Instant Pot Bangers and Mash—creamy mashed potatoes topped with sausages and a rich caramelized onion gravy.
Instant Pot Bangers and Mash
Never heard of bangers and mash? Me either…until recently. It’s a dish with sausages, mashed potatoes and onion gravy. It’s a quintessential British dinner that’s served throughout Great Britain in pubs. Bangers and mash has been ranked as Great Britain’s #1 most popular comfort food.
By using your Instant Pot you can cook this entire dinner in one pot. First you’ll brown sausages using the sauté setting. Then you can quickly and easily caramelize the onions and create a terrifically flavored gravy with hints of sweetness with the pressure cook setting. At the same time in a steamer basket you’ll steam potatoes until fork tender and then mash them with butter, salt and milk. It’s a magical feeling!
Why is it called bangers and mash? Bangers is slang for sausages and can refer to any number of sausage varieties. The term surfaced during WWI and became even more widespread during WWII when meat rations were low and sausages had to be made with other inexpensive fillers like breadcrumbs and a large ratio of water that would result in the sausages bursting with a “bang” when fried. The term “bangers” stuck!
What kind of sausages do I use? Thick, unaged pork sausages are traditionally used for bangers and mash. A mildly spiced sausage is more common, but feel free to use your favorite sausages when making the dish at home.
Why the baking soda? The addition of baking soda raises the PH of the onions which also assists in speeding up the Maillard reaction (the browning process of onions that gives it that sweet, golden flavor).
What kind of potatoes do I use? I used red potatoes but you can also use Yukon Gold potatoes or Russet potatoes. All are great in their own way! Thanks to the steamer basket* they don’t get water logged and grainy. I didn’t peel my red potatoes because I like a little texture in my mashed potatoes. Do whatever you and your family like best.
More Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Chicken and Biscuits
Instant Pot Southern Sunday Chicken
Instant Pot Lazy Sunday Dinner
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Instant Pot Bangers and Mash
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Creamy mashed potatoes topped with sausages and a rich caramelized onion gravy.
Ingredients
Equipment needed: steamer basket and potato masher
- 12 oz package of sausage links
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 3–4 medium yellow or sweet Vidalia onions, sliced into rings
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 pounds red, yellow or Russet potatoes, washed, peeled (if desired) and cut into cubes
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 4 Tbsp butter
- ¾ cup milk or buttermilk, warmed
- 2–3 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add the sausage links into the pot. Brown for about 3 minutes on one side and then flip over and brown for another 3 minutes on the other side. They won’t be completely cooked through, move to a plate.
- Add the butter into the pot and let melt. Add in the onions, baking soda, pepper and 1 ½ tsp kosher salt. Toss well. Cook just until onions start to release their juices, 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot. Add in the vinegar, thyme, sage and Worcestershire. Place the sausage links on top.
- Add the potatoes into a steamer basket*. Place the steamer basket into Instant Pot on top of the onions/sausages. Push down to fit.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 8 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Move steamer basket out of the pot and dump potatoes into a large serving bowl. Move the sausages to a plate. Mash the potatoes well. Add in the ½ tsp kosher salt, butter and milk. Stir well, until creamy.
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. Thicken the gravy with a cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up gravy quickly. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Scoop potatoes onto a plate, place some sausages on top and then ladle gravy over the top. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Sausage
- 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.
Used sweet Italian sausage and only 1 onion. Absolutely delicious. I’m sure bratwurst or Polish sausage would be just as good.
★★★★★
Italian sausage is my fave so I’m sure that I would love your version!
I grew up eating this in England and it is still one of my favorites
Ahhh, good memories!
I really like bangers and mas and haven’t had it in a long time. No stores where I live in So. Calif. have the sausage, and I have searched a distance of 50 miles.
Sad! Can you use another type of sausage or would it not be worth it?
If there was another type of sausage I would try it. In n my area there is only Stater Bros, Albertson and Walmart. The employees in those stores don’t even know what a Banger is. Have even looked in a German store that I like but they don’t offer a sausage. The online meat dealers once offered sausage in 5 pound packages for about $65.00 dollars and as a single person that is high and way to much meat
I saw banger sausage in the Aldi near me today. It looks like it is a seasonal item so I don’t know how long they will have it.
I was wondering what type of sausage you use ? My hubby love’s bangers and mash and I would really like to surprise him.
Thanks,
Julie
I just used breakfast link sausages, because that’s what I had. However, thick, unaged pork sausages are traditionally used for bangers and mash. A mildly spiced sausage is more common, but feel free to use your favorite sausages when making the dish at home.