Vegetarian Instant Pot Pasta Toscana: Creamy pasta with roasted cauliflower, Italian sausage, and spinach

Pasta Toscana, plated and ready to eat

Here's another one-pot Instant Pot pasta dish. This one's inspired by a guilty pleasure, Olive Garden's creamy zuppa toscana soup filled with kale and Italian sausage. I already have two recipes inspired by this dish on my site, the classic soup, and a low carb roasted cauliflower version. Technically, this (carby) pasta is adapted from my low carb soup recipe, which uses roasted cauliflower instead of potatoes. I love the idea of incorporating nutty roasted cauliflower into a creamy pasta. 

Update: My friend Carrie is doing a low-key CSA out of her backyard this year, and has been giving me a steady stream of kale and chard. This has been our go-to dish to pack a lot of kale into. I've been skipping the cauliflower and just going heavy on the kale (~12 oz). This recipe is so versatile and satisfying!

Pasta Toscana
1 lb cauliflower florets, tossed with 1 T olive oil and 1/2 t salt, roasted at 450 for 20 minutes
1 T olive oil

1 bunch kale, chard, or spinach
1 small onion, diced
1/2 lb vegan Italian sausage (I like Impossible spicy ground sausage or Field Roast), broken into bite sized chunks
1 T minced garlic
1/2 t Italian seasoning
2 t better than bouillon or salt to taste
black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
4 cups water
1 lb pasta of choice, I like rotini or farfalle
12 oz evaporated milk or unsweetened milk of choice
1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Roast cauliflower according to direction above.

If using kale or chard, de-stem and cut into bite-sized pieces. Sauté in olive oil for about five minutes, until wilted, and set aside. If using spinach, reserve until the end of cooking (it is delicate enough to wilt immediately). 

Saute onion and Italian sausage in olive oil until browned. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add remaining ingredients except cauliflower, spinach or greens, milk, and cheese. Seal Instant Pot and set for high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick pressure release when finished. Stir in roasted cauliflower, spinach or greens, milk, and cheese. Over the next few minutes, the spinach will wilt and milk and cheese will melt and form a sauce.

Serves 6.

Reheats and freezes well. Just add a little water or milk and reheat gently.