Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli Sausage Casserole—fresh broccoli, melty cheese, smoked sausage, a homemade creamy sauce and rice make this casserole the quintessential comfort food. An easy Instant Pot recipe with no browning or sauteing steps.
Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli Sausage Casserole
I’ve always been a fan of casseroles with broccoli and cheese. Whether it’s chicken divan or chicken curry casserole it’s all delicious to me. The difference between this Instant Pot cheesy broccoli sausage casserole and the kind your mom used to make in the oven is that…
- There is no pre-cooking the rice
- There are no cream of soups
- It uses smoked sausage instead of pre-cooked chicken
- You cook the casserole in the Instant Pot using the pot-in-pot method instead of the oven
The creamy sauce that is on top of this casserole is flavorful and better than cream of chicken/mushroom/ soup. The sausage flavors the whole casserole wonderfully. Overall this was an awesome casserole and I recommend it!
Can I use a different type of rice? Yes. You can also use parboiled/converted rice (no changes) or jasmine rice (use ¾ cup of water instead of 1 ¼ cups).
Do I have to use the pot-in-pot method? Well you don’t have to. But I would be very nervous about getting the burn message if you try to cook it straight in the pot. For more info on the pot-in-pot method watch this youtube video.
What equipment do I need? You’ll need an oven safe dish to cook the casserole in. I used a 3 quart Instant Pot liner* inside my 6 quart Instant Pot. It works so great and I use it for the pot-in-pot method all the time. You can also use a 7 inch by 4 inch cake pan like this one*. You will also need a trivet or sling with handles to lower the pan into the pot. I like this OXO sling/trivet.* It’s the best!
More Broccoli Cheese Recipes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Instant Pot Broccoli Chicken Mac And Cheese
Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli Rice
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Broccoli Casserole
Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli Sausage Casserole
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Fresh broccoli, melty cheese, smoked sausage, a homemade creamy sauce and rice make this casserole the quintessential comfort food. An easy Instant Pot recipe with no browning or sauteing steps.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup long grain white rice
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 10 oz fresh broccoli florets (or a 10 oz bag of frozen broccoli)
- 12 oz fully cooked smoked sausage, sliced into quarter inch rounds
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup grated medium or sharp cheddar
Instructions
- In a deep oven safe dish that fits in your Instant Pot (I use this 3 quart IP liner* inside my 6 quart pot) pour in the rice and water. Layer the broccoli on top and then the sausage.
- In a bowl whisk together the mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, milk, pepper, garlic powder and salt until smooth and creamy. Spoon the mixture over the sausage. Sprinkle with the cheese.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot. Cover the dish with foil. Place dish on top of a trivet with handles*. Lower the dish into the pot on top of the trivet.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Remove the foil. Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. To make in the 8 quart pot use 1.5 cups of water in the Instant Pot liner instead of 1 cup.
- 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.
I am wanting to cook this today, but I was always taught that you don’t heat/cook dairy products, that it will go bad, according to this, I found when googling, “Adding dairy to the beginning of the cooking time of pressure cooking can cause the milk or cream to curdle or separate. It can also cause your pressure valve to get clogged as dairy will foam at a high temperature. This will mean your pressure cooker will not come to pressure as expected and will be a reason your instant pot may not seal” but yet you have it going in the beginning.. I read all the wonderful comments that your other followers have sent, and nothing was mentioned about this, but I am still nervous. I love your recipes comment about this to put my mind at ease? Thank you.
That is usually true but because this is a pot in pot dish covered with foil it works just fine
Thank you, Karen. I went ahead and tried it, and it was a hit with the family. I am glad I went ahead and brave it. 🙂
We love this recipe! Made it a few times now, each time I cook in straight in the pot for 10 mins without burning issues. Tonight I didn’t have enough cream cheese, so I used Boursin, and reduced the garlic powder to 1 tsp since there was garlic flavouring in the Boursin. Thank you for this recipe Karen!
★★★★★
That sounds so tasty! Thanks so much for the 5 stars Katie!
I made this and liked it but the 8 year old didn’t care for it. It almost seemed like the pepper and the salt measurements need switched. It was very peppery and I had to add salt to the rice after it cooked because it was very bland. Some of the rice had crunch but it was mostly done. It has potential and is really easy, but not sure if I’ll repeat.
★★★★
I made this for supper and the verdict is still out. Not sure if it’s a keeper or not. I used smoked polish sausage. The skin was rather tough but I expected that. The broccoli was awesome. I like it half cooked crunchy! My problem is I used precooked brown rice because as a diabetic white anything is not good for me. When we scooped the casserole out there was about half a cup of water remaining in the bottom the pot.
★★★
Normally I love your recipes. I followed the directions exactly. This did not cook properly, the rice was rock hard and the sauce was like milk. Good think I had leftovers, had to throw this out, not happy.
★
Sorry this happened. Can you tell me what kind of pan you used?
It was a Pyrex flat bottomed bowl.
That could be your culprit. The corningware and pyrex dishes seem to take longer than metal pans.
Thanks.
Kids loved it!! I didn’t have a container to go in the IP so I made it right in the instant pot and it worked great with a 10 min cook time, no burning. I also sprayed the pot with cooking spray before putting the water and rice in to help prevent sticking/burning. Delicious! Thank you so much for these family friendly recipes, they save dinner time at our house!!!
★★★★★
This is great to hear! So glad it worked out without the pot in pot method! Thanks for sharing!
Do you have any recommendations for a deep pot to put into an 8-quart IP for your pot-in-pot recipes? I see that you answered above that a 6-quart IP liner would get stuck, so I am looking for something to use that is similar/deep enough to hold alot of ingredients, as the 4″ deep Daddio’s cake pan I purchased seems way to shallow/small. Or would the 3-quart IP liner be big enough to make most recipes for a family of six?
I just found your site last week and have been trying a new recipe every night! My entire family of 6 LOVES every recipe so far! I am thoroughly enjoying cooking supper every night now due to how quick and easy it is and everything is SO delicious!!!! I’ve spread the word of how good your recipes are and have directed them your way. 🙂 Thank you so much for all that you do!
That 3 quart liner is your best bet! It’s large.
Thanks so much for your kind words!!!
Hi, Karen, I made this recipe and it was yummy. I used bratwurst which I am pretty sure was not precooked and it was just fine, but the next time I make this recipe I think I will precook the sausage, if necessary, just to compare. I did not have a deep enough container that was small enough in diameter to go inside the pot, so I just put everything in the Instant Pot container. I did not put foil on it which, as you mentioned in one of your comments, possibly had something to do with the broccoli being a bit overcooked, but it still tasted good since it was only one part of the casserole, not the main ingredient. I would definitely recommend this recipe.
★★★★★
Awesome! I’m glad it worked directly in the pot and you didn’t get the burn message. That was my main fear with not cooking it pot in pot. Next time I bet you could cook for only 10 minutes instead of the 20 if you cook straight in the pot.
Hi Karen! I meant to write to see how your birthday went but it never happened. No sense in making excuses. I hope that it was a memorable one and that you were treated like as a queen as you well deserve!!!
I just made this recipe tonight. Like Paula Rainey who wrote to you, I also had no vessel to insert into my IP. I did as she did and just used the pot. It never got up to temperature before the burn notice came on. It already let most of the steam out itself. I just had to wait until the pot cooled down for the pin to drop.
It never did burn, just browned. It was fully cooked and delicious! We just lost some rice on the entire bottom.
I will order the 3 quart pot to make this again since my hubby and I really enjoyed it. He added his usual cayenne pepper. : }
Thank you for another great recipe! Keep up the great work! WE sincerely appreciate it!!
Thank you so much Terri! My birthday was great!
Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe. That’s what I thought would happen. I’m glad it didn’t ruin your meal completely! You’ll use the 3 quart insert a lot!
Add some mushrooms and you have a perfect dish.
Oh yeah, I’m a huge mushroom fan!
I have the stainless stacking pots, would that work if I just used one? I don’t understand why use the ceramic pots.
Sure it would work fine as long as it is deep enough.
Wouldn’t the broccoli be over cooked I still haven’t had my broccoli the way I would like it crispy .i have done it with 0 min.
It really isn’t, surprisingly. I think by having it in the casserole dish and then the foil on top it prevents it from getting too done.
Do you know if the 6 qt Pan will fit in the 8 qt pan to do the pot in pot method?
I have heard that it won’t and that it will get stuck. For that reason I have not tried it!
Could you make this with brown rice instead?
I would try it with minute brown rice because regular brown rice takes too long and the broccoli would get overdone. Or you could make it with brown rice that has already been cooked and then leave out the water.
Can you make this without using rice? I am trying to follow a low carbohydrate diet. Should any adjustments be made? Thanks.
Yes you can. Leave out the rice and water. You can cook for less time. Probably 10 minutes with 5-10 natural pressure release.
Would you make an adjustments if not adding rice?
Leave out the rice and water. You can cook for less time. Probably 10 minutes with 5-10 natural pressure release.