Instant Pot Jambalaya is a Cajun-Creole recipe with a mix of sausage, chicken, and shrimp, with rice and lots of Cajun spice! Pressure cooker jambalaya is delicious and filling. Nothing else tastes like this!
Instant Pot Jambalaya
I have always loved Cajun spice and flavor. When we were in New Orleans it was a wonderful tour of all things Creole and Cajun. We ate so much! I highly recommend going there if you get the chance.
Jambalaya is a rice dish that has meat and spices in it, along with the Holy Trinity (onion, bell pepper, celery). There are two distinctive versions of jambalaya; Creole and Cajun, as with many Louisiana recipes.
Creole jambalaya is a reddish color, which it gets from tomatoes. Creole jambayala almost always has shrimp in it.
Cajun jambalaya never has tomatoes and is more of a brown color. Cajun jambalaya always has smoked sausage or tasso in it.
My preference for a delicious and hearty jambalaya is to blur the lines between Creole and Cajun. I like the tomatoes, shrimp, and smoked sausage. I also add chicken because it tastes so good in this recipe.
This is not a difficult recipe to make, but it is a bit labor intensive. And totally worth it! Just turn on some music while you are chopping and prepping the ingredients (the hardest part).
Once the cooking starts, you will just flow right through the process, as long as all of your ingredients are prepped and ready to go beforehand.
Cajun Spice Blend
Many of the premade spice blends out there are very salty. My homemade Cajun Spice Blend recipe is delicious and lower in salt than any of the commercial blends I have tried. You can totally omit the salt if you want to have a salt-free version.
Homemade Cajun Spice Blend
Instant Pot Cajun Pasta
Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage
Instant Pot Collard Greens
Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
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Inspired by Tom Fitzmorris’s New Orleans Food.
Instant Pot Jambalaya is a Cajun Creole mix of sausage, chicken, and shrimp, with rice and lots of spices! Pressure cooker jambalaya is delicious and filling. Nothing else tastes like this!
- 1 lb Shrimp (41-50 count) peeled & deveined
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning, divided (or use Creole)
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided
- 1 lb Chicken Breast, cubed (or use thighs)
- 1 lb Andouille Sausage, cut in 1/2" rounds
- 1 lg Onion, chopped
- 2 ribs Celery, chopped
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 4 lg cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1 lg Jalapeño, deseeded and diced
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Marjoram, dried
- 1 tsp Thyme Leaves, dried (not ground thyme)
- 2 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 1/2 cup Long Grain White Rice, rinsed
- 1 (14.25 oz) can Diced Tomatoes, with juice
- 2 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
Before you begin cooking, have all of your ingredients prepped. Veggies cut, meats cut, rice rinsed, spices measured, and have it all right there with your pot.
Sprinkle the shrimp with 2 tsp of the Cajun seasoning. Toss to coat and set aside.
Turn on the pot's Sauté setting. When it is hot, add 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil.
Add the Sausage pieces and let brown on one side. Then flip them over and brown on the other side. Remove them to a paper towel lined plate.
Add the shrimp to the pot and cook them, stirring frequently, until they are halfway cooked. Remove them to a paper towel lined plate.
Add the chicken and cook for a couple of minutes, just long enough to get a little color on all sides, but not fully cooked. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
Add the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil and the onions, celery, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften a little. Add a little more olive oil if needed.
Add the garlic, jalapeño, and green pepper. Cook, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds.
Add the salt, marjoram, thyme, and the remaining Cajun seasoning. Stir well.
Add the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce. Stir.
Add the rice in an even layer on top, but don't stir it in.
Pour the diced tomatoes on top of the rice evenly. don't stir.
Add the chicken back into the pot in an even layer. Just press it down gently into the liquid. It doesn't have to be completely submerged.
Turn off the Sauté setting.
Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 6 minutes. High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
When the cook cycle has finished, turn off the pot and let it sit undisturbed for 4 minutes (4 minute natural release). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining steam/pressure.
When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.
Add the shrimp and the sausage. Gently stir in and put the lid back on, but don't close the steam valve, leave it on venting. Let it sit for 5 minutes to finish cooking the shrimp.
Open the lid and give it a stir. taste the rice and adjust salt and/or seasoning as desired.
Serve with parsley on top, and some hot sauce, if desired.
RESOURCES TO MAKE this recipe and more
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Hello, looking forward to trying this recipe! I plan to omit the chicken since no one in our household likes chicken. Will this change the cook time at all?
Nope, just keep the cook time the same!
Cajun Shrimp/Chicken/Sausage Jambalaya
So delicious! Jim enjoyed it so much he took some to work for the guys. I used a leftover baked chicken I bought at Sams, and Kielbasa sausage which I cut in to thick coin like pieces as well as medium shrimp – about 25 of them. The heat I used is called Pirate’s Bite from the Spice and Tea Exchange in Florida.
Thank you for sharing this – we were craving it after a friend made it without shrimp and I wanted to find an IP one.
Hi Kathy, I’m so glad you and Jim enjoyed this! I will look for that Pirate’s Bite seasoning. I’m always on the hunt for good heat! Thanks for your review!
I was a bit skeptical about this recipe just due to it being creole instead of Cajun. Since I love all things tomato I decided to give it a try anyway. I ended up making a bit of a bastardized version because neither my wife or I car for the taste of celery in dishes. Unfortunately she also despises green peppers, so the trinity became the singularity and I am sure some Cajun rolled over in their grave. Even with those modifications it came out very tasty… for me. I tried to back off on the seasoning but it was still apparently too much for her. I will enjoy the leftovers for the next couple of days and save the recipe for making on beer nights in the future so the green peppers and jalapenos can be properly appreciated.
Still waiting for that dirty rice recipe 🙂
How many people does this recipe serve?
About 5-6
This was just the thing for a busy week night. I omitted the chicken, used 1 1/2 pounds of shrimp and 1 1/2 pounds of smoked turkey sausage. My husband’s only complaint – not enough rice….I give this 5 stars!!
Hi Sandy! Love all of your recipes! Will a double batch of this fit in a 6 quart, or no? Making this for a work pitch-in.
Hi Ryan, I haven’t tried it.
Why do you rinse the rice! I’m new to instant pot cooking!
I like to get most of the starch off. You can cook it unrinsed.
How would I double this recipe? I want to double the rice, not the meat. Thanks in advance……Candi
Just double the rice and the liquid. Keep the cook time the same. Keep in mind that the seasoning may get a bit diluted, so you may need to add a bit more to compensate.
I’m out of long grain white rice. Can I use brown rice?
Brown rice needs about a 22 minute cook time. The other ingredients will be overcooked in that time. Maybe do the rice on the stove?