How to make super easy Instant Pot jambalaya

Cooktop Cove: How to make super easy Instant Pot jambalaya

By Robin Donovan

Jambalaya is a favorite Louisiana-style one-pot rice dish. Along with rice, aromatic vegetables, and intense Creole spices, it almost always includes spicy smoked sausage — andouille is the classic choice — and other meats and seafood like chicken, shrimp, or crawfish. It's a wonderfully economical, delicious and satisfying meal.

Any good jambalaya — really any good Cajun or Creole dish — begins with “the holy trinity” of diced onion, celery and bell pepper. Add sausage, rice and any other proteins you have on hand, and you’ve got a spicy, filling, meal. Cooked in an Instant Pot, this version is so quick and easy, you’ll be eating in about 30 minutes. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Instant Pot Super Easy Jambalaya

5 minutes

15 minutes, plus about 15 minutes to come to pressure

35 minutes

2 tablespoons cooking oil

¾ pound andouille sausage, cut into ½-inch-thick rounds

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, seeded and diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 celery stalks diced

¾ pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juice

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon creole seasoning (like Tony Chacheres)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (uncooked) long-grain white rice

Heat the oil in the Instant Pot using the sauté function.

Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the sausage is browned and the vegetables have softened, about six minutes.

Add the chicken to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for about two minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes, along with their juice, broth, Creole seasoning, salt, and rice. Stir to mix.

Close the lid of the pot, and turn the valve to the sealing position. Choose high pressure, and set the timer for eight minutes.

When the cooking time is up, quick release the pressure.

Serve hot.