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Pressure Cooker Penne Pasta with Sausage is a basic weeknight meal, but is delicious, hearty, and on the “YES LIST” for the whole family.

Penne pasta in red sauce with sausage and parmesan cheese on a white plate.

Sometimes I like to get creative and make some crazy fun dishes in my Instant Pot, but some days I have 0 minutes to deal with and need to get something on the table. I need to confess, I always forget that pasta in the PC is downright amazing and can be made in T Minus 15 minutes. Since you cook the sauce with the pasta with the water and it soaks it all up as it softens, you’re left with the most flavorful noodles!

Penne pasta in red sauce with sausage in a metal pot.

If anyone needs to be reminded that dinner doesn’t always have to be something new and unique, it’s me. Last night I attempted some weird chicken dish (which flopped), so I tried to turn it into a chicken tortilla-esque soup with black beans (which flopped), so I ended up drinking a smoothie. Husband had some other leftovers. Anyways, creativity is fun, but some nights we just need to go basic and rely on our standby’s.

Make this Pressure Cooker Penne Pasta with Sausage a new standby for you and your loved ones!

Penne pasta in red sauce with sausage and parmesan cheese on a white plate.

I have the instructions written out clearly below, but if you need a fool-proof formula for making any type of pasta in the pressure cooker, it’s as follows.

  1. Pour pasta into PC
  2. Add sauce
  3. Cover pasta with just enough liquid
  4. Add salt (more than you think)
  5. Divide the cook time on the pasta box in half, then subtract one more minute. (That’s your cook time!)
  6. Walk away, watch a 15 minute episode of something, come back, and eat.
Penne pasta in red sauce with sausage in a metal pot.

Other Pressure Cooker Pasta Recipes You’ll Love

Pressure Cooker Cream Cheese Pasta

Pressure Cooker Simple Pasta Bolognese

Pressure Cooker Creamy Kale Pasta

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Penne pasta in red sauce with sausage in a metal pot.

Pressure Cooker Penne Pasta with Sausage

  • Author: Jessie
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 1x
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Description

Pressure Cooker Penne Pasta with Sausage is a basic weeknight meal, but is delicious, hearty, and on the “YES LIST” for the whole family.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (affiliate)
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked, crumbled Italian sausage
  • 24oz pasta sauce (affiliate)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (affiliate)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 16oz penne pasta

Instructions

  1. In pressure cooker, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until starting to soften (about 3-4 minutes).
  2. Add all remaining ingredients, and stir well until all noodles are coated.
  3. Add water to the pot until it just covers the top of the noodles.
  4. Stir, lock lid, and set to high pressure for 4 minutes.
  5. When time is up, put a dish towel over the pressure valve and do a quick release (this helps the steam and condensation not to spew everywhere).
  6. Remove lid and let pasta sit for 10 minutes until any remaining liquid is soaked up.
  7. Serve topped with *optional* shredded parmesan cheese.
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins