Darius Rucker Casserole–an easy one pot Instant Pot dinner! Fun wagon wheel pasta with a homemade red sauce, parmesan cheese, spinach and chicken sausage.
Instant Pot Wagon Wheel Pasta Casserole
Greg wanted to name this dish after Darius Rucker because of his famous song called wagon wheel…”So rock me momma like a wagon wheel”. Lol, he thinks he is pretty funny! I do have to say that the wagon wheel pasta just hits different. It’s the shape and the way the sauce absorbs in it. I don’t know why but it tastes better than normal pasta to me! I always find it at Winco in the bulk section. But you can probably find it in a normal, well-stocked grocery store.
I took a recipe for a simple red sauce I love (crushed tomatoes, butter, garlic powder, onion powder, salt) and put it in the Instant Pot with the pasta along with some sausage for more flavor and protein. Finally, I ended the recipe with some spinach (color and nutrition) and parmesan cheese. MMM! It was good. Simple but good. I think you’ll love it too.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Olive oil
- Chicken sausage–mine was pre-cooked, from Costco
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Wagon wheel pasta–I got at Winco in the bulk section
- Crushed tomatoes
- Butter
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Kosher salt
- Spinach
- Parmesan cheese
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the chicken sausage and brown for 3 minutes.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the pasta.
Dump the tomatoes, butter, onion powder, garlic powder and salt on top.
Cover Instant Pot and set valve to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes on high pressure. When time is up let sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Stir in the spinach and parmesan.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- You can make this a meatless meal by eliminating the olive oil and chicken sausages. Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- If you use another type of pasta you may need to adjust the cooking time. Here is the formula: look at the back of the box of pasta and see how many minutes it says to boil the pasta. If it’s 10 minutes you divide that number by 2 (=5) and then subtract 2 minutes. So you would pressure cook for 3 minutes.
- Try using 8 ounces of Italian sausage in the place of chicken sausage for major flavor.
- Serve with green salad, roasted vegetables, caesar salad or garlic bread.
- Why crushed tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes provide a thicker consistency compared to diced or whole tomatoes. This consistency helps create a hearty sauce that clings well to pasta. The texture of crushed tomatoes strikes a balance between smoothness and chunkiness, adding some texture to the sauce without being too chunky.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with spinach and parmesan are Instant Pot Chicken Spinach Parmesan Orzo and Instant Pot Creamy Tortellini, Spinach And Chicken Soup.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.Print
Darius Rucker Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An easy one pot Instant Pot dinner! Fun wagon wheel pasta with a homemade red sauce, parmesan cheese, spinach and chicken sausage.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 ounces chicken sausage, sliced (I used pre-cooked)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces uncooked wagon wheel pasta
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the chicken sausage and brown for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Sprinkle in the pasta. Dump the tomatoes, butter, onion powder, garlic powder and salt on top.
- Cover Instant Pot and set valve to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes on high pressure. When time is up let sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the spinach and parmesan.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes…
Instant Pot “Pink” Pasta
When you combine a white sauce and a red sauce you get a sauce with pink-ish tint. And it is delicious! You’re going to love this super fast and easy pasta dinner.
Instant Pot Cheesecake Factory Da Vinci Pasta
Mushroom and chicken penne pasta with a tangy and creamy sauce.
Instant Pot Fireman’s Pasta
Penne pasta with chicken, bruschetta, spinach, garlic and parmesan cheese. A simple recipe with amazing flavor!
Instant Pot Marry Me Pasta
Tortellini pasta with bacon, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese. DEE-licious!
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Lea says
Sorry to bug you bit I have a few questions…
Do you think this can be made with Italian sausage?
Do you think I would I have to cook the sausage first?
I like the mushroom idea. Can I add 8 oz and not get too much water?
Thank you for teaching me how to use an instant pot! Without your recipes, I probably would have sold mine at a yard sale!
Karen says
Yes Italian sausage would be great!
Yes cook the sausage first and drain off excess grease.
Yes mushrooms are great! I would cut the broth by a quarter cup.
So glad you love the recipes 🙂
Jacqueline says
why does it say crock pot and instant pot and you only give the recipe in the instant pot? I don’t have one and do not want one. it doesn’t take that long to cook dinner.
Karen says
I write instant pot and crockpot recipes for my site. Some recipes can be made in both the instant pot and crockpot and some recipes can only be made in the instant pot. Here are all the recipes that can be made in the crockpot: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_method=slow-cooker
Frank Stewart says
You should really be calling this Old Crow Medicine Show casserole. That was the band that originally released the song. As much as I enjoy it Darius Rucker’s version, it is a cover
Karen says
Good to know!!!
Kim B. says
Made this for supper today. You are so right….MMM, good!! I wanted to make it with the wagon wheels & they are NOT to be found in any grocery stores around here. Bummer. They had them everywhere when I was a kid. Had to order some from Amazon. Was so delicious. Only thing I changed was I used Kielbasa (sliced & then halved into half-moon shapes) & I added mushrooms. Chow hound had 2 bowls. Oink.
Karen says
Yes to the mushrooms! I love that idea! And aren’t we so grateful for Amazon? It is my favorite 🙂
Joseph Murphy says
Old Crow medicine show was the band who wrote and made the song popular. Not Darius Rucker
Karen says
oh haha! That’s the version I know but I’ll have to look up the other.