Instant Pot Sausage and Shells

For Father’s Day, I made Brian one of his favorite meals, Instant Pot Sausage and Shells. I can’t take credit for this recipe, so you can find it here. It has sausage, shells, tomatoes, cheeses, spinach and so much more!

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 Better Than Bouillon + 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 & Fine Herbs Cheese (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

1. 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)
2. Next, add in the wine, broth, Italian seasoning, dried parsley and the tomatoes. Stir well
3. 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!)
4. 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.
5. 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
6. Enjoy!