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.
Brandy
This was delicious and I loved how it's made in the Instant Pot!
Chris
We thought this was delish! I made this in the Instant Pot and added frozen okra and shrimp. I layered as instructed, adding the okra before the tomatoes and the shrimp after. I got the dreaded burn notice and had to finish it on the stove.....maybe I didn't rinse my rice well enough? Will definitely make again using super-rinsed rice.
Chris
So I made this again, exactly like before, except rinsed the rice very well. Did not get the burn notice, the flavor was great, but the rice was mushy. It took about 25 minutes to come to pressure... Likely due to the frozen okra and shrimp I added.... and I did a NR for 15 minutes. Any suggestions to prevent mushy rice?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Chris. I believe the issue would have been the frozen okra and frozen shrimp. Both have excess moisture and would contribute to the overall liquid content.
Chris
Thanks; I think you are right. As much as I like those additions, maybe I'll leave them out next time.
MARSHA L PATRICK
Delicious!! We loved this! I only had butterball smoked sausage but it turned out great!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Marsha! It is on my meal plan to make for dinner tonight--we love it here.
Grayson P.D.
Always been skeptical with I.P. dishes using rice since many of the recipes online tend to burn and stick at the bottom. I rinsed the rice about 4-5 times until the water was clear and was amazed how nothing stuck to the bottom. If you don’t have red pepper, just use crushed red pepper flakes. I accidentally put a tablespoon and almost died, so just put a pinch. I will be making this again!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you had success Grayson. I test my recipes several times in various models to help ensure that people can follow these recipes with success.
AM
We used Rotel instead of just diced tomatoes and made it really tasty.
Kristen Chidsey
Great tip AM! Thanks for sharing!
Natalie
Could I double this recipe to have more leftovers?
Kristen Chidsey
This recipe doubles well--just be sure to not fill more 2/3rd of the way full and let pressure release naturally.
Natalie
Thank you so much 😊
Kristen Chidsey
You are so welcome!
mary
delicious dinner idea an super easy
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Mary.
Stephanie de Montigny
Our household, including our 10-month-old, loves flavourful and spicy foods, so we were a little disappointed that even when doubling the cajun spice from the get-go this Jambalaya recipe tasted rather bland (to us?). It definitely was improved with a bit of salt and pepper, and we each customized our bowls with hot sauce. Next time we will add some cajun grilled chicken bits at the end to spice it up.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Stephanie! I am sorry you did not find this spicy enough. I prepare most my recipes to be kid friendly and then give notes to adjust. For this Jambalaya, I serve with a side of hot sauce for those that like it spicier 🙂 You can also add in a couple of teaspoons of hot sauce while cooking if desired to really amp it up.
Mary Arzate
Fabulous, easy to make, great flavors. It will be one of my go to recipes. I love that it doesn’t have shrimp, since I don’t like seafood, so it was perfect for me. A few changes I made, are that I sautéed the sausage before adding it, gave it more flavor. I also added peas at the end, for color and flavor, made it like a paella. Thank you for this recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed this Mary! And thank you for taking the time to review!
Karen
Have you tried using any other proteins in this recipe like chicken or cubed ham ? If so is the cooking time the same? Also would like to use brown rice instead of white have you tried with brown rice? Thanks
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Karen! Ham and chicken are both delicious in this jambalaya. However, you would need to cube your chicken before cooking, as this only has a cook time of 3 minutes. For Brown Rice, the cook time changes to 24 minutes, which would over-cook the chicken and may leave it pretty dry. I would cook as directed and add in diced ham or cooked chicken after cook time has elapsed and mix in the inner pot. Put the lid back on the Instant Pot to warm all the ingredients through together. Hope that helps.