Pressure Cooker Sausage and Peppers

Here is an easy pressure cooker sausage and peppers recipe you can make for under $10. It feeds 5 people and you only need 3 ingredients for a delicious dinner! Try it in your Instant Pot, Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi tonight.

Instant Pot Sausage and Peppers

We have made sausage links in so many ways and love them all. It really is personal preference but if you’re ready for a really fast one pot meal, this is it! You can use Italian sausage or if you want some heat there are some great spicy versions out there too.

If all you have is a Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi that is okay, they work the same way. For the latter use the lid that isn’t attached for this sausage recipe.

Pressure Cooker Sausage Peppers and Onions

Yes you can make Instant Pot brats all by themselves but if you want to add veggies and a savory thick sauce this is how it is done. Either one can be taken out when done and heaped on to hoagie rolls to eat that way. OR you can serve on a plate with a side dish like rice or a quinoa.

Along with the meat and peppers you can always go with slices of onions too. The thicker you cut them the more firm they will remain. Not hard, they will soften quite a bit but if you don’t want them getting too too soft and falling apart I would keep that in mind.

Once you fall in love with this one you can try our smoked sausages and too, there are so many different ways you can cook these babies.

Ninja Foodi Sausage and Peppers

Which brings us to Ninja Foodi sausage where we use the air fryer function to it. You could make either one of these with this pot. It is a pressure cooker too so you could follow the directions below and when done transfer the meat to the top and close the attached lid for a few minutes at 400 just to crisp.

What are sausage links?

They’re really a mixture of ground meat, fat, seasoning, and sometimes fillers packed into a casing. Then each one is tied or twisted to create individual links. These days most commercial sausages use synthetic casings.

I chose sweet Johnsonville Italian sausage you see here because it is the style my husband prefers. They offer a spicy sausage version as well if you like a little heat.

The brand of spaghetti sauce really doesn’t matter, I get what is on sale. If you want this meal to be really cheap you can usually find a jar at the Dollar Store.

• Seriously, electric pressure cookers make this easy dinner possible in under 10 minutes.

Sometimes I grab some hoagie style rolls to put them in. Other times I’ve served it over rice. I literally see what’s on sale and buy that! This is what you need to make this Instant Pot sausage recipe

1. Electric pressure cooker
   1. I would highly recommend a non stick pot if you don’t have one
   2. Or use your Ninja Foodi which already comes with it
2. 5-6 pork sausages
   1. there are 5 in a package when I buy them, you could fit 6 but no more in a 6 qt. without having them overlap
   2. chicken sausage could be used too if they’re a similar size
3. 1 jar spaghetti sauce
4. 2 bell peppers
   1. really you can add more peppers and onions if you want
   2. buy extra and make a batch of green pepper jelly with them on the saute function next
5. 1 onion 
6. 3/4 cup of water – you’ll need to add some liquid in order to get it to come to pressure
   1. beef or chicken broth could be used too

There are many types of links. You can find turkey or chicken versions that may be lower in fat but we typically choose Italian style pork.

What is the most popular sausage?

• Andouille is often times spicy and has a ton of flavor already inside so rarely needs a lot of other ingredients.
• Bratwurst is very popular and known to be eaten often in Germany
• Chorizo is used a lot in Mexican dishes and is usually pretty spicy too
• Italian Sausage is what I usually buy and used in this pressure cooker recipe

What if your sausage is frozen?

Just ensure that they aren’t in 1 huge clump. If they are frozen but you can separate them there shouldn’t be an issue.

• Add sausages to pot with all other ingredients. Then following instructions below.
• Set to high for 8 minutes vs. 6., set valve to sealing
• Quick release and slice one in half to ensure they’ve cooked through
• If not just put back in and set pressure cooker to saute
• Allow to bubble and finish cooking the sausages, 8 minutes should be plenty though.

Once you’ve had this you’ll love our pressure cooking jambalaya too.

Want to make stove top sausage and onions? Follow directions below as far as layering your ingredients in a pot. Cover with a lid and set to medium heat. Stir intermittently until sausage is warm in middle, also allow peppers to soften to your liking too. Need crockpot sausage and vegetables directions?? We have those too!

There is no need for browning the sausages. If you really want to you could with a little olive oil at the beginning on saute.

• The sausages I used was medium size. Typical of those in packages in the meat section of your grocery store.
• If yours has thicker casings you may want to put it in for 8 minutes. 6 minutes always works well for us.

Want to make Instant Pot sausage and mashed potatoes all cooked together?? Kinda’ like bangers and mash I suppose if you’ve had that.

Pressure Cooker Sausage in Ninja Foodi

This is another idea you can take advantage of! We love one pot meals where you have a side dish and protein cooked together at the same time. This one wouldn’t be as low carb as the one in the recipe card below but SO good for kids.

How do you cook perfect sausage?

• In my opinion it’s this way! I like how tender links become under pressure and mixed in with flavorful sausages with some veggies turns out so good.

Here’s another way that’s awesome because once they’re tender, you can also get the outsides get nice and crispy too! I spoke about how to do this above. Let us know what you think of both. There are SO many possibilities I tell you.

What sides to serve with sausage and peppers?

1. Baked beans literally go with everything I say
2. French fries are fun especially if you have kids you’re serving
3. Coleslaw ready made or your own recipe brings a coolness to the overall dish
4. Try a bed of mixed vegetables too
5. Potato salad is an option
6. Pressure cooker white rice is easy peasy to make