Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi Soup

Instant Pot Sausage Gnocchi Soup is hearty tomato-based comforting bowl of goodness! Quick and simple to put together you'll love this twist on a traditional Sardinian Sausage Ragu.

What is a Sardinian-style ragu?

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea just behind Sicily. It is west of the Italian peninsula, and is one of it's 20 defined regions. The island is a great tourist destination known for its clear and pristine beaches. It even holds a place in Greek and Roman mythology as the place the gods told Hercules to start a colony at after he had completed his labors.

The island is also known for Malloreddus alla Campidanese. This is a dumpling like pasta served with a rich ragu of tomatoes, sausage, and saffron. Saffron is a unique ingredient to the dish as this spice was brought by the Phoenicians from the Middle East to Italy. If you would like to learn more check out this great BBC article.

Prepping the gnocchi soup

You can use either sweet or hot Italian sausage for this recipe. If your sausage is in casings, you will need to remove them. Remove them by putting the tip of a knife under the casing and gently cutting it moving upwards then peel off. Get the rest of your ingredients ready.

Set the Instant Pot to saute when heated add a little olive oil and add in the sausage. Using a spoon or spatula break up the sausage as it cooks into pieces. Cook the sausage until it is no longer pink.

Add in the minced garlic, saffron (optional), pepper, salt, Italian seasoning, and hot red pepper flakes. Pour in the wine, note this optional. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.

Pour in the water and stir. Turn off the saute function, and layer in the gnocchi.

Next add a can of San Marzano tomatoes, and crush the tomatoes with your hand as you add them on top of the gnocchi. Resist the urge, and DO NOT STIR.

You can also use crushed San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them. I'm usually not lucky enough to find them in the store! 😉 LOL

Cooking and finishing the sausage soup

Seal the lid on the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure (normal) for three minutes then follow with a quick release. If anything starts to drip from the Instant Pot just be sure to release in short bursts. Once open stir everything together.

Next add in a bag of baby spinach, and turn the Instant Pot on to saute.

Stir the spinach until wilted then turn off the saute function.

Serve immediately topped with Parmesan cheese or store up to one week in an airtight container. Note because potato gnocchi was used this may cause the soup to thicken once cooled. If desired, this may be thinned with water or chicken broth when reheating leftovers.

How to make it

I paired this soup with my Crusty Instant Pot French Bread! If you enjoyed this recipe you would love Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Stew, or Instant Pot French Onion Soup.