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Easy Instant Pot Jambalaya
Our 3-step Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe is incredibly flavorful and so easy! Serve over brown rice for a healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free dinner. Freezing instructions included.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire-roasted, diced tomatoes (Sub: petite diced tomatoes)
- Optional: 1/2 cup chicken broth (add if you have an 8 quart Instant Pot or you get a burn notice)
- 1 – 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes (Sub: boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
- 12–14 ounces precooked, all-natural andouille sausage, thickly sliced (Sub: andouille chicken sausage)
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (Recommended: Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed in hand
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed in hand (if using ground thyme, use half the amount)
- 8 cups cooked brown rice (Sub: cooked long-grain white rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice)
- Hot sauce, optional for serving
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Into the Instant Pot, add the onion, bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, diced chicken, sliced sausage, Cajun seasoning, oregano, and thyme. Add in the broth if you have an 8 quart Instant Pot. (Do not add the rice.) Stir to combine.
- Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes, then quick release the pressure*. (Note: It will take about 10-15 minutes for the IP to come to pressure before starting the cook cycle.)
- Stir and ladle off some of the additional liquid, if you’d like. Serve the jambalaya mixture over rice. Top with hot sauce, if desired.
*This is a good time to make a quick-cooking rice on the stovetop, if you aren’t using the pre-cooked rice from the store.
Freeze For Later:
Add the veggies, tomatoes, broth, chicken, sausage, and seasonings to a gallon-sized freezer bag or round container. Seal and freeze. (Tip: If using a freezer bag, set it in a bowl or round container with a diameter similar to the Instant Pot so it will fit in the pot when frozen.)
Prepare From Frozen:
Note: You will need to have cooked rice on hand to complete this meal. Set the Instant Pot to “Sauté.” Transfer the frozen meal to the pot and cook for 5 minutes to release some liquid. Press “Cancel.” Follow step 3, but cook for 17-22 minutes. (Check to make sure the chicken registers 165°F internally or is no longer pink inside. If it’s not done, cook at high pressure another 2 minutes and check again.) Follow step 4.
Notes/Tips
- Chopping Tip: Be sure to chop the veggies all about the same size and fairly small, since we aren’t sautéing them at the beginning. That way they cook at the same rate and get cooked through.
- Burn Notice: If you get a burn notice while it’s coming to pressure, don’t panic. Sometimes food can get stuck to the bottom in a recipe like this. Add 1/2 cup broth and stir, making sure to get up anything stuck to the bottom. Lock and seal the lid and start the time again.
- Freezing Tip: Since this is a big batch meal, you may want to freeze half the batch for later and make the rest now. Note: If you divide the batch in half, you will NOT have to adjust the cook time. It will cook at the same rate. Or, you can freeze leftovers, as well.
- Heat Level: I would say this dish is moderately spicy. If you’re sensitive to heat (or are making this for kids), I suggest only using half of the Cajun seasoning. You can always add more hot sauce to individual servings later, if needed.
- Can I cook the rice in the Instant Pot with everything else? I did not test it this way because I like the texture of rice cooked on the stove for the exact amount of time better. However, you could throw some Instant Brown Rice (not the long cooking rice!) in with the other ingredients before pressure cooking, and it will work out okay…just not perfectly. And I like perfectly. 🙂
- How to Add in Shrimp: You can easily stir in some 1 pound precooked shrimp at the end of the cook time, if you want. Or, you can use 1 pound uncooked shrimp and boil the jambalaya after pressure cooking for a few minutes. To do this, turn on the “Saute” function, stir, and cook until the shrimp is just cooked through. It won’t take long. P.S. I recommend using peeled, deveined shrimp to make your life much easier!
- Crockpot Directions: If you’d like to make this in the slow cooker instead, saute the onions and celery in a saute pan over medium-high heat until soft (or microwave them with 1 teaspoon oil for 4-5 minutes), add all ingredients to the crockpot (except the rice), and cook on LOW for just 2 1/2 – 3 hours (if you go longer the chicken will overcook!).
Find it online: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/easy-instant-pot-jambalaya/
