Nothing makes (cooks) pasta as efficient as an Instant Pot. You never have to boil it separately and then strain it and EVERYTHING is done IN. ONE. POT.
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 18 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 23 minutes
YIELD: 6
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) of salted butter
- 2 large shallots, diced
- 1 lb of Italian Sausage (sweet, hot or mixed), sliced into 1/2″ pieces while raw (use 2 lbs if you want it to be SUPER sausagey)
- 1 tbsp of crushed garlic
- 3 cups of garlic broth (I used 1 tbsp of Garlic + 3 cups of water but you can just use 3 cups of chicken broth instead if you don’t have this and it will still be great)
- 1 cup of white wine (any dry one, such as a Chardonnay, will do and you can use white cooking wine too if it’s all you have. If you don’t wish to use wine, add another cup of broth)
- 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp of dried parsley
- 10 oz (approx) of Cherry or Grape Tomatoes (you can double these if you wish)
- 1 lb (1 box) of medium shells (I strongly suggest using this exact kind of pasta)
- 5 oz of baby spinach
- 1/3 cup of half & half or heavy cream
- 5.2 oz package of Boursin Garlic (or Boursin Shallot & Chive Cheese), cut into small crumbles (SECRET INGREDIENT! This is usually always found in the deli/cheese/cured meat section of any market and Costco sells it in packs of 3. If you cannot find it, 5 oz from a brick of cream cheese will do)
- 1 – 1 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping if desired (make sure it’s grated and NOT shredded as it melts/blends into the sauce properly. Also, the more cheese, the thicker the sauce!)
- 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and roughly ripped up by hand
Instructions
- Add butter to the Instant Pot (I used a 6qt), hit “Sauté” and “Adjust” so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting. Once the butter’s melted and sizzling, add in the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the sausage and garlic and stir for another 2 minutes (the sausage should not be fully cooked by this point)
- Next, add in the wine, broth, Italian seasoning, dried parsley and the tomatoes. Stir well
- Lastly, add in the pasta shells BUT DO NOT STIR. Just allow them to be as submerged under the liquid as possible by smoothing out with a mixing spoon (it is okay if some of the shells are sticking out above the liquid). Top off with the spinach and, again, DO NOT STIR. (Note: It’s going to feel like there’s a LOT of spinach in there and it will come up to the brim of the pot, but don’t worry – it cooks down into nothing!)
- Secure the lid and hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and then hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 6 minutes (5 minutes if you want the shells more “al dente”). Quick release when done.
- Stir in cream, Parmesan, Boursin and artichokes for about 2 minutes until the Boursin is completely melded into the sauce. Let it rest for another 5 minutes and it will have thickened perfectly. Transfer to a serving dish
- Enjoy!
