Do you love one-pot meals? I have one for you! It’s this Instant Pot Italian Sausage Pasta with Marinara Sauce.
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Quick and Easy Instant Pot Italian Sausage and Marinara
An electric pressure cooker is a great way to put a hearty meal on the table in no time. Sometimes we are all hard-pressed thanks to work to put together a quick meal.
Your Instant Pot is a great way to speed up dinner. This Instant Pot Italian Sausage and Sauce recipe is a great way to quickly put together a large inexpensive meal on the table quickly. And you may not realize it, but you can cook pasta in an Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Italian Sausage Ingredients
To make this recipe, here’s what you need:
- Olive oil
- Italian sausage links
- Pasta sauce
- Pasta
- Water
Spaghetti and Sausage Ingredient Notes
This recipe calls for 1 pound of Italian sausage. It is cooked along with the pasta and the sauce so it makes for a great one-pot meal. When Italian sausage cooks in pasta sauce it adds so much flavor.
You can use an inexpensive sauce because the Italian sausage will do the work of flavoring the sauce.
We add water to the sauce so the pasta has enough water to cook properly. I personally like to use Barilla pasta, but I have also used the Fido Vermicelli brand noodles for this recipe as well. I have had great luck with both types of pasta. You may want to experiment with your favorite type of pasta.
Best Pasta Sauce to use for Spaghetti with Italian Sausage
I am not ashamed to use jars of pasta sauce. I think they have their place, here are my favorite choices for jars of pasta sauce.
- Rao’s – I buy this when it goes on special at Costco, it’s a little pricy, but it tastes so good
- Barilla Marinara – this has good flavor
- Ragu spaghetti sauce – I think this tastes good, and when combined with the juices of the Italian sausage, it very tasty.
How to Make Instant Pot Italian Sausage Pasta
- In an Instant Pot, sauté sausage links in olive oil until half-way done. Remove the sausage and slice it into links. Use a paper towel to wipe out excess oil from the Instant Pot.
- Place the sausage slices and pasta sauce in the Instant Pot. Rinse the jars of pasta sauce with water and pour the water into the Instant Pot.
- Add pasta and cook on manual high for 8 minutes. Perform a quick release.
- Serve immediately.
Italian Sausage Instant Pot Pasta Troubleshooting
- If when you are performing a quick release on the Instant Pot, and it sprays out a milky liquid, stop the quick release and let the pot reduce pressure naturally.
- Make sure you use 2 cups of liquid for every 4 ounces of pasta.
- You may want to add oil to decrease foaming.
- Quick release carefully if you have any foaming. Stop the quick release, and allow the Instant Pot to come down to pressure normally.
Do you brown the Italian sausage before putting it in the Instant Pot?
You will brown the sausage inside of the Instant Pot, there is no need for any pre-browning!
Does the cook time vary for different shapes of pasta?
You will not need to alter the recipe for other shapes of pasta.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Sausage Pasta
I like to serve this with a green salad, with homemade Italian dressing, I sometimes also add some Parmesan garlic bread with this pasta.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat Instant Pot Italian Sauasage Pasta
This is a great recipe to pack in your lunch for when you go to work. It reheats well. The second time though I have been known to sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese.
- Store – in your refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze – in an airtight container, it will last for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating.
- Reheat – this reheats well in the microwave. You may want to stir in a little extra sauce if you have it on hand the pasta will soak up the sauce when it is stored.
Italian Sausage in Instant Pot FAQ
How Long Does It Take to Cook Raw Italian Sausage?
Getting the timing right for cooking raw Italian can be a little tricky on the stovetop. Luckily, ensuring that Italian sausage in Instant Pot recipes is cooked through is much easier.
To get the best color and the perfect texture for your Italian sausages, it is always a good idea to saute the sausage links before cooking them with the pasta. You can do this right inside the Instant Pot to save any extra cleanup.
Remove the lid and press the SAUTE button. Adjust the temperature to NORMAL and let it warm. Add a little oil and wait until it is shimmering before adding the sausage links. Brown the sausage on all sides for a total of about 6 minutes. The meat is not fully cooked at this point, and that is fine.
Remove the sausages from the Instant Pot and drain the fat. Cut the links into inch slices, return them to the Instant Pot and continue with the recipe. The sausages will finish cooking with the rest of the ingredients for a total cooking time of about 14 minutes.
Can You Overcook Italian Sausage?
Yes, like any other meat, you can overcook sausages. But when cooking in an Instant Pot, overcooking them won’t matter as much because the sausage won’t dry out.
If you are ever in doubt about the cooking time for Italian sausages, it is always better to err on the side of overcooking rather than undercooking.
Does Italian Sausage Have to Be Fully Cooked?
Unlike hot dogs and smoked sausages, Italian sausages are raw. That means you must cook them completely before eating. But how do you know when you cook them long enough?
The sure-fire method is to use an instant-read thermometer. The internal temperature needs to be at least 160 degrees before removing the sausage from the heat.
If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, try cutting the link open. A cooked sausage has a gray interior, and the meat feels firm.
Do You Cook Italian Sausage with the Casing On?
Most people prefer to cook Italian sausages without removing the casing. This is particularly true if the sausages come in a natural casing. The casing gives the cooked sausage a little snap and helps to keep the juices and flavors inside.
If you don’t like the casings and would prefer to remove them, try buying bulk Italian sausage meat. Bulk Italian sausage meat is the same meat inside the casing, but stores sell it by pound like ground beef. Buying sausage this way is usually cheaper than buying it in link form.
Do You Cook Italian Sausage Before Putting It in Sauce?
Yes, you partially cook the sausages and then finish the cooking process with the other ingredients. Cooking the links beforehand ensures that they are safe to eat and gives them a bit of an extra texture that pairs well with the pasta.
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Instant Pot Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage links
- 48 ounces pasta sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1 pound pasta
Instructions
- Heat your Instant Pot on sauté. When the pot is warmed, add olive oil.
- Add the sausage and sauté until it is about 50% done. Remove sausage, slice it into links. Wipe out excess oil from the Instant Pot with a paper towel.
- Place the sausage slices in the Instant Pot.
- Add pasta sauce. Rinse the jars of pasta sauce with water and pour the water into the Instant Pot.
- Add pasta. If using spaghetti, break the pasta in half.
- Cook on manual high for 8 minutes. Perform a quick release.
- Serve immediately.
Tes
This is a very plain Jane recipe. Fortunately, I added some onions, garlic, carrots, and a little bit of seasoning and salt. This recipe would’ve been so bland without the modifications, and after it cooked I had to let it simmer because it was soupy. I don’t think I’ll be using this recipe again.
Stephanie
I am really sorry you did not like this recipe.
Kathy
I’m wondering if adding the carrots altered the cooking time and flavor? I think I read that somewhere about Instant Pot cooking. Although onions can add liquid when sweating I wouldn’t think that would greatly affect the recipe, nor would the garlic. Just wondering…
I’m also finding the brand of spaghetti sauce makes a big difference. There was one I tried because even though it wasn’t the brand I use it was on sale. I won’t bother doing that again!
Stephanie Manley
With pressure cooking, the cooking time begins when the instant pot reaches pressure.
Nick
All Aldi store brand stuff other than kroger chrorizo sausage. Crazy how nice the pasta comes out with your instructions (some of my linguine clumped but that was my mistake; it still cooked and came apart with a fork). Thank you very much for the recipe!!!!!!!!!!
Patrick
It’s okay. I did 2 jars sauce like it said but only 1 jar of water and it still came out very thin and almost soup like. So wasnt overly happy about that.
Genia Rackos
So good! Easy and yummy!!!
Glenn Burkart
I just finished my 3rd time with this recipe. All 3 times were a success but this last time was different.
I only had one jar (24 oz) of pasta sauce so I thought I’d cut the recipe in half, only I was skeptical to do that with the water. I used 1 1/2 cups instead and the end result was so so. The spaghetti came out very el dente but still very much edible. The next time I’ll use the suggested 2 cups of water. (I only used a 1/2 pound of the pasta.
I did put the IP in keep warm mode for another 10 minutes with the lid on and that fixed the dish.
Otherwise, what a great meal!
Glenn
Amanda
My family loved this. I made it with Kroger brand sausage. Yummo!
Denise
I am making cut macaroni. Do I need to adjust the cooking/water time so the pasta is cooked properly?
Stephanie
I don’t know what that is. It is regular pasta? Then try the time I suggested.
Susie Salins
Question – if I want to use a different pasta such as gemelli – how do I adjust the time?
Stephanie
I would not adjust the time, please keep the weight of the pasta the same. If you are using tiny pasta, you may then want to reduce the cooking time slightly. When I say “tiny pasta” I mean pasta like anci de pepe, orrzo, or something small like that.
Peanut
My whole family enjoyed this one.
John
How long do you brown the sausages?
Stephanie
I would brown them about halfway, meaning I wouldn’t cook them all the way through, get them nice and browned on the outside.
Dawn Morgan
I forgot to put it in the crockpot in the morning, so I found this recipe for my Instant Pot. I made it with close to 2lbs of sausage and added 3 extra minutes to the time. It was fabulous!!!!! My husband and 2 boys (5 & 7) absolutely devoured it and all had seconds.
We used Barilla pasta, Ragu sauce, and Primio sweet Italian sausage links.
Cara
I found this recipe when I was in need of a last minute dinner after getting home from work using ingredients that I already had in the house. The best part was that it could be prepared in one pot. I had not thought about cooking pasta in the pot with the other ingredients until I saw this. So easy! I will be making this again. It got a thumbs up from my boys too!,
Calvin Nicholson
After 10 Minutes, this came up with Burnt on my Instant Pot after approximately 10 minutes, so I cancelled and quick released all the pressure. I opened it and everything was cooked with a small amount of pasta and sausage burnt to the bottom.
Going to try some more water next time.
Instant Pot DUO Plus 8 Qt 9-in-1
Stephanie
Just curious here, how did you place the ingredients in the pot?
Shirley Barton
What size instant pot I need to make this? I have a 3 quart will this work?
Stephanie
It should work fine as listed.
Ronnie
I did the recipe in my 3 quart exactly as it specified. The pasta was way undercooked.
Cherie Swatek Fedder
I personally would remove the skin from the sausage I I don’t care to have to take it out after browning it. Way to messy and more time spent. Just a thought.
Stephanie
Thank you for sharing. I love the skin on the sausage 😉 What’s awesome about cooking? You can modify recipes to your personal preferences. I hope others try your suggestion.
Pat Cody
Since I don’t yet have an Instant Pot (it’s on my wish list) I’m thinking I could do this on the stovetop. Never thought about cooking the spaghetti in the sauce. Your thoughts? Would stovetop yield similar results?
Stephanie
I think it could, make sure you use a really large pot. Barilla makes a quick cooking pasta that is made to cook like this, you may want to try it. I don’t know how it will work across all brands of pasta. I am only familiar with the barilla quick cooking kind.
Stephanie
I think this would work ok on the stove top. I don’t know the exact cooking times. Again, it should work just fine.
Stephanie
You could easily do this one the stove top, I would cook everything the same way, it would most likely take about 35 to 40 minutes to cook.
Angela Paulsen
You don’t say how large the Instant Pot is. And, I have a 2 qt electric pressure cooker. Can you recommend how to cut this portion down for me?
Stephanie
I will correct the recipe for my size of cooker. I am so sorry I left that off. If yours is a 2 quart cooker, I would cut everything by 1/3 EXCEPT the cooking time. I really designed the recipe to go with the 2 jars of sauce and 1 pound of sausage, as those are the common sizes of purchasing each one.
Stephanie
I have the 2 quart instant pot. So I don’t think I need to cut anything down on this one.
Brenda Cox
Thank you for the recipe!