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Jambalaya is Louisiana classic comfort food. Instant Pot Jambalaya lets you have a flavorful dinner ready with little effort. Sausage, chicken, and shrimp combine with rice and other flavorful ingredients for this easy Instant Pot recipe.
This Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe takes an easy meal and makes it even easier! The flavors are incredible and the whole dish just so satisfying and filling.
For more recipes with a cajun influence, try Cajun Grilled Pork Chops, Shrimp Po Boy Sandwich, and Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
At the heart of this recipe is the “holy trinity” of Cajun cooking – onion, green pepper, and celery.
- Oil – You can use olive oil, canola oil, or avocado oil.
- Chicken Breast – Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can opt for boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you wish.
- Andouille Sausage
- Shrimp – Buy raw shrimp that is peeled and deveined.
- Veggies – Yellow onion, green bell pepper, celery, and green onions (the whites and greens separated).
- Minced Garlic – Fresh minced garlic is best but you can use the jarred kind if it’s all you have.
- Long Grain White Rice – Do not use a quick cooking rice as the cook time will be different.
- Canned Tomatoes
- Chicken Broth
- Spices – Cajun seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper.
How to Make Jambalaya in the Instant Pot
Saute proteins – Start by cooking the sausage. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute function and cook the sausage until golden brown then set aside. Add the chicken and shrimp to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes until fully cooked. Finally, add back the sausage, cook for another minute all together, then remove the proteins and set aside.
Cook the vegetables – With the Instant Pot still on saute, cook the onion, bell pepper, celery, and whites of the green onions. Cook until tender and add garlic.
Add jambalaya ingredients – Add the white rice, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, and Cajun seasoning. Stir until well combined.
Pressure Cook – Close the instant pot and set the lid to the sealing position. Cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes then allow the pressure to naturally release (just let it sit) for 5 minutes before quick releasing any remaining pressure.
Serve – Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Top with the sliced green onions and serve.
How To Serve
I love that Jambalaya is a complete meal! Protein, veggies, and carbs all in one recipe. If you’re going to serve it out of the Instant Pot, I recommend turning it off (vs. keeping on warm) so that it doesn’t continue to cook and cause the rice to stick to the bottom. Otherwise, I like to serve in a large, shallow bowl with lots of sliced green onions sprinkled on top.
- Garnish – The green onions on top are optional but really make for a fresh finish.
- Shrimp – The shrimp can be omitted if you prefer.
- Sausage – Andouille sausage is the classic choice but you can swap in another sausage of choice.
- Creole/Cajun Seasoning – If you’re watching your sodium intake, look for a low sodium Creole or Cajun seasoning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both Gumbo and Jambalaya are popular Creole dishes in Louisiana but they have their differences. While Jambalaya is a rice dish, Gumbo is more similar to a stew. But they are similar in that they both contain the ‘holy trinity’ of onion, green bell pepper, and celery and both often have both sausage and shrimp.
Jambalaya and Paella are similar in that they both are rice-based dishes with protein and veggies. But they taste very different due to the seasoning and spices used. In paella, saffron is the main spice unlike the cajun seasoning in jambalaya. Paella also has a much milder spice/heat than jambalaya.
Storage and Reheating
While Instant Pot Jambalaya is best served after making, you can store leftovers to enjoy later.
Storage – Leftover Jambalaya can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating – Jambalaya can be reheated in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove. If reheating on the stove, you can add a splash of water or broth to keep it from drying out.
More Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love
- Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Chili Recipe
- Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
Instant Pot Jambalaya
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 chicken breast, cut into one inch pieces about 2 cups
- 12 ounces andouille sausage sliced
- 1 lbs raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup green bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 3 green onions thinly sliced (green tops separated from the white bottoms)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups chicken broth divided
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 14.5 ounce canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: green onions sliced for serving
Instructions
- On the saute setting, heat oil in the instant pot and cook the sausage until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- Add the chicken and shrimp to the instant pot and cook on saute setting for 5 minutes or until fully cooked. Add the sausage back to the pot and allow to cook together for one additional minute. Remove the mixture and set aside.
- Continue using the sautee setting to cook the onion, bell pepper, celery and bottoms of the green onion. Cook for 2 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook for one additional minute.
- Pour in ½ cup of chicken broth and use a wooden spoon or spatula to deglaze the pot, scraping any stuck on bits off of the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in the white rice, tomatoes, remaining chicken broth and Cajun seasoning until well combined. Stir in the chicken, shrimp and sausage.
- Place the lid on the instant pot in the sealing position and cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes before moving to the quick release.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and top with sliced green onions if desired.
Can I use zatarans jambalaya rice instead of white rice?
I haven’t used that for this recipe so I can’t advise it.
Dont scroll over the reviews of it burning! There is definitely not enough liquid in here AT ALL or too much rice too cook this in the instant pot. I have never had such a bad burn in mine! Better off doing it on the stove or crockpot. Terrible.
I don’t typically get a burn notice. However, I realize that some do and I’m sorry that happened. I added a step to the directions that I think may help with this.
Made this early this morning for a church potluck. I tripled the recipe and it was fantastic. Full of flavor. Lots of great comments at the potluck. Think I will make at work one of these nights. I cook for our local American Legion and I know this will be a hit. Thank you!
You are so welcome Cheryl! Love your feedback, thanks for stopping by.
Has anyone mentioned making this is the new Instant Pot, 6-Quart 1500W Electric Round Dutch? It has all the settings listed here, 5-in-1: Braise, Slow Cook, Sear/Sauté, Cooking Pan, Food Warmer, Enameled Cast Iron. Just curious if the process would be the same. Let me know your thoughts.
My first time using the insta pot and it was perfection. Thank you for sharing
You are so welcome Mary! Love success stories, thanks for stopping by.
Delicious!! Easy and fast. The only changes…1 cup rice instead of 2…my canned tomatoes had gr pepper and celery added…homemade creole seasoning.
This is a keeper! Thanks for sharing your recipe. 👍🏻🐞
You are so welcome Nancy! Love the feedback, thanks for stopping by.
Learned what the BURN NOTIFICATION is on my instant pot! Common sense would tell me now looking back that the recipe didn’t have enough liquid but I blindly followed! Ended up finishing in a skillet, my husband said flavor was fantastic.
Hi LouAnn, The burn notice means that the inner pot has gotten too hot. There are a variety of reasons this can happen, and it doesn’t always have something to do with your food, and it certainly doesn’t mean it’s the recipe that’s a problem. Here is some great information on what to do and why you might get a burn notice: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/3395-your-instant-pot-says-burn-what-should-you-do
Followed the recipe as is but my instant pot would give me a burn signal. I added more liquid and it still burned. Had to take it out of instant pot and put in a Dutch oven on the stove. Any suggestions?
Hi Pam, There is some great information HERE regarding things to check if you get a burn notice. Hope that helps!
Great recipe. Just the right amount of of spice. If burn notice comes on or rice is not done, turn instant pot to warm, take cover off and stir. Replace cover and keep warm for about 12 minutes.
Love the feedback Patricia! Thanks for stopping by.
This was a big hit with my family will be making it again!
Nice! Thanks for sharing Sandra.
It burned at the end even after scraping off the bottom. I do not recommend. I may try again and not mix the rice in, instead leave it on top but submerged in the broth.
It has a lot of flavor, the two things I found were, the rice was just a bit over cooked. The shrimp turned out very mushy. I may knock a minute off the cooking time and see how that works.
Mine too I made it tonight I picked everything out and made rice in my rice cooker
My family LOVED this recipe. It is so simple and quick and delishes.
I make it often
My rice is still hard. I followed the directions to a T. 😭
I made this recipe for my book club. We had just come back from New Orleans but were disappointed by the jambalaya we had there lol. Everyone loved this one, they had second and some third helpings! The only change I made, was I only put the meat and shrimp back into the pot for the five minutes it was resting at the end. I was worried putting the already cooked shrimp and chicken back in the pot the entire time would make it over cooked and rubbery. Other, I highly recommend this recipe!
We had to add in extra broth/water. The instant pot said burn a couple of times.
So just a heads up for others!
Mine said Burn the first time as well and after that I put more broth in as well
When you did this, did you have to clean the bottom of the pot first or just added the broth?
This smells amazing as it is cooking. I added the chicken and sausage back into the instant pot before sealing it to cook. Was this correct? In the directions after adding the rice, tomatoes and stock it doesn’t mention the proteins.
Yes that was correct. Thanks for catching the mistake so I could fix it. Enjoy!