Quick and easy Instant Pot sausage and rice. Hearty one dish recipe you can throw together in minutes. Flavorful weeknight meal everyone will enjoy!
Don't you just love it when you can combine 2 or 3 of your favorite foods and create a dish that's so full of flavor, you want to have it for dinner every night? That's how this Instant Pot smoked sausage and rice is for me.
I have always loved smoked sausage. When you combine it with rice (or cauliflower rice), onion, garlic, certain spices like smoked paprika, and a dash of green peas, you've got a blue ribbon dinner winner.
Now I do like to use regular rice, but as I've told you before, I have a low carber in the house. So he'll sometimes make this one pot meal with cauliflower rice, if he even wants any rice at all.
This is a delicious dump and go meal, and it really reminds me of a good Cajun dish like jambalaya, but without all the other ingredients. The smoked paprika gives it a real kick in flavor.
If you love this Instant Pot kielbasa and rice, check out this sausage and chicken casserole, also made in the Instant Pot.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my cooking tips, important cooking info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the easy dinner recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card with a longer how to video.
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED:
- Olive oil
- Garlic cloves
- Yellow onion
- Sausage link – You can use smoked sausage, kielbasa, andouille sausage, etc.
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Chicken broth
- Rice – I suggest using long grain rice; we'll talk about why below.
- Frozen peas, thawed
Remember, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED:
Instant Pot – We just use our 6-qt. pot for this.
Butcher Block Cutting Board and Knife or Vegetable Chopper
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT SAUSAGE AND RICE
Before you even heat up your Instant Pot, be sure to prep your ingredients and have them ready to go. This means go ahead and mince up your garlic and onion, slice the sausage, and make chicken broth if you're not using already made broth.
Then follow these steps…
- Press “Sauté” on your Instant Pot, and once it's heated up, add the olive oil, garlic, and onion, sautéing 'til they become soft.
- Add in the sausage slices, and brown for a good 1 to 2 minutes.
- Then sprinkle in the seasonings, and add the rice and chicken broth, mixing everything together.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and press “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” with a cook time of 5 minutes. Allow it to do a natural release.
- Once it's released, go ahead and remove the lid, and stir in the thawed peas. Put the lid back on, and allow those peas to warm for about 5 minutes. No need to turn on the pot; just let everything sit in its own warmth.
- Then stir and fluff the rice, and serve it up!
It's such an easy meal to make. One pot Instant Pot dinners are the absolute best!
Not sure how to use your Instant Pot? You're not alone; I have a lot of friends and readers who've ordered one but but have yet to get it out of the box and actually use it. But I've got ya covered with my quick and easy Instant Pot guide.
WHAT KIND OF RICE SHOULD I USE?
We prefer to use a long grain rice to make pressure cooker sausage and rice. In fact, I prefer to use Riceland Long Grain Rice because it's grown right here in Arkansas.
Jasmine rice and basmati rice are more great examples of long grain rice.
The reason I prefer long grain rice is because it really fluffs up after cooking, and it won't be so moist; it'll have a drier texture to it, so it doesn't just clump up into heaps of cooked rice.
You can also make this recipe with brown rice or cauliflower rice, but just keep in mind that it will change the texture and taste of the finished dish.
CAN I DOUBLE THE RECIPE?
Sure you can! You can double or even triple the recipe, as long as your Instant Pot is big enough to hold all the ingredients.
This recipe makes enough to feed about 5 people. So if you have a crowd of 10 or more, feel free to increase as needed.
WHAT IF I GET A BURN MESSAGE?
Thankfully, this hasn't happened when we've made this recipe, but different brands and types of pressure cookers may differ.
So to avoid that ominous burn message, you may want to avoid stirring everything together when you add the chicken broth. Just make sure all the rice is submerged in the liquid, so it will cook properly.
CAN I FREEZE SAUSAGE AND RICE?
Yes, you can make smoked sausage with rice ahead of time and freeze it. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
GET THE PRINTABLE RECIPE
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Easy Instant Pot Sausage and Rice
Equipment
- Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker, and Warmer, 6 Quart, 14 One-Touch Programs
- Eddington Italian Olive Wood Cooking Spoon, Handcrafted in Europe, 12-Inches
- Mueller Austria Onion Chopper Pro Vegetable Chopper – Strongest – 30% Heavier Duty Multi Vegetable-Fruit-Chopper-Kitchen Cutter
- Large Wood Cutting Board with Handle – Butcher Block Cutting Board Wood Large Wooden Cutting Board Reversible Acacia Cutting Board Wood Cutting Boards for Kitchen Large Cheese Board Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 1 pound sliced sausage link*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup long grain rice*
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
Instructions
- Before you even heat up your Instant Pot, be sure to prep your ingredients and have them ready to go.
- Press “Sauté” on your Instant Pot.
- Once it's heated up, add the olive oil, garlic, and onion, sautéing 'til they become soft.
- Add in the sausage slices, and brown for a good 1 to 2 minutes.
- Then sprinkle in the seasonings, and add the rice and chicken broth, mixing everything together.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and press “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” with a cook time of 5 minutes. Allow it to do a natural release.
- Once it's released, go ahead and remove the lid, and stir in the thawed peas. Put the lid back on, and allow those peas to warm for about 5 minutes. No need to turn on the pot; just let everything sit in its own warmth.
- Then stir and fluff the rice, and serve it up!
What is the best to reheat once frozen?
Kendall, I would either reheat in the microwave or reheat in the oven at 350ºF, until it’s piping hot all the way through. It may be helpful to pull it out of the freezer and into the refrigerator the night before you reheat it to ensure that it thaws first.
Is there a way to make this without a instapot?
Rebecca, this recipe is for the Instant Pot, but it is definitely possible to make it in a pan on the stovetop.
Can you use ground sausage I stead of whole sausage links? If so, does the cooking time change or stay the same?
Also, if I use basmati rice, does the cooking time stay the same?
Thanks!
Gina, this is definitely possible. Ground sausage is not typically pre-cooked like some sausage links, so I recommend cooking it ahead of time; then just add it into this recipe as you would sausage links, following the same instructions. I have never cooked with basmati rice, but from what I have read online, it looks like it can be substituted just the same as regular long grain rice. It may increase the cooking time ever so slightly, but I would just watch it. When it’ soft, it’s done! Thank You for the question.