Free Email Series!
Visit my other Site: Pancake Recipes

Rachel Cooks®

Easy Healthy-ish Recipes

Dinner Made Easy:

Slow Cooker

5 Ingredients

Grilling

Make Ahead

Sheet Pan

Tacos

Pizza

Home Recipes by Type Main Dish
PC Instant Pot 30 30 Minutes or Less OP One Pan FF Freezer Friendly

Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage, Spinach, and Tomatoes

4.54
/5
30 mins
139 Comments
Jump to Recipe Video
By: Posted: 03/12/2018

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

A complete pasta dinner, made in your Instant Pot! You’ll love this Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage, Spinach, and Tomatoes. You might have all the ingredients on hand already!  

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: It’s healthy, satisfying, easy, and versatile, and you’re going to keep making it again and again!

How long it takes: 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot, measuring utensils
Servings: 6

Image of Instant Pot Pasta overhead view
Table of Contents open
 

My Instant Pot is slowly but surely finding a permanent place on my countertop. It always gets used for making boiled eggs and shredded chicken. I also love Instant Pot sweet potatoes and Instant Pot mashed potatoes. What’s your favorite use for your pressure cooker?

Naturally, I’m looking for more ways to use it, and I’ve been getting so many requests from you guys! You wouldn’t believe how many people ask me for more Instant Pot recipes, so clearly I’m not the only one with an infatuation.

I’m nearly as obsessed with one pan pastas as I am with pressure cooker recipes, so it’s probably no surprise that the two recipe categories were going to collide at some point. That point is now. 

Overhead of cooked pasta in Instant Pot.

About this Instant Pot Pasta

This pasta is cheesy, creamy, filling, and so flavorful. Would you believe that it only has around 300 calories per serving? You really can have it all with this pasta.

Look for the printable recipe card at the end of this post. You’ll find complete directions and nutrition information.

To keep this one pan pasta super filling and still nutritious, I use whole wheat pasta, turkey Italian sausage, and lots of spinach!

Cooking Tip

Prefer pork sausage? Go for it but make sure to drain the grease off before adding the pasta and the rest of your ingredients.

How To Make This Recipe

Start by sautéing the sausage and onions right in the Instant Pot. Add garlic, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and oregano. These ingredients will form the sauce.

Submerge the whole wheat pasta in the broth mixture right in your Instant Pot. Cover and cook at high pressure for only five minutes. The pasta will be perfectly cooked. It’s sort of unbelievable until you’ve tried it! Since the pasta cooks right in the sauce, the end result is a naturally creamy sauce thanks to the starch from the pasta.

Once the pasta is cooked, remove the lid and arrange the spinach on top. Put the lid back on loosely and let the spinach wilt a couple of minutes.

In a hurry? If you want to take a couple of minutes off the cooking time, you can add the spinach right on top of the pasta before you pressure cook it instead of wilting it at the end. Don’t stir it in (you want the pasta to be submerged in liquid), just set the spinach on top before securing the lid. It won’t retain its bright green color quite as nicely but it will still taste great. I like to do it at the end because we eat with our eyes first, but really, it doesn’t make a difference in taste, so do what works for your schedule!

Of course, I like my pasta even creamier, so we’re going to go ahead and melt some mozzarella cheese in there. The cheese also thickens the sauce a bit which helps it cling to the pasta.

A serving of pasta in small white dish with fork. Instant Pot in background.

FAQs

How long does it take to cook pasta in an Instant Pot?

It really depends on what kind of pasta you’re cooking. Sturdier pastas require a bit more cooking time than thin delicate pasta. Cooking times can vary from zero minutes (the pasta cooks while the pot comes to pressure) to 5 minutes. Follow the recipes closely and you should have good results.

Can you overcook pasta in an Instant Pot?

Oh yes! Pasta cooks more quickly than you would expect because 1) it begins cooking as the pot comes to pressure and 2) it’s cooked under pressure which speeds the cooking time. Again, follow recipe directions closely.

How much liquid do you cook pasta in Instant Pot?

According to the Barilla website, cover the pasta with liquid by a 1/2 inch, generally 4 cups of liquid per pound of pasta. Remember, that “liquid” is not usually water when you’re cooking pasta in an Instant Pot. It could be broth, tomato sauce, wine, etc.

If you guys liked my other one pot pastas — copycat Healthy Hamburger Helper, One Pan Rigatoni with Creamy Tomato Sauce, or Taco Pasta, you’re going to love this one too! Lately, my new favorite is Vegetarian Orzo with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Spinach. So good!

Pasta inside Instant Pot, garnished with chopped parsley, with wooden spoon.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Want to make this ahead of time or turn it into a freezer meal? I’ve done this and it tastes delicious! Here’s how you do it:

Make as directed and then pour into a greased 9×13 inch pan. Top with more mozzarella cheese (1/4-1/2 cup) and cover with foil. Freeze or refrigerate until ready to bake. Place cold pan in cold oven (prevents it from shattering from the shock of cold to hot) and preheat oven to 350°F. Cook for an hour, uncovering in the last 15 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. It may require slightly longer cooking time if frozen. If cooking from frozen, you may also thaw overnight in fridge before baking.

Are You New To Pressure Cooking?

Want to know which Instant Pot to get, along with tons of cooking tips for using a pressure cooker? Read my complete guide to cooking with a pressure cooker – you’ll also find lots of great Instant Pot recipes!

More Instant Pot Recipes

I keep adding more and more Instant Pot recipes to my site. Here’s what I’ve been making lately:

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Pasta inside Instant Pot with wooden spoon inserted.
Recipe

Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes

4.54 from 162 votes
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
6 servings
Print Rate Recipe
A complete pasta dinner, made in your Instant Pot! You'll love this Instant Pot pasta with sausage, spinach, and tomatoes. You might have all the ingredients on hand already!

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 16 oz. Italian turkey sausage (see note)
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced (about ½ cup)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)
  • 12 ounces whole wheat penne pasta, uncooked (4 cups dry)
  • 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 5-6 ounces baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, extra for garnishing (see note)
  • chopped parsley, for garnishing

Instructions

  • Heat Instant Pot to “Sauté.” Add oil, sausage, and onion. Cook, breaking up sausage into small pieces, until sausage is no longer pink and onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant.
  • Add chicken broth, pasta, diced tomatoes, and oregano. Stir to combine and make sure pasta is submerged in liquid.
  • Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook (or Manual, High Pressure, depending on model) for 5 minutes. Turn valve to seal. When the timer goes off, turn valve to Vent to Quick release the pressure.
  • Keep Instant Pot on Warm and add spinach. Replace cover loosely (don’t turn to latch). Wilt spinach for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring as needed to help it along.
  • Add 1 cup mozzarella cheese and stir to melt. Let pasta set for 5 to 10 minutes to let the sauce thicken.

Notes

  • I like bulk sweet Italian sausage but you can use spicy if you prefer a little heat. If you buy links, squeeze it out of the links.
  • Use low-sodium chicken broth in this recipe. It can get salty quickly because of the sausage and cheese so you want to control it where you can.
  • Buy a block of mozzarella and shred it. Pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt as well.
  • f you want to amp up the vegetables, add a diced sweet bell pepper or diced carrots when you sauté the sausage and onions.
  • If you’re in a hurry, add the spinach on top of the pasta before you pressure cook it instead of wilting it afterwards. It won’t retain its bright green color but still tastes great.
  • To make ahead or turn into a freezer meal: Make as directed and then pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Top with more mozzarella cheese (¼ -½ cup) and cover with foil. Freeze or refrigerate until ready to bake. Place cold pan in cold oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Cook for an hour, uncovering in the last 15 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. It may require slightly longer cooking time if frozen. If cooking from frozen, you can also thaw overnight in fridge before baking.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1.75cups, Calories: 417kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 972mg, Potassium: 562mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 2542IU, Vitamin C: 38mg, Calcium: 175mg, Iron: 9mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk
Free email series

Master Cooking

in your Instant Pot!

Free email series of my best tips!

FREE BONUS!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review

Recipe Rating




The maximum upload file size: 1 MB. You can upload: image. Drop files here

  4. Kate says

    Made this for dinner and loved it. I’m an instant pot newbie so it was really helpful to have the video included. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

    Reply

  5. Lorie scott says

    This was great!! Thank you!! I actually used cauliflower rotini and extra mushrooms too while sautéing sausage….first time doing pasta all in one pot. It was yummy

    Reply

  6. Pamela Chesbrough says

    This recipe was perfect for what I had on hand! I cut the recipe in half and improvised slightly. I used cheddar brats, shell noodles, a mixed shredded Italian cheese (mozzarella, provolone, etc) and I added mushrooms. I did sprinkle some parmesan cheese along with salt/pepper on my serving/plate. I am ready to go back for 2nds! Definitely making this again, thank you!!

    Reply

  7. Becca says

    Hi! Looking forward to eating this this week. How long does the pot usually take to come to pressure? Just trying to work out what time I should start!
    Thanks

    Reply

  8. Alyssa says

    Thanks for this recipe, it was delicious! It was also my first time using the Instant Pot and I am already feeling more comfortable with it. My husband loved it too and asked me to make it regularly. I ended up using slightly more than 3c of broth because the pasta wasn’t covered – I do regret that since it came out a little soupy even after setting, but didn’t affect the taste. Next time I won’t worry so much about that.

    Reply

  9. Laura says

    How long does it usually take to get to pressure? I added broccoli on the top instead of spinach and I worry that’s messing with the IP’s ability to get to pressure. Thoughts?

    Reply

  10. MG says

    This was so good! Fresh and tasty. Much healthier than many other IP recipes I’ve been finding. We added about 6 oz of carrots, as suggested, and a bit more onion for extra veg. Also used a meatless sausage for our vegetarian friend. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply

    • Melanie says

      This recipe is great!! The only substitution or addition I made was I used mixed super greens instead of spinach and added it at the beginning. We had leftover grilled Evergood pineapple and hotlink sausages and the flavor was amazing! Just added the already cooked sausage to the sauteed onions and garlic. My husband loved it. Definitely will be in the regular rotation for us. Thank you so much!

      Reply

  11. FitMomMD says

    Simple and tasty weeknight meal. I used a 3/4 can of tomato sauce (since I only had one can of diced tomatoes), a bit more onion, garlic, seasoned diced tomatoes (of course!) and it came out delicious for entire family.  Pasta was slightly softer than al dente but certainly not soggy! Thanks so much for sharing! 

    Reply

  12. Rashieda says

    Thanks a million for this recipe! Its was simple and quick and mine looked exactly like yours! I only used two cups of chicken stock and organic wholewheat pasta – the texture and flavours were perfect! Thanks again for a hearty recipe :)

    Reply

  13. Richard says

    Something must be wrong with how I did it because as opposed to all the reviews mine was inedible. The pasta was soggy and slimy. Worst texture for pasta. 

    Taste wise it was ok, a bit salty but that is just the broth and cheese. I wouldn’t venture making pasta in the instant pot again

    Reply

    • Rachel Gurk says

      I’ve never had that experience! Did you have your valve turned to “seal” and not “vent?” I’ve made pasta in the IP many times and it always comes out great!

      Reply

  14. Sue says

    This dish was super easy and very good. I used a whole box (16oz ) of whole wheat penne, 32 oz of chicken stock, 28 0z of canned diced tomatoes, used spicy chicken sausage, 10 oz of fresh spinach (I like to destem and tear Into pieces before adding, also threw in some corn at the end. Will be making this one quite often.  This turned out perfect. Forgot to add the cheese at the end but after eating found out it wasn’t necessary.  Thanks so much for a great recipe. 

    Reply