Instant Pot Sausage, Peppers & Onions

Instant Pot Sausage and Peppers served with onions, mustard and relish makes a super easy one pot meal that is ready in just 20 minutes!

Using the Instant Pot to make this classic meal inside saves time and can easily be done all year round.

This post is sponsored by Wisconsin Pork, but all opinions are my own!

Instant Pot Sausage and Peppers

Peppers and onions naturally complement the flavors in Italian Sausage really well. This classic meal is a regular on our family’s table because it’s so easy to make, offers a great combination of protein packed pork, fiber filled vegetables and uses common ingredients.

Peppers and onions can be eaten alone as a nice side dish for a sausage sandwich OR they can be piled on top of the sausage sandwich as high as you’d like. This meal also tastes great served with Sauerkraut Salad.

Using the Instant Pot creates a one pot meal because the sausage can be browned and then all of the ingredients cooked quickly under pressure. We use our pressure cooker regularly to Sausage, Green Beans and Potatoes and Sausage and Sauerkraut because it saves time!

We typically enjoy sausage, peppers and onions on the grill during the summer. Using the Instant Pot is a great alternative to grilling in case the weather changes or you have a craving for this meal anytime throughout the year.

Sweet Italian sausage is our family’s favorite, but use the flavor you like best. This meal is so good that we also use our Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven to make Air Fryer Sausage, Peppers and Onions or the stove top to make Smoked Sausage, Peppers, Onions & Potatoes Skillet.

We love that pork sausage is not only packed with protein, but a variety of other important vitamins and minerals like thiamin, selenium, protein, niacin, vitamin B6 phosphorus, riboflavin, zinc and potassium. Here’s a great resource for more information on the nutritional value of pork.

What is Italian Sausage?

Italian Sausage is raw ground pork that has seasonings added to make sweet, mild or hot flavor profiles. Sausage may be sold as loose ground meat which is often added to sauces and casseroles or Italian sausage may stuffed into a casing to fit nicely on a grill and sandwich bun.

Easy Meals with Sausage

Be sure to read the label on your package of sausage. The label will explain whether the meat is raw and needs to be fully cooked to an internal temperature of 160ºF or whether the sausage has been smoked and was cooked in the process.

Sausage is one of the easiest meat to mix into a casserole like our Sausage Bubble-up Pizza or use in a one pot meal. Our family craves this Smoked Sausage and Cheesy Potato Casserole and Sausage and Potato Skillet.

Many keto and low carb meals also feature sausage because of it’s great flavor and ability to take on so many different spices. Sausage, onions and peppers can be eaten without a roll to make a great low-carb or keto meal. Another great mix of sausage and vegetables is our Keto Sausage and Cream Cheese Stuffed Bell Peppers.

Sausage is often served at sporting events. Sausage, Peppers and Onions reminds me of something you would eat at a baseball stadium or tailgate before a football game. Since we may not be able to get out to big events for a while it’s still important to celebrate at home. This is a super simple meal to add some pizzaz to your party!

Add mustard and or relish if desired for a little extra zip. Serve with mustard on a brat and sausage style roll. Sweet bread or potato rolls tend to be a bit too sweet for the flavor profiles in this meal.

Farming Keeps Changing

While right now we’re all making a lot of changes in hopes of keeping people healthier, many of these ideas have been implemented years ago on the farm. Many improvements in technology and the type of barns have been made over the years. Modern farms don’t look anything like our great-grandparents farm in the country.

Modern farmers understand that increasing hand washing, showering and cleanliness, wearing different clothes on the farm and off the farm, isolating animals that have the potential to be sick are all important steps to preventing the spread of germs and keeping pigs healthier. They’ve known this for decades now.

Healthier animals means they don’t need treated with antibiotics and they grow faster naturally. Farmers work regularly with veterinarians to keep pigs healthy and prevent sickness from entering the farm. To learn more about what happens on modern farms check out PorkCares.org.

Tips for Making Sausage, Peppers & Onions in the Instant Pot

• Browning sausage well not only adds flavor but decreases pressure cooking time.
• Smaller and faster pressure cookers can cook this recipe in 2 minutes.
• Larger pots or pots that may be a bit slower to cook take 3 minutes.
• Thinly sliced peppers and onions will become mushy, but thickly sliced vegetables will hold up well and cook nicely under pressure.
• If soft vegetables are a concern they can be sautéed and removed before cooking sausages.
• If sausages haven’t reached 160°F they can be returned to the pot on the saute setting to finish cooking.
• Tastes great served with garlic mustard and/or relish.
• When adding chicken broth to the pot, make sure sausage do not stick to the bottom of the pan to avoid triggering the burn feature on the Instant Pot.
• Quick release feature on an electric pressure cooker can be used for ground meat (like sausage), but natural release must be used for whole muscle cuts like Instant Pot Pork Chops an Instant Pot Pulled Pork.

How to Make Sausage & Peppers in the Instant Pot

1. Have sausages ready to place in the Instant Pot. Turn pot on saute setting, add vegetable oil to the pot and add sausages in a single layer. Use long-handled tongs to flip a few times to brown as evenly as possible on as many sides as possible.
2. Add chicken broth to the pot. Pick up sausages and place right back in pot to avoid triggering the burn feature. Add thickly cut peppers and onions on top of the sausage.
3. Seal and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes.
4. As soon as pressure cooking is done perform a quick release and remove lid once pressure is released from the pot. I always use a digital meat thermometer to ensure that sausage has been cooked to 160ºF internal temperature.
5. Use a slotted spoon to remove sausage, peppers and onions from the pot and serve.

Other Easy Recipes Featuring Pork:

• Easy Instant Pot Country Style Ribs
• Oven Baked Pork Chops
• Creamy Pork Chop Casserole
• Farmhouse Ham Loaf
• BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders

Printable Instant Pot Sausage, Peppers & Onions Recipe