Tasty Penne with Sausage in Tomato Cream Sauce is quick and easy. The pasta and sauce are cooked together from scratch, which saves time. On a really busy day, you can make a home-made Instant Pot pasta dish within 30 minutes, with just 10 minutes hands-on time.
** New Readers: Please read an important message about this recipe right before the recipe card! **
Can you cook pasta in an Instant Pot? The answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ This penne with sausage in tomato cream sauce is a recipe I’ve been making for many years, but I’d never tried it in the Instant Pot before.
Instant Pot pasta can be touch-and-go if you’re adapting your own recipe for the first time. The hardest thing to know is how long to cook pasta in an Instant Pot.
Thankfully pressure cooker bloggers like Barbara from Pressure Cooking Today and Laura from Hip Pressure Cooking have paved the path for us to learn from them and use their techniques to create our own Instant Pot pasta recipes. In this case I used Barbara’s Bow-tie Pasta recipe as a guide to convert my own penne with sausage recipe into an Instant Pot pasta recipe.
I basically combined my homemade pasta sauce recipe with my Penne with Sausage recipe (which I’ve not posted on the blog) and it turned out great.
I keep reading about how we Instant Pot users have become sort of cult-like, enthusiastically promoting the Instant Pot to anyone who’ll listen. Well, this recipe is an example of why we evangelize!
On a really busy day, I was able to create from scratch (well, umm, except for the pasta part), a home-made Instant Pot pasta dish within 30 minutes, that fed my entire family. And the hands-on time was less than about 10 minutes.
And I didn’t need to watch the dish. Just left it and went about my business; came back when the timer went off. A salad and some fresh bread and voila! A meal that everyone loved. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to make this Instant Pot pasta recipe.
Tips and Substitutions
I think that any substantial pasta like penne, farfalle or ziti works best for this Instant Pot pasta recipe. Keep in mind that I cooked this with penne pasta and the timing worked perfectly for it. Gluten-free or thin pastas will not work with these timings; you’ll have to experiment with the timings.
You can substitute broth for the white wine.
If your Instant Pot is prone to getting the ‘burn’ error message, make the following adjustments to the Instant Pot pasta recipe:
- Be sure to deglaze really well after sauteing onions and garlic.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and let it cool down for a minute or two after deglazing.
- When adding ingredients before pressure cooking, add water first, then remaining ingredients except for tomatoes and pasta.
- Then add tomatoes and pasta and don’t stir; just push the pasta down with a spatula, and let it submerge in the water.
- Depending on your Instant Pot, you may need to add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of water
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Pasta.
Instant Pot Pasta | Penne with Sausage Ingredients
Instant Pot Pasta | Penne with Sausage Step-by-Step Instructions
- Press ‘Saute’
- Add oil to inner pot of Instant Pot
- Add sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. (If the sausage browns too quickly, press ‘Cancel’ until the Instant Pot cools down a bit and press the ‘Saute’ button again.)
- Add onions and garlic. Stir until onion is translucent.
- Deglaze pot with white wine, stirring until liquid has nearly evaporated.
- Press ‘Cancel’ to turn Instant Pot off.
- Add in bell peppers, sugar, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, black pepper, tomatoes, water, and pasta. Stir to combine.
- Close Instant Pot lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘5’ (5 minutes).
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 5 to 0; it will switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0;00’.
- Do a Quick Release: move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position. Remove the towel after turning the knob.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
- There might seem to be more liquid than you’d like, but don’t worry, the liquid will get absorbed by the pasta.
- Stir in cream.
- Press ‘Saute’ and simmer the pasta and sauce for a couple of minutes until heated through.
- Let the pasta rest for a few minutes and it will thicken up.
- Sprinkle each serving with grated parmesan, parsley and crushed red pepper, if using.
January 2018: If you’ve made this recipe before, carry on! If you’re new to this recipe, please note that some new Instant Pot owners are getting the dreaded ‘burn’ message. Here are some things you can do to try and avoid a burn notice:
After sauteing onions and garlic, deglaze really well
Turn off the Instant Pot and let it cool down for a minute or two
Add water first, then remaining ingredients
Depending on your Instant Pot, you may need to add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of water
Add tomatoes and pasta last and don’t stir, just submerge in the liquid
[Read: Everything you need to know about Instant Pot burn message]
Instant Pot Pasta | Penne with Sausage in Tomato Cream Sauce
Tasty Penne with Sausage in Tomato Cream Sauce is quick and easy. This Instant Pot Pasta can be ready in 30 minutes with just 10 minutes hands-on time.
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 364kcal
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 lb Italian sausage casing removed, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 Tbsp garlic minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup bell peppers 1 inch cubes
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 28 oz. (1 can) crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 lb dry penne pasta
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Shredded parmesan cheese
- Chopped parsley to garnish
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper or to taste, optional
Instructions
- Press 'Saute' and add oil to inner pot of Instant Pot.
- Add sausage, and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Break up the sausage if the pieces are too large. (If the sausage browns too quickly, press 'Cancel' until the Instant Pot cools down a bit and press the 'Saute' button again.)
- Add onions and garlic. Stir until onion is translucent.
- Deglaze pot with white wine, stirring until liquid has nearly evaporated.
- Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in bell peppers, sugar, dried basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, tomatoes, water and pasta. Stir to combine.
- Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the 'Sealing' position.
- Cook on 'Manual' (or 'Pressure Cook') mode for 5 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release of steam, and open the Instant Pot.
- Press 'Saute'.
- Stir in cream and simmer the pasta for a couple of minutes until heated through.
- Turn off Instant Pot and if desired, let the pasta rest for a few minutes to absorb any remaining liquid.
- Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan and parsley, and red pepper flakes, if using.
Notes
- To lighten the dish, you could substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream.
- The sugar adds a nice balance to the flavor of the tomatoes, but feel free to leave it out.
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, diced chicken, etc.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 742mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 11g
Have you made this recipe?I love seeing your photos! Tag me on Instagram @PaintTheKitchenRed hashtag #paintthekitchenred
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and/or share on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you!
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Cate
I made some changes to double the recipe and it came out amazing!! I’ll post the changes in case anyone is looking to double it. I used 2 lbs of sausage, one hot one sweet and 1 lb of pasta. I doubled all the spices, kept the tomato amount the same, and just added an extra cup of water before starting the pressure cook. I cooked for 6 min but I think 5 would’ve been fine! When it was done I only put a dash of cream in, some extra asiago and Romano along with the parm and stirred in a whole bag of spinach to let it wilt. So so awesome, will definitely be making again!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Cate, thanks so much for your comment – so glad that you liked the recipe! And thanks also for giving details on how you doubled the recipe. I’m sure others will find the info helpful. Spinach sounds like a healthy addition.
Tara
How big are the servings (½ cup, ¾ cup…)?
What size Instant Pot did you use?
Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Tara, your second question is easy – 6 quart. Your first question is harder, because it’s the whole quantity divided into 6 equal servings – I would guess it’s about 1 cup.
Theresa
I’ve made this dish four times now. One time I substituted the heavy cream for something lighter and it didn’t taste the same. I made this for my mother when she came over once and she said it was the best Italian dish she’s ever had. It’s definitely a favorite in our house!! I’ve shared this recipe with so many people who own instapots.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Theresa, thanks for the feedback; that’s so great to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed the pasta recipe and thank you for spreading the word – that means so much to me!
Laurie Donahoo
Wow! Just made this today and it was super easy and amazingly delicious! I made it in the 8 qt and kept waiting for the burn notice…it never came. I used the half n half instead of heavy cream. Great recipe! Family approved.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Laurie, I’m happy to hear your family liked the recipe and glad you escaped a burn error! I use half and half sometimes too 🙂
Laura
I made this tonight. Very easy to put together. I used a heartier Italian pasta I picked up from HomeGoods ( ‘e Fidanzati Capresi ). I’ve used this pasta before and it took a very long time to boil so I added 5 minutes to the cook time (just in case)………. The extra 5 minutes worked! Pasta was Aldente, heavy cream at the end made it smooth and lushous. It’s a beautiful dish and it came out perfectly. The taste, OMG AMAZING ! I will be doing this again!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Awesome, Laura! Thanks for the info, it might be useful to other readers who use the same type of pasta. The rule of thumb is divide the stovetop cook time by 2 and add one minute.
Brittany
I made my own version of this recipe tonight. I didn’t use a pepper, used 4 oz cream cheese and 2 cups heavy cream. I also addrd a can of petite diced tomatoes. The sauce was SO delicious but I was disappointed with how soggy the pasta turned out. I used cavatappi so maybe I shouldn’t have cooked it as long. It still was totally delicious and my boyfriend LOVED it (I’m just really picky about how my pasta is cooked :))
Paint the Kitchen Red
Brittany, it could be that your Instant Pot runs hotter than mine, the type of pasta you used needed to be cooked less or it could be that you just like your paste more al dente. I think next time, you could easily reduce the pressure cooking time by 1 minute. The general rule of pressure cooking pasta is to take the cooking time on the box, divide by 2, and add a minute. If you end up with a fraction, round down. Hope you’ll give it another shot. Thanks for your feedback.
Kathy
Very good. I’ve made a few IP pasta recipes with mixed results, but this one was great. Added a few spoonfuls of tomato paste to make a richer sauce, but great recipe!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Kathy! Yes, I can see how tomato paste would make it bolder. Glad you liked the recipe.
Jon Bassinger-Flores
Made this tonight and it’s delicious! I halved the salt and used mild sausage. The sauce is plentiful…maybe I’ll reduce the water to one cup next time. Any thoughts about doing that?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Jon, the main concern is that you need enough water or broth to cook the pasta and have it be covered AND for the food to not stick to the bottom (so you prevent sealing issues). I would experiment: try 1 1/4 cup next time and see how it goes for you. I find that letting the pasta rest for some time usually thickens it up. Thanks for your comment.
Meaghan Knowles
I loved loved the flavours in this dish! I got the Instant Pot Max for Christmas and tried this recipe with that. Although I adored the flavours my pasta was really mushy as were the peppers. I wonder if 5 min on pressure cook in the IP Max was too much? Going to try to reduce the time next time!
Thank you – flavours were great!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Meaghan, for taking the time to comment. I think your instinct is correct. I believe that the Max reaches a slightly higher PSI for high pressure. I would experiment with a basic recipe and then you can adjust by a certain percentage for all recipes (if that makes sense?)
Brittany
I totally agree- 5 minutes was way too long when I made this…pasta was so mushy but flavor was delicious. I am using the instant pot nova plus.
JIM BASTING
Fantastic Made it for many guests and have given the recipe to many.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Jim, thank you so much for spreading the word! And thanks for commenting.