional)
½ tsp salt
1 lb Italian sausage (hot, mild, sweet…your choice)
15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 lb pasta (any medium/short shape love rotini, fusilli, gemelli, farfalle, penne…)
3 cups chicken broth

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

optional toppings: parmesan cheese, fresh parsley

Instructions:
1. Heat the Instant Pot on sauté mode until it reads “hot.” Add the olive oil, onions, and bell pepper and cook until the veggies are just softened.
2. Add the garlic, thyme, paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt. Stir and cook for another minute.
3. Add the Italian sausage and cook until the meat is mostly browned, breaking the meat up as you stir.
4. Stir in a can of crushed crushed tomatoes. Spread the mixture evenly around the pot, but don’t pack it down.
5. Layer the pasta evenly over the top.
6. Pour the chicken broth all over and around the pasta. The liquid should just barely cover the pasta or even be a little below. As the liquid steams it will reach up and cook the pasta above.
7. Lock the lid and cook on manual/high for 5 minutes followed by a fast pressure release.
8. Stir in the mozzarella cheese until melted and let the pot sit for about 10 minutes to let the sauce absorb and thicken up.
9. Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley and enjoy!

MUSIC:
Medium Rock by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/

For the BEST BBQ recipes & how-to videos, click here!