Instant Pot Spicy Sausage Pasta (2024)

Jump to Recipe

Myhas quickly sky-rocketed to become one of my most popular and sought-after recipes. (Believe me. If you tried it, you’d taste why)

So, I found it time to create another sausage pasta, except this time, with a marinara based spicy sauce (think a Fra Diavolo/Arrabiata) and finished off with some creamy perfection to send it home.

Ladies & Gents, I am beyond proud to introduce my Spicy Sausage Pasta – one of the most remarkably flavorful, delicious and easy recipes you’ll ever make in yourInstant Pot!

Here’s How I Made It!:

Begin with a really large (or 2 medium) shallot(s)…

…and dice ’em up.

Now take a blend of sweet & hot Italian sausage (or all hot or all sweet).

With each sausage, use the tip of the end of a sharp knife and lightly drag it across the casing/skin of the sausage in a vertical fashion…

…spread the casing apart along the line you just slit…

…and simply peel the casing off of the sausage meat.

Repeat the process until you’ve removed all the sausage meat from all the casing and place in a bowl (and discard the casings when done).

Now go to the Instant Pot, add in some butter and give it some heat.

Once the butter’s melted, add in the shallots…

…and allow it to cook for a few until it begins to lightly brown.

Now add in some garlic…

…and allow it to cook for a few minutes along with the shallots so they get a little more brown in color.

Ingredients

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) of salted butter
2 shallots, diced
2 bunches of scallions, sliced in about 1 inch strands
2 lbs of Italian Sausage (sweet, hot or mixed), with filling removed from their casing (using the sharp tip of a knife, slice the surface of the sausage casing longways and remove the meat of each sausage from the casing and then discard the casing)
1 tbsp of sliced, crushed or minced garlic
2 cups of garlic broth (I used 2 tsp of Garlic Better Than Bouillon + 2 cups of water but you can just use 2 cups of chicken broth or even just 2 cups of water instead and it will still be great)
1/2 cup of hot sauce (I used Frank’s)
4 cups of marinara sauce, divided into 3 cups before pressure cooking and 1 cup for after
1 tsp of Italian seasoning
1 tsp of dried sweet basil
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (add another 1/2 tsp more if you want it spicier or omit if you want it less spicy)
1 lb (1 box) of Campanelle pasta (Rotini, Gemelli, Farfalle or Cavatappi will work too)
5-8 oz of baby spinach
4 oz of (half a brick) of cream cheese, cut into cubes
5.2 oz package of Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese (or Boursin Shallot & Chive Cheese), cut into small crumbles (SECRET INGREDIENT! This is usually always found in the deli/cheese/cured meat section of any market and Costco sells it in packs of 3. If you cannot find it, just use the whole 8 oz brick of cream cheese)

Instructions

Add butter to theInstant Pot(I used a 6qt), hit “Sauté” and adjust so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting. Once the butter’s melted and sizzling, add in the shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes until a bit browned in color. Then, add the garlic and stir for another 1-2 minutes more so they have some color and the shallots are even browner
Add the sausage meat and stir it up in the pot with everything constantly for 2 minutes. It’s best to do this with a wooden spoon or spatula so the sausage crumbles/breaks apart as it browns. The sausage should not be fully cooked by this point
Next, add in 3 cups of the marinara sauce, the broth, hot sauce, Italian seasoning, dried basil and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir everything together well
Then, add in the pasta BUT DO NOT STIR. Just allow it to be as submerged under the liquid as possible by smoothing out with a mixing spoon (it is okay if some of the pasta is sticking out above the liquid). Top off with the spinach and, again, DO NOT STIR. (Note: It’s going to feel like there’s a LOT of spinach in there and it will come up to the brim of the pot, but don’t worry – it cooks down into nothing!)
Secure the lid and hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and then hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 6 minutes. Quick release when done
Stir in the remaining 1 cup of marinara sauce (room temperature) and the scallions (adding them in now as opposed to before pressure cooking will allow them to retain a wonderful texture)
Lastly, stir in the Boursin and cream cheese for about 2 minutes until they’re completely melded into the sauce
Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!

Jeffrey's Tips

For those who ask, I’d say that this recipe, as written, is a 2.5-3 on a spice scale of 1-5 (5 being the hottest).

Don’t want it spicy? Okay! Just use sweet Italian sausage instead of hot and leave out the hot sauce and crushed red pepper flakes!

To that point, if you want it SPICIER, add more hot sauce and crushed red pepper flakes to taste at the end when doing the final mix!

This makes a LOT! It will EASILY will serve 6-8!

You can store leftovers in the fridge and it reheats beautifully in the microwave with some great flavor! Also, you can freeze the leftovers too if you desire and then thaw when ready to eat and re-heat in the microwave!