Instant Pot Sausage and White Beans is total comfort food! Cook the beans from dry, no need to soak them. This is a smoky, flavorful, thick, rich pot of beans. You can even add some spinach or kale to bump up the nutrition. These pressure cooker sausage and beans recipe is a one-pot wonder!
Originally published 1/22/2018
Instant Pot Sausage and White Beans
I never get tired of eating beans, and cooking beans in the Instant Pot is truly a pleasure! They cook so much faster than any other method. If all I used this pressure cooker for was beans, it would still be worth it!
In this recipe for Instant Pot Sausage and White Beans I like to use kielbasa, for the smoky flavor. This sausage flavors the beans perfectly.
Adding fresh herbs, onion, garlic, and veggies takes this to a higher level! It just works to make this one-pot meal delicious as well as hearty.
You can use canned beans for this recipe, but they cook so fast you will want to reduce the cook time to about 4 minutes. Canned white beans tend to fall apart easier than other varieties.
If you decide you want to add in some fresh kale or baby spinach, add it in after the pressure cooking is finished. Just put several handfuls of the greens into the pot and stir into the beans.
The residual heat will wilt them to perfection!
Serve Instant Pot Sausage and White Beans with some crusty bread, and a side salad to make an even more complete meal.
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If you make this delicious Instant Pot beans and sausage, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Sausage and White beans with smoky kielbasa or your favorite smoked sausage, onion, garlic, carrots, and white beans. A tasty pressure cooker sausage and beans favorite.
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 lbs Smoked Kielbasa Sausage (or Smoked Turkey Sausage), sliced in 1" thick rounds
- 1 large Yellow Onion, chopped
- 1 large Bay Leaf
- 4 Carrots, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 Celery Stalks, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 1 4" long Sprig of Fresh Rosemary
- 1/4 tsp Oregano, dried
- 4 cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 6 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium (use 7 cups if you like it a little soupier)
- 1 lb Navy Beans,*** dry (rinsed & sorted). Or 2 cans of white beans*
- 3 cups Fresh Baby Spinach or Chopped Kale
- Salt to Taste (Add after cooking as it may not need it)
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Turn the pot on to the Sauté setting. Let it heat up and add the olive oil. Then add the sausage. Let it sit and brown a few minutes, then stir. Lightly brown all sides.
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Add the onion, bay leaf, carrots and celery. Stir and cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. Make sure to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pot (deglaze).
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Add the thyme, rosemary, oregano, and garlic. Cook, stirring for 1 minute.
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Add the pepper, and broth. Stir, and then put a glass lid on the pot and let the contents come to a simmer.
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Once the broth is simmering, add the beans and stir. Put the pressure cooker lid on, lock in place, and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Cancel the sauté function and press Pressure Cook (or Manual) button or dial, and then the + or - button to choose 40 minutes.** High pressure.
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The pot may take 10 minutes or so to come to pressure, but since the contents are already hot, it will pressurize quicker. Once the cooking cycle has finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 15 minutes (15 minute Natural Release).
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Next, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining steam/pressure. Please use caution and do this in bursts at first.
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When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid, facing away from your face, and set aside. Use a long handled spoon to gently stir the beans. Taste a few to test for tenderness and for salt, and add salt if needed.
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If beans aren't tender enough (sometimes old beans take longer), just put the lid back on and cook them for 5 more minutes under pressure, and a 10 to 15 minute natural release.
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If you are adding spinach or kale, stir it into the beans after pressure cooking and let the pot sit for a few minutes until the greens are wilted and soft.
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Serve. These beans are very good with some buttered crusty bread!
*If you want to use canned white beans, rinse and drain them, add at the same time you would add the dry beans, and adjust broth to 4 cups, and cook time to 5 minutes, with a 10 minute natural release. Canned white beans are already soft, so they may break apart easily.
**If you soaked your beans for at least 8 hours, adjust cook time to 25 minutes.
***Old beans will take longer to cook, so if you think yours may be old, soak them or prepare for a longer cook time.
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Mindy
Home run! I’ve made a similar recipe that called for chicken thighs and while good, using the kielbasa was so much better. Beans were perfectly cooked at 40 minutes. Followed recipe as written but I added some cream after the NR which gave a bit of richness. Next time will add some shredded kale–just didn’t have any on hand. Hubs said probably the best soup he’s ever had!
Linda Mills
This was delicious. I did make a few modifications. I fried 4 strips of chopped, applewood smoked bacon before browning the 12 oz package of kielbasa I had on hand. I also added about 1 1/2 cups of chopped cabbage after sauteeing the carrots, celery, and onion. After releasing the pressure, I stirred in 1.5 cups of thawed, frozen spinach and 1/3 cup of chopped, fresh parsley. I used canned beans so I set the pressure accordingly and they were soft but still whole for the most part.
Liz Pimentel
I just made this for the first time–my husband and I are eating it right now and enjoying it thoroughly! It was a great way to use up various Trader Joe’s chicken and tofurky sausages we had in the fridge. I’ve wanted to start cooking with dried beans and fresh herbs, so this was perfect for a rookie like me. We topped the soup with a shaved parm/romano/asiago cheese blend and skipped the greens (didn’t have any on hand) but I otherwise stuck to the recipe. The flavor is bold and delicious…almost too sweet, though I imagine that’s due to the sausages and kale would help with that. It feels indulgent though the recipe is pretty darn healthy. This is a winner and being added to our fall/winter rotation! Thank you, Sandy!!
Sandy
Great! I’m glad you liked it!