Cheesy Instant Pot Sausage and Rice

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!

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.