If you've been wondering how to cook brats in an instant pot, look no further! You've come across the juiciest, flavorful, and moist Instant pot brats with beer recipes. What's even better is these make the ideal low carb bratwurst recipes or keto bratwurst recipes too.
Finding recipes for busy weeknights can sometimes be a struggle, especially when you're following a low carb diet or keto diet AND want to use your beloved Instant Pot! Even if you aren't looking for keto bratwurst recipes, this will become a new family go-to recipe regardless.
Bratwurst in beer (and butter!) has quickly become one of our absolute favorite dinners and keto bratwurst recipes we enjoy regularly. While these have always turned out well in a crock-pot, cooking them in an Instant Pot instead takes these gems to a whole different level.
Adding a side of sugar-free sauerkraut or cooked cabbage makes this the perfect low carb bratwurst meal! Or I guess you can skip the kraut if you're on a beer and sausage diet 😉
We seriously couldn't believe how juicy and tender the bratwurst turned out with this recipe, we'll never go back to brats cooked in a slow cooker or oven again.
The kids also love this recipe too! When cooking bratwurst in a crock-pot all day, the sausages seem to get a little too infused with beer flavor for their liking. The IP solved this problem since it quickly infuses the bratwurst with both the beer AND the butter. That being said, if you LOVE beer, by all means, soak brats in beer overnight.
Instant Pot Brats With Beer
On to the ingredient list for your new favorite electric pressure cooker bratwurst recipe! 😉
Here's what you need:
- 2 T butter
- 7 Costco size Johnsonville brats (these taste the best IMO). You, of course, can buy smaller packages from your grocery store
- 1 light beer- Michelob Ultra (any favorite beer of yours works, but this only has 2.6 Carbs for those looking for keto bratwurst recipes.)
NOTE: You can also cook brats without beer by either substituting a chicken broth, beef broth or alcohol-free beer.
Step by Step Instructions
Turn your Instant Pot to sauté and melt the butter
Saute brats 2-3 mins each side until lightly browned.
You'll want to make sure they are laying down in a single line across the bottom, it’s fine to cook them in 2 batches if you can’t fit them all flat in the pot. Using long-handled rubber tip tongs are my favorite tool for flipping splattering foods.
Remove the brats and place your IP rack on the bottom of the pot. Place the brats on the rack and carefully pour the bottle of beer over the bratwurst.
There's some debate online whether piercing your bratwurst with a fork before you cook them in a pressure cooker will keep them from exploding, and I can attest after forgetting to do this twice, the bratwurst did NOT explode. That being said, if it makes you feel a little better, it's totally fine to prick each sausage with a fork 🙂
Cook on Manual high for 6 minutes (depending on your Instant Pot model, this setting might be called Manual or Pressure Cook.)
Slow Release for 10 minutes or until the pressure valve releases.
Enjoy! Serve with sauerkraut, buns, cooked sausage and peppers, mustard, ketchup, and beer.
Instant Pot Frozen Brats?
If you have frozen bratwurst and are wondering if you can cook them in your pressure cooker, you'll be happy to know it works just as well! You need to modify the recipe slightly since it doesn't really work to brown the brats in butter when they're frozen.
To cook instant pot frozen brats you'll want to skip the saute step. You won't want to miss out on the butter, so I'd melt that in the microwave and drizzle over the top or just add little pats of butter on the top of each frozen bratwurst.
Proceed with the recipe by pressuring cooking the bratwurst in the beer on a basket for 7 minutes. After the 10 minute slow release you'll want to broil the instant pot frozen brats in the oven for 2-3 minutes to get that "just grilled" appearance.
Instant Pot Brats Cooker Time
Regarding the instant pot brats cooking time, I've made this recipe many times and in my pressure cooker, the perfectly done cooking time is 6 minutes. Other recipes I've found online for beer brats in a pressure cooker say less time than this and others say even longer. If you have other types of similar size uncooked sausage, I'd also recommend this for your instant pot sausage cooking time for other types of uncooked sausages too!
I highly suggest you use 6 minutes as your starting time since you don't want to undercook your bratwurst OR overcook them. And then you can simply adjust your instant pot brats cooking time going forward with your own pressure cooker. But in my opinion, 6 minutes seems to be the perfect instant pot brats cooker time for the juiciest, moist and flavorful Johnsonville brats recipes.
Please post your comments below! If you have other pressure cooker bratwurst recipes that you love, please also share them with us 🙂
I hope you enjoy these amazing low carb instant pot brats!
Other Recipes You'll Love
- Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Country Style Ribs
- Baby Back Ribs in Oven
- Baked Swedish Meatballs
- Instant Pot Mississippi Roast
- Pork Rib Rub
Easy Instant Pot Brats With Beer
An easy Instant Pot brats recipe for the best ever bratwurst recipe simmered in butter and beer, yet made in your pressure cooker! This is both keto, low carb and sugar free
Ingredients
- 2 T butter
- 5-7 bratwurst, uncooked (regular size, not large deli size)
- 1 bottle of beer, mild flavor
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot and set to Saute High.
- Brown the bratwurst lightly in the butter on both sides, about 2-3 minutes each. You might need to brown these in two batches, depending on how many brats you're cooking and the size of your pressure cooker.
- Remove all of the brats from the Instant Pot and set asie on a. plate.
- Place a rack on the bottom, set all of your bratwurst on top of the rack.
- Carefully pour the beer over the bratwurst.
- Set your instant pot to Manual or Pressure Cook (depending on your model) and cook for 6 minutes. Once done, do a Natural Release for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure. Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe was written using standard sized raw bratwurst like Johnsonville or Costco size, these are not the jumbo raw brats some meat counters carry. The Johnsonville packages carry 5 bratwurst, the Costco carries 7 brats per package.
Long handled rubber tip tongs work very well to turn the brats and remove them from the Instant Pot.
Chicken broth, apple juice, or water can be used instead of beer but beer will give the brats the best flavor.
Feel free to add vegetables to the pot! Onions, sliced cabbage, or sauerkraut are all great options.
If you have the jumbo meat counter brats we suggest pressure cooking them for 8 minutes before doing a Natural Release of 10 minutes (this is a best guess on time and has not been tested). If the jumbo brats aren't cooked through, pop the Instant pot lid back on to pressure cook for 1 more minute and then do a quick release of the remaining pressure.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 5 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 468Total Fat 39gSaturated Fat 15gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 22gCholesterol 100mgSodium 1046mgCarbohydrates 1gNet Carbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 17g
Enjoy!
Melissa says
How long would you cook for pre-cooked brats?
Kim says
I’m interested in making this recipe with sauerkraut. Do I put the sauerkraut in the pot under the trivet and cook it with the brats? Or do I add it after cooking the brats?
Thank you!
WholeLottaYum says
I'd put the sauerkraut under the brats and trivet.
Taylor says
Yum! The brats were a little undercooked the first go around, so I increased the cook time to 8 mins the next time I made them.
Quick and easy way to make delicious brats!
Mel says
Hi Taylor, glad you enjoyed them! Sometimes the larger bratwursts from meat counters do take longer to cook.