Father-in-Law Casserole–Instant Pot smoked sausage, red potatoes and cabbage with Old Bay seasoning. An easy one pot meal!

Father-in-Law Casserole
Today’s recipe is a dad’s favorite! It’s got lots of flavor for the Old Bay seasoning and the beef smoked sausage. The potatoes and cabbage add some bulk. This is an easy one pot meal that will get eaten up in no time! This served about 3 people so you may want to double it. Our son didn’t get any and was sad 🙁
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Butter
- Beef smoked sausage–or kielbasa
- Onion–yellow, white
- Chicken broth–or beef broth
- Red potatoes–or yukon golds, peeled russet potatoes
- Cabbage–green cabbage
- Old bay seasoning–find it with the other seasonings
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in 1 Tbsp of butter and let it melt. Add in the smoked sausage and let it brown for a couple minutes.

Then add in the onion and saute until it softens.

Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add in the cabbage,

potatoes and old bay seasoning. Place the remaining tablespoon of butter on top.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.

If desired you can use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly.
Serve and enjoy!

Notes/Tips
- Serve with corn on the cob and watermelon.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- This recipe only makes about 3 servings, you may want to double it. Do not double the amount of broth but double all other ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
- This recipe is gluten free and dairy free (if you use oil instead of butter).
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The potatoes and cabbage don’t freeze well.
- Another recipe you can make with your leftover 6 ounces of smoked sausage is He And I Casserole.
- What is old bay seasoning? It is a blend of herbs and spices that is often used in seafood dishes, but it can also be used in a variety of other recipes. The exact recipe for Old Bay seasoning is a closely guarded secret, but it typically includes: celery salt, red pepper (paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper), and some other spices like like mustard, nutmeg, bay leaf, cloves, and allspice. It’s known for its bold and zesty flavor.

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.


Father-in-Law Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot smoked sausage, red potatoes and cabbage with Old Bay seasoning. An easy one pot meal!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter, divided
- 6 ounces beef smoked sausage, sliced
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 10 ounces red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 3 cups chopped cabbage
- 1 1/4 tsp old bay seasoning
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in 1 Tbsp of butter and let it melt. Add in the smoked sausage and let it brown for a couple minutes. Then add in the onion and saute until it softens.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the cabbage, potatoes and old bay seasoning. Place the remaining tablespoon of butter on top.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- If desired you can use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe only makes about 3 servings, you may want to double it. Do not double the amount of broth but double all other ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
- Category: Sausage
- Method: Instant Pot

More Instant Pot Recipes with Cabbage…
Instant Pot Pork Quinoa Cabbage Bowls
Pork is cooked until fork tender with chili garlic sauce and a secret ingredient. The meat is added to a bowl with shredded cabbage, quinoa, diced green onions and finally topped with a drizzle of sriracha. This makes a beautiful and delicious summer meal.
Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Casserole
A super easy and fast way to have the flavors of cabbage rolls for dinner tonight.
*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.



I slice up the kielbasa and grill it in a perforated pan for several minutes before throwing into the pressure cooker.. I want to maximize the area to sear, crispy up the edges. then I follow this recipe x2 to make enough for leftovers. I do press a clove of garlic or 2 in after cooking the the onion, I also add a bay leaf and substitute tony C’s creole seasoning for the old bay specified. it’s really easy , a little prep work with a sharp knife really gets you a lot of comfort food.
use decent quality kielbasa/sausage and grill it before to get the most flavor or not I don’t care
I love the sound of crisping up the edges of the sausage! YUM!
I had to laugh when I saw the name of this dish. My “FIL”, would have a large pot of this ready on the stove, when my husband & I came home on weekends from Ft Campbell, Ky, 1972-75. Sometimes he would make it with ground beef, and add stewed tomatoes. (no Old Bay), but, added a clove or two of crushed garlic and some sliced carrots.
Either way…this dish is great with some
cornbread.
Thanks for reminder! 😊
Oh I love hearing this Teresa!
Delicious! My family loved it!
Awesome! Thanks Miranda!
Hi,
I’m in Australia, would you know what the equivalent is for old bay seasoning please
Regards Rob
This will give you an idea of what is in it…https://www.thekitchn.com/old-bay-seasoning-recipe-23344701
Hey, Karen! This sounds so delish, can’t wait to try it. BTW, you mentioned that Skyler didn’t get any and was sad. You know if he’d gotten there first all the REST of y’all would’ve been sad. ;-}
you are so right Kim! He usually steals all the food in the house so I’m not feeling too bad about this 😉
can this be made in a slow cooker?… I don’t own an insta pot
I bet you could make this in the slow cooker. I would saute the onions before adding them in though. I would slow cook for 4 hours on low.
Can this be done in a regular pot? I don’t have an Instapot. Thank you
I bet you could make this in the slow cooker. I would saute the onions before adding them in though. I would slow cook for 4 hours on low.