Navy beans and sausage or hot dogs in a savory tomato sauce made from scratch in your Instant Pot!

Dad Jokes Casserole
When your husband asks you what is for dinner and you respond “Beans and Weenies” there are a lot of dad jokes that comes out. We’ve now renamed this dish “dad jokes” since he can’t take anything with the word weenies in it seriously. Lol.
This is a hearty, inexpensive dinner with great flavor. It has high fiber from the beans and it’s got a good amount of protein per serving too.
I used dried beans for this recipe but if you’d like you can use canned beans. Just check the notes section in the recipe card for how to do that.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Dried navy beans–see notes section for how to make this with canned beans
- Water
- Salt
- Tomato sauce
- Dijon mustard–or yellow mustard
- Molasses–or maple syrup
- Black pepper
- Beef smoked sausage–or hot dogs
Steps
Soak the beans: Add beans and 3 cups of water and 1 Tbsp of salt into a container and soak overnight. If you don’t have time to soak overnight then do the quick soak method (notes section in the recipe card below). Rinse and drain the beans.

Pressure cook the beans: Add beans into Instant Pot and add in 2 cups of water. Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Drain the water.

Flavor the beans: Stir in the tomato sauce, dijon mustard, molasses, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Let sit on the warm setting.

Brown the sausage: Meanwhile, heat a pan on the stove over medium high heat and add a bit of oil (about 1 ½ tsp) into the pan. Brown the sliced sausage for 2 minutes on each side. Then stir it into the Instant Pot.


Serve and enjoy!

Notes/Tips
- Serve with cornbread and honey butter.
- Try adding in some bacon crumbles for extra flavor.
- If you’d like a little sweetness in your beans then add in a tablespoon or two of brown sugar.
- If you want the beans more saucy you can add in an extra can of tomato sauce.
- If you want more smoky flavor add in a half teaspoon of liquid smoke.
- You can also use pinto beans instead of navy beans. Pressure cook soaked pintos for 15 minutes.
- If your beans are old they will need extra time to pressure cook. Add 5-10 minutes for older beans.
- I used my 3 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 6 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with dijon mustard are Teenage Boy Casserole and Instant Pot Coca Cola Chicken.

More Instant Pot Beans Recipes…
Instant Pot Appalachian Soup Beans
A comforting bowl of creamy pinto beans flavored with smoky ham. A winter staple in the Appalachian states.
Instant Pot Boston Baked Beans
Navy beans with molasses and salt pork pressure cooked in a fraction of the time it would take to cook in the oven.
Instant Pot Copycat Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice
Creamy red beans with smoky undertones and rice. Lots of satisfying flavor and just as good or better than the real thing!
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.


Dad Jokes Casserole
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Navy beans and sausage or hot dogs in a savory tomato sauce made from scratch in your Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried navy beans
- Water
- Salt
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp molasses
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 (12 oz) package beef smoked sausage or hot dogs, sliced into quarter inch rounds
Instructions
- Add beans and 3 cups of water and 1 Tbsp of salt into a container and soak overnight. If you don’t have time to soak overnight then do the quick soak method (notes section below). Rinse and drain the beans.
- Add beans into Instant Pot and add in 2 cups of water. Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Drain the water.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, dijon mustard, molasses, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Let sit on the warm setting.
- Meanwhile, heat a pan on the stove over medium high heat and add a bit of oil (about 1 ½ tsp) into the pan. Brown the sliced sausage for 2 minutes on each side. Then stir it into the Instant Pot.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
How to Quick Soak: Add the beans to your Instant Pot with 3 cups of water and 1 Tbsp of salt. Bring to a boil using the saute setting. Once the water is boiling then quickly cover the pressure cooker and and turn valve to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 2 minutes. When time is up slowly move valve to venting. If foam escapes then move valve back to sealing for 20 seconds and try again. Remove the lid. Then rinse and drain the beans and use them in the recipe.
How to make with canned beans: Heat a pan on the stove over medium high heat and add a bit of oil (about 1 ½ tsp) into the pan. Brown the sliced sausage for 2 minutes on each side. Rinse and drain 2 cans of navy beans. Add them into the pan. Stir in the other ingredients and heat through. Serve and enjoy.
- Category: Beans
- Method: Instant Pot

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
should water be increased when doubling recipe?
yes I would double the water also
First off, thank you, Karen, for your every day email recipes. It must not be easy to do. You are appreciated in my home.
I have a question as to your preparation steps. Would it be easier, with one-less pan to wash, to first brown the sausages/hot dogs and remove to keep warm? Then, pressurize the beans, remove the water, and add the other ingredients. I’m all about not washing any additional pans when I’m cooking. Thank you, Karen.
★★★★★
Yes you definitely should do that! Good idea 🙂