No need to simmer your sauce all day or dump a pot of water down the drain with this Instant Pot Sausage Rigatoni recipe!
If you have not heard of the Instant Pot you may be living under a rock.
This absolutely amazing kitchen appliance is a must-have for busy families and those who hate cleaning a million dishes.
I was very intimidated when it first arrived since I had never used a pressure cooker before and had no real experience on how they worked.
Even though I was intimidated, I was determined to make this my new favourite way to cook for my family.
Instant Pot Sausage Rigatoni
Love homemade Italian style pasta but don’t have time to simmer sauce on the stove all day? Then you must try my Instant Pot Sausage Rigatoni!
While you can decide what spices, vegetables, and meat you would like in your meal, the liquid ratio to pasta is something that cannot be changed or your pasta will not cook properly.
For the tomato puree in the recipe, I use a basic basil sauce by Romulus and Remus which we get from Badali’s Fruit Market in Toronto.
You can also use Rao’s or whatever tomato puree you prefer.
Not wasting litres of water as I normally do cooking pasta the traditional way on the stove is a huge plus for me!
I am hoping that using the Instant Pot to cook our pasta will result in a bit of a drop in our water bill.
What You’ll Need:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 5-6 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1-2 red peppers chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- sea salt and black pepper
- 4-5 Italian sausage (remove meat from casing)
- 1 can San Marzano tomatoes 796 ml (28 oz)
- 1 3/4 cup tomato puree/pasta sauce
- 3 1/2 cups water or chicken stock
- Rigatoni 650 g
Instant Pot Sausage Rigatoni Process
Follow along with the step-by-step process visuals and find the printable recipe below!
Gather and prep all of your ingredients.
Using the saute function on your Instant Pot heat oil.
Once hot add in the onions, garlic, sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Saute until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
Next add in the oregano, basil and tomato paste.
Saute for another minute, constantly stirring.
Next, add in your Italian sausage meat.
Using a spoon break it up and cook until no more pink is showing.
Once your meat is cooked pour in your tomato puree/pasta sauce.
Then pour in your water or chicken stock.
NOTE: Chicken stock takes the flavour to a whole new level of deliciousness. I use the Better Than Bouillion Chicken Base and just whisk it into the 3 1/2 cups of water.
Add in your San Marzano tomatoes squishing them and add in the rest of the liquid from the can.
Give the pot a good stir to make sure you get up all of the bits on the bottom of the pot.
Using the manual function on high pressure set it to cook for 10 minutes.
NOTE: If you are pressed for time you can 100% skip this step and just add in your pasta and red peppers (see below).
Once done QR (quick release) and give your sauce another stir.
Lastly, add in your red peppers and rigatoni.
Give it one last stir.
Set it to cook for 7-9 minutes on manual, high pressure.
7 minutes for al dente, 8-9 minutes for more tender pasta.
Once done QR (quick release) and open your pot and give your pasta a good stir.
Top with your favourite cheese and enjoy!
No simmering pasta sauce all day on the stove here! Try my Instant Pot Sausage Rigatoni and enjoy a delicious, flavour packed meal with less water waste! Remember the cook time does not include the time it takes for your pressure cooker to come to pressure. The time it takes to come to pressure will vary. Also ensure when you are pressure cooking that your valve is set to sealing not venting or it will not come to pressure.Instant Pot Sausage Rigatoni Pasta
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
You can purchase an Instant Pot and accessories for the Instant Pot on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.
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tara pittman says
I was just thinking that I needed to use my pressure cooker more. This pasta dish sounds wonderful
Xara Buckingham says
Thank you for sharing this. I made it for dinner tonight. I added five or six big white mushrooms because I love them… used fresh tomatoes with a little bit of extra water instead of the canned tomatoes…. and used a large handful of fresh basil instead of the dried basil. It was yummy! I’ve only had my Instant Pot for about a month, and have made five main dishes in it so far. I love cooking in it! I’ll look forward to more Instant Pot recipes from you. (P.S. The recipe rating feature isn’t letting me give this more than two stars, so I’m not going to rate it. But if I could I’d give it five stars.)
Cheryl Anderson says
I’ve heard of Instant Pots but had no idea they were pressure cookers. My grandmother used the old fashioned kind but I never have. I may have to get one of these. I love that you can sauté your meat in the same pot. I use my crock pot all the time, but don’t like using a separate pan to brown meats. Thank for sharing this wonderful recipe
Jennifer L says
This rigatoni pasta recipe looks amazing! I’ve been wanting to branch out and make other kinds of pasta from the standard fare so I’m going to bookmark this one for this coming week. Thanks!
Anna nuttall says
Yum this look delish. You can’t beat a good pasta meal. xx
Pat says
I too picked up an Instant Pot on a whim as a “Gift” to myself, hoping it would ease the dinner time craziness. It worked! I love this thing! I made ribs for dinner last night and it was so good the little ones asked for seconds and hubby commented we would never have to go out for ribs again as these were better, score! Chuck roast is another favourite around here as is my now famous cheesecake. Best purchase on an impulse ever!
Now to branch out into pasta in the Pot.
Anosa says
I am now loving cooking. I am glad there is internet I can check out so many recipes online. So thanks to you, now I have a new one to try.
Aeryn Lynne says
Awh, that recipe sounds *amazing*! Absolutely want that for lunch right now, lol. Rigatoni is one of my fave pastas, but so hard to get the ingredients *right* for how I expect it to taste.
I’ve seen a lot of Instant Pot recipes recently, since I’m thinking of buying one, but your’s is definitely pushing me towards the buy now button! 😉
Lian says
This recipe sound so delicious! I would make this recipe for my family during the week to surprise them with something new. I also like that you do not have to use a lot of water.
Fatima Torres says
This looks delicious! I love how easy it is to make delicious meals in an Instant Pot.
Deb B. says
I’m so glad you put this post up! I’ve been trying to figure out if we want the Instant pot ourselves. It’s becoming more and more apparent that we should get one. What a yummy dish too. I’m kinda feeling like rigatoni pasta tonight!
Kisa J says
This looks good! I don’t have an instant pot, and don’t know if I want another gadget to take up space. I have so many machines.
Ave says
Our family loves pasta dishes! I love my instant pot but I haven’t made any pasta in there yet. Have to give your recipe a try asap!
Jennfier says
Your instant pot sausage pasta dish sounds and looks delicious! I love that it is so easy to make. I like to make quick and easy meals like this because I am always pressed for time with my kids.
Hey Sharonoox says
This pasta dish looks yummy! I never thought of using instant pot to make pasta.
Erin F says
What a neat product! I can only imagine how much time this saves you especially since you have such a large family! I remember my granny always using her (old school) pressure cooker when we were all there to visit. She could cook a huge meal in no time at all!
Annemarie LeBlanc says
We just got an Instant Pot and we haven’t ventured further than pasta. Everything came out perfect and I am adding your rigatoni pasta to my list of dishes to make in our Instant Pot. Maybe we will learn to make other dishes in it too!
Danielle says
I still don’t have an instant pot, but with all of the quick and tasty recipes I’ve been seeing like this one, I think it’s time to give in and get one. There’s a good chance I’d use every day, or at least 3-4 times each week.
Aimee Geroux says
Mine just arrived on Monday and I used it two days this past week. I would have used it more but I had lots of leftovers from the roast on Monday and the pasta on Wednesday we didn’t need other meals made. However I think Sunday I will be doing some ribs for a Mother’s Day dinner with my kids so that would make 3 times this week. It is such an amazing appliance and I am glad I finally got one.
Leigh Anne Borders says
I really want to get one of those Instant Pots. Alot of my friends have one and they LOVE it! They bring in things from it as well and it is delicious. This recipe looks like something they would enjoy as well.
Carol Cassara says
I cannot love my instant pot more! It’s really one of the best inventions that we can enjoy these days. I love how easy it is to use and how many recipes I can me. This one’s perfect for when the family comes to visit.
Missy says
Easy meals are the best! I don’t eat pasta often (medical reasons), but I think my kids might like this. Thanks for the idea!
Cheryl says
This looks delicious and something that my 3 boys would all eat. We only have the 6qt version, any suggestions on the measurements for the liquid to pasta ratio? I read your comment saying it should not be changed. Thanks 😉
Aimee Geroux says
You can do this in the 6 qt without changing anything, lots of room!
Carolyn says
I made this for dinner tonight, it was delicious! I followed the recipe, no adjustments!
Dorothy says
I kind of impulsively bought an IP for both my adult children (each with a 2 & 5 yr old) this past Christmas. I’d seen so much about them on food blogs that I thought it might be useful for them in preparing quick and healthy meals. They’ve loved it so much that I bought one for myself, too… and am really amazed at the results. It’s fun to find a new approach in the kitchen after all these years. My stovetop pressure cooker never saw this kind of consistent use..! Can’t wait to try this rigatoni recipe.
Victoria Ess says
I covet this Instant Pot!! I know I would use this all the time!
Alisha says
I want to try this tonight but I have a quick question- what do you mean by “pasta sauce?” instead of the puree can we use our favorite marinara or pasta sauce? Thank you for your help.
Aimee Geroux says
Yes, you absolutely can. I use a basil tomato base pasta sauce (puree) in mine.
Jenna Cameron says
I love this when I was young! I think it might have been my favourite pasta. I’ve never tried making pasta in my Instant Pot, but I’m so going to try it out this week.
Tami says
I made this recipe for my husband this evening…I’ll be making it again, it was delicious! 7 minutes for the pasta was perfect.
Kristi F says
I’ve never used my Instant Pot for pasta, I’ll be saving this one to try as I love the idea of cooking the pasta in with the sauce.
Maria says
Made this tonight and it was excellent! I am relatively new to the instant pot thing but I have generally enjoyed everything i have name in it! My husband especially loved this recipe! I traded out some of the dried basil for fresh and it was delicious! Thanks!
Aimee Geroux says
So happy you and your husband enjoyed my recipe!
Nicole says
When your two toddlers eat everything on their plate.. and ask for more, you know you have a winner! This is a new staple in our house! Thank you!
Elizabeth Matthiesen says
I’m afraid that I don’t have an instant pot, however I do have two pressure cookers so this would still be possible for me to make. 🙂
Janis says
I made this tonight with beef. I found it a little bland but following the rest of the recipe had the pasta cooked perfectly. Be sure to take into account the time to get to pressure. Mine took about 20 minutes. I’ll definitely cook this again.
Aimee Geroux says
It was likely bland due to using beef instead of the sausage. The sausage (mild or hot) is made with spices etc vs ground beef being plain. Next time if using ground beef I suggest adding in a few teaspoons of garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, and some clubhouse italian seasoning mix. Glad the recipe worked otherwise, I always test my recipes multiple times before sharing on the blog to ensure they work!
Meghan says
Thank you very much for this recipe! I have only had my instant pot since Christmas and this recipe has quickly become a family favorite. I did not change a thing.
Dpjsherer says
Made this last night and turned out GREAT! We loved it. Will make again real soon.
Ra says
Made this last night for the first time. Super easy, and it tasted awesome. Our guests loved it too!
Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer says
I made this tonight and it came out great. I wonder whether it’s possible to reduce the water just a bit? What do you think? I prefer a thicker sauce but I don’t know what the instant pot needs in terms of water to food ratio. Thanks for the recipe! Overall, delicious and my husband really enjoyed and he’s picky 🙂
Aimee Geroux says
You can try to reduce it by a bit maybe 1/4 cup and see if that works. I usually prefer thicker sauce too but I find once I open the lid and give it a good stir it thickens up a bit. The only thing I worry about with lowering the water is that the noodles won’t have enough water to cook so maybe reduce the noodles by 1/4 or so too.
Jen says
Making this for the second time! My question is, after the sausage is cooked and you had in the liquid ingredients, why is it necessary to cook for 10 minutes prior to adding in the pasta? Still kind of new to the instant pot but this seems like a step that could be eliminated? I didn’t this time because it was so yummy the first time I didn’t want to mess it up! Just curious
Aimee Geroux says
The first round is to infuse all the flavours. When cooking a homemade sauce on the stove we simmer for hours and hours, in the IP we obviously can achieve the same all-day simmer results in a fraction of the time but the first 10 minutes helps achieve that all-day simmering infusion of the flavours. You can 100% skip the step if crunched for time, just know that it might not be as flavourful 🙂
Gina Dicker says
I just received my Instant Pot through the Prime Day special. This recipe is the very first thing I’ve cooked in it. I’m impressed. I followed the directions but used veggie ground and added some zucchini and celery. On the second cooking when you add the Rigatoni I added a bunch of fresh spinach on top and continued with the 7 minutes.
Again, impressed! Turned out fabulous and the noodles were cooked to perfection, still had a slight bite, just how I like my pasta.
Thanks for a perfect recipe, Aimee I was nervous using this appliance for the first time. Many thanks from Canada x
Aimee Geroux says
Thank you so much for coming to leave such a wonderful review! I love how versatile the machine is you switched it up to suit your needs, the spinach sounds amazing and I will pop some in next time I make it! So happy you got passed the nerves and had a fabulous first meal!
Barb Schara says
Made this tonight and it was awesome! This would be great for a dish-to-pass event, as it makes alot! I started with 6 minutes for the pasta, which was fine. Could have gone 7. It definitely keeps hot in the pot, and softens more there. Can I safely reduce the recipe by half? It’s just two of us. I’m an IP newbie, so I’m afraid of ruining dinner! Timing the same?
Aimee Geroux says
So glad you enjoyed it and yes it would be perfect for an event as it does make a lot (I feed 5 people and have leftovers). You can certainly reduce the recipe by half including the noodles, the cook times will be the same however you may notice the time it takes to come to pressure will lessen as there is less liquid to bring to that point of pressure 🙂
Charla Jones says
This was only the second thing I ever made in my new instant pot. The process didn’t go well. I guess it’s a learning curve! I was using a 6 quart pot and you use an 8 quart. I don’t think it fits in a 6 quart. I was over the half line before the pasta went in. So I ended up cooking the sauce in the Instant Pot, then moving it to a pan on the stove to cook the noodles (Couldn’t cook the noodles separately because the sauce would have been too liquidy). In retrospect, I guess I could have left it to cook in the Instant Pot, as long as it wasn’t a pressurized setting – maybe the slow cooker or just on saute? Oh well, live and learn. It was all worth it when we got to eat!
Seriously, the most delicious sauce ever! This was soooo good!
Aimee Geroux says
Hi Charla, sorry for my late reply (your comment got lost in a sea of comments I had to moderate!)
The recipe would have fit just fine in your 6qt, the pasta adding doesn’t raise the level that much.
However, you can totally half the recipe ingredients too (cook times will remain the same).
So happy you enjoyed the sauce … it is so so good!
Beth Uzzle says
Sooo delicious! Would allow to cool for 30 min before serving as it tends to thicken up. Perfection!
Brenda says
This was the first dish I made in my IP. It was such a success that I frequently make it for family and friends. Everyone I’ve made it for has asked for the recipe. Great introduction to the IP.
Sue says
I’m a little hesitant to try this recipe as I haven’t had much luck making a pasta dish in my instant pot without getting a burn error because the sauce burned to bottom of pot. Any suggestions?
Aimee Geroux says
Hi Sue, you have nothing to worry about with this recipe. I have made my recipe almost weekly since creating it and not once have I or any of my readers had a burn error.
Burn errors usually happen when you have too little liquid to pasta ratio and/or you do not scrape the bottom of your pot well enough to get all the bits up once you add your liquid.
If you follow this recipe to a T you will ok and have a delicious meal 🙂
Erin says
Making this for our forst time tonight.
Found it because I have a cool book with a recipe that constantly burns in the pot.
I did not have tomatoe paste or the can of tomatoes so I substituted extra sauce to make up for this and followed the instructions.
I fed 2 adults a teenager and a 6 year old and still had left overs.
It was amazing.
Michelle says
Can this stay on the warm setting for a few hours after made? I need to bring to a pot luck, I was considering pressure cooking for just 5 min and then letting stay on warm until ready to serve a few hours later?
Aimee Geroux says
Hi Michelle,
I would suggest doing the sauce part at home (steps 1 – 6) and then the noodles at the pot luck (steps 7 – 8). Leaving it on warm can cause the noodles at the bottom to burn as well as get mushy. Hope this helps!