Instant Pot Smoked Sausage with Parmesan and Orzo–smoked sausage, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, orzo and parmesan cheese cooked quickly in your pressure cooker. This meal is loaded with flavor and is a dump and go one pot meal.
Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here
Instant Pot Smoked Sausage with Parmesan and Orzo
What a great meal! The flavors in this dish blend together so well. The veggies and the sausage are the star of the dish and the orzo just stands quietly in the background. This is a meal that you chop everything up and throw it in the pot, walk away for a few minutes and come back to a delicious dinner. You’ll just have a cutting board, knife and pot to wash. Not bad, not bad!
Ingredient notes:
I used beef smoked sausage. You really can use whatever type of cured sausage that you want. Kielbasa, cajun, chicken sausage with spinach and cheese, etc.
The mushrooms that I picked out at the store were small white button mushrooms. I quartered them which I really thought was fun instead of sliced mushrooms.
I used a normal can of diced tomatoes but I think if you wanted to infuse even more flavor into this dish you could use fire roasted tomatoes.
Recommendations
I’ve made this dish with both red and green peppers. They are both tasty. Use what you prefer.
More Instant Pot pasta recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Italian Sausage Tortellini
Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Parmesan Pasta
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Smoked Sausage with Parmesan and Orzo 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 Smoked Sausage with Parmesan and Orzo
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–5 servings 1x
Description
Smoked sausage, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, orzo and parmesan cheese cooked quickly in your pressure cooker. This meal is loaded with flavor and is a dump and go one pot meal.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces quartered mushrooms
- 1 (12 ounce) package smoked sausage, sliced into quarter inch rounds
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- 1 ¼ cup water
- 1 red or green bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, with juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Evenly layer the mushrooms and smoked sausage in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the orzo evenly and then pour in the water. Then evenly add in the peppers, diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, onion powder, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Don’t stir.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute on high pressure. When the time is up perform a quick release by moving the valve to venting.
- Stir. It will be a little runny at first but then thicken up.
- Scoop onto serving dishes and top each dish with 2 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese.
Notes
The peppers get a little soft even with just a 1 minute cooking time. If you want them semi-cooked (not soft not crisp) you can place them in a foil packet and then place the packet on top of the ingredients. After the food has cooked open the packet and stir the diced peppers into the pasta.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
*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.
Another favorite! I made a few changes that I thought I’d share…not a fan of smoked sausage and I usually have the bulk Costco raw Italian sausage links on hand. Used one package of Italian sausage (about 5 links). Pulled them out of the casing and browned until mostly cooked and in chunks, about size of a nickel. I’ve made it with sausage still in the casing too- cut it into slices and browned two minutes each side, but like it better crumbled. Because we are big eaters and I never know what to do with leftover pasta in the box, I used a whole box of orzo. I upped the water to two cups and the time to two minutes. Perfect al dente orzo, it wasn’t soupy, and the flavor was huge! Even my picky eater ate it…
★★★★★
Sounds like a winning dinner!
Did you alter this before I found it? Because this is a staple in my house and I have never had the burn notice
I think that I did alter it. Now the mushrooms and smoked sausage go on the bottom which helps!
Another super delicious meal by Karen. Follow the recipe without any change. See photo:
https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/04b5027f-d1c7-4e8c-4a5f-6449881cff32
★★★★★
It looks so great! I love that you are sharing all the pictures with me.
What can I use substitute the orzo? Rice? Couscous?
White rice should work fine! Use a 5 minute pressure cook time with a 10 minute NPR.
I love when my husband makes italian sausage in the IP. We would like to try this using italian sausage. Should we cook the sausage first? This looks so delicious.. Thank you
Yes I’d brown the sausage first with the saute setting. Then drain off any excess grease.
How long if using whole wheat orzo? Thank you
I would keep the same cooking time 🙂
What do you recommend if I want to use uncooked sausages?
I would brown them a bit before cooking the orzo.
We have a mushroom allergy…any suggested substitutions that won’t change any of the other factors?
I’m not sure…you may want to try this recipe instead: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-garlic-chicken-sausage-orzo/
Again, a winner! Was delicious and fast. Thanks.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
I made it as I it turned out wonderful just wondered if I could add some raw shrimp along with sausage or chicken thighs it up and unthawed. Your thoughts
Chicken cut up would work. The shrimp might get overdone. You may want to add it in after the pressure cooking time is up and use the saute button.
Ok I’ll see what I can do. Thanks so much !
This is a great recipe. Really enjoyed it. If I add chicken thighs how does this change cooking directions?
★★★★★
hi Karen! made this last night and my husband (meat & potatoes only) who doesn’t like anything new, really liked it! having for supper tonight. should taste better being a leftover.
★★★★★
Nice to hear this! I love it when I can make picky people happy 🙂
This was delicious. I only used 6 oz. of smoked sausage, and it was substantial. Used canned mushrooms since I didn’t have any fresh ones. I used 5 mini peppers (red, yellow and orange) in place of the bell pepper. The spices were just the right amount. Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Yum I like the sound of that!
I was just going to ask about canned mushrooms! Awesome to hear it worked:)
The addition of baby spinach at the end made it even better.
★★★★★
If you double the recipe do you need to add time to the clock?
No. Keep the time the same. In fact sometimes you subtract time.
What would you do differently for an 8qt pot?
I’d probably double the recipe.
Made this in my 6 qt IP and it turned out great! Thanks for another yummy recipe:)
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!
I am so excited to make this next week! Sounds great! 1 minute is enough to cook the orzo?
yes by the time the pot reaches pressure the orzo is almost cooked 🙂
I need to double the recipe too and was going to use 2 cups orzo but keep the other ingredients the same except the water – would I double the water to 2 1/2 cups? I just don’t want it to end up too watery.
Yes double the water.
This turned out great! I doubled the recipe because there are 6 of us and most teenagers! I just doubled the water and the orzo and it turned out yummy!
★★★★★
GREAT! Glad to hear.
Smoked sausage, meaning cured (pre-cooked)?
yep exactly
I want to double or triple the recipe. How much water should I use?
Double or triple the water. It’s used to cook the orzo.
I am not new to the Instant Pot. I have an 8 quart and it is wonderful. When I read this recipe the first thing that came to mind, other than the ease of it, was that dreaded ‘burn notice’. And .. I was correct. It was about 5 minutes into the start of coming to pressure, the IP beeped, and there was that ‘burn’! Having no choice I opened the top and had to attempt to scrape the orzo now hopelessly stuck to the bottom of the pot, which even my stainless steel spoon and a heavy hand couldn’t accomplish. Everything now being mixed together due to my scraping, was sure to bring another ‘burn notice’ if not more. Second ‘burn’ popped up, scraped the bottom again, but still could not remove all the orzo sticking to the bottom. If I make this again, the orzo will not go on the bottom because with the weight of the other ingredients on top, there was no doubt in my mind the orzo would stick and create that ‘burn’. By the time my IP went into its fifth burn notice, the orzo seemed to be cooked al dente. I switched from pressure cook to slow cook low, just to give the orzo a few more minutes to cook. All this said .. in the end, the flavor of was quite good. I will make it again but with some changes…like perhaps using cooked orzo to start.
★★★
You remembered to put the water in first, right?
I wonder if you increased the amount of water it would help??
I want to try this recipe, but a bit skepticle now!!
You can also try it pot in pot method if you’re nervous!
Pot in pot is probably a good idea. I have been using the IP for long enough that I just take things in stride, and have learned what to do in most circumstances .. like the burn notice. I actually laughed when it appeared because I was quite sure that was what would happen. However, your recipe was great tasting, and I will make it again for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.
I did remember to put in the water first, and somehow I don’t think additional water would have helped other than to have made the orzo really mushy. As I wrote, the orzo was cooked after the fifth burn notice, so it all worked out. I wouldn’t toss the recipe just because the orzo stuck to the bottom because the taste was great.
Did you stir it? If so that was probably the problem since tomatoes will burn if they touch the bottom.
So I tried this recipe. I left out the mushrooms and added 1tsp of cayenne pepper. I also upped the water to 1 1/2 cups. Turned out amazing and had a nice kick to it.
★★★★
Glad to hear!
How long cook time for pot in pot for this? Same amt of water??
I’d do the same amount of water and I’d use 10 minutes without a lid on the pip.
I followed the recipe exactly as shown and I also got the dreaded ‘burn notice’ so I was happy to see Karen’s comments. I would love to try this again because it did taste so good but I will hold the orzo off until the end. I used a Cajun andouille sausage which added a delightful bit of spice to the dish.
Stink! I’m sorry it didn’t work out.
I made this tonight and while I didn’t get the burn indicator (I never have!) it eventually started the countdown without coming to pressure. The orzo was stuck/burnt to the bottom of the pot, just like Karen. I tried it twice and then just cooked it a bit more on saute.
I subbed zucchini for the bell pepper (hubby can’t eat those). Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. No stirring happened before.
I did do the chopping of ingredients just before putting them in, so maybe the extra minutes of the orzo sitting in the water caused the problem? We really liked it so I’ll try it again and maybe this time have everything ready to plop in the pan before adding the rice.
DANG! Sorry yours didn’t turn out. I’m thinking I need to redo this recipe as pot in pot.
Karen,
I think the name if fine & it sounds yummy. Am going to pick up a couple of the ingredients I’m missing & make it tomorrow!
Thank you for another great recipe!
Luckily I had everything to make it again today. I went shopping yesterday and loaded up on all the produce in the store 🙂