Instant Pot Jambalaya

Close up shot of jambalaya with chicken, shrimp and sausage served in a large serving bowl.

5 from 3 votes

Instant Pot Jambalaya is a Southern-inspired one-pot meal made with chicken, spicy sausage, shrimp, veggies, and rice, and it’s brimming with Cajun spices!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 820kcal

Author Diana

Equipment

6-quart instant pot

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
12 ounces Andouille sausage sliced into 1 inch rounds
1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning divided
1 small yellow onion diced
1 medium stalk of celery diced
1 small green bell pepper seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and pepper
14.5 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon granulated sugar to balance the acidity
1½ cups long grain rice rinsed well and drained (regular, do not use instant rice!)
1½ cups chicken stock low sodium preferred
¼ teaspoon cayenne or red pepper flakes optional if you like a spicy cayenne (Cajun seasoning already contains cayenne)
1 pound raw shrimp peeled and deveined but tail left on

Instructions

Set the Instant Pot on the SAUTE setting, when the message HOT is displayed add 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook the sausage for 5 minutes or until it’s golden brown. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
Add 1 more tablespoon of oil, and the chicken then season with 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes or until it’s cooked through. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the remaining Cajun seasoning, dried basil, salt, pepper, diced tomatoes, sugar, rice, and chicken stock. Stir everything together, and make sure that there’s nothing stock to the bottom of the pot from the sautéing earlier (scrub with a wooden spoon).
Cover with the lid, make sure that the valve is in SEALING position. Choose the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting on HIGH. And Pressure cook for 4 minutes, then naturally release the steam for 10 minutes. Quickly release the rest of the steam.
Carefully open the lid, and add the shrimp along with the cooked sausage and chicken. Cover with the lid and let the shrimp cook from the heat of the pot (residual heat) for 5-10 minutes (the shrimp is cooked when it turns pink and opaque/no longer translucent). Lightly stir, garnish with chopped green onion and parsley and serve.

Notes

The amount of salt you add will depend on how salty your chicken stock is, to begin with. It’s always important to taste before seasoning.
Rinsing the rice may seem like an unnecessary step, but don’t be tempted to skip it! You’ll be rinsing off some of the starch, which means that your rice won’t clump and stick together once it’s cooked.
Browning the sausage, chicken, and vegetables is the key to developing a deeper flavor. That’s why we use the sauté function of our Instant Pot before we put in the rest of the ingredients. Don’t forget to scrape up all the browned bits at the bottom of the pot because that’s where your flavor is!

Nutrition