Instant Pot Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya
Sausage and chicken jambalaya is the perfect blend of Creole seasoning, onions, peppers, celery, sausage, chicken, and rice. Use the Instant Pot to prepare this meal in less time than the stove top version. Tender meats, flavorful veggies, and perfectly cooked rice every time!
It’s rare that we make jambalaya, gumbo, or any Creole foods. Odd, too, because they are so tasty and always a hit.
Since purchasing the Instant Pot, we’ve already made this sausage and chicken jambalaya more times than I can count, and gumbo is in the near future!
Don’t get me wrong, I love simmering a large pot of food on the stove top. It makes the house smell wonderful and imparts so much flavor.
The reality is, I don’t always have time.
On those days, when we want a hearty dinner but don’t have time to babysit a pot on the stove, we use the Instant Pot. It’s quick, easy, and very low maintenance.
That’s kind of how we decided to make jambalaya, pork chops with gravy, and wild rice and mushroom soup.
John asked for the jambalaya, but we’ve been so busy lately that I didn’t think we’d have time to make it stove top.
The Instant Pot was a lifesaver. We took the usual ingredients like sausage, chicken, onions, celery, peppers, tomatoes, and seasonings, and adapted the process. It worked perfectly!
How to Make Instant Pot Jambalaya:
- This recipe involves a lot of sautéing, so start by setting the Instant Pot to sauté. Add the oil, sausage, and chicken. Stir until the chicken is white on the outside. The chicken doesn’t have to be cooked through, just cooked on the outside. It will cook the rest of the way later in the process. It only takes 3-5 minutes to cook the chicken.
- Then use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan. Leave the Instant Pot on sauté and add the onions, celery, and peppers. Cook just until they’re soft then add the garlic. Be careful not to overcook the garlic, or it will become bitter.
- Add the Creole seasonings, bay leaves, and thyme.
- Carefully place the sausage and chicken back in the pot and top with rice, tomatoes, and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Give the jambalaya a quick stir, and close the lid. Make sure the valve is set to “sealing,” and set to high pressure (manual/pressure cook) for 10 minutes.
- Allow the Instant Pot to natural release before doing a quick release.
- After the quick release, remove the lid and stir the jambalaya. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs, and add additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately!
Tips for a Successful Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya:
What’s the best way to avoid a burn notice?
To ensure that you don’t get a burn warning, make sure to scrape the bits from the bottom of the pot. Some brands of sausage have a higher fat content and are less likely to stick.
If needed, add a touch of extra oil in the beginning steps to keep food from sticking. Here’s a great resource that gives some tips about how to avoid a burn message.
If it looks like the ingredients are on the lower moisture side or if your Instant Pot is bad about burning rice, add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of broth from the start. Some readers report adding the extra broth and have had great results.
Additionally, if you are making this in an 8-quart, add 1 cup of extra broth. We also recommend layering the food beginning with the sauteed vegetables, add the meat next, then the rice, pour in the broth, and pour the tomatoes in last.
This will change up the way the ingredients are cooked, and you may need to cook the ingredients in batches. It may require a touch of extra broth, too, since the broth will sink below the rice.
What’s a substitution for Creole seasoning?
If you don’t have Creole seasoning, swap it out with equal amounts of Cajun seasoning. However, the Cajun seasoning tends to be a bit spicy. We use 1-2 tablespoons depending on the spiciness of the sausage.
The important thing is to flavor it to your liking! This also goes for the other seasonings like thyme and salt.
Please use your best judgment. We used the amount that worked for our friends and family. It may not be the same for your household.
Do you add uncooked rice to jambalaya?
Yes. The rice we used was long grain white rice. It was uncooked when we put it into the Instant Pot.
Can you freeze jambalaya?
Yes. We recommend freezing jambalaya in double plastic zip bags, so it will lay flat. It will keep for about 2 months if properly packaged.
Freezing does change the texture and taste slightly.
Other Dinner Recipes to Try:
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 12 ounces andouille sausage, sliced into circular pieces
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs, (or substitute 1/2 – 1 teaspoon dried thyme; adjust to taste)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to “Saute.”
- Add the oil, sausage, and chicken. Use a wooden spoon to turn, while scraping the bottom of the Instant Pot. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the outside of the chicken is white.2 tablespoons vegetable oil12 ounces andouille sausage1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Remove the sausage and chicken and drain on paper towels.
- Add the onions, pepper, and celery stirring with the wooden spoon while scraping the bottom. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.1 green bell pepper1 white onion1 celery stalk
- Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds while continuing to stir.5 garlic cloves
- Add the Creole seasoning, thyme, bay leaves, cooked sausage and chicken, rice, tomatoes, and broth. Stir to combine.1 tablespoon Creole seasoning3 fresh thyme sprigs2 bay leaves1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes1 cup low-sodium chicken broth1 cup long grain white rice
- Close the lid, make sure the valve is set to “sealing,” and set Instant Pot to high pressure (manual/pressure cook) for 10 minutes.
- Allow the Instant Pot to natural release for 5 minutes before completing a quick release. Remove lid and stir. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.Salt and pepper
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Suggested Equipment
Notes
- This recipe was made in a 6-quart Instant Pot. We have not tested it in another size pressure cooker. However, according to the Instant Pot website, the 8-quart model requires significantly more liquid in order to come to pressure. Please add 1 cup additional liquid if using an 8-quart model.
- The ingredients have been adjusted after feedback from readers to increase the broth amount from 3/4 cup to 1 cup.
- See the post for tips and best practices, specifically regarding how to avoid a burn warning.
I need to stretch out the quantity for a large gathering. I have an 8 qt pot, can I successfully add 1 more cup of rice and broth to the recipe?
We make the recipe as is on a regular basis and love the flavor!
Thank you Kimberly! That’s a good question. I believe you can do that. As long as you add enough broth to cook the cook the rice. Thank you again for commenting and rating the recipe, have a lovely day 🙂
After following all the required steps, I was disappointed to read “BURN” on the screen. When I opened it, it looked like soup. I’m no longer sure what this recipe was supposed to be but into the garbage it went.
Good morning Jennifer, sorry to hear that. Obviously, I can’t help with the issue since you chose to throw it away rather than figure out what went wrong. Typically, when people get a burn notice it’s due to one or two issues. First, being the size of the pressure cooker. For example, in our tips section we address how to alter the recipe if you have an 8-quart cooker. Secondly, some people forget to deglaze the liner with the broth. Forgetting to do that can also cause a burn notice. Unfortunately, I can’t really assist you given the circumstances. Thank you commenting and have a lovely day 🙂
this is a go to for us! always yum! I have been using this recipe for years. we do like a more tomato base so I’ll throw in a small can of tomato sauce sometimes. we’ve also subbed crushed tomatoes for diced and it has worked well. thank you for this!
Thank you Maygan! Adding tomato sauce sounds great, so does using crushed tomatoes in place of the diced ones. Thank you again for commenting and rating the recipe. Have a lovely day 🙂
Used an 8 qt – added a half cup broth and mixed everything except the rice. Added the rice on top and didn’t mix. It was great!!
Good morning Jennifer, thank you for commenting and rating the recipe! It sounds like everything went perfectly for you. We’re thrilled you enjoyed the jambalaya. Have a lovely day 🙂
The flavor is good but I will have to try the suggested tip of leaving the rice on top rather than mixing it in. Despite adding a full can of chicken broth and completely scraping and re-greasing the bottom of the pan I could not stop getting a burn notice. It cooked enough that we were able to eat it and my family gobbled it up but it was frustrating to have to fuss with the burn issue.
Well, darn! We hate to hear when someone gets a burn notice on this one and aren’t sure why it happens to some and not others. I’m glad your family was able to enjoy it in the end. Fingers crossed that it will turn out better next time. Thanks so much for the feedback, TL. We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
my family loved it. it was exactly how it should be.
thank you so much. I am putting this into my favourites. it will be used again and again. 🙏
Thank you Alan! Kim and I are glad you and your family enjoyed the jambalaya. Thank you again for sharing your experience and rating the recipe. Have an awesome day 🙂
I have to make this at least once a month. I love it!
Thank you Harry! Kim and I are glad you enjoy the jambalaya. Have a great day!
One of the BEST jambalaya recipes EVER!! I added some old bay and doubled the recipe. Absolutely delish!!
That’s wonderful to hear Soso! It’s my favorite jambalaya recipe too 🙂
Delicious! A little too spicy for my kids but I enjoyed it very much! Will definitely make it again but maybe add less creole seasoning to cut down on the spice. I usually read comments before trying a new recipe and I followed one of the commenters suggestions with the rice and didn’t have any problems with getting a burn notice on instapot.
Good morning Katriina, thank you for commenting and rating the recipe card! We’re sorry to here the jambalaya was too spicy for the little ones. But, we’re thrilled you enjoyed it 🙂 Thank you again for sharing! Have a lovely day 🙂
I got the burn notice when I made this. I opened it up and put some more chicken broth and then it was fine. We threw some shrimp in after it was done, just put them in, stirred it around and let it sit with the lid on for a few minutes, the shrimp cooked perfectly.
Tastes great, a little spicy for kids but perfect amount of spice for most adults.
Very easy to make! A descent amount of chopping but I have a special onion/pepper chopper that speeds up the process so i’d say this was about 20 minutes of work, ready within 45 minutes and only one cutting board, knife and pot for cleanup!
Good Morning Sarah, we’re thrilled you enjoyed the jambalaya. The shrimp sounds like a tasty addition to the dish. Thank you again for your comments and rating the recipe. Have a lovely day 🙂
@Sarah, I’d get a burn message too. I started making its with just mixing everything, putting a little extra broth and just adding the rice to the top and not mixing it. Made a huge difference!
I made this with my husband and it was very good! We tripled the recipe (teenage boys… wanted leftovers) and added approximately 2 c. extra broth and used spicy sausage. We all really loved it. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you Andrea! Kim and I are glad your whole family enjoyed the jambalaya. The spicy sausage sounds like a tasty addition. Thanks again and have a lovely day 🙂
I’ve made and loved this recipe many many times! Wondering if there’s a method for the crockpot? Wanted a set it and forget it today.
Thanks so much, Lindsey!
We’re glad that you enjoy the Instant Pot Jambalaya! We have this Slow Cooker Jambalaya recipe. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s similar. It might be close enough or at least you an idea on how to modify the Instant Pot version. Hope that helps. Thanks again and have a fantastic day! 🙂
@Beth,
We usually double the recipe and add 10-12 fresh okra pods sliced.