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Easy Instant Pot Sausage & Potatoes Recipe

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This easy Instant Pot sausage and potatoes recipe is great, simple weeknight meal. Normally you make sausage and potatoes on a sheet pan and bake it, but this recipe even easier: set it and forget it in your pressure cooker!

With less than 20 minutes of hands on cooking time, this dairy-free, gluten-free Instant Pot version of the classic sausage and potatoes recipe is yummy enough to serve for company and simple enough to enjoy on a busy weeknight. Instant Pot dinners are amazing, aren’t they?

The smoky, somewhat sweet flavor of the sausage, the slight bite of onion, and the wholesome goodness of potatoes come together and make this an unforgettable family meal that’s so easy it’s bound to become a staple in your home.

When easy, healthy, and delicious meet, you know you’ve got a great family meal idea! And the best part is that you can make this recipe exactly as-is (our family’s favorite way), or add whatever veggies you’ve got on hand.

In Eastern Europe, smoked sausage and potatoes is a common combination enjoyed on cold winter nights when potatoes and onions are abundantly stored in root cellars and the taste of woodsmoke enhances the flavors. It’s one of my favorite dishes to eat in Ukraine and I’m going to share how you can get that unique flavor at home, wherever you live!

delicious bowl of sausage and potatoes cooked in the pressure cooker

Ingredients In Instant Pot Sausage And Potatoes Recipe

So what will you need to make this absolutely delicious, yet incredibly simple sausage and potatoes recipe? With less than ten ingredients, this is easy on the grocery shopping list and budget which is great. Plus, if you have extra veggies laying around, you can use those also!

  • Sausage
  • Onion
  • Potatoes
  • Olive oil and butter
  • Garlic
  • Liquid smoke (you can make it without this, but it really adds some extra flavor)
  • BBQ sauce
  • Salt & pepper
  • Water
  • Optional: extra veggies

How To Make This Sausage And Potatoes Recipe In Your Pressure Cooker

Making this sausage and potatoes recipe in the Instant Pot is fabulous because you’re only dirtying one pot. Don’t you just love meals that are easy on the clean up? I know I do!

  • Wash your potatoes and dice into bite sized chunks, then let dry
  • Turn your Instant Pot (or Mealthy Pot or other pressure cooker) on sauté with olive oil and butter in the bottoom
  • While it’s heating up, dice your onions
  • Put your onions in the Instant Pot and let them begin to brown, stirring occasionally while you dice up the kielbasa (if you are using freshly minced garlic, add it after the onions are translucent)
  • Add kielbasa (or other smoked sausage) to the Instant Pot, stirring every couple of minutes, letting the bites brown a bit with the onions
  • Toss your diced potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper (and garlic powder if you prefer that to fresh)
  • Turn of the sauté setting and stir in the potatoes to the onion and sausage mix
  • Add liquid smoke, water, and BBQ sauce to the pot, stirring to mix well (and, if you like it hot, add a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning!)
  • Seal your Instant Pot and manually set it for 12 minutes (if you used an uncooked Italian sausage instead of kielbasa, adjust the time to 16 minutes)
  • Let the pressure release naturally and enjoy your dinner!

From start to finish, you’re talking less than an hour. Because you’ve used the sauté feature, things are already warmer and it won’t take as long for pressure to build.

The dicing and sautéing will take 15-20 minutes (less if you get your awesome kitchen helpers working with you for some family time in the kitchen!). Usually it’s about 30 minutes total cook time with pressure building, the 12 minutes of actual cooking, and releasing.

And then look what you end up with (mmmm, hungry yet?):

bowl of smoked sausage and potatoes

Tips For The Best Smoked Sausage & Potatoes Recipe

Any lingering questions? It’s a pretty easy recipe, but these tips will make it even easier. Simple one pot recipes like this one are great dinner options, and these tips will make it even easier for you.

What kind of sausage should I use for sausage and potatoes?

Any kind you want. Really.

But we usually use smoked kielbasa because it’s our favorite flavor. Another delicious variation would be sweet Italian sausage (when I do this, I add a variety of bell peppers, too…so good!).

What is the best type of onion for Instant Pot Sausage and Potatoes?

Definitely a sweet onion. Some recipes call for purple onions, but a sweet onion will caramelize beautifully and is more authentic. It really adds the perfect hint of flavor to the dish.

Can I use other vegetables?

Absolutely! This potatoes and kielbasa dish works with any vegetables you have on hand. In fact, we frequently add red bell peppers to it and sometimes yellow squash.

Other great vegetables for this recipe would be Brussel sprouts, frozen or fresh green beans, broccoli, asparagus, string beans, and cauliflower. Anything you’ve got on hand will be delicious here.

close up photo of bbq smoked sausage and veggies

Can sausage and potatoes be made ahead of time?

Yes! And you can do it one of two ways: prep the ingredients so you are still cooking it fresh, or cook the whole thing ahead of time and re-heat for your meal.

Ingredient Prep

If you dice your onions and potatoes up ahead of time, you need to preserve them properly and not store them together. Trust me, they won’t taste good if you do that.

When you dice your onions, store them on their own in a glass jar. This will keep them fresh and also keep their flavor sharp and not turn the potatoes faster.

The easiest way to keep cut potatoes fresh is to cover them in water until it’s time to use them (source).

Cooking Entire Potato And Sausage Dinner Ahead Of Time

You can also just make it all up ahead of time. This makes a great weekday lunch, easy dinner, or meal to bring to a friend.

Simply store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.

To reheat, sprinkle with some water and microwave loosely covered, stirring every couple of minutes, until it’s cooked through. Alternately, you can heat it up in a sauce pan or even for 5 minutes in the Instant Pot.

Which Instant Pot Is Best?

Whichever one you have! And really, having two is even better. I adore our Instant Pots and our large family uses at least one every single day.

And if you don’t have an Instant Pot, any electric pressure cooker will work. (Side note: This recipe can also be made in the slow cooker, if you had 1/2 cup of water and cook for about 4 hours on medium to high, but we MUCH prefer it in the pressure cooker).

And I have extra rings so that I can use blue for my desserts, white for things like yogurt, and red for anything savory or spicy. That way I don’t worry about flavor transfer.

bowl of smoked sausage and potatoes
Yield: serves 6-8

Easy Instant Pot Sausage And Potatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Simple, healthy, and delicious, this Instant Pot sausage and potatoes recipe comes together quickly in one pot. It's perfect for a busy weeknight meal or a company dish.

Ingredients

  • 1 package smoked sausage (or Kielbasa) (16 - 20 ounces)
  • 1 1/2 pounds of small potatoes - red or white will work, or a combination
  • 1 large sweet onion - washed and chopped
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced*
  • 1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 cup honey barbecue sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 TB butter
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • *optional: use 1/2 TB garlic powder instead, if preferred

Instructions

Wash your potatoes well and then chop them into bite sized chunks; let them dry on a towel or in a strainer.

Dice your onions and cut the kielbasa into 1/4 inch rounds (if you have young children, cut the rounds in half due to choking).

Tun the Instant Pot on sauté and add butter and olive oil to the bottom of your liner.

Saute your diced onions for 3-4 minutes, until golden.

If you're using fresh garlic, add it when the onion is translucent so they brown together.

Add the kielbasa chunks to the pressure cooker and stir to combine the onions, garlic, and meat well.

Cook the sausage until it begins to caramelize, about 3 -5 minutes, stirring the sausage during browning.

Toss the potatoes with salt and pepper (and garlic powder if not using freshly minced garlic), then turn off the Instant Pot and stir the Potatoes into the sausage and onion mix.

Add in the honey BBQ sauce and water, then stir until everything is mixed together thoroughly.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot until it beeps and locks; make sure the pressure valve is set to "sealing."

Press the manual button and set the time to 12 minutes (16 minutes if using an uncooked sausage instead of kielbasa).

Allow the Instant Pot to build and release pressure automatically; this will take about 30 minutes.

When the cooking time has completed, make sure all the pressure has been released and carefully open the lid.

Stir the sausage and Potatoes in the barbecue sauce and let sit for a few moments with the lid off.

Serve and enjoy!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 194Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 872mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 9gProtein: 4g

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I'd love to hear from you in the comments.Be sure to share so others can enjoy this, too!

Instant Pot with bowl of sausage and potatoes covered in smoky BBQ sauce

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22 Comments

  1. I made this almost as written. I didn’t have onion, so I just sautéed the turkey kielbasa in some olive oil. Also didn’t have any garlic so added the garlic powder to the potatoes as written.
    Also added frozen corn after it was finished and set for one more minute.
    Reminds me of a hungry man frozen TV dinner, but in a good way!

    1. I’ve never made it with another sauce, but I imagine you could use any sauce with a similar consistency. I have made it in the skillet with a jar of apricot jam and some A1, but never in the Instant Pot. If you try it and find something you like, be sure to let me know!

  2. Made this tonight with different kind if bbq sauce and frozen onions but turned out great! Thanks, new recipe added to my collection!!

  3. I think I’ll be fine with onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper as an overall seasoning. I really feel the BBQ sauce would mask the flavor of the sausage & potatoes. I may add a tiny bit of liquid smoke but I’m iffy about that, as well. ??‍♀️
    You mentioned veggies. If I want to add them, should I wrap them in foil, then stir in after cooking ? I don’t want them to turn to mush, under pressure for 16 minutes. Thank you.

    1. Hi Diane,

      Yes, it will be a totally different flavor with the sauce than without. I’m sure it’s good either way! As for the veggies, I’m not sure how you’d best do them without the sauce, as I’ve only added them with it in this recipe.

      1. My family LOVED this recipe! I only made one substitution…my family can’t eat onions so I used sweet peppers. And then I added about 2 cups of sliced green beans and a cup of diced sweet potatoes. The texture of everything was perfect. BBQ sauce on veggies is a total winner! Thank you for sharing your recipe. ?

        1. I’m so glad y’all enjoyed it! Yes, we find we can hide a tremendous variety of vegetables in this recipe thanks to the sauce. I have recently started grating a carrot or two into it before cooking and it almost disappears!I’ll have to try sweet potatoes soon 🙂

  4. Hi Lisa, I’m making this as I type with a few changes due to what’s in my fridge & larder. I have used 1.5 #’s of semi frozen Italian sausage…I’m feeding 3 adults. I also sliced half a vidalia onion & sautéed it in the olive oil butter combination, added the Italian sausage and browned the sides I could. I also chopped up 2 carrots & two big yams as I am woefully out of white & red potatoes. For the liquid I used 1/3 cup of fresh squeezed blood orange juice, 1/4 cup semi flat tonic water & filled the balance of 1 1/4 of apple juice. I set removed the sausage briefly to deglaze the pot with the liquids added back the sausage then put in the yams & carrots. I set it to high pressure for 17 minutes and then I plan to either add some cream of coconut or a cream soup mix….

    1. I’m sure you can – you’ll just want to make sure it cooks enough – so use a meat thermometer or brown it well ahead of time and then check when done!

  5. We LOVE this recipe – I’ve made it numerous times, and every time I’ve tried to make it as you lay it out, I get the burn notice. I end up having to dump everything into a container within the instapot to get it off the bottom of the pot. I am astonished to read that everyone else doesn’t seem to have this problem. I even cook the sausage and onions separately so there’s absolutely nothing on the bottom of the pot, and heat the liquid in the pot ahead of time so it doesn’t take extra time to heat. Any suggestions for why it’s not working for me? I’d love to just cook it in the bottom of the pot.

    1. Hey Carol, glad to hear you LOVE the recipe <3
      But bummer on the burn notice. I've never once gotten that making this (and we eat it a lot), so I'm not sure why it's happening. Does that happen with other recipes for you, by any chance? If so, there's a handful of device troubleshooting you can do (we once had it when a sealing ring wasn't in right - had to google and read a bunch of blogs to try all the things before realizing which one was it). The only thing I can think of is to add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom and have it be thinner, but as I haven't tried that personally I don't know if it will affect the flavor too much.

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