This Instant Pot Sausage and Peppers with penne is a delicious one pot meal that’s ready in just 30 minutes thanks to your pressure cooker!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like canola or avocado oil.
- Turkey sausages – pork or chicken sausages would also work.
- Peppers – use any colour combination of bell peppers of your choice.
- Yellow onion – white or red onion can be used instead.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Marinara sauce – use your favourite jarred pasta sauce or swap out for some arrabbiata sauce instead.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute here.
- Penne pasta – you can use a different kind of pasta, just keep in mind you may need to increase the cooking time.
- Fresh parsley – leave this off altogether if you don’t have any on hand.
- Parmesan cheese – garnish with shredded mozzarella instead or leave this off.
How to make Instant Pot sausage and peppers
- Cook the sausages.
- Sauté the peppers.
- Slice the sausages.
- Add everything to the Instant Pot in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
What to serve with sausage and peppers
This recipe is already packed with protein, starches and veggies, but you may want a side dish to accompany it. Try some of these options below to compliment the taste of the sausage and peppers:
- Green salad
- Grilled veggies
- Broccoli salad
- Caprese salad
- Fresh fruit
- Garlic bread
Frequently Asked Questions
I suggest slicing the onions for this sausage and peppers recipe. Yellow onion is best but white onion or even red onion will work if it’s all you have on hand – just keep in mind that red onion has a stronger flavour.
Sausage and peppers is an Italian-American dish. While it’s often served on its own with just sausage and bell peppers, I added some penne to this dish for a full, well-rounded meal.
This recipe has 417 calories per serving.
Storing and reheating
You can store this recipe in the fridge for up to 5 days. The leftovers are fantastic for your weekly meal prep – you can divide it into six individual containers and have lunches ready in advance.
To reheat an individual portion, sprinkle some water over top so the pasta doesn’t dry out, then pop it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and stir. You can cover it with a plate or paper towel to stop the sauce from splattering the inside of your microwave.
If you made the dish in advance and are planning to serve the entire six servings, you can reheat it in the oven at 350° Fahrenheit until completely warm (usually about 10-15 minutes).
Freezing this recipe
You can freeze this pasta for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating as normal, as reheat from frozen in the microwave for 6-8 minutes, stirring halfway through.
More Instant Pot pasta recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this pasta into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range ground turkey from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 4 turkey sausages
- 1 each red, green and yellow pepper
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1 (796mL) jar marinara or arrabiata pasta sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 375 g penne pasta
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
- Grated parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Add 1 tbsp olive oil to Instant Pot and turn to saute mode. Add sausages, cooking for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned. Remove sausages, then saute bell peppers for 5 minutes until softened. Turn off saute mode, then remove bell peppers. Slice sausage once slightly cooled.
- Add remaining tbsp olive oil, sliced sausage, onion, garlic, salt & pepper, pasta sauce, chicken broth and pasta to Instant Pot in that order, pushing pasta underneath the liquid as much as possible.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Stir in bell peppers, then garnish with parsley and parmesan cheese (optional). Serve and enjoy!
