This Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers with Sausage recipe is a huge time-saver recipe because we are utilizing our pressure cooker. Using an Instant Pot dramatically cuts down on cook time making these sausage stuffed peppers ready in under 30 minutes! Filled with sausage, rice, tomatoes and topped with cheese, this is a recipe you will make over and over again.
I remember my mom making our family stuffed peppers when I was a kid. It was a process and usually took a long time before they were done. Some of us don’t have the patience for that! If that is you, you are going to love this Instant Pot recipe!
These pressure cooker stuffed bell peppers only take 7 minutes to cook, with the 5 minute natural release and the time it takes for the pressure cooker to come to pressure, these sausage stuffed peppers can be on your table in about 30 minutes. Serve it with a side of Brussels Sprouts or green beans for a full meal!
What Ingredients Do you Need for Sausage Stuffed Peppers?
- Bell Peppers – You can use any color of peppers you want. My favorite is a red bell pepper because it gives the dish a tinge of sweetness.
- Rice – You will need to prepare the rice ahead of time according to the package instructions. You could also use leftover rice. I personally love making my rice in my Instant Pot.
- Sausage – I used ground sausage for this recipe but you could easily substitute ground beef, chicken or turkey instead. If you are wanting to make this Vegetarian you could just leave the protein out and add extra rice or you could substitute chopped mushrooms or use ground tofu.
- Diced Tomatoes – Canned tomatoes is the way to go for this quick recipe. We love using the ones that have the Italian spices mixed in. It gives it a little more flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce – You could substitute soy sauce for Worcestershire sauce but I don’t think it tastes as good.
- Mozzarella Cheese – I love Mozzarella with this recipe but for a little spicy kick you could try some pepper jack.
- Garlic Powder – If you don’t have garlic powder you can use a fresh clove of diced garlic instead.
Can You Make Stuffed Peppers with Uncooked Rice or Without Rice?
The short answer is no.
Raw rice won’t get the moisture it needs from the sausage mixture to fully cook. You could probably have some success with uncooked minute rice but I would recommend using leftover rice or cooking your rice ahead of time.
Cooking Time for Stuffed Peppers
Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker – I precooked my sausage so the cook time is only 3 minutes on high pressure. For uncooked meat cook on high pressure for 8 minutes and let naturally release for 5 minutes. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the peppers. These directions are for medium sized bell peppers.
Crockpot or Slow Cooker – Cook on High for 3 to 4 hours or on Low for 6 to 7 hours.
Standard Oven – Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and cook for about an hour, until the sausage is cooked through and the peppers are soft but not mushy.
How do I make Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers?
In a large bowl, combine rice, sausage, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut the tops off of the peppers and discard. Scoop out the seeds and flesh and discard. Fill each pepper with rice and sausage mixture.
Place 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot with the trivet. Add peppers, setting them on the trivet. Place the lid on the instant pot and seal shut. Close the pressure release valve. Set the instant pot to manual, high pressure for 3 minutes.
When cooking is complete, let steam naturally release for 5 minutes. Open the pot. Carefully sprinkle each pepper with cheese and place the lid back on the pot. Let set for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers with Sausage
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry rice cooked according to package directions
- 1/2 lb ground sausage cooked and drained of grease
- 1 can 14.5 oz, Italian style diced tomatoes (tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano) drained
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- 3 large peppers any color
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine rice, sausage, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the tops off of the peppers and discard. Scoop out the seeds and flesh and discard. Fill each pepper with rice and sausage mixture.
- Place 1 cup of water into the instant pot with the trivet. Add peppers, setting them on the trivet. Place the lid on the instant pot and seal shut. Close the pressure release valve. Set the instant pot to manual, high pressure for 3 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, let steam naturally release for 5 minutes. Open the pot. Carefully sprinkle each pepper with cheese and place the lid back on the pot. Let set for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Related Recipes: Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken, Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli, Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna
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Deb says
Very delicious recipe, the instant pot directions worked perfectly! I did use ground beef instead of sausage, but added a little fennel.
Mom says
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Annette Specht says
Just made this tonight, used rice a roni inplace of the rice, and ground sausage italian meatballs for the sausage, its good, but are the shells of the peppers supposed to be tender? or kinda crisp enough to eat? Ours was not tender. What did i do wrong?
Mom says
They should be tender enough to eat but still firm enough to hold its shape. I would add an additional minute or two to your pressure time i they were not tender enough.