Pizza Pasta Casserole with Canadian Bacon

Serves 6 in about 35 minutes. A pressure cooker recipe built around italian sausage and pineapple chunks.

Ingredients

• 1 lb italian sausage
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 ½ teaspoon italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder (or 2 cloves minced garlic)
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 red bell pepper (optional) or green pepper, chopped
• 6 oz mushrooms (optional) sliced
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (or water)
• 16 oz rotini (or penne, ziti, etc)
• 24 oz jar marinara sauce
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (plus more for garnish, if desired)
• 5 oz pepperoni slices (about 20-30 slices)
• ½ cup sliced black olives
• ½ cup cooked bacon pieces
• ½ cup pineapple chunks
• Canadian bacon (instead of pepperoni)

Method

1. Turn on pot to the Sauté setting. Tip in the sausage and onion. Simmer until the meat is cooked all the way.
2. Tip in Italian seasoning, oregano, garlic powder (or garlic), red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and bell pepper, and mushrooms, if using. Stir.
3. Stir in the broth or water and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze (get up any browned bits).
4. Tip in the pasta evenly over the mixture. Do not stir.
5. Tip in the marinara sauce over the pasta and cover it completely. Do not stir.
6. Cancel the Sauté function. Put the lid on the pot and turn the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
7. When the cook cycle is finished, do a Quick Release of the pressure/steam by turning the steam release knob to the Venting position.
8. When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and stir the pasta. Mix in half of the cheese and ¾ of the pepperoni.
9. Mix in olives, if using, or any other add-ins you'd like.
10. Scatter the remaining cheese on top and arrange the remaining pepperoni on top of the cheese. Close the lid and let the cheese melt.
11. Plate from the pot or transfer to a casserole serving dish.

More instant pot ideas are in the instant pot collection.