Instant Pot Sausage and Peppers

Instant pot sausage and peppers is an easy weeknight dinner requiring just 6 ingredients and less than 40 minutes from start to finish!  You guys, this is one of our favorites to make on busy weeknights! It’s a one-pot meal that’s filling and flavorful. 

The savory and juicy sausage goes perfectly with the sweet bell peppers. We normally pile it on bread or hoagie rolls to make sandwiches, but it’s also delicious on its own, mixed with pasta or served with instant pot jasmine rice or a classic Cajun rice.

Once you brown the sausage, peppers and onion, you add some chicken stock and tomato sauce, seal the valve and pressure cook. It's that easy to make this recipe. Dinner is ready!

You might also like these air fryer sausage links if you're looking a another quick and easy recipe or these sous vide sausage links for an ultra juicy amazing result.

Why this instant pot sausage and peppers recipe works

• You only need 6 ingredients and they’re all relatively inexpensive so this is a budget friendly meal.
• The recipe requires just one pot so cleaning up is a breeze!
• Leftovers store well in the fridge or freezer, so it’s a great option for meal prep!
• It's a one pot meal that is super easy to make and convenient for busy weeknights!

Ingredients

The full list of ingredients and quantities used can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

You’ll need fresh sausage for this recipe (about 4-5 sausages). You can use sweet or hot Italian sausage, or any sausage that you like. Use frozen sausage in a pinch. Avoid using pre-cooked or smoked sausage as the cooking time is based on raw sausage and not ready-to-eat sausage.

I used 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, but you can use 2 of the same. You can also use yellow or orange bell peppers if you prefer.

The cooking liquid is just chicken stock with seasonings. I like to use this homemade Instant Pot chicken bone broth, but you can also use store-bought chicken stock or broth.

Substitutions and variations

• Instead of tomato sauce, you can substitute it with pasta sauce or crock pot marinara sauce.
• The recipe doesn’t include any seasonings as the sausages are flavorful on their own. If you prefer extra flavor, add a sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning or some red pepper flakes.
• Substitute peppers like poblano or Anaheim peppers for a touch of added spice.
• Use a bag of frozen peppers and onions for convenience. If using frozen peppers, you can skip sauteing them. Thaw and drain them before adding them to the pot.

Step by step instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot insert and add the sausage. Brown on all sides (about 2-3 minutes total), remove the sausage and set aside.

2. Add the onions and peppers to the pot and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until barely softened and all browned bits are scraped off the bottom of the pot.

3. Add the chicken stock and sausage back to the pot, layering the sausage on top of the peppers and onions. Pierce each sausage with a fork.

4. Pour the tomato sauce over the top (don't mix it in) and pressure cook on high for 6 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then use the quick release to release any remaining pressure.

Serve this pressure cooker sausage and peppers hot alone or place on bread to make a sandwich. I also like it with a little air fryer garlic bread or pesto challah bread to sop up the sauce. You can also serve it with these yummy Parmesan truffle fries or air fryer frozen French fries.

Expert tips to make sausage and peppers in the instant pot

1. I use a 6 quart Instant Pot to make this sausage recipe. If you have a smaller one, be careful not to overfill it.
2. While the cooking time is just 6 minutes on high in the Instant Pot, you’ll also need to factor in time for pressure to build and release.
3. Be sure to let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes as the sausages will continue to cook during this time.
4. When you add the tomato sauce, just pour it on top of the sausages. If you mix it in, it may cause a burn error message on your Instant Pot.
5. To prevent the sausages from splitting, you may want to pierce them with a fork before cooking them in the Instant Pot.
6. Cook the sausages to a safe internal temperature of 165F degrees. If your sausages contain ground turkey or chicken, they should be cooked to 165F degrees.
7. Be sure to pierce the sausages before pressure cooker to keep the casings from popping open.

Frequently asked questions

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