Sausage and Peppers (Instant Pot)

Instant Pot Sausage and Peppers are a super flavourful meal to make in your pressure cooker. This makes a nice amount of sauce to go over rice, on a hoagie, or pasta.

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 (19 oz) pkgs Italian sausages
1 lg red onion sliced
4 lg cloves garlic, minced
1¼ cup chicken or beef broth, divided
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. coarse sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
4 bell peppers, different colours, sliced lengthwise, about 1" wide
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

Gather all of your ingredients and prepare them (chop the veggies, open the cans, measure the spices, etc.).

Turn on the "Sauté" setting on your pressure cooker. When it is hot, add the oil, then 1 package of the sausages (5 per pkg). Brown them about 4 minutes on both sides and remove to a plate. Then repeat with the second package.

Add the onions and stir, cooking until they start to soften. Add ¼ cup of the broth or water and use a wooden or silicone spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot to get up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add the garlic and sauté for a minute.

Add the remaining chicken broth or water, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Stir.

Add the sliced bell peppers. Do not stir.

Add the sausages back in on top of the bell peppers. Do not stir.

Pour in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and spoon the tomato paste on top. Do not stir.

Close the lid and cancel the "Sauté" setting. Seal the vent if your model pot does not do so automatically.

Press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button or dial. Then use the +/- buttons to select 10 minutes. Choose High pressure. The pot will take several minutes to build pressure. Stay with the pot until it comes to pressure (just in case you get a BURN error. I haven't, but you never know with the newer more sensitive pots).

When the cook time is finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 4 minutes (4 minute Natural Release). Then manually release the remaining pressure.

When the pin in the lid drops down, carefully open the lid and remove the sausages to a plate. Cover lightly to keep warm.

Then gently stir the peppers to incorporate the tomato paste. This will thicken the sauce a bit and keep it from being too watery. The peppers will be very soft. This is intentional as they add a lot of flavour to the sauce when they break down.

Serve the sausage and peppers with a generous bit of the sauce over rice, quinoa, pasta, or on a hoagie roll.

Makes 10 servings.