Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli! This hearty Italian classic is full of flavor and loaded with turkey sausage, vegetables, beans, pasta, and herbs. Delicious comfort food that can also be made in your slow cooker or on your stovetop!
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Fresh Tomato Inspo
The inspiration for cooking up this classic came from having plenty of extra farmer's market San Marzano tomatoes used in my last post, Roasted Tomato Garlic & White Bean Hummus. No sense in buying a can of diced when these perfectly ripened beauties were looking for a delicious destination.
Cooking Options
Now, if you have an Instant Pot, awesome! If not, don't sweat it. The 'Recipe Notes' below include slow cooker and stovetop instructions. Choose what's best for you! The photos shown, however, depict the Instant Pot.
One of the coolest features of the IP is sautéing vegetables and browning meat directly in the pot before switching gears to pressure cooking. So, if you have one still unopened from last Christmas sitting in a lonely corner somewhere collecting dust, bust it out and plug it in. You'll be glad you did.
Cooking Steps
Once the turkey sausage and veggies take a sauté spin, the remaining ingredients join the party, except for the pasta and fresh herbs.
When to add the pasta
Whenever I make a soup or stew with pasta, I've learned adding al dente pasta just before serving has the best results. Otherwise, you highly risk turning innocent noodles into disintegrated mush.
Pasta simply becomes unrecognizable when steeping in hot liquid longer than it was meant to. So unless you want to serve porridge, take the reigns of your soup; cook the pasta separately and add at the very, very end.
When you safely unlock the lid, your eyes will feast on a rich, flavorful, warm-the-soul soup you'll want to curl up on the couch with. Have a glass of vino in hand, cheer on the game, or simply binge on Netflix. Enjoy, friends!
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📋 Recipe
Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound turkey sausage , mild or spicy, removed from casings
- ½ onion , chopped
- 1 cup celery , chopped
- 1 cup carrots , chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon each dried basil , oregano and thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes , optional
- 1 15-ounce can navy beans , drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can small kidney beans , drained and rinsed
- 2 cups fresh tomatoes , seeded and chopped (or 15-ounce can undrained diced tomatoes)
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 12 ounces ditalini or small shell pasta , cooked al dente according to package instructions
- ¼ cup packed fresh basil , torn or thinly sliced, plus extra for garnish
- 2 tablespoons each fresh parsley and oregano , chopped, plus extra for garnish
- Salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- On your Instant Pot, press SAUTE and add the olive oil. When hot, add the sausage. Cook about 5 minutes until browned, stirring frequently and breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon. Transfer sausage to a clean bowl with a slotted spoon.
- Add onion, celery and carrots to the pot. Cook until vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Next, add the garlic, dried herbs and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 1-2 minutes more.
- Return sausage to the pot. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine.
- Press the CANCEL button to reset the cooking program. Secure the lid and set the valve to SEALING. Press SOUP and adjust the time to 8 minutes on HIGH pressure. The display will reflect ON while the IP comes to pressure. This will take 10-15 minutes.
- Once at pressure, the display will reflect 8 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.
- Allow the pot to sit to let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Then using the end of a wooden spoon and wearing an oven mitt to avoid close contact with the steam, carefully turn the pressure release to VENTING to ‘quick release’ the remaining steam. You may also want to turn your IP away from cabinets to allow the released steam to escape freely (think of it as a natural humidifier lol). The pin at the top of your IP cover will drop when all pressure has been released and is then safe to open.
- Stir in pasta and fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Garnish with more fresh basil, oregano, and parsley as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sausage about 5 minutes until browned, breaking up larger pieces with a wooden spoon.
- Transfer sausage to slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients except the pasta and fresh herbs.
- Cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.
- Stir in pasta and fresh herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish as desired.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook sausage about 5 minutes until browned, breaking up larger pieces with a wooden spoon. Transfer sausage to a clean bowl with a slotted spoon.
- Add onion, celery and carrots to the pot. Cook until vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Next, add the garlic, dried herbs and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 1-2 minutes more.
- Return sausage to the pot. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Partially cover pot with a lid and simmer soup for 20-30 minutes.
- Stir in pasta and fresh herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish as desired.
Nutrition
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Camila says
Amazing recipe. Can't wait to make it!
Kim Peterson says
Thanks so much Cam! Let me know how it works out!