Impress Your Friends and Family

When having friends and family over for dinner, you can impress them with this Instant Pot Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya recipe that uses traditional flavors. The vegetables, herbs and proteins really come together to make a comforting rice dish that keeps your family coming back for more. Finishing the dish with extra parsley and green onions really add that finishing touch, and brightens the dish. When they ask you for the recipe, I hope you share the love.

Why Instant Pot

Instant Pot is a multi-function cooker (there are other brands as well), including sauté and pressure cooking functions (both used in this jambalaya recipe). You will need an 8 quart model for this recipe. By browning the sausage/andouille and sautéing the vegetables, you are still building the flavor and texture, then allowing the pressurized steam to drive the flavor into the rice. You can still prepare an impressively tasty jambalaya, without a fully function kitchen (no stove needed for this recipe).

While the rice is cooking in the Instant Pot, you don’t need to sit and babysit while it cooks (no worrying if the burner is too high or low, etc), just set a timer to remind you when to release the rest of the pressure after cooking. You can take this time to have a pleasant conversation with another adult, silly time with the kiddos, or simply relax until the jambalaya is ready.

Plan and Prep Ahead

This is what is going to help you the most. Chopping up all your meat and vegetables, and having them ready to go before you start cooking saves you on stress while you are cooking (some stores even have pre-chopped vegetables for convenience).  You can chop and measure out all of the ingredients the previous day, the same goes for the stove top version of this recipe.

My prep ingredients go into 5 groups: meat to sauté, vegetables to sauté, broth ingredients (dry herbs, tomato, spices, stock), rice, and finishing ingredients (shrimp, fresh herbs, and lemon). This allows me to not have to stress about forgetting anything and focus on enjoying cooking and the smells coming from the Instant Pot.

If you want to make as much as you can ahead of time, prepare up until BEFORE you put the rice in. Then when you are ready to finish, bring to a boil and finish recipe as directed.

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Instant Pot Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya is one of my favorite comfort dishes, and now I can make it in the Instant Pot. 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Creole

Keyword: andouille, creole, instant pot, jambalaya, pressure cooker, rice, sausage, shrimp

Author: Kayla

Ingredients

Saute

• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1 pound smoked sausage beef and/or pork
• 1 pound smoked andouille
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 cup celery diced
• 1 green bell pepper cored and diced
• 1 red bell pepper cored and diced

To Cook and Flavor the Rice

• 1 cup tomato diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp cayenne OR use 1 jalepeno, seeded and minced (omit if concerned about heat/spice level)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 bay leaves remove before serving
• 6 cups chicken stock preferably homemade can substitute up to half with pork or seafood stocks
• 3 cups long-grain rice rinsed

Finishing Step

• 6 to 8 dashes hot sauce (optional) Louisiana style is best
• 1/2 cup scallions (green onions) chopped, divided
• 3/4 cup fresh parsley chopped, divided
• 1/4 cup lemon juice preferably freshly squeezed
• 1 pound medium uncooked shrimp deveined, 20 to 24 count

Instructions

Saute

1. Cut both smoked and andouille sausages into quartered slices (each slice is 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thickness, each disc is quartered. I like to quarter first, then slice the wedges.)

2. Heat the oil in inner pot of 8 quart Instant Pot with setting on Saute. Add smoked sausage and andouille sausage, and cook until browned. There will be browned bits covering the bottom, that is okay. Remove sausage from pan (leave the oil and drippings) to a bowl and set aside.

3. To the inner pot and drippings, add onion, celery and peppers to the same pot that you cooked the sausage in and saute until the onion is translucent. About 2-3 minutes into cooking of the vegetables, the brown bits on the bottom should be loosening and become easy to scrap up with the spatula. 

Cook and Flavor Rice

1. Add the chopped tomato, garlic, cayenne (or jalapeno), oregano, and thyme until all the vegetables and herbs are blended well.

2. With heat still on saute, add the stock and allow to come to a rolling boil. Stir in the rice, and add the sausages, bay leaves, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Return to a full boil.

3. Lock lid of Instant Pot into place, program to run on Rice program for 15 minutes, then allow it to sit for an additional 8 minutes before releasing remaining pressure. 

Finishing Step

1. Stir well, then add 1/4 cup of the scallions, 1/4 cup of the parsley, the lemon juice and the shrimp, and stir until incorporated. Put lid back on Instant Pot for 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are fully cooked. 

2. Garish with remainder of scallions and parsley, and additional hot sauce (if desired). 

Recipe Notes

This recipe is the Instant Pot version of my Creole Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya, check it out if you want the stove top version.

Everything is easier, and you will feel less rushed, if you prepare all of your ingredients ahead of time. You can even brown your sausages saute the vegetables ahead of time!

Make sure your shrimp are fully defrosted for this recipe, as that can change cooking time. 

Interested in other recipes the use the Instant Pot (or other multi-function cookers)? Check out my page KFO Electric Pressure Cooker/Multi-function Cooker Obsession and Recipes page

If you would like the stove top version of this recipe, check out Creole Style Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya