Instant Pot Sausage Ragu with Rigatoni
Instant Pot Sausage Ragu with Rigatoni
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat your Instant Pot on Saute’ “More” setting. Once the pot reads “hot”, add in your oil and your sausage links. Use your spatula to break up the sausage while it cooks. I like mine chunky. The sausage will take approximately 5-6 minutes to brown.
- Once the sausage is browned, add in the onion (I did not drain the fat from the sausage. This just adds more flavor to the sauce). Cook till the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Next, add in the tomato paste. Cook another 2 minutes so the tomato paste gets a bit toasted. This will add lots of richness to the sauce.
- Add the garlic paste and cook an additional minute.
- It’s now time to add the wine. Reduce the wine to half its original volume.
- Add in the water, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and bay leaves. Stir until everything is combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot so nothing is sticking. Press cancel.
- Place the cover on top of the Instant Pot. Make sure your vent is in the sealing position. Press the pressure cook setting “more”. Set for 15 minutes. It will take approximately 15 minutes to come up to pressure.
- When the timer goes off, quick release until all the pressure is gone and the pin drops. Open the lid. Give it all a stir.
- Finally, add in the rigatoni and stir it all, making sure that the rigatoni are submerged in the sauce.
- Place the lid back on. Set the vent to seal. Press the pressure cook setting “more”. Set the timer for 4 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, quick release. When the pressure is all gone and the pin drops, open the lid. Give it all a stir.
- Serve with some grated cheese (I love pecorino Romano). Enjoy!
- Note: You can use any kind of sausage. This is one of my favorite go to week night meals. It tastes as if you cooked this sauce all day.
Video
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Let us know how it was!What is a ragu — and how this recipe compares
Ragù is an Italian term for a meat-forward sauce that’s usually simmered so the meat and tomatoes concentrate into a rich, cohesive sauce. Classic ragùs (such as ragù alla Bolognese) often cook for hours; using a pressure cooker speeds that flavor melding so you get a deep, meaty sauce in a fraction of the time.
Why brown the sausage and toast the tomato paste
Browning the sausage develops Maillard flavor compounds that add savory, caramelized notes you wouldn’t get from a quick simmer alone. Toasting the tomato paste concentrates its sugars and reduces raw-tomato sharpness, which boosts color and richness. Those short steps in the method are small investments that noticeably deepen the finished sauce.
Watch Dr. J Make Instant Pot Sausage Ragu with Rigatoni
Watch Dr. J make Instant Pot Sausage Ragu with Rigatoni and see how it comes together.
