You can cook fork-tender Instant Pot Italian Sausage in the pressure cooker in just 20 minutes! Making this the perfect easy weeknight dinner.
Being part Italian, I grew up eating a lot of Italian Sausage and peppers. I kept up with the tradition and also feed my family the same meals that I enjoyed growing up.
Thankfully my children also love Italian sausage. In past years, I found that I really enjoyed grilled Italian sausage or even baked Italian sausage.
That was, until I tried cooking my Italian sausage in the Instant Pot. Total game changer.
In about 25 minutes time you get the most fork tender Italian sausage but I’ve ever had. It tastes like it’s been slow cooking for hours.
Making Italian sausage in the Instant Pot is very easy and really requires just a few simple ingredients. Here is exactly what you will need.
- Olive Oil
- Italian Sausage (hot or mild)
- Onion
- Garlic
- Water
If you are interested in learning how to make this recipe I’ve broken it down into steps on how to exactly cook Italian Sausage in the pressure cooker.
First, you want to add a little oil to the pressure cooker. Then select the sauté setting.
You will want to brown the Italian sausage just like you would if you were cooking on the stove top.
Giving the sausage a nice sear will not only add to the flavors developed during the cooking process.
But it also seals all those delicious juices in the sausage keeping it moist, tender, and exceptionally flavorful.
The Italian sausage will need to brown for about five minutes.
Once browned, that’s when you can go ahead and add in other ingredients like onions, garlic, or any other spices or herbs you might want to incorporate.
It’s always important to incorporate some sort of liquid when using an electric pressure cooker.
This is where I will deglaze the bottom of the Instant Pot to prevent the dreaded “burning” warning.
As long as you’ve scraped up those brown bits you won’t have that issue. I add a little bit of water or broth to the pot and scrape with a wooden spatula.
Next, turn off your pressure cooker, place the lid on top and set the valve to "sealing". Set the Instant Pot to manual.
If I’m only cooking five Italian sausage links, I will only set the pressure cooker to 10 minutes. Once the sausage is done cooking, I will carefully force pressure immediately.
You might be wondering if you can cook more than just five links. The answer is yes!
I’ve actually cooked up to 15 sausage links in my 8-quart Instant Pot.
I did, however, cook the sausage links in batches so that all links were golden brown.
Then, once it was time to set the pressure, I selected the manual setting. Making sure the lid is on and the valve is set to "sealing" I set the pressure cooker to cook at 15 minutes.
When cooking more sausage, I always let the pressure naturally release for at least 10 minutes before forcing pressure.
Here are a few of my favorite side dishes that pair perfectly with Italian Sausage.
Roasted Broccoli and Matchstick Carrots
If you love Italian Sausage, I hope you’ll give this easy method of cooking Italian Sausage in the Instant Pot a try! It’s also worth noting that you can also cook Italian sausage in the oven.
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Instant Pot Italian Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 5 Mild Italian Sausage Links
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 1 White Onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Water
Instructions
- Place instant pot setting to “sauté”. Then add in 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Next, place the Italian sausage in the Instant Pot and cook for 5 minutes. Make sure to turn 1 to 2 times until brown on both sides.
- Then added the whole garlic cloves and white onion and sauté for an additional 5 minutes into onions begin to become translucent and color.
- Deglaze the pot with a half cup of water. Use a wooden spoon to break up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Turn the Instant pot off. Place the lid on the Instant Pot making sure the valve is set to “sealing“.
- Select the “meat” setting for 10 minutes. It will take the Instant Pot roughly 10 minutes to come to pressure before the timer begins.
- Once the sausage is done, carefully force the pressure by releasing the pressure valve using a pot holder and a dish cloth.
- Remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Mix well and divide evenly among plates.
Notes
- You can leave the sausage in the Instant Pot on the “keep warm“ setting until ready to serve.
- Any leftover Italian sausage should be stored in the air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.