Instant Pot Jambalaya

Instant Pot Jambalaya is a quick and easy one pot meal inspired by the traditional flavors of Louisiana. We also turn this dinner into a dump and go crockpot jambalaya soup that you need to try!

Seasoned with Creole and flavored with onions, celery, peppers, and tomatoes, jambalaya is a subtly spicy and sweet stir fry style dinner that is easily transformed into a delicious Instant Pot recipe.

It's made with andouille sausage and jumbo shrimp- but you can add chicken or crawfish too. I've listed substitutions and variations below so you can make your jambalaya with the ingredients you have access to or customize them to your tastes.

As written, this Instant Pot jambalaya recipe works in both 6 quart and 8 quart pressure cookers.

For 3 quart pressure cookers, reduce the recipe by at least half.

For 10 quart pressure cookers, increase the amount of rice so that you need 2 cups of broth (to ensure the pot comes to pressure correctly).

Ingredients

• Andouille sausage: a cajun style smoked sausage made using pork, pepper, onions, and seasonings
• Large or jumbo raw and frozen shrimp (peeled)
• White long grain rice or jasmine rice
• Crushed tomatoes
• Chicken broth
• Onion and garlic
• Celery
• Okra
• Colorful bell peppers
• Creole seasoning, thyme, red pepper
• Bay leaf

Substitutions

Andouille sausage: the best substitute is chorizo because of it's similar smokey and spicy flavor. Kielbasa and bratwurst are close seconds. If following a vegetarian or vegan diet, tofu sausage is the closest match.

Shrimp: use crawfish or a combination of shrimp and crawfish. Or leave out and replace with chicken or extra sausage. Because shrimp cooks quickly, always use frozen for this recipe.

White rice: stick with rice or jasmine rice because of its short cook time. Do no use brown rice, as it has a much longer cook time and then the vegetables and shrimp will become overcooked.

Bell peppers: bell peppers are a necessary ingredient in jambalaya. Use orange, yellow or red bell peppers for a slightly sweet taste.

Okra: leave out okra entirely if it's not a vegetable you enjoy or substitute with green beans or zucchini.

Crushed Tomatoes: tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, or diced tomatoes are all acceptable substitutions.

Creole seasoning: you can make it if you don't have it. Using cajun seasoning is an okay substitution, but won't encompass all of the flavors of true jambalaya.

Chicken broth: sub with chicken stock or vegetable broth/stock.

How to Make Jambalaya in the Instant Pot

1. Set the Instant Pot to saute on normal (or high). Cook the andouille sausage in olive oil until it's browned, about 2 minutes on each side. If using chicken, add it once the sausage is done and cook until browned. Remove and set sausage and chicken aside.
2. Thoroughly deglaze the pot in ¼ cup of chicken broth. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon until all stuck pieces have been removed. *It's important to deglaze completely.
3. Add the remaining chicken broth, rice, ½ of all seasonings (Creole, thyme, salt, pepper, red pepper). Stir, ensuring the rice is covered in the broth. Once mixed during this step, do not mix again.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and layer on top of the rice in this order: bay leaf, onions, garlic, celery, cooked sausage/chicken, okra, peppers, shrimp, crushed tomatoes, the rest of the seasonings. Do not mix. *You can also put a trivet with skinny spacers over the rice before adding the vegetables and proteins. This will take some of the weight off the rice mix and limit how much food is touching the bottom, thus limiting the chance of triggering the burn notice.
5. Close and seal the lid. Set to pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. LEt the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quickly release the remaining pressure and mix well. Taste and season with additional salt, pepper, and red pepper if desired. Immediately remove the inner pot and transfer to a heat proof surface to prevent the vegetables from continuing to cook (or transfer to a serving dish).

Serve topped with sliced green onions, fresh parsley or fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

• Thoroughly deglaze the pot until there is nothing stuck to the bottom. Some pressure cookers don't take much to trigger the burn notice, so having even a tiny amount of food stuck to the bottom from sauteing might trigger it. Add a small amount of the broth to the pot, return to saute and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon until it's free of stuck pieces.
• Add the crushed tomatoes to the very top of the layered ingredients. You don't want them to mix in with the chicken broth. If you do, the broth will thicken, which could trigger the burn notice.
• Use the correct amount of liquid recommended for your size pressure cooker. The rice is going to absorb all of the broth so you must use enough that it allows the Instant Pot to come to pressure correctly and not absorb fully before the 3 minutes is up. White rice has a 1:1 ratio with water or broth. For one pot rice meals, I always add ¼ cup more than this and recommend you do so too. As written, this recipe works in both 6 quart and 8 quart pressure cookers. For 10 quart pressure cookers, increase the amount of rice to 1 ¾ cups and chicken broth to 2 cups.
• In step 4, an alternative way to layering the ingredients over the rice and broth is to use a trivet with skinny spacers. Put this on top of rice and broth and add your proteins and vegetables to it. Some may fall through and this is okay. Doing this will take some of the weight off the rice mix and limit how much food is touching the bottom, thus limiting the chance of triggering the burn notice.

If you try these tips and you still receive a burn notice, don't panic right away. Release any remaining pressure, open your lid, and check out the situation. The jambalaya may be completely cooked but just have some stuck food to the bottom. In this case your dinner isn't ruined!

If the shrimp, vegetables, or rice aren't cooked you can add a little bit more broth and try to deglaze the bottom (depending how stuck the food is). Then set to pressure cook again for a few minutes. It's likely that in just the time it takes to build up pressure, the food will complete cooking. Once it begins to countdown, press cancel and quickly release the steam.

Tips for Making the Best Jambalaya in a Pressure Cooker

• Use vegetables that take a similar amount of time to cook.
• Don't overcook the vegetables. Once done, remove the inner pot so that it cools quicker and the vegetables don't continue to cook. Or transfer the entire meal to a serving dish.
• Saute the andouille sausage and chicken to sear in their juices but don't cook fully if pressure cooking too. You can fully cook them prior to pressure cooking if you prefer, and add them once the vegetables, rice, and shrimp are done.
• Use large or jumbo frozen shrimp. Shrimp pressure cooks in just a couple minutes and it will turn rubbery if overcooked. Thawed shrimp will cook while the pressure cooker is coming to pressure, and will overcook if kept in for 3 minutes. You can get away with pressure cooking large frozen shrimp for 3 minutes without overcooking it.
• Another option is to saute the shrimp with the sausage and chicken until cooked through and adding it to the jambalaya once all other ingredients are done pressure cooking.

Jambalaya Variations

Spicier: add extra red pepper flakes or cayenne powder.

Milder: eliminate or reduce the red pepper flakes.

Add Chicken: add diced chicken seasoned with Creole by sauteing it with the sausage.

Vegetable Additions: add carrots, broccoli, corn, green beans, or cauliflower in place of the traditional vegetables or in addition to (without overfilling your pot).

Make it Vegetarian: eliminate the andouille sausage, add extra shrimp or tofu, and use vegetable broth.

Make it Vegan: eliminate the andouille sausage and shrimp, use vegetable broth, and add tofu sausage or extra vegetables.