Sausage and lentil casserole. How to make a delicious healthy sausage and lentil casserole in the instant pot pressure cooker. Loaded with sausages, red lentils, and vegetables, this is instant pot one pot dinners at its best.
Sausage And Lentil Casserole
It would have been my grandma’s birthday today. Sadly, she died when I was 18 at the beginning of the millennium.
I loved her cooking style, even though it was old school and classic, the way she stretched meals and got the most out of one pot of food was amazing.
She was also the only person that I ever knew that owned one of those stovetop pressure cookers that you always thought was going to blow up.
We had mushy peas on the ceiling many times and it always made me giggle. Especially watching my mum trying to get all the green gunge down.
But my grandma would have loved the modern world we live in with instant pots and this sausage and lentil casserole would be something I would make for her.
You see this sausage and lentil casserole ticks all the boxes:
- It is a fantastic one pot meal
- You can swap regular sausages for quorn sausages to make it vegetarian or vegan
- Red lentils are fantastic for filling you up
- It can feed your family for more than one mealtime
- It tastes delicious
- It is loaded with hidden vegetables for fussy kids
- It is freezer friendly
- It is healthy
I could go on as the benefits for making a sausage and lentil casserole are endless. But I am sure you get the idea and are thinking of that ideal time for loading a casserole into the instant pot.
Why Sausage & Lentils?
I love making a slow cooker sausage casserole, but the problem is making it thick and not having the sausages overcooked.
However, if you pair together frozen sausages and red lentils you have the perfect pairing.
The red lentils work as a thickener for your casserole and the frozen sausages cook for just the right amount of time.
You can then serve it for dinner without worrying that its not thick enough or its not going to fill everyone up.
Sausage & Red Lentil Casserole
You may be wondering why dried red lentils? That is because the red lentils have less of a cooking time compared to green lentils and it works well with the cook time of sausages.
Also, lentils haters will love a sausage and red lentil casserole. That is because they blend into the casserole and it doesn’t feel like you have chewy lentils on your dinner plate.
I could never talk the hubby into a vegan lentil stew with green lentils, but he loves my sausage and red lentil casserole.
Sausage & Lentil Casserole Ingredients
What I love about making a sausage casserole or a stew in the instant pot, is how often I will have the ingredients already and don’t need to go grocery shopping.
- Frozen Sausages – I know it sounds silly, but frozen sausages are best because the cook time works well with red lentils. Thawed sausages will be cooked too quick.
- Root Vegetables – I recommend root vegetables because you want vegetables that can hold their own and wont turn to mush. Avoid broccoli and cauliflower and instead focus on potatoes, carrots, butternut squash or sweet potatoes. Or a mixture of these.
- Red Lentils – Focus on dried red lentils. You can load them into the instant pot, and they cook with the sausages and vegetables. No need to do anything special with them.
- Tinned Tomatoes – I always have a kitchen cupboard filled with tinned tomatoes. Just load your favourite cans of tinned tomatoes into the instant pot to make this recipe even easier.
- Seasonings – I have a big herb and spices cupboard and its ideal for making stews and casseroles. You can mix and match with what meal you are cooking, though we used bouquet garni, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper.
We used our instant pot 8 quart duo to make our instant pot sausage lentil casserole, but you can use any electric pressure cooker.
How To Cook A Sausage & Lentil Casserole?
Here are the main steps for a sausage and lentil casserole in the instant pot:
- Sauté an onion and deglaze the instant pot with red wine.
- Load in prepped vegetables.
- Add in seasonings, red lentils, tinned tomatoes, and stock.
- Submerge frozen sausages into the casserole.
- Pressure cook.
- Slice sausages + partially blend sauce.
- Add in sliced sausages and enjoy!
Quorn Sausage Lentil Casserole
Calling all vegans and vegetarians, this sausage and lentil casserole is ideal for converting to quorn sausages.
The only thing that stops this casserole from being vegan and vegetarian is the sausages, so a quick sausage substitute and you are good to go.
Instant Pot Sausage And Lentil Casserole
Ingredients
Kitchen Gadgets:
Sausage & Lentil Casserole Ingredients:
- 1 Medium White Onion
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 100 ml Red Wine
- 900 g Root Vegetables
- 500 ml Stock
- 800 ml Tinned Tomatoes
- 120 ml Red Lentils
- 10 Frozen Sausages
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Puree
- 2 Tbsp Bouquet Garni
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
- 50 g Frozen Peas optional
Instructions
- Peel an onion, dice, and sauté in the instant pot with extra virgin olive oil. Stir in garlic puree. Deglaze the instant pot with red wine and cancel the sauté.
- Prep the root vegetables you plan to use. Peel and dice and load them into the instant pot.
- Load the seasonings, red lentils, stock, and tinned tomatoes into the instant pot. Give it a good stir so that all ingredients are well mixed.
- Grab your frozen sausages from the freezer and lay over the contents of the instant pot so that the sausages are almost submerged. Place the lid on the instant pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 12 minutes on manual.
- When it beeps use quick pressure release and remove the sausages.
- Slice the sausages and using a hand blender, blend about 30% of what is left in the instant pot. This will make your casserole nice and creamy. Add in frozen peas and stir.
- Load in sliced sausages, stir and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sounds yummy and a definite hit for autumn (fall) weather.
I only have fresh sausages though – would the timing need to be adjusted or follow the recipe as is?
Hi Diane,
Just do the recipe as is, because the sausages get 3 quarters defrosted as the instant pot goes to pressure 🙂
Made this with quorn sausages and it was delish. Next time going to add some extra vegetables to it and make it into an even bigger meal for our family.
I never thought to add lentils before to my sausage casseroles. This is delicious, so hearty and so filling too.
I loved your sausage casseroles. Yummy.