Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder—a colorful and flavorful summer chowder with garlic, smoked sausage, parmesan cheese, corn, potatoes, green beans and carrots. Your whole family will love this soup!
Get the SLOW COOKER Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder recipe here

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder
Is it time for soup yet? No? Well this is chowder, so does that count? This summer chowder is so colorful and flavorful, you’re really going to love it. I loved the purple, red and yellow potatoes, the yellow corn, the green beans and the orange carrots. Plus I loved how there was no sauteing or browning. It took just a few minutes to get started.
Here are a few notes about the ingredients I used:
Potatoes: I found a bag of mini colorful potatoes at Walmart. They were in a mesh bag that had red, purple and yellow potatoes. If you can’t find these potatoes then just use a pound of red potatoes and cut them into chunks. I love the color that the potatoes add to the chowder.
Sausage: I used Hillshire Farms Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage that I purchased from Smith’s (Kroger). You can also use regular smoked sausage.
Baby Carrots: For sake of easy I just threw in half a bag of baby carrots. But you can peel and cut large carrots if you prefer. I would cut them into fairly large chunks so they don’t get too soft.
Corn: I just threw in a cup of frozen corn. But if you have a can of corn just drain it and throw the corn in.
Green Beans: I used low sodium canned green beans. You can use fresh green beans too. Just wash, trim and slice them in half. Then add them in at the same time as the corn. Let them just sit on top of the corn. They’ll cook and get fairly soft.
Half and half: Half and half is just half cream and half whole milk. You can also use milk, cream or even evaporated milk.
Parmesan Cheese: I used pre-grated parmesan cheese that I buy in a big bag from Costco. You can also grate it yourself or use the stuff from the green can. I like to take my inner pot out of the Instant Pot before adding the parmesan cheese. That way the parmesan cheese doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot as much.

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Instant Pot Green Chile Chicken Orzo Soup
Instant Pot Mexican Corn Chowder
Instant Pot Mexican Street Corn Soup
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
A colorful and flavorful summer chowder with garlic, smoked sausage, parmesan cheese, corn, potatoes, green beans and carrots. Your whole family will love this soup!
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound mini colorful potatoes (see note)
- 1 (12 oz) package of smoked sausage, sliced thinly (I used smoked chicken sausage)
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 1 cup diced onion
- 8 oz baby carrots (or you can cut 3–4 large carrots)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup frozen corn or 1 can of corn, drained
- 1 (14 oz) can green beans, drained
- 2/3 cup half and half (you can also use milk or cream)
- 4 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add broth, potatoes, sausage, celery, onion, carrots, garlic powder, parsley, thyme, pepper, salt and corn to the Instant Pot.
- Cover and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. Let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the green beans. In a small bowl stir together the half and half and the cornstarch together until very smooth. Stir a few tablespoons of hot soup into the mixture. This will help prevent curdling. Then add the mixture into the Instant Pot. Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting. In a few minutes your soup will thicken a bit.
- Unplug the pot and then add in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve the chowder and enjoy!
Notes
Potatoes: I found a bag of mini colorful potatoes at Walmart. They were in a mesh bag that had red, purple and yellow potatoes. If you can’t find these potatoes then just use a pound of red potatoes and cut them into chunks. I like the color that the potatoes add to the chowder.
- Category: Soup
- 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.
We all REALLY likes this. Hearty and tasty. Perfect for a cozy winter meal!
★★★★★
Yay!!
Would I need to make any changes if I subbed frozen green beans for the canned? This looks so good!
You will probably just need a couple more minutes to cook them at the end as the chowder thickens up. Should not be a problem at all.
***** Made this Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder when you had it in an e-mail with Instant Pot Chicken Corn Chowder and Instant Pot Cheesy Ham Chowder the week of 2/9/2020. I made all 3 that week and they were all really good and easy. My favorite was the Chicken Corn Chowder, maybe because of the 8 oz, of cream cheese. I shared some with my son for his work lunches and I ate or froze the rest in individual servings.
Really, really good and easy!! If it is an e-mail from you I know I am going to like the food…recipes easy to follow, easy to prepare, great taste!
Thank You.
★★★★★
HAha! I love this Vickie! Glad you liked them and I agree with cream cheese. It makes everything better!
Hi, Karen. Please tell me: when pressing the Pressure button and choosing the 3 minute time, do I also need to change the pressure option from Normal to More (or Less)?
I keep my pressure level on high. Watch this video it will help you! https://youtu.be/EJd6dC5d62U
Thank you kindly!
By the way, your recipe is perfect for me and my family. I just made the chowder and, whaddayaknow, it disappeared within an hour. 🙂
★★★★★
Nice! I love that 🙂
Made this the other day and it was so good, I’ll be making it for my card folks on Thursday. Thanks for sharing all these good recipes, and helping me get used to (and enjoying) the InstantPot!
Hi Charlotte, so glad you are enjoying the recipes! Have fun playing cards!
My family loved this soup and it’s so easy to make! Thanks for another great recipe.
Glad you all liked it Will!
For your recipes do you need to add more broth/liquid for all of them if you are using an 8 quart instant pot?
No. Not necessarily. Read this article: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
Turned out great. Followed exactly as written.
★★★★★
Glad to hear! I love this one too.
We just finished it, and it looked exactly like the picture! This was SO simple, and FAST. I made it for company and it went over like gangbusters. Thank you so much!
Don’t you just love that?! Such a good feeling 🙂
Do I chop those potatoes?
l left mine whole. They are pretty small.
Could I freeze some😘?
yes I think it would be good frozen
It’s in the Pot right now !! I can hardly wait. My husband broke a big tooth and the earliest dental appointment we can get, is a week away. So I have been cooking soft food. Only I do not have any canned or frozen green beans, so will substitute green peas. I love soup. So does my Mom, so if the soup turns out, I will take her some tomorrow. Thanks for the recipes.
Oh shoot! I hope he is not in too much pain.
I have made this several times and it’s always amazing, thank you for a great cozy recipe!
★★★★★
I’m glad to hear it! Thanks for the 5 stars Jackie 🙂
If I double or triple the recipe will it still fit in a 6qt?
I bet you could 1 1/2 times the recipe and perhaps double it. I don’t think you could triple it. Make sure you don’t go over 2/3 full. And I would use a natural pressure release if it’s that full.
I don’t have a reliable instant pot right now, can I use a slow cooker?
Here is the slow cooker version: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/slow-cooker-garlic-parmesan-sausage-chowder/
Instead of half and half, could I substitute a block of cream cheese?
Yes that would be delicious.
You have really done it this time! I am so excited to try this soup!
Years ago, I worked at BoysTown and the kids cook dinner. One of them made a soup that looked exactly like this one!
I have thought about it from time to time, and thought about that kid as well.
They say that food can bring you he to places and memories and this one does that for me!
That’s nice to hear Colleen! I agree with you about the memories!