This Instant Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya with Shrimp is a quick and flavorful take on the classic Creole dish. Loaded with smoky andouille sausage, tender chicken thighs, and juicy shrimp, it’s an easy one-pot meal that brings bold flavors to your table with minimal effort. Perfect for busy weeknights or when you're craving a comforting, hearty dish!
I was inspired by Southern Living’s Best Jambalaya recipe, which captures the bold, rich flavors of traditional jambalaya. I wanted to take those same elements—savory meats, aromatic vegetables, and perfectly cooked rice—and adapt them for the Instant Pot to make the process faster without sacrificing taste. This version keeps all the depth of flavor but comes together in a fraction of the time, making it ideal for a modern homestead kitchen.
If you love bold, comforting flavors like this Instant Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya with Shrimp, you might also enjoy my Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup for another cozy, flavor-packed dish. For an extra depth of flavor, you can even make your own broth using my Crock Pot Bone Broth recipe—it's an easy way to add richness to dishes like this jambalaya. If you're looking for more one-pot meals, 55 Amazingly Simple CrockPot Recipes has plenty of slow-cooked inspiration.
And if you're new to scratch cooking, my 5 Essential Tips for Getting Started with Scratch Cooking will help you build confidence in the kitchen. Want even more inspiration? Explore my full recipe collection for more homestead-inspired dishes.
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💞 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Quick & Easy: The Instant Pot simplifies the process, cooking your jambalaya in less time than traditional methods.
- Hearty & Flavorful: A satisfying mix of andouille sausage, chicken thighs, and shrimp for a protein-packed, flavorful dish. Looking for even more meat? Try adding some Bison Meatballs.
- One-Pot Wonder: Less cleanup with everything cooked in one pot—perfect for busy nights!
- Customizable: Whether you like it spicier or want to swap ingredients, this recipe is easy to adapt to your taste.
- Comforting & Delicious: The perfect balance of smoky, savory, and aromatic flavors makes every bite irresistible.
🍴Ingredients
- Canola oil
- Andouille sausage, sliced
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Onion, diced
- Celery, diced
- Red bell pepper, diced
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Bay leaf
- Creole seasoning
- Dried thyme
- Dried oregano
- Diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
- Chicken broth
- Uncooked long-grain rice
- Peeled, medium raw shrimp, deveined
See recipe card for quantities.
🍳 Instructions
Step 1: Sauté the Sausage & Chicken
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode.
- Add canola oil and sliced andouille sausage, and cook for 3-4 minutes until browned. Remove and set aside.
- Add chicken thighs to the pot and sear for 2-3 minutes per side until lightly browned (they will fully cook under pressure). Remove and set aside.
Step 2: Sauté the Vegetables & Seasonings
- Stir in garlic, Creole seasoning, thyme, and oregano, cooking for 30 seconds.
- Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté for about 3 minutes until softened.
Step 3: Add Liquid & Rice
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and green chiles, chicken broth, and add the bay leaf.
- Stir in the browned sausage and chicken.
- Sprinkle the rice evenly over the top, but do not stir (this helps prevent burning).
Step 4: Pressure Cook
Close the lid and set the Instant Pot to Manual (High Pressure) for 10 minutes.Once done, let it naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
Step 5: Add Shrimp
- Open the lid and stir the mixture.
- Add the raw shrimp, close the lid (but leave the Instant Pot off), and let it sit for 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.
Step 6: Fluff & Serve
Remove the bay leaf, stir everything together, and serve hot.
Enjoy your delicious, hearty jambalaya!
Hint: For extra flavor, let the andouille sausage sear a little longer to develop a deep caramelization before removing it from the pot.
📋 Substitutions
- Chicken thighs: Can be swapped for chicken breast, though thighs stay juicier.
- Shrimp: Can be omitted or replaced with crawfish for a different seafood twist.
- Long-grain rice: Jasmine or basmati rice can work, but avoid short-grain rice, which gets mushy.
♨ Variations
- Spicier Jambalaya → Add ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or a few dashes of hot sauce.
- Seafood Jambalaya → Add lump crabmeat or crawfish for extra seafood flavor.
🍴 Equipment
- Instant Pot (6 qt or larger)
- Sharp knife for chopping vegetables
- Cutting board
- Wooden spoon for stirring
🍲 Storage
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Freeze in portioned containers for up to 3 months.
Reheating: Warm on the stovetop with a splash of broth or microwave until heated through.
⭐ Top tip
For the best texture, avoid stirring the rice before pressure cooking—this helps prevent the dreaded "Burn" warning in the Instant Pot!
💭 FAQ
The actual pressure cook time for jambalaya is 10 minutes on High Pressure, followed by a 5-minute natural release before quick-releasing the rest of the pressure. However, factoring in sautéing and pressure build-up, the total time is around 35-40 minutes.
Yes! The Instant Pot makes jambalaya quicker and easier by cooking everything in one pot. It allows flavors to develop deeply, cuts down on active cooking time, and prevents the rice from overcooking or burning.
Jambalaya is a complete meal on its own, but you can serve it with cornbread, a simple green salad, or roasted okra for a well-rounded meal.
A great jambalaya recipe balances Creole seasoning, smoky sausage, tender meat, and flavorful rice. You can make a classic version with all three proteins or simplify it: Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya: Hearty and smoky, perfect if you prefer no seafood, Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya: A great option for a lighter, seafood-forward dish or Chicken & Shrimp Jambalaya: A different take that still offers a mix of flavors.
Sauté the sausage first: This releases flavorful oils that enhance the entire dish.
Deglaze the pot: After sautéing, add a little broth and scrape up the browned bits to prevent burning.
Don’t stir the rice before pressure cooking: Layer it on top of the liquid to avoid the Instant Pot’s burn notice.
Use the right sausage: Andouille sausage adds the signature smoky-spicy flavor.
Let it rest: After cooking, let the jambalaya sit for a few minutes to let flavors meld.
Jambalaya has evolved over time, with two main styles—Creole (red jambalaya) with tomatoes and Cajun (brown jambalaya) without tomatoes. Different families and regions have their own variations, using different proteins, spice levels, and cooking methods, making jambalaya a flexible, ever-changing dish.
Jambalaya: A rice dish where the rice is cooked with the ingredients in one pot.
Gumbo: A thick stew served over separately cooked rice, often made with a roux for richness.
Jambalaya is thicker and more rice-focused, while gumbo is soupier with a more complex base.
No, the rice cooks directly in the broth along with the other ingredients. This allows it to absorb all the flavors, making it much more flavorful than separately cooked rice.
💕 Related
Looking for other main course recipes? Try these:
🍶 Pairing
Pair this Instant Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya with a tasty side dish
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya with Shrimp
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pounds andouille sausage sliced
- 1.5 pounds Chicken thighs boneless,skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 Onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoon Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cans Fire-roasted diced tomatoes and green chiles 14.5-oz Cans, drained
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups long-grain rice uncooked
- 1 lb raw shrimp medium, peeled, deveined
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode.
- Add canola oil and sliced andouille sausage, and cook for 3-4 minutes until browned. Remove and set aside.
- Add chicken thighs to the pot and sear for 2-3 minutes per side until lightly browned (they will fully cook under pressure). Remove and set aside.
- Stir in garlic, Creole seasoning, thyme, and oregano, cooking for 30 seconds.
- Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and green chiles, chicken broth, and add the bay leaf.
- Stir in the browned sausage and chicken.
- Sprinkle the rice evenly over the top, but do not stir (this helps prevent burning).
- Close the lid and set the Instant Pot to Manual (High Pressure) for 10 minutes.Once done, let it naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Open the lid and stir the mixture.
- Add the raw shrimp, close the lid (but leave the Instant Pot off), and let it sit for 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.
- Remove the bay leaf, stir everything together, and serve hot.
- Enjoy your delicious, hearty jambalaya!
Karina Goodley says
This was such a tasty and flavorful dish. Perfect for a meal prep dinner.