Flavorful, smoky, and spicy Jambalaya cooks up perfectly in the Instant Pot.
New Orleans is one of our favorite foodie destinations, and any trip to the city isn’t complete without a sampling of our favorites: jambalaya, barbecued shrimp, gumbo, grilled oysters, and a po boy sandwich. This recipe is a traditional version, but with a few of our own twists.
Typically, jambalaya is made with Andouille sausage, which is a double-smoked sausage made using pork, garlic, pepper, onions, wine, and seasonings. If you can’t locate andouille, you can substitute a similar smoked sausage – kielbasa or even Mexican chorizo will work in this dish.
We add the shrimp in at the very end of cooking. The residual heat from the rice is enough to cook the seafood fully in a few minutes.
When serving, we always include a number of hot sauces so people can kick up the spiciness. Tabasco, Louisiana Gold, and Cajun Power are some of our favorites. Some chopped green onions also add additional bite and color.
If you like this dish, try some of our other great Instant Pot recipes:
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Total Time
40 minutes
Ingredients
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3 tablespoons vegetable oil
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3 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning (see recipe below and recipe notes)*
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1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (I use thigh meat - it tends to keep tender during this cooking process)
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1 lb. smoked sausage, andouille if you can get it, cut into 1/2 pieces.
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1/2 lb peeled, deveined shrimp.
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1 cup chopped white onion
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1 cup chopped celery
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1 cup chopped green bell pepper
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1 teaspoon chopped garlic
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1 tablespoon of Worcester sauce
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1/2 teaspoon of salt
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1 teaspoon of dried thyme
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2 1/2 cups chicken stock
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1 24 oz can of crushed tomatoes
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1 1/2 cups long grain rice
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Chopped green onions (for garnish)
Instructions
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning over the shrimp, coating, and set aside.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning over the chicken, coating, and set aside.
- Add oil to Instant pot and set to sauté.
- Once oil is hot, add sausage. Cook sausage, stirring occasionally, until they are browned (approximately 5 minutes)
- Remove sausage from the pot, using a slotted spoon.
- Add chicken to the pot, and cook until browned, approximately 5 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the pot.
- Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic the the Instant Pot.
- Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits from bottom of the pot (deglazing).
- Cook vegetables until the onion is translucent (6 minutes).
- Add remaining Cajun seasoning, thyme, salt, and Worcester sauce, and stir to coat. Cook for another minute.
- Add chicken stock and crushed tomatoes, and stir to mix.
- Carefully add rice evenly to the pot, and then press down gently with a spoon to make sure all the grains in immersed in the liquid.
- Close the lid on the Instant Pot, and set to manual (high) pressure for 8 minutes.
- Make sure the venting knob is set to "Sealing."
- When done, do a quick release, hit cancel to stop cooking and remove the cover.
- Stir the raw shrimp gently into the rice, ensuring they are covered by rice. Replace the cover (with the pot still off) and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Serve with hot sauce and chopped green onions.
Notes
* Not all Cajun seasonings are created equal. Whichever you use, test it for salt content (some are very high in sodium) and adjust the amount of salt you use in the dish accordingly. Our favorite Cajun spice is Joe's Stuff, which is made by the New Orleans School of Cooking. It's really well-balanced, and low in salt.
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Total Time
10 minutes
Ingredients
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1.5 tsp salt
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1.5 tsp garlic powder
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1 tsp onion powder
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1 tsp sweet paprika
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1 tsp cayenne pepper
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1/2 tsp dried oregano
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1/2 tsp dried thyme
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1/2 tsp black pepper
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1/2 tsp white pepper
Instructions
1. Mix together all of the ingredients
2. Store in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.
