Instant Pot Tennessee Sausage Cheese Dip—better than just the typical Velveeta Rotel Dip! This dip adds something more with sausage and a secret ingredient. Beware it’s super addicting!
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Tennessee Sausage Cheese Dip
When I first came across this recipe for Tennessee Sausage N’ Cheese Dip I was skeptical. Why would I add a packet of pork gravy mix to a cheese dip? That sounds weird. Turns out I was dead wrong. This dip is the bomb and will officially take the place of the sausage queso dip. You can make this dip in your Instant Pot or slow cooker and it makes the perfect serving vessel since it keeps the dip nice and warm.
What you’ll need to make Instant Pot Tennessee Sausage Cheese Dip
You only need 6 ingredients to make this dip! It’s so fast and easy. From start to finish this dip only takes 20 minutes.
- ½ pound ground pork sausage: I used the store brand of country sausage and it worked perfectly. If you’d like to go heavy on the meat then use an entire pound instead of just half a pound.
- 1 cup milk: This will help thin out the dip so it’s not so thick. You can go more or less on the milk depending on how thick you want the dip.
- 1 (.87 oz) package McCormick Pork Gravy Mix: This brings the dip to a whole new level. Look for it next to the other gravy packets at your store. I haven’t tried this recipe with any other type of gravy so I can’t say for sure how it would affect the flavor.
- 10 oz Velveeta, cubed: I bought the smallest container of Velveeta at the grocery store and it was 16 ounces. I used the other part of the Velveeta for the Lunch Lady Casserole.
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced fire roasted tomatoes: The fire roasted tomatoes give a big boost of flavor to the dip! You can also use regular diced tomatoes but it won’t be as flavorful.
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles: Another flavor booster, try mild or hot depending on your preference.
How to make Instant Pot Tennessee Sausage Cheese Dip
For this recipe you actually won’t be using the pressure cook function of your pot. Even though this dip doesn’t come to pressure I still like using my Instant Pot because it’s the perfect vessel to serve the dip out of since it keeps everything at the perfect temperature. You can also make this dip on the stove in a dutch oven on heavy bottomed sauce pan.
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté (MORE) setting. If you don’t know how to change the sauté setting to “more” it depends on the model of your Instant Pot. Some use the “adjust” button and some allow you just to press sauté again to cycle through LESS, NORMAL and MORE. When display says HOT add in the sausage and break it up*. Brown for about 5 minutes and then drain off any excess grease.
- Add in the milk and the gravy mix and scrape the bottom of the pot so that all the browned bits are released. Once the gravy starts boiling turn the sauté setting to LESS and let it simmer 2 minutes.
- Stir in the Velveeta, tomatoes and green chiles until cheese is melted. This will take another 2-3 minutes. Using cubes of Velveeta will help it melt quicker than if it is in one big lump.
- Turn Instant Pot to the KEEP WARM setting and serve dip straight out of Instant Pot. The Instant Pot will keep the dip warm. Serve dip with tortilla chips.
More Amazing Dip Recipes…
- Instant Pot Mississippi Sin Dip
- Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Instant Pot Crab Dip
- Arkansas Cheese Dip
- Instant Pot Texas Caviar
- Slow Cooker Taco Dip

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Instant Pot Tennessee Sausage Cheese Dip
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Description
Better than just the typical Velveeta Rotel Dip! This dip adds something more with sausage and a secret ingredient.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground pork sausage
- 1 cup milk
- 1 (.87 oz) package McCormick Pork Gravy Mix
- 10 oz Velveeta, cubed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté (MORE) setting. When display says hot add in the sausage and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.
- Add in the milk and the gravy mix and scrape the bottom of the pot so that all the browned bits are released. Once the gravy starts boiling turn the sauté setting to LESS and let it simmer 2 minutes.
- Stir in the Velveeta, tomatoes and green chiles until cheese is melted.
- Turn Instant Pot to KEEP WARM setting and serve dip straight out of Instant Pot. The Instant Pot will keep the dip warm. Serve dip with tortilla chips.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Place raw sausage in the bottom of a 3-5 quart slow cooker. Use a spoon to break it up.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 2-4 hours or on HIGH for 1 1/2-2 hours (depending on how hot your slow cooker cooks), or until the sausage is cooked through. Drain off any grease.
- Add in the gravy mix, milk, Velveeta, tomatoes and green chiles. Stir and then cover and cook on high for 30 minutes.
- Stir until creamy and then turn slow cooker to WARM setting. Serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
I used my 3 quart Instant Pot* which was the perfect size for cooking the dip and serving out of.
Leftover Velveeta? Try making Lunch Lady Casserole with the leftovers.
- Category: Dip
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*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.
Would it work to make this in an instant pot 3 qt liner, placed inside the 6 qt instant pot and then to continue following the directions as written?
Yes with water underneath and a trivet