Instant Pot sausage and rice is so good! A cheesy casserole packed with smoked sausage, tender pressure cooker white rice, cream of mushroom soup and vegetables cooked all in one pot in no time. You can make in a Ninja Foodi too!
If you haven’t cooked kielbasa and rice together it is an amazing meal!! With shredded cheddar cheese inside and melted on the top, we make this easy one pot Instant Pot recipes idea for dinner at least once a month.
If you and your family love cheesy comfort food this is going to go on your meal rotation! Packed full of smoked sausage and grains, it’s an easy dinner both adults and kids ask for again. I just pick up a package of Kielbasa at the store and I have the rest to make this happen every single week. Like our Instant Pot Sausage Rice Casserole but with cheddar!
You can use other high pressure machines to make this too. IP is here but a Crockpot express or Ninja Foodi works the same way. For the latter you use the lid that is not attached. You just need to saute the meat and use high pressure with the rice and all of those have that.
Ingredient Notes
Can we talk about flavor for a minute here??!! You get a whollop of it with the smoked sausage link cut up into bite size pieces. All I do is slice it into half moons and throw them right in so it can get tender and soak up the rest of the flavors too.
Using precooked meat is key to making prep a bit easier. I have used raw sausages before when making InstaPot jambalaya but it doesn’t slice as well with the casing. You have to spend a bit of time cooking that at the beginning too since pork needs to be cooked to a safe internal temperature. In this case, you just add.
Even Italian sausages will work if that is what you love the most. The ones you want are the Pepperidge Farm fully cooked links that only require you to warm it up a bit. I go a step further though at the beginning to saute them with some olive oil and diced onions so it gets golden brown.
Then you’re going to want some frozen vegetables. You can leave these out but I always try to incorporate nutrition into every meal and this is an easy way to do just that. Mixed with green beans, carrots and corn is a great one for this meal.
To make creamy and provide enough moisture to cook the rice you want condensed cream of mushroom soup and beef broth. I like to whisk these together in a separate bowl, and then pour that into my pot to prevent the burn notice from appearing.
You want to use long grain white rice to make this for the timing provided below. Brown takes way too long and by that time the other ingredients will become too soft so I don’t recommend that swap out.
I use shredded sharp cheddar cheese to make this and our popular slow cooker cheesy potatoes for brunch because it has a punch of pop for the meal. It’s also packed full of traditional seasonings we all love in order to deliver exceptional flavor in anything it’s added to.
If you need to make this dairy free you could use shreds from Daiya which are quite good and would need to use a lactose free condensed soup too.
Made with Frozen Sausage
If all you have is right out of the freezer you will need to steam them first. I would follow our Ninja Foodi brats instructions minus 1 minute because it will be cooked longer inside the pot later. Then you will cut into dials or small pieces and continue on with the instructions below.
Spicy Option
If you wanted to make this spicy I would do so now so it kinda’ bakes on to the meat. Add 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or 1/8 of a teaspoon for a more medium heat. Another option is to use andouille sausage which already has heat filled spices inside.
Tips for Success
You’ll start by sauteeing the first 3 items together to brown the outsides of your sausage pieces just a bit. This is not a necessary step, but I recommend doing it to get a bit of caramelization on the meat. Makes it so darn yummy.
What is important to know when making anything with white rice: Make sure you deglaze your Instant Pot after browning your meat. If you don’t you may receive the burn notice on the screen. You are going to use uncooked white rice. Long grain or Jasmine is my preference.
Rice casseroles cooked in a pressure cooker need to be layered with the rice sprinkled on top! It is important that you DO NOT stir all the contents after you add your uncooked rice. If you do it will likely trigger the burn message, and will stick to the bottom which will be difficult to get off. Sprinkle it in when you add the rice on top of all your other ingredients.
Then just use a spoon to gently submerge it into the top of your liquid. Following this last direction will ensure that your Instant Pot casseroles will come out perfectly every time!
Instant Pot Sausage and Rice Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 package kielbasa, Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, cut into dials, then in half
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1 cup frozen vegetables, mixed, optional
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1 cup white rice, uncooked, long grain
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 10 oz
- 2 cup beef broth
- 1 cup cheese, sharp cheddar, shredded, more if desired
Instructions
- Put pressure cooker on saute and add olive oil. Then slice sausage into half moon pieces. Put these and your diced onion into your pressure cooker.
- Cook just until sausage is lightly browned on the outsides. Then turn pot off. Add 1/4 cup of your broth into your pot and scrape with a wooden spoon to get any stuck on pieces off = deglazing your pot.
- Sprinkle in all of your seasonings and your frozen vegetables.
- In a bowl whisk together the remaining broth with your can of cream of mushroom soup until smooth, pour this into your pot.
- Stir all contents together.
- Sprinkle uncooked rice on to the top but DO NOT STIR. Just gently push down so it is submerged into the liquid.
- Put lid on, close steam valve and set to high pressure for 9 minutes. Then allow to naturally release steam for 3 minutes before letting out remaining steam with a quick release.
- Add in 1/2 of your cheese and stir gently into rice casserole. Allow to rest with lid off so it thickens for 10 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and place lid back on for 5 minutes so cheese melts. (even if you don't add extra cheese, let it sit for at least 10 minutes with lid off to thicken up)
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to save leftovers
Yes!! The cooking time is just that fast! It thickens a lot as it sits too and is great the next day as leftovers. Just microwave in 30 second increments stirring in between to reheat it. Once it is done it’s time for LOTS of cheese!! Can you leave out the cheese? Yes, but ummmm it’s pretty amazing with it. Totally your choice really. Look at this spoonful!
Other Instant Pot Meals You’ll Love
We first have this and other favorite Instant Pot sausage recipe listed here to begin with.
So what are you waiting for?? Head to your local grocery store and grab a package of Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage so you can make this Instant Pot recipe this week! Then try our Instant Pot beef stew casserole like this cheesy Instant Pot chicken broccoli rice dish.
Made this a few times now and everyone (except my oldest who hates anything but steak and shrimp) loves it! i did double the veggies, onion, rice, and broth and cheese to increase the yield and it comes out just fine! (added 1 minute to cook time for additional rice but dont know if it was needed)
So glad it’s been a hit!
I followed the directions to a T…the rice wasnt cooked, still crunchy but it tasted really good!
Sounds like it wasn’t submerged at the top to get fully tender.
@The Typical Mom, I want to make this keto friendly and make it with cauliflower rice — would that work? Would I adjust the cook time for cauliflower rice which is about 1 minute ?
Hmmmm I havent done that but if I were to venture a guess I would say yes try 1 min. Please let me know how it goes so others can know.
I followed the recipe to the letter, and it turned out VERY soupy. I had to cook a whole other cup of rice to get the consistency to where it was supposed to be. Not sure what I did wrong, because I followed the recipe exactly as written. The flavor was very good, though.
Did you let it sit for at least 5 minutes? It thickens quite quickly just by sitting
This was really good. I made my own Mushroom Soup and a cup less cheese (not on top). I used a bag of stir fry fresh vegetables instead of frozen mixed. It was really good. Thanks for the great idea!
I did the recipe exactly as posted except I used jalapeno cheddar sausage and added a couple cloves of minced garlic. WONDERFUL one pot meal!
This was really good! I used turkey kielbasa instead (personal preference) and put in the entire 12 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies. Really quick and really easy. And quite tasty. Thanks!
Glad it was a hit
The typical “drive thru” mom. Got a instapot for Christmas and now thinks she’s a Queen of cooking. Throw out her recipe and do this. Ok so here’s the real world recipe. Saute kielbasa and onions. Pour in half chicken stock de glaze pan. Don’t put in frozen veggies. If you need anything use fresh. I used red peppers a. Because frozen veggies will become unpalatable. Mix other half of stock with cream of chicken. Add to pot, 1 cup of Rice and 1/4 cup of Velveeta. Not bag cheese . Set to Rice mode natural release. Done in 30 minutes. Delicious. Thanks Non typical dad that knows how to cook.
This is a really mean and unnecessary comment. I’m not sure adding velveeta to her recipe qualifies you as gourmet.
No reason to be so mean! If you don’t like a recipe then just don’t cook again. Oh and by the way, velveeta is a proceeded food and disgusting.
Haters gonna hate. It’s what they do. They’re mad cause you’re having success. Some of them are mad because they can’t do what you do, but most are mad because they’re too lazy to do what you do, so they hate on your success instead of getting their own hustle on and succeeding. Sounds like that’s the case here.
(Inspired by Katt Williams.)
Take this as a sign of success Typical Mom. The bigger and better your site gets, the more of both fans and haters you’re gonna have. Used some ideas from your site before, but bookmarking your site now!
Thanks, a dad that can cook and doesn’t hate.
P.s. Mike, fresh this and fresh that and then Velveeta? Come on.
Wow. I NEVER leave comments but I just had to tell you how awesome and simple this was!!! I just got my Instant Pot and I am an avid cook- this will definitely be part of our rotation. Thank you!!!
My Dad used to pan fry a similar sausage dish with potatoes and corn when I was young. It was too oily for me, I love your recipe! I cubed potatoes rinsed and sauted in step 1. Added cajun seasoning. Cream of chicken instead of mushroom. 1/2 cup mix veg and 1/2 cup corn. Followed your rice instruction but rinsed mine, habit. I let it natural release completly, a tad brown part on bottom, perfect rice. Stirred in 2 slices of gouda (my kids preference).
Oops I forgot to mention I added a can of black beans with peppers rinsed.
Yay!!
Can this recipe be used in an Instant Pot mini?
I would cut it in half, timing remains the same
It doubles well too! First time and… super!
This was so excellent. I can only get Johnsonville sausage links where I live and no cheddar but a mixed cheese blend, but the instructions were great, and it was still such a wonderful casserole kind of dish perfect for winter.
So glad it was a hit with everyone