Instant Pot Shrimp Jambalaya

Kick up your boring weeknight dinners with this spicy Instant Pot shrimp jambalaya! All the flavor of this beloved Cajun dish shines through in this lightened-up recipe. Packed full of colorful vegetables, vibrant spices, and chock full of protein from shrimp and chicken andouille sausage, this dish cooks up quickly and is one of our family favorites!

My husband and I love New Orleans. We visited for our anniversary and found ourselves repeatedly ordering spicy jambalaya at every stop. It’s so delicious, and full of everything I love – zesty spices, shrimp and sausage, and RICE. Long-grained rice might just be my favorite carb in the world.

I’ve lightened up this one-pot recipe by substituting a chicken andouille sausage instead of pork, doubling up on the colorful vegetables, and using less rice. You’ll love how easy and how quickly this Instant Pot shrimp jambalaya comes together!

Instant Pot Shrimp Jambalaya Ingredients

Chicken Andouille Sausage: I found this at Costco, and I’ve also seen this at my regular grocery store. I love the ingredient list and the flavor! It’s fully-cooked and free from nitrates.

Shrimp: For this recipe, you will need fully cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp. Make sure it’s thawed and patted dry with a paper towel. Once the rice and veggies are cooked, I simply stir in the cooked shrimp and the heat from the rice warms it right up!

Veggies: I love to double up on the veggies so this recipe calls for 1 whole green pepper, 1 whole red pepper, celery and onion.

Spices: In addition to fresh garlic and dried bay leaves, I use cajun seasoning, thyme and cayenne. This Instant Pot Shrimp Jambalaya definitely has a nice kick to it, but if you prefer a more mild version, you can reduce the cayenne or leave it out completely.

Rice: I love a long grain rice, and used a basmati rice. You’ll want to rinse the rice well to remove all the starch. Once the water runs clear, you’ll know you’re all set. This is the brand that our family uses.

Tomatoes: I used a can of diced tomatoes, but you could substitute with crushed if that’s what you have on hand.

Instant Pot Cajun Shrimp Jambalaya Steps

You’ll want to prepare your ingredients. Rinse your rice, chop your vegetables, slice your chicken sausage, and grab your spices.

To begin, set your Instant Pot to “saute” and spray the liner with some spray oil. Place your chicken sausage in the pot and let it brown for about 2 minutes without stirring.

Cook until the sausage starts to brown, and then flip and cook on the other side.

Once both sides are nicely browned, removed from the Instant Pot and set aside. You’ll see some browned bits on the Instant Pot liner. This adds a ton of flavor!

Add in the garlic, bell peppers, onions, and celery and continue to saute.

As the veggies cook and release water, use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pot and scrape up all those browned bits.

Next, add in the rice, diced tomatoes, spices, 3/4 cup of water

Turn off the “saute” feature, and then seal your Instant Pot and hit the “manual pressure” for 6 minutes. Once it’s done, let it naturally release pressure for 10 minutes.

You can release any remaining pressure and take the lid off. You can remove the bay leaves now.

Add in the cooked sausage and cooked shrimp, and gently stir to combine.

Let sit for 5 minutes for the shrimp to heat up in the residual heat from the rice.

Check out my creamy Cajun shrimp pasta recipe too! It’s one of my favorites!