Instant Pot Smoked Sausage and Cabbage—an easy all in one pot meal of smoked sausage, potatoes, onion and cabbage. Dump everything into the pot and walk away!
Related: SLOW COOKER Smoked Sausage and Cabbage recipe

Instant Pot Smoked Sausage and Cabbage
I had a reader comment about a recipe they wanted to figure out how to make in the Instant Pot. He said, “When you mentioned foil packets, it rang a bell. One of my favorites is small red potatoes halved, sliced onions, sliced sausage and cabbage, dotted with butter and salt and pepper, bake at 425 for 35 min wrapped in foil. I have been wondering how to adapt this to my Instant Pot.”
I immediately knew I would like this dish. I figured I could make it in the Instant Pot. The texture would be different than a foil packet meal baked in the oven but the flavors would still be great and the ease and quickness of the recipe would make it desirable to have often.
So I threw some broth into the bottom of the pot and then piled in the rest of ingredients. I chose a 3 minute pressure cooking time and the potatoes and cabbage were plenty soft. You could probably even use a 2 minute pressure cooking time. My version had plenty of juices at the bottom of the Instant Pot which I like to drizzle over the top of my dish.
This was a winner in my book! Next time I will add in some sliced carrots to give it a bit more color, and perhaps play around with the seasonings. I kept it super simple with just the smoked sausage and salt and pepper to season the whole dish. If you want to get a little spicy try a smoked Cajun andouille sausage.
Try these other Instant Pot recipes too!
Instant Pot Corned Beef Dinner With Mustard Sauce
Instant Pot Smoked Sausage, Green Beans And Potatoes
Instant Pot Red Beans And Rice

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Instant Pot Smoked Sausage and Cabbage
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
An easy all in one pot meal of smoked sausage, potatoes, onion and cabbage. Dump everything into the pot and walk away!
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup of sliced onions
- 1 (12 oz) package of precooked smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 1 pound (about 3 medium) yellow or red potatoes, cut into quarters
- 1 small head of cabbage, cut into chunks
- 3 Tbsp butter, cut into 6 pieces
Instructions
- Pour chicken broth into the Instant Pot. Then add in the onion slices, smoked sausage, potatoes, cabbage and finally the butter. Toss a bit and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
- Cover the pot and lock the lid into place. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Scoop into serving bowls and enjoy! Salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Optional: If you like the browned taste and look of the sausage you can brown the sausage using the saute setting. Turn the pot on the saute setting and melt 1 Tbsp of the butter. Then add sliced pieces of sausage and brown each side for 2 minutes.
Optional: After the food has cooked you can make a sauce/gravy with the remaining juices in the pot. In a small bowl stir together 1-2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- 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 used to cook this stove top how much easier this way. I also add a can of li.a beans, green bee s and some leftover ham. yummy.
Love that!
I made this with kielbasa so good with the cabbage my potatoes were the little red and purple ones in a 2 lb bag so easy ty Karen
★★★★★
Sounds perfect to me Brenda! Thanks for the 5 stars!
I thought about using those when I saw them at the store today, but wasn’t sure. I’ll have to try that way next time. thanx for sharing
This is an inexpensive and tasty meal! I used turkey smoked sausage. I will try 2 minutes of cook time next time…potatoes were too soft with 3 minutes. Added 1 tsp of Cajun seasoning before cooking- yum!
★★★★
So glad you liked it!
I hope you don’t mind folks tweaking your recipe! I liked the basic idea, but I used what I had on hand. I made some broth with Better than Bouillion (garlic), diced up a russet potato into smaller pieces (left the skins on, but I did wash them good), sliced up a link of Publix chicken Italian sausage (fully cooked already), and I thought I had a frozen, diced onion, but it turned out to be diced fennel bulb! But I did cut up a half of a small head of cabbage into chunks! 😆
I loved how it came out! I did 3 minutes, and I really liked how the cabbage and potatoes came out! The sausage was heated through, and the diced fennel added some nice flavor. The garlic broth worked well, too!
Oh – one addition that I made was a light sprinkle of red chili flakes before cooking. Just a bit of heat.
★★★★★
Love the idea of red chili flakes! Thanks for the 5 stars!
This is my go to cabbage recipe. I’ve tried several others on Pinterest and this is THE best! Easy, fast, simple ingredients, and just DELICIOUS. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Julie for the 5 star review!
did I miss the temp somewhere? I have it loaded and ready to go, but know what temp 🤦♀️ hmm.
High pressure 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight.. delicious.
★★★★★
So glad to hear it Misti!
Delicious Karen! Thanks for all your great recipes.
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars!
This was wonderful! I made it tonight and all enjoyed it. I made it exactly as it was presented, although did add some mirepoix I’d gotten at Walmart, just to use it up. Delicious, and Thank You!
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Linda!
Now this is a recipe I could prep. If so what is the storage time in the fridge and/or freezer?
Thanks
George
Up to a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer 🙂
Thank you for the recipe!! I’ve made this several times and my husband loves it! Super easy and yummy!
★★★★★
Wonderful. So fast but SO good
.Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
★★★★★
You’re welcome Corinne!
My husband loves this!! Thanks for a great recipe. It’s going on repeat!
★★★★★
So glad to hear it Kris!
This used to be a favorite dish on the stovetop, but I got a pot of a wet mess. I’m chalking this up to using an 8qt IP. Any idea of timing changes?
★★★
Oh shoot! Sorry to hear that. I am not sure why the 8 quart would make a difference.
I’ve made this almost weekly for months now, so I feel I should leave my review! I love this! I do the dump-and-run, as opposed to browning the sausage. It’s just so easy!
I’ve evolved it a bit as follows: Add about 1 TBS of ground mustard powder and about 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, as well as solid 3/4 tsp of black pepper. I have reduced the potatoes to 12 oz and doubled the sausage (2 packs). Yum!
When serving, I add a dollop of dijon mustard and YUM!
Thanks so much!
Bonnie
★★★★★
Love that idea of dijon! Sounds terrific! Thanks!
My husband and I absolutely loved this recipe. I always ask him to rate a new recipe from 1 to 10. This got a solid 9 from him. (He doesn’t give his 10’s lightly). We’ll be having this often.
★★★★★
Wow! I’ll take a 9! Haha that’s great!
Loved that this is a dump and go recipe, for those times when time is of the essence, but I do like to brown the sausage first and saute the onions with garlic before recombining with other ingredients. Because of heart condition, I steer clear of adding salt, so instead of traditional seasoning, I generously sprinkled Mrs. Dash over the ingredients before setting top on my Instant Pot. Loved it, and thank you for a great and easy recipe. Think I’ll try those caraway seeds — just wonder how much to use.
Being diabetic, I noticed an earlier question. When serving, figure by weight or size how many carb grams are allowed, as well as protein, and serve accordingly from visual estimation of potatoes and sausage. I’m of the old school when protein, carb and fat “exchanges” were used instead of figuring carbs, and I get two bread exchanges, one meat exchange, and one pat of butter (this will take me over my fat allowance, but OK if not abused and done daily) for my supper on a 1200 calorie diet. That’s two medium sized potatoes and 3 oz. meat, plus the butter. The cabbage is almost a freebie when it comes to carbs, and a few carrots wouldn’t hurt, either. Serve with a nice salad and drink of choice and enjoy!
★★★★★
Thanks for your tips!
could you eliminate the butter to help with lowering the fat allowance? I use to do this recipe in
the crock pot but now that I have IP that is the only way to go….
Sure!
Oh my gosh… I’m sitting here with an empty plate in front of me stunned with how delicious this recipe is! This is straight away a favourite of mine. Everything was cooked perfectly. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
YES! So glad to hear it. Thanks for the review.
Another delicious recipe Karen! I added garlic and mushrooms And sauteed them with the onion and sausage, then added the rest. Sprinkled Creole season on top for a little heat.
I was worried that 1 cup of chicken broth wouldn’t be enough with all of the extra veggies But it was fine. Used a corn starch slurry at the end. Fabulous and quick!
My cookbook should be here today….I’m psyched!
Thanks again 🙂
★★★★★
Oooops! Also added baby carrots. So good! 😋
Thanks Carrie Anne! I hope you like it!
So simple and easy, quick and absolutely delish! Would do it again and recommend! Easy to make vegan too with beans or mushrooms instead of sausage. Thank you!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Lesli!
I really enjoyed this recipe. Reminded me a bit of something that my mom used to make. ❤
I also browned the sausage (I used a chicken and apple sausage) and onions prior to adding the other ingredients, being sure to add the liquid to the bottom, scraping up any brown bits. I didn’t find it bland as someone else had mentuoned. Oh, I also added baby carrots that someone else did.
★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it Kathlyn!
This recipe is astonishingly easy for a recipe that is so delicious. With a sharp knife, a good cutting board, and your computer propped up with the recipe available, you can have dinner ready to go in 10 minutes. Most of the time in cooking this recipe is the Instant Pot heating up. I served it with some dijon mustard on the side. A++
★★★★★
Love the idea of dijon mustard!
The entire head of cabbage snd potatoes cooked completely in 3 min with 10 min release time? Seems like it would need more time than that. lol. Just double checking. Making this tonight! Thx 🙂
Yes it did!
I LOVE how easy this is! I made this recipe in an electric skillet but sliced the potatoes, shredded the cabbage and added grated parmesan on top. Took 45 minutes at least! I am SO grateful for this recipe!! So quick and so delicious! I prefer this to the other recipe and so does my father-in-law who is a picky eater. He had seconds which is unheard of. Thank you!
★★★★★
So happy to hear that you and your father-in-law even enjoyed it!
Could butternut or sweet potatoes be a good substitute for potatoes?
Yes that would be great. They do seem to get soft quick so I would cut them into larger chunks.
I added 5 cloves of garlic. It was so delicious. Couldn’t believe it was cabbage.
★★★★★
Cabbage is actually good! haha!
I made this tonight & it was good, but a little bland. Based in another recipe, I cooked it for 6 minutes, hit stop & immediately vented it. Next time I will try 5 minutes. I will also omit the onions next time as you couldn’t taste them at all. I will also add seasonings next time to give it a bit more flavor. I love cooked cabbage and overall this was super quick & easy.
★★★★
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I also always add caraway seeds and a bit of red pepper flakes.
Sounds perfect!
Another one to add to the rotation. I used more potatoes and sausage and added carrots which meant lots of leftovers. So I made soup the next day with the leftovers and the liquid left in the pot. Just needed to cut the veggies into bite-sized pieces, add a little more water, and heat it up. Very tasty and my son liked it better than the original. Thanks Karen for an easy (and even easier) dinner.
★★★★★
That’s a great idea!!
This was delicious! I added baby carrots and sprinkled Tony Chachere creole seasonIng over the top before cooking. My family loved it! I will be making it again soon!
★★★★★
That seasoning sounds so great! Will have to try soon
A bit of a throwback to my time in Croatia in 2017. The dollar-to-kuna currency exchange ratio worked very nicely in an US tourists’ favor (a rarity in my line of work), and myself and the guys always ate well there. But once and while I’d delve into the cheaper sections of the menu. This dish (“Kobasica i Kupus”) was always a very tasty and inexpensive offering, esp. as a hangover cure.
With this recipe I added paprika and ground carraway to the mix to give it a Hungarian flair (neither unheard of, considering Croatia’s history).
Very tasty, thank you!
★★★★★
Did you love Croatia? I did a Crotia running series on my treadmill and it was so beautiful.
Lol, Karen! you got me again. Every time I click on link in email, it is 20 min lost, worse than Facebook. This recipe is almost exact what my mom was making when I was a kid. Brown pork, add some onion, add some carrots, add some potatoes and some cabbage on top. Salt, pepper, dill seeds, garlic and water. Cook until potatoes fork tender and try not to stir much. Serve with crusty bread a dollop of sour cream. I tried in IP, but it is just not the same. I think frying meat and cabbage at the bottom will do the trick. I will go try now. Thank you!
Haha Olga! Thanks for coming!
My wife is a diabetic, what is the serving size?
It’s just 1/6 of the pot. Sorry it’s not more helpful than that!
this was my first instant pot recipe on my new 7 in 1, the same that you have. I did the recipe exactly the same except I added a boat load of Tajin seasoning to it and it’s really good.
★★★★★
Yum! That sounds like a great idea!
I made this tonight with some homemade cornbread! It was delicious! I did brown my sausage. I would definitely make this again!😊
★★★★★
Cornbread sounds like a perfect idea to serve with this! 😊
I usually put it in foil packs and grill or put in the oven. I make fried cabbage a lot as well. I’m going to use my IP and brown the sausage and onion with butter and minced garlic. I’m also going to add skinless chicken thighs. I will cook them first and then add the rest to finish out the recipe. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Yum sounds like a winner to me!
Excellent flavor and so easy!!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Kim!
I am going to make this sometimes
It’s good!
I’m going to try this recipe this evening and add caraway and an apple. I usually put apple in my sauerkraut so should be good with the cabbage. I’ll let you know. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
I tried the recipe this evening but didn’t have space in the IP to add an apple. It was filled a bit higher than the “fill line.” So I didn’t get a chance to try it with apple, but the recipe as you have written it (plus some baby carrots) was amazing. I’ll be making this again (and again and again)!
While not recommending to do it, when cooking cabbage like this in my Instant pot I fill it all the way to the top. It will settle down pretty fast when the steam hit it.
Sounds so tasty!
I made this recipe with andouille sausage and it was yummy! Can’t wait for leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
★★★★★
I like the leftovers even better!
It was good. I browned the sausage first and added the onions next and sauteed for a minute or so before adding the rest of the ingredients. Served beer bread on the side.
★★★★★
Sounds like a great dinner!
Absolutely delicious! And so quick, easy and cheap!! My favorite elements in a recipe!
Thanks again for yet another winner!!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Liz!
It looks really great. I want to do this. Thanks.
You’re welcome!
Same cooking time if using frozen sausage?? This sounds perfect for tonight!!
yes, as long as they are sliced
I have been making this recipe on stove top for almost 50 years and my mother 50 years before that. It has Polish Ukraine roots. With the acquisition of the Instant Pot Four years ago I have been making it better and more often.
How fun! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you SOOOOO much for posting this recipe for IP. This is my husband’s very favorite meal & being able to “dump & go” in my IP is making me a very happy camper! And if I’m happy, HE will be happy!
I hope you both love it!
I really like to add caraway seed when I make this dish! Thanks for converting for the Instant Pot will make this tonight!
Oh yes caraway seed would give it wonderful flavor! Thanks for the suggestion.
Yes! I was wondering what seasoning to add. I was going to ask her in a response. I’m just not very good at making things up with seasoning. (Which is why I get emailed recipes! Lol)
Hi Karen! What other kind of seasonings would you suggest? I was thinking fennel maybe? I’m not very good at just winging seasonings…..thanks for your help!
My family likes spice so I sprinkle in some Cayenne Pepper and Crushed Red Pepper. I also like to sprinkle some Texas Pete on it right before eating it.
★★★★★
Looks great and will make it. Will defiantly brown the sausage a bit. What spices would you recommend adding if you were to do it again?
Midge suggested caraway seed and I think that is a great suggestion. I always go for garlic and onion powder. My go tos!
FWIW caraway IS an excellent seasoning to help curb gas with cabbage dishes.
Fennel too – that’s why I add the latter to my version of your cabbage roll casserole, Karen. But caraway would keep this sausage and cabbage dish more traditionally flavoured. Fennel tends to take things to the Mediterranean for my tastebuds (weird me, I like my cabbage rolls with Italian seasoning too).
Here to less ‘poof’ with the cruciferous toothsomeness. 😉
Thanks for the tip 😉
I have a recipe I would like converted if you can, it is my favorite. Here it is in a nutshell. Sauté 1c of onion and 1 cup of celery. Add 1 pkg hotdogs cut into small pieces. Mix a can of bean and bacon soup with 1/2 cup catsup and 2 cans of water add in 7 oz of dry macaroni. Can’t ver and cook til water is absorbed.
the bean and bacon soup is that condensed soup?
This was awesome!! I added both fennel and caraway seeds which gave it a bit more depth. We will for sure be making this again.
★★★★★
👏👏👏
I love this recipe. I have made it a lot. Loved it so much i gave the ingredients to my neighbour to make sure she would try it . Keep up the great work. Your recipes make my day during this pandemic.
Ahhh, thanks Elizabeth!
This recipe you asked Karen to convert caught my attention… and wonder if this had been converted? How it turned out in comparison to the recipe you make?
★★★★★