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Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi is a rich, hearty dish that has lots of flavor, and is so delicious, especially when you need a bowl of comfort food. This pressure cooker sausage and gnocchi is cooked in a tomato sauce with Italian spices, and is ready in under an hour. One of my personal top 5 favorite Instant Pot recipes!
Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi
Not only is gnocchi fun to say, but it is also fun to eat! You can use gnocchi in pretty much any recipe that calls for pasta. Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi is a recipe that I make when I am craving a rich, tomatoey, hearty bowl of Italian comfort food. I just love this stuff!
Gnocchi is pronounced “NO-KEE”, and are little doughy dumplings that can be made from potato, wheat flour, semolina, bread crumbs, cheese, egg, etc. Sometimes it has herbs, or flavorings like lemon added.
I prefer the potato gnocchi, it has some chew to it that is appealing to me. The flavor is pretty neutral, so it goes well with a tomato based sauce, as well as a cream based sauce. It holds up very well in the pressure cooker.
You can make gnocchi homemade, or buy it at the grocery store or online. At my grocery store the gnocchi is located right near the pastas. It isn’t dry like pasta, but is shelf stable. I keep a few packages in my pantry at all times. Always prepared for a quick dinner! There are also varieties that come refrigerated.
Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi is not a complex dish. The secret is in the sauce! Use a good pasta sauce and then augment that with some garlic powder and Italian Seasoning. You may not even need salt. I use my homemade Instant Pot Marinara Fresh Tomato Sauce and do not add any salt to this dish. The sausage has plenty, as does the marinara.
This recipe can also be made on the stove top if you like, however, I love the one-pot aspect of this recipe. It’s not difficult to make in the pressure cooker. Sauté your onion and sausage, and layer the rest of the ingredients and cook. Easy!
Instant Pot Marinara Fresh Tomato Sauce
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Instant Pot Pizza Pasta Casserole
Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 small Yellow Onion, chopped
- 1 lb Italian Ground Sausage bulk ground sausage
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (or ½ tsp for spicier)
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 2 ¾ cups Chicken Broth, low sodium (use 3 cups for an 8 qt pot)
- 1-2 (17 oz) package Gnocchi* (found in the pasta aisle)
- 2 cups Pasta Sauce (I use a jar of Marinara)
Garnish
- Fresh Basil Leaves
- Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Turn on the Sauté setting of your pressure cooker. When it is hot, add the olive oil.
- Add the onions and cook them for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to turn translucent.
- Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wood spoon, and stirring until mixed in with the onion. It's okay to leave some of the sausage a little chunky as it is nice texture.
- Add the red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and stir. It's fine if the sausage isn't completely cooked through as it will finish cooking under pressure.
- Stir in the chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot to get up any browned bits (deglaze) so the sensor doesn't think it's burning.
- Add the gnocchi in an even layer over the sausage mixture, but don't stir it.
- Pour the sauce over the gnocchi, covering it as much as you can. Do not stir.
- Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Cancel the Sauté function.
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 3 minutes. High Pressure. It will take several minutes to come to pressure.
- When the cook cycle has finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes (5 minute Natural Release). Then do a Controlled Quick Release* of the remaining steam/pressure.*A controlled quick release means you release the steam in short bursts, then longer bursts, until you can be sure none of the sauce spews out of the vent with the steam from the intense pressure. Then fully open the vent and let it go.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open it and give the gnocchi a stir. It will be pretty saucy, but will thicken up as it cools. Use pot holders and carefully take out the inner liner to sit on a cooling rack and let it sit for a few minutes, stirring it a few times.
- Taste, and add a little salt if you think it needs it. This will depend on the type of sausage and sauce you used.
- Garnish as desired and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make This Recipe and More
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Someone wrote it was a hit. It was a real hit at home too. I can’t wait to give it a taste to my granddaughters
Thanks !
Grand slam home run!!! I made the linked marinara sauce (approx 10.5 cups, absolutely dynamite! Only thing I would change would be to measure herbs and spices a bit more carefully, I overdid it a little. Cocoa must be the magic ingredient). So, with the sauce out of the way, I pulled together this dish in a flash. My husband and I both LOVED it. i have had an instant pot for a couple weeks so I am still new, but I think i have found my favorite web site. Thanks Sandy!!
What a hit! I used potato cheese gnocchi and butcher bulk spicy sausage. It was a tad acidic so simply added a couple pinches of sugar (after IP cooking). Used one package of gnocchi because we like it saucy to dip bread and and sop up every last drop. Very yummy! Thank you for a great, quick, Instant Pot recipe!
Love love gnocchi, really anything Italian but if I can make it in my IP – homerun! I use Johnsonville Italian sausage and Victoria White Linen marinara sauce. Gnocchi is also excellent in a creamy basil pesto sauce in which I use my own homemade basil pesto.
Love your recipes, thanks.
Yum! Thank you, Lynn!
I used 2 packages of gnocchi, and was very glad I did (I think it would have been soupy with just one). It came out a little gummy, but good. Note: I replaced the sausage with some leftover hamburger, and did my own spice mix. Thanks for posting!
Can I use potato gnocchi for this? And for sausage, can I use chorizo?
Yes, potato gnocchi is what I use. Chorizo may be a bit intense for this, but you can try it!
Tried this tonight and got the burn sign I was careful not stir once after adding the gnocchi and tomato sauce. Any tips ?
Perhaps the pot wasn’t deglazed after you cooked the sausage? It’s important to scrape up all of those browned bits from the bottom of the pot (deglaze) so the sensors don’t think it’s burning. Or, maybe you just needed a little more liquid. If you get the burn message and the pot is not at pressure, and the pin in the lid is still down, you can open it up and check out why it might have the message, and add more liquid if that is the issue. Sorry that happened. Try these tips and you should have a great meal!
Those little black bits are called “fronds”. Be sure to scrape them up and you’ll find that they add extra flavor. Just sayin’
Made a variation of this tonight for dinner. I didn’t have sausage so I just used ground turkey. It was/is very good. The only thing is I wish I used your suggestion and used two bags on the gnnochi instead of one. I’ve made similar dish in the past and used chorizo and peppers with vodka sauce. Never would I thought to use my instant pot. Thanks. I’m new to the instant pot community so this was easy and directions were easy to follow.
Should I leave the pot on for a natural release or turn it off? Does it matter?
I usually just turn the pot off. It will matter on some recipes, not so much on this one.
Oh my goodness! Someone posted this on Facebook this morning and I looked so good that I decided to make it for my husband for dinner. He’s underwhelmed with the things I choose to make in the IP but this knocked his socks off. And mine! I don’t even like sausage! This is definitely getting pinned on my “Instant Pot Success” page. I followed it to the T other than the red pepper flakes because we were out. I opted for Newman’s Own because I didn’t have garden tomatoes to make your marinara. Thank you for giving me something new to throw into dinner rotation!
Hi Annie! I’m so thrilled that you, and your husband liked this recipe! This was just one of those recipes I threw together when I had a craving one night. I’m glad I decided to share it! Thank you for your review! I also use Newman’s Own marinara when I don’t have homemade. Great stuff!