INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage, or traditional sausage, or ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2, 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
- 2, 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
- 4 cups chicken or beef broth
- 2 cups water
- about 10 regular lasagna noodles, (about 1/2 pound) broken into chunks
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- ricotta cheese to mis in at the end, about 8 oz.
- parmesan cheese for garnish
DIRECTIONS:
- Push “saute” on Instant Pot, and add the sausage, onion, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until sausage is cooked through and onion is soft.
- Add minced garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, water, seasonings, and broken noodles. Mix together gently. Do not fill the Instant Pot past the “max” line.
- Secure the lid of the Instant Pot and seal the pressure valve.
- Press “cancel” to get it off the saute setting.
- Press “manual” (or “high pressure”) and set time for 4 minutes.
- Allow soup to cook, then when it beeps alerting you it is done, let it sit for ten minutes depressurizing naturally. After ten minutes, twist the steam valve to “vent” and allow it to finish depressurizing until you can open it. Drop a few big spoonfuls (however much you want) of ricotta cheese into soup and let it melt in as you stir.
- Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes: this soup will thicken as it cools, as the noodles will soak up most of the liquid. You can always add more broth to the soup if you like.
If you don’t have standard lasagna noodles then 1/2 pound of another pasta will also work. Rotini works great in this too.
