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:
If you like this sausage and chicken jambalaya recipe, please leave us a comment and rate the recipe card. You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram searching for Berly’s Kitchen!
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.
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and LOVE it. This time I wanted to substitute BROWN rice instead of white. I’ve seen multiple people talk about this but no one seemed to have tried it yet. I did everything the same but I used brown rice instead of white and I added 2 1/2 cups of chicken brother instead of the 1. I also cooked it for 22 minutes because brown rice takes longer to cook. There was quite a bit of liquid in the pot but I used hot sausage and this didn’t lack any flavor even with the added broth! Just use a slotted spoon and you’re good!
This is super delicious. I added a cup of frozen okra and used a full can (15oz) of chicken broth as the 1 cup didn’t seem enough liquid. The flavors are amazing.
Thank you Tracy, Kim and I are thrilled everything worked well for you. The okra sounds like a great addition. Thank you again for coming back to comment and rate the recipe card! Have a lovely day 🙂
This is super delicious. I added a cup of frozen okra and used a full can (15oz) of chicken broth as the 1 cup didn’t seem enough liquid. The flavors are amazing.
This is super delicious. I added a cup of frozen okra and used a full can (15oz) of chicken broth as the 1 cup didn’t seem enough liquid. The flavors are amazing.
I soaked my rice 1 hour beforehand and used 1.5 cups o broth for 1.5 cups of rice, he rice turned out super soft. Any leads on what I did wrong?
Good Morning Milad, Kim and I talked about your question. We think the rice turned out super soft because it was soaked before you cooked it in the Instant Pot. The next time you make it, try not to soak the rice. I hope this information helps. Have a lovely day Milda 🙂
The trick to not getting the burn is add everything before the rice and stir well. Add the rice and do not stir! Let it sit on top bu press down a little so it’s submerged. It will come out perfect!!!!
Thank you Jackie! Kim and I are glad you enjoyed the jambalaya. That’s a great tip, we’ll leave this comment up to help others experiencing burn issues. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card! Have a lovely day 🙂
The trick to not getting the burn is add everything before the rice and stir well. Add the rice and do not stir! Let it sit on top bu press down a little so it’s submerged. It will come out perfect!!!!
The trick to not getting the burn is add everything before the rice and stir well. Add the rice and do not stir! Let it sit on top bu press down a little so it’s submerged. It will come out perfect!!!!
I made this for my husband and I got Fat Tuesday dinner. It came out fantastic. I cut the Creole seasoning down to 1 Tablespoon because we don’t eat a lot of spicy foods. I also left out the green peppers because my husband is allergic to bell peppers but it was great. It is definitely a do again dish. Thank you
Good Morning Chris, that’s wonderful! Kim and I are glad your husband and you enjoyed the jambalaya. Thank you for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card! Have a lovely a day 🙂
I made this for my husband and I got Fat Tuesday dinner. It came out fantastic. I cut the Creole seasoning down to 1 Tablespoon because we don’t eat a lot of spicy foods. I also left out the green peppers because my husband is allergic to bell peppers but it was great. It is definitely a do again dish. Thank you
I made this for my husband and I got Fat Tuesday dinner. It came out fantastic. I cut the Creole seasoning down to 1 Tablespoon because we don’t eat a lot of spicy foods. I also left out the green peppers because my husband is allergic to bell peppers but it was great. It is definitely a do again dish. Thank you
I’m another member of the BURN club, unfortunately. The first one was before the pot was fully pressurized.. I chose to transfer everything into a fresh pot using a ladle. I knew that there was nothing on the bottom of it. Then it threw a BURN warning just as the pot went under pressure. I chose to let it cook, as the pot seemed to go back and forth, showing BURN and showing the cooking time remaining. Thankfully, only a little bit was stuck on the bottom of the pot.
But more importantly, it was EXCELLENT! Made it for a little impromptu get-together, and everyone loved it. I was a little nervous about the heat from the sausage and the Creole seasoning, but it wasn’t too much. I used about a tablespoon and a half.. Found it at my local Publix. Next time, I’ll have a fresh loaf of bread with a nice crust and some good butter to serve with it..
I’ll definitely make it again – just have to figure out a strategy to reduce the likelihood of that dang BURN problem!
Hey Greg!
We’re so sorry the jambalaya kept giving you a burn notice but are thrilled that you and your guests enjoyed it! We miss shopping at Publix. They have some of the best items hands down.
In regards to troubleshooting the burn, it sounds like you’re on top of it, but I wanted to offer a few recommendations. You may have already tried these, but I thought I’d mention them just in case.
In the event the Instant Pot is an 8-quart, it needs more liquid right off the bat. We made this using a 6-quart, so the recipe calls for liquid using that size. An 8-quart will need 1.5 – 2 cups (possibly more) depending on if your pot tends to burn easily.
Did you happen to check out the link in the post where we’ve link to an article on “how to prevent a burn notice?” If not, it is really helpful and one of my favorite resources to explaining how to layer ingredients properly and troubleshoot burn issues. I realize the ingredients aren’t layered in this recipe, and it works great for us. However, all Instant Pots cook differently, so I wanted to make sure that resource was available for those who need/want to layer the ingredients instead. 🙂
The last thing I wanted to mention was something I just learned about recently. When a dish that contains rice sticks and burns, sometimes the only way to get it to not burn again is to cook it pot-in-pot (PIP). That would be scooping it out like you did, either cleaning the liner or getting a clean one, then placing the food into a separate pot that fits inside the Instant Pot liner. Put water inside the liner, next add a trivet, then add the bowl with the food. Proceed to finish cooking from there. The food may need some liquid too because of the rice.
Hope all that makes sense and isn’t too confusing. We appreciate your feedback! Have a wonderful afternoon!
I made this tonight straight up from the recipe and both my husband and I thought it was fabulous. One question, if I wanted to add okra (which would probably be frozen) how much and when? Thanks!
Good Morning Beth, Kim and I are so happy you and your husband liked the jambalaya! In regards to your question, I spoke with Kim and she recommends adding one cup of okra (fully cooked but frozen) at the end. So, once the steam has released, stir in the okra, then reseal the machine and let it sit for 1-2 minutes. The residual heat should cook the okra. Then, release the steam again, open the lid, and stir the jambalaya. Hopefully, the way I explained it makes sense. If not, let us know. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card! Have a lovely day, Beth!
I made this tonight straight up from the recipe and both my husband and I thought it was fabulous. One question, if I wanted to add okra (which would probably be frozen) how much and when? Thanks!
I made this tonight straight up from the recipe and both my husband and I thought it was fabulous. One question, if I wanted to add okra (which would probably be frozen) how much and when? Thanks!
This recipe is a fan fave in our home, I make it at least once a month! I’m so surprised by those that say they get the burn notice, it has never been an issue. I omit the chicken and do shrimp instead. For the shrimp, I simply stir it in uncooked after everything else has finished cooking, the heat from the food cooks the shrimp right up.
Thank you Ashley, Kim and I are so happy the jambalaya is a hit in your household. Adding the shrimp at the end is a wonderful idea. If it was added before the pressure cook step, the shrimp would definitely overcook. Kudos for the tip! Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card. Have a lovely weekend 🙂