Instant Pot Jambalaya

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Learn how to cook Instant Pot Jambalaya (Pressure Cooker Jambalaya)! This delicious Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya is an incredible flavor-party in your mouth bursting with savory-umami-spicy-tangy-sweet flavors. Comforting, satisfying, family-friendly one pot meal.

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What is Jambalaya?

Jambalaya is a well-loved classic New Orleans meat and rice dish, crafted with African, French, and Spanish influences.

It’s believed that Jambalaya was born when Spanish settlers were trying to recreate their popular paella dish using Louisiana ingredients.

Flavors: Jambalaya shines through with complex, bold, vibrant cajun/creole flavors that excite your tastebuds! Incredibly flavorful rice dish that offers a taste of savory, umami, tangy, sweet, zesty, spicy sensations.

Textures: Jambalaya offers a really satisfying mouthfeel – bouncy shrimps, meaty juicy sausages, tender chicken, bits of crunch from peppers + onions + celery, mixed into easy-to-eat rice (that has soaked in all the flavorful juices), finished with a refreshing green onions crunch.

*Note: We’ve developed this Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe with Chicken, Andouille Sausage, and Shrimps, but you can easily customize it with your favorite proteins or what you have on hand. 🙂

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Time for cooking Instant Pot Jambalaya!

4.97 from 111 votes

Instant Pot Jambalaya

Author: Amy + Jacky
Learn how to cook Instant Pot Jambalya (Pressure Cooker Jambalaya)! This delicious Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya is an incredible flavor-party in your mouth. Comforting, satisfying, family-friendly one pot meal.
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Servings 4 - 6
Total Time 50 minutes
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Ingredients

  • pound (565g) chicken thighs
  • 2 cups (440g) Jasmine rice
  • ½ - 1 pound shrimps , thawed (we used 10 16/20 shrimps)
  • 1 pound (454g) Andouille sausages or Kielbasa sausages , ¼” slices
  • 2 ribs (195g) celery , diced
  • 1 (190g) bell pepper , diced
  • 1 tablespoon (18g) unsalted butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)
  • 1 can (14.5oz) crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1 (211g) onion , diced
  • 8 (32g) garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 teaspoon (5.8g) tomato paste
  • tablespoons (22.5ml) regular soy sauce
  • 2 cups (500ml) unsalted chicken stock
  • ¼ teaspoon (0.2g) dried thymes
  • ¼ teaspoon (0.25g) dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon (3g) smoked paprika
  • ½ - 1 teaspoon (1.2g) cayenne pepper (adjust according to your spicy preference)

Garnish

  • 2 stalks green onion , thinly sliced

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Instructions 

  • Brown Chicken & Shrimps in Instant Pot: Press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” function to heat up Instant Pot. Wait until it says “HOT” on the screen (~8mins). Add 1 tbsp unsalted butter + 1 tbsp olive oil in Instant Pot.
    Pat dry chicken thighs with a paper towel, then season one side of chicken with kosher salt and black pepper.
    Place 1¼ lb (565g) chicken on one side of Instant Pot (seasoned side face down) and shrimps on the other side of Instant Pot, brown them for 3.5 minutes. Season the other side of chicken and shrimps with salt and black pepper. Flip chicken and shrimps, brown this side for another 3.5 minutes.
    Set aside browned chicken, saute shrimps for another 30 seconds - 1 minute. Set aside shrimps (will be used after pressure cooking).
  • Saute Sausages: Add 1lb (454g) sliced sausages in Instant Pot, saute for 3 minutes.
  • Saute Onions & Spices: Add in diced onions, green bell peppers, and celery, saute for 2 minutes. Add in minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp (5.8g) tomato paste, ¼ tsp (0.2g) dried thymes, ¼ tsp (0.25g) dried oregano, 1 tsp (3g) smoked paprika, and ½ - 1 tsp (1.2g - 2.4g) cayenne pepper, saute for another minute.
  • Deglaze Instant Pot & Add Soy Sauce: Pour in ½ cup (125ml) unsalted chicken stock, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
    *Pro Tip: Make sure to deglaze really well for this jambalaya recipe!
    Add in 1.5 tbsp (22.5ml) regular soy sauce, give it a quick mix.
  • Pressure Cook Jambalaya: Push all ingredients to one side, then add the browned chicken with all its meat juice in Instant Pot. Add 2 cups (440g) well drained jasmine rice in Instant Pot.
    *Pro Tip: Ensure to add chicken in Instant Pot first, then add rice on top to avoid the "Burn" error.
    Pour 1½ cup (375ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot. Ensure all the rice is fully submerged in the stock. Layer 14.5oz crushed or diced tomatoes on the very top. Do not mix!
    With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.
    -Chicken Thighs: Pressure Cook at High Pressure 7 minutes + Natural Release 10 minutes
    -Chicken Drumsticks: Pressure Cook at High Pressure 8 minutes + Natural Release 10 minutes
    After 10 minutes, release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position. Open the lid carefully.
  • Add Shrimps, Mix & Season: Add & mix the fully cooked shrimps in jambalaya. Taste the Jambalaya and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
    *Note: It will look a bit too watery at first, but once you start mixing all the ingredients, it will all come together.
    *Pro Tip: For reference, we added roughly 3 - 4 pinches of salt to open up the flavors & season the dish properly.
  • Serve: Garnish the Jambalaya with sliced green onion, then serve. Enjoy~

Notes

*Adjust Spicy Level: add more or less cayenne pepper depending on your desired spiciness. We used ½ tsp (1.2g) cayenne pepper for mild-medium spiciness.
*Rate Recipe: If you've tried the recipe, don't forget to Rate the Recipe in the Comments Section. Thank you!
Calories: 547kcal
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American, Cajun
Keyword: chicken and sausage jambalaya, Instant Pot Jambalaya, jambalaya in instant pot, jambalaya instant pot, pressure cooker jambalaya

Nutrition

Calories: 547kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 967mg | Potassium: 699mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1158IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 3mg

Step by Step Guide: Instant Pot Jambalaya

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Prepare the ingredients for cooking Jambalaya in Instant Pot.

instant pot jambalaya ingredients  #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #chicken #sausage #shrimp #cajun

No Andouille Sausage? Kielbasa sausages or any smoky pork sausages will work with this jambalaya recipe.

Shrimps: We used large shrimps for this jambalaya recipe (16/20 tiger prawns). If you can’t get any shrimps at this time, you can skip it.

  • Thaw Frozen Shrimps: You can thaw your frozen shrimps by submerging them under cold running tap water for a few minutes.

*Rinsing Rice Pro Tip: If you are rinsing your rice, make sure to drain it well!

Tools for Instant Pot Jambalaya

1

Brown Chicken & Shrimps in Instant Pot


First, press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” function to heat up Instant Pot. It will switch to “ON” on the screen.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Saute More #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker

Wait until it says “HOT” on the screen (takes roughly 8 minutes).

*Pro Tip: Make sure Instant Pot is as hot as it can be in order to induce a maillard reaction.

Now, add 1 tbsp unsalted butter + 1 tbsp olive oil in Instant Pot (you can also use 2 tbsp olive oil).

Pat dry the chicken thighs with a paper towel, then season one side of the chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper.

Place 1¼ lb (565g) chicken thighs on one side of the Instant Pot (seasoned side face down) and shrimps on the other side of Instant Pot, then brown them for 3.5 minutes.

saute chicken and shrimps in Instant Pot    #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #chicken #cajun

Season the other side of chicken thighs and shrimps with salt and black pepper. Flip the chicken and shrimps, then brown this side for another 3.5 minutes.

Now, set aside the browned chicken thighs, then saute the shrimps for another 30 seconds – 1 minute.

saute shrimps in Instant Pot    #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #shrimps #cajun

Finally, set aside the shrimps to be used after pressure cooking because they’re already fully cooked at this point.

sauteed shrimps  #AmyJacky #shrimps #seafood #recipes

2

Saute Sausages


Add 1lb (454g) sliced sausages in Instant Pot, then saute for 3 minutes. 

saute andouille sausages in Instant Pot   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #cajun #sausage

3

Saute Onions & Spices


Add diced onions, green bell peppers, and celery in Instant Pot, then saute for 2 minutes. 

saute onion, peppers, celery in Instant Pot   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe

Add in minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp (5.8g) tomato paste, ¼ tsp (0.2g) dried thymes, ¼ tsp (0.25g) dried oregano, 1 tsp (3g) smoked paprika, and ½ – 1 tsp (1.2g – 2.4g) cayenne pepper, then saute for another minute.

saute jambalaya spices in Instant Pot   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #cajun

*Spicy Level Tip: adjust how much cayenne pepper to add depending how spicy you want your jambalaya to be. We used ½ tsp (1.2g) cayenne pepper and it was somewhere between mild & medium spicy.

4

Deglaze Instant Pot & Add Soy Sauce


Now, pour ½ cup (125ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot (as shown in below photo).

*Pro Tip: Make sure to deglaze really well for this jambalaya recipe!

deglaze Instant Pot   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe

Add 1.5 tbsp (22.5ml) regular soy sauce in Instant Pot, then give it a quick mix.

5

Pressure Cook Jambalaya


Push all ingredients to one side, then add the browned chicken thighs with all its meat juice back in the Instant Pot.

add browned chicken to pressure cook jambalaya   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #chicken

Then add 2 cups (440g) well drained jasmine rice in Instant Pot.

*Pro Tip: Make sure to add the chicken in Instant Pot first and then the rice on top to avoid the “Burn” error (as shown in photo below).

add rice to jambalaya   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe

Pour 1½ cup (375ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot, then ensure all the rice is fully submerged in the stock.

layer crushed tomatoes on top of jambalaya ingredients   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe

Finally, layer 14.5oz crushed or diced tomatoes on the very top. Do not mix.

pressure cook jambalaya    #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #chicken #cajun #sausage

With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker High Pressure 7 minutes  #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker

  • Chicken Thighs – Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure 7 minutes + Natural Release 10 minutes
  • Chicken Drumsticks – Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure 8 minutes + Natural Release 10 minutes

After 10 minutes, release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position.

When Floating Valve drops, open the lid carefully.

6

Add Shrimps, Mix & Season


pressure cooked jambalaya in Instant Pot    #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #chicken #cajun

*Note: It will look a bit too watery at first, that’s normal! Once you start mixing all the ingredients, it will all come together nicely & tasty. 🙂

Now, you can add the fully cooked shrimps in jambalaya, then mix well. 

Cooking jambalaya in Instant Pot    #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #chicken #cajun

Finally, don’t forget to taste the Jambalaya in Instant Pot, then adjust the seasoning accordingly.

*Pro Tip: For reference, we added roughly 3 – 4 pinches of salt to open up the flavors & season the dish properly. 

7

Serve Instant Pot Jambalaya


Garnish the Jambalaya with sliced green onion, then serve.

garnish jambalaya wish green onions   #AmyJacky #InstantPot #PressureCooker #recipe #chicken #cajun

Enjoy this flavor-bombing comforting Instant Pot Jambalaya~

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