This all-in-one recipe for Instant Pot Jambalaya is made with chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, and rice, for a flavorful meal that is ready in under 30 minutes.
If you are looking for other easy, one-pot Instant Pot recipes, you don't want to miss my recipes for Instant Pot Shrimp Boil, Instant Pot Sausage and Potatoes, and Instant Pot Chicken and Rice.
When it comes to developing flavor fast, I love turning to my Instant Pot. An electric pressure cooker seals in the heat AND flavor, allowing meals, like Instant Pot Short Ribs, Instant Pot Butter Chicken, and Instant Pot Pot Roast, to be cooked quickly without sacrificing the taste.
And when it comes to recipes like Jambalaya or Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice, I find that the Instant Pot version is MORE flavorful than the stove-top version.
Reasons to Love Instant Pot Jambalaya
- Cajun Flavor Fast. Just like my recipe for Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice, this recipe for Instant Pot Jambalaya delivers a classic Creole recipe in record time.
- Perfectly Cooked. In less than 30 minutes this recipe delivers jambalaya full of tender chicken, andouille sausage, perfectly cooked rice, and tons of Cajun spice!
- Adaptable. I have included instructions for making Instant Pot jambalaya with or without shrimp--because some of us like it, and some of us don't 😉
- One-Pot Family Favorite Meal. Like One-Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta, Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, and Instant Pot Burrito Bowl, this recipe for Instant Pot Jambalaya is a family-favorite all-in-one meal.
Ingredients for Jambalaya
- Holy Trinity: The holy trinity in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine refers to the combination of onions, bell peppers, and celery. This recipe for Jambablaya starts by sauteeing this classic combination in oil to develop authentic flavor. Use any color of bell pepper you like.
- Andouille Sausage: For an authentic jambalaya recipe, use andouille sausage. However, smoked sausage or Cajun chicken sausage works as well. I love using chicken cajun-style sausage to keep the fat on the lower end.
- Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs that have been cubed into bite-sized pieces.
- Rice: For your chicken not to overcook, it is best to use long-grain white rice, not brown rice. Brown rice requires a MUCH longer cooking time, which would overcook the chicken. Because I am using pre-cooked, chicken sausage, I chose to use Jasmine rice, which only cooks in 3 minutes. You can use brown rice, simply increase the cooking time to 22 minutes.
- Seasoning: I used a homemade Cajun Seasoning, that is simple to make and lower in sodium than store-bought brands. That said, feel free to use any brand of cajun seasoning you like. I also recommend adding a dried bay leaf and dried thyme leaves, which help to replicate the authentic flavor of jambalaya.
- Diced Tomatoes: Use one 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes.
- Chicken Stock: For the cooking liquid, use low-sodium store-bought or homemade chicken stock or broth. Alternatively, you can use seafood stock if you have it on hand.
- Shrimp: The shrimp is completely optional, yet authentic in Jamabalya recipes. I have found it is best to use fresh or defrosted small, deveined, shrimp and add them AFTER pressure cooking. The residual heat will cook the shrimp through. If you want to add shrimp prior to pressure cooking, I would use frozen jumbo shrimp.
- Hot Sauce: To add a bit more heat and flavor to the jambalaya, add hot sauce as desired after pressure cooking. I often stir in a teaspoon, allowing people to add more as desired.
- Worcestershire Sauce: A little bit of Worcestershire sauce adds a rich umami flavor to the dish, helping it to taste as though it simmered for hours.
How to Make Instant Pot Jambalaya
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post or follow along as I make this dish in the video below.
Step One: Saute. To develop intense flavor, it is best to saute the andouille sausage, chicken, onions, peppers, and celery together until the meat begins to brown and the onions begin to soften.
Step Two: Deglaze the Inner Pot. Add in a bit of the broth or stock and scrape up any browned bits of food from the bottom of the pan. This is crucial to prevent a burn warning!
Step Three: Layer Ingredients. Stir in the rest of the broth along with the cajun seasoning, thyme, and bay leaf. Add the rice to the cooking liquid, and gently push it down to submerge it fully into the liquid. Top the rice with diced tomatoes, but DO NOT STIR! This also helps to prevent a burn notice.
Step Four: Pressure Cook. Set to cook on high pressure, using the manual or pressure cooker button, not the rice button, for 3 minutes. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes, but a full pressure release is best. This ensures your rice stays tender and fluffy.
Step Five: Add Shrimp (optional). Small shrimp will not need long at all to cook and can easily overcook and become rubbery. However, if you add the shrimp after pressure cooking and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the shrimp are fully cooked from the residual heat.
Step Six: Season and Serve. To amp up the flavor of this Instant Pot Jambalaya even more, add Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, and fluff the rice with a fork to combine everything.
FAQs about Pressure Cooker Jambalaya
No! Not. While traditional, jambalaya is absolutely delicious with or without shrimp.
I would add frozen jumbo shrimp prior to pressure cooking. Simply add the seasoned frozen shrimp on top of the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes as directed. I do find that the shrimp will still be a bit overcooked, so I recommend using thawed small shrimp for best results.
I don't recommend brown rice for this recipe, as it needs to be cooked for 22 minutes instead of 3 minutes, so the chicken will be overcooked in that time frame.
I highly recommend rinsing the rice before pressure cooking. Rinsing rice will remove the surface starch that can cause the rice to get mushy and stick together when cooked.
More Instant Pot Easy Dinner Recipes
- Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Pork Chops
- Instant Pot Tuna Noodle Casserole
The next time you need a FAST meal full of flavor, try out this recipe for Instant Pot Jambalaya--it won't disappoint! And if you gave it a try, be sure to leave a review and comment below.
Instant Pot Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 12 ounces Andouille or smoked Cajun sausage sliced into 1-inch rounds
- 6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 small red bell pepper diced
- 1 stalk celery minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 2 cups long grain white rice rinsed well
- 3 teaspoons Cajun Seasoning divided
- ½ teaspooon dried thyme leaves
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes
- ½ tablespoon hot sauce optional
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined optional
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute, add in the oil, and let heat for a minute or two.
- Once heated, add the sausage, chicken, onions, peppers, and celery to the inner pot and saute for 2-3 minutes, or until the onions are just beginning to soften up. Add in garlic, and saute for 30 seconds longer, being careful to not allow garlic to burn. Turn Instant Pot OFF by hitting cancel.
- Add in ½ cup of the chicken stock and scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the inner pot. Stir in the remaining chicken stock, 2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning, thyme, and bay leaf.
- Place the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and place under running water for 1-2 minutes to fully rinse. Add the rice and gently push, not stir the rice, with the back of a spoon to submerge the rice into the liquid. Pour tomatoes on top of the rice mixture. Do not stir in tomatoes.
- Place the lid on Instant Pot and set the cooking time by hitting manual/pressure cook and use the +/- buttons to adjust the cooking time to 3 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes.
- While pressure is releasing, pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and then toss with the remaining 1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning. Once pressure is released, open the lid and add the seasoned shrimp. Place the lid back on the inner pot and let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the shrimp are fully cooked (the residual heat will cook the shrimp).
- After the shrimp is fully cooked, open the inner pot again, add the Worcestershire Sauce and hot sauce, and gently fluff everything together with a fork to combine, removing the bay leaf when you come across it. Serve.
Paula Schlotterbeck
I just made this for dinner tonight- the only things I changed were I used 1/2 TB of oil and beef broth instead of chicken (as I had an open container of it). Wonderful. No issues with a burn notice. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Paula!
Christina
The rice did not come out as pictured, it seems wet still.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Christina! Did you use dried beans? What type of rice did you use? If you did not use dried beans, the recipe states to decrease the water so that may have been your issue.
Holly
Ready to try out this recipe! Looks yummy! What brand of hot sauce do you recommend? Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
I love Franks or the store bought version 🙂 I hope you enjoy!
Melissa
I made this recipe with brown rice and cooked it 25 minutes and rinsed the rice first as recommended. It was wonderful we loved it.
Kristen Chidsey
I love hearing that Melissa! Thank you for taking the time to share your review.
Tamela
Fantastic and SO easy!!!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY! So glad this recipe was easy and a winner for you Tamela.
Eileen
Kept getting burn notice. Ended with mushy rice. I did rinse the rice before cooking so im kinda sad. Tastes ok just bad consistency
Kristen Chidsey
I am sad for you too Eileen! It was good to rinse your rice, next time maybe try scraping up browned bits on bottom of pressure cooker.
Samantha
I loved the recipe it was fantastic, but noticed you put the total time as 8 mins something does not add up there.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Samantha! My recipe card states prep time, cook time, and pressure time too, but only calculates total time by adding cook time and prep time together-I wish pressure time would be added into total time, but unfortunately at the time it does not. Glad you enjoyed though 🙂
Cody
I just made this and I followed the recipe to a T and before the IP could even get up to pressure it gave me the burn code. Not sure what might have happened. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Cody, my guess is that you did not fully scrape off the browned bits from sauteing the onions and peppers. That step is crucial to avoid a burn warning. Hope that helps.
Pamela
Okay, this was my first recipe ever! I look a little over 20 min to naturally depressurize and everything is mush. Any tips on what I could have done wrong? I followed your recipe completely.
Kristen Chidsey
Oh I hate this was your first recipe Pamela and you did not have success. Can I ask what kind of rice you used? And 20 minutes seems like a LONG time for this amount to depressurize. The longest mine has taken is just over 12 minutes. Let me know and I can think on how to improve in future for you so you can enjoy a delicious (non-mushy) meal.
Tamara Bermudez
Hi! We have a large family gathering. Can this recipe be doubled?or would I need to do it twice? More liquid? Time? Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Tamara, you can double this recipe as long as it fits and doesn't fill the inner pot past 2/3rds full. The timing will remain the same, but coming to pressure will take longer, as will natural release. Enjoy.