Pressure Cooker Sausage Casserole

Instant Pot Sausage Casserole

If there’s one thing the pressure cooker does brilliantly, it’s turning simple ingredients into full-on comfort food in no time – and this pressure cooker sausage casserole is a cracking example. Think juicy sausages, tender beans, and a rich tomato gravy that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours. Except… it hasn’t.

This is proper food for busy nights – hearty, warming, and made with stuff you probably already have in your cupboard. Whether you’ve got an Instant Pot, Ninja, or any other kind of pressure cooker, this dish will deliver big flavour with minimal faff.

We recently acquired an Instant Pot, so this recipe describes the settings for that. But they will be similar for any pressure cooker you may have.  We thought we would try it out on one of my proven slow-cooked Dutch oven recipes.

So this Instant Pot Sausage casserole recipe is another slightly different version of my original sausage casserole recipe. Although this time, made in the Instant Pot.

You could of course also make this in any other make of pressure cooker, like a Ninja Foodi for example, if that is what you have.

How to use your leftover vegetables

In this version, I used the sausages I had in the fridge, which were hand-tied Irish pork sausages from Aldi. But really any nice-tasting sausage will do. Some Italian sausage or some German sausage – either would probably taste great.

 

This recipe is about the combination of food tastes. And it is a great way to get rid of any vegetable leftovers you may have in the fridge.

So the ingredients in the recipe are not really fixed. The beans and tomatoes do add some body to the sauce, but there is nothing to stop you adding any other vegetables you may fancy like scallions, green beans, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peas or whatever need using up.

Just throw it all in together and let the instant pot or your pressure cooker make something of it all.

Cooking under pressure did seem to have an effect on these sausages, in that some of them cracked and split, as you can see from the photos. But this did not affect the taste at all and was probably specific to this make of sausage.

It probably saved about half an hour cooking this in the Instant Pot compared to the Dutch oven, not to mention the energy savings.

I had actually tried to brown these sausages in the oven beforehand, but they did not brown very well. You can see this from the photos.

I think it would have been better to have sauteed them either in the Instant Pot or in a separate pan, just to give them a bit of a brown appearance. But I am sure you do not need to brown them if you do not want to.

Sauce Thickening

Whether you want to thicken the sauce at the end is really up to you. I like to have a thickened sauce but my wife likes it as it comes. So we served up her food before I added the diluted flour and simmered for 5 minutes, just to thicken it up a bit.

We had some leftovers after this one meal which was great because we then had a ready-made pressure cooker sausage casserole for breakfast the next morning.

How Do You Make the Best Pressure Cooker Sausage Casserole?

1. Can I use any type of sausage?
Absolutely – pork, beef, chicken, or even veggie sausages work fine. Just choose ones that hold their shape when cooked. You can see the ones in the photos struggled!

2. What if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
No problem. Any electric or stovetop pressure cooker will do – just follow the same timings and liquid ratios. Be aware to follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions. pressure cooking can be dangerous!

3. Can I freeze it?
Yes! Let it cool, portion it into containers, and freeze for up to 3 months. It reheats beautifully.

4. How do I thicken the sauce?
If you want a thicker sauce, switch back to Sauté mode after pressure cooking and simmer for a few minutes until it reduces.

What to serve with a Pressure Cooker Sausage Casserole?

The best way to eat this meal is with a nice piece of buttered crusty bread, or two, which serves perfectly to mop up any juices that may be leftover.

Enjoy!

How to cook this sausage stew recipe

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