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 Pink Pasta
I’ve made recipes like this one before and have always enjoyed them but for some reason this really hit the spot more than ever. The Italian sausage adds a ton of flavor…more than chicken, ground beef or meatballs do. Plus you’ll be surprised at how yummy the combination of alfredo and marinara is! And this recipe comes together super quick! After you brown the sausage you just dump everything in and walk away. Try this out to feed a crowd. You’ll get two thumbs up from everyone!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Ground Italian sausage–I used mild but you can use hot if you like heat
- Chicken broth–or beef broth. I like to use water and Better Than Bouillon.
- Farfalle pasta–or penne or cavatappi
- Marinara sauce–I used Ragu
- Alfredo sauce–I used Prego
- Italian seasoning–or make your own
- Garlic powder
- Mozzarella
Steps
- Brown the sausage: Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the sausage and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.
- Deglaze the pot: Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Layer in ingredients: Dump in the pasta. Evenly pour the marinara and alfredo over the pasta. Don’t stir (this will help prevent the burn error message).
- Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir well. Stir in the mozzarella.
- Serve: Scoop into bowls and serve. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with garlic bread and a side salad with Olive Garden Italian dressing.
- If you don’t have a pound of Italian sausage but you do have a pound of normal, breakfast sausage try using these seasonings to amp up the flavor.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. Halve the recipe in a 3 quart pot.
- This makes a lot! To cut the recipe in half, halve all ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Try reheating it using the pot-in-pot method.
- Other recipes you can make with mozzarella cheese are Instant Pot Cheesy Beef Tortellini and Instant Pot Caprese Chicken.
More Amazing Instant Pot Pasta Recipes…
- Instant Pot Chilis Copycat Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Instant Pot Chicken Supreme Pasta
- Best Friends Casserole
- Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Casserole
- Instant Pot Cowboy Up Supper
- Instant Pot Cheesy Beef Tortellini
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.
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Instant Pot “Pink” Pasta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
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.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (16 oz) package farfalle pasta (bowties)
- 1 (24 oz) jar Marinara sauce
- 1 (22 oz) jar Alfredo sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the sausage and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Dump in the pasta. Evenly pour the marinara and alfredo over the pasta. Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir well. Stir in the mozzarella.
- Scoop into bowls and serve.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
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7/25/23 – Made a full batch using a pound of ground Italian pork and a pound of hot Italian sausages. Used 22oz jar of Aldi’s Marina sauce, a 15oz jar of Aldi’s Alfredo sauce. Since I didn’t have 22oz of Alfredo sauce, I added an 8oz can of tomato sauce and a tablespoon of tomato paste. I sautéed a diced onion, 1 diced green pepper and 3 celery stalks diced with a heaping teaspoon of minced garlic. 4 cups of chicken broth made with better than bullion and a pound of bow tie pasta. It filled the 6 quart instant pot to capacity. I pressure cooked for 3 minutes but didn’t get to release pressure for 18 minutes. Result was the pasta was over cooked some. Flavor was amazing! A full batch is enough for 8 people. Next time I will insure I do a NPR at 4-5 minutes. Served with fresh grated Romano cheese.
★★★★★
Yum your version sounds awesome!
I love so many your recipes and can’t wait to make this one tonight! I do have one question- anytime we’re browning meat, is the assumption that it’s ok for it to not be all the way cooked through because it will continue to cook during the pressure cooking phase? I usually end up cooking it all the way through to be safe but was curious what you do!
Yep you are right. Sometimes mine isn’t cooked through all the way but enough to get the grease off.
Thought I was all set to make this for supper to find no ground Italian sausage in the freezer, so I used ground beef. Then my alfredo sauce was only 16 oz. I brown the beef, drain the grease and stir in the broth. Next I add the sauces and realize pasta was supposed to go in after the broth. I did not stir. I just gently pushed the pasta down. It tasted great but was a bit soupy. So I looked at the box of bowties to see it was a 12 oz. box. No wonder it was soupy. But there was one other thing, when do the spices get added? I added them before putting the lid on. Definitely will make it again with the correct items.
★★★★★
Bless you. Been there, done that.
oh haha! I forgot to say to add them in with the sauces. I just corrected the recipe. Thanks for the heads up!
You’re welcome
★★★★★