This Instant Pot Sausage Jambalaya will warm your soul and belly on a cold day. It's loaded with authentic Creole flavors and super easy to make with just 15-20 minutes of hands-on time. Enjoy this Instant Pot Jambalaya year-round, not just for Mardi Gras!
Turn your instant pot on to sauté mode (regular sauté, not high or low). Once it is fully heated, add the olive oil and the sliced sausage. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until the sausage browns a bit. Remove from the instant pot and set aside.
Next, add the diced onion and bell pepper to the instant pot. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until the onions are a bit translucent. Add the garlic and jalapeño and sauté for another minute.
Stir in the Cajun seasoning, thyme, and tomato paste. Stir in the rice. Mix well to make sure your rice is well incorporated with the rest the ingredients in your instant pot. Sauté this for about a minute. Turn off sauté mode by selecting cancel on your instant pot.
Add the canned diced tomatoes, chicken broth, hot sauce (if using), and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well, and add the cooked sausage, green onion, and bay leaves.
Using a wooden spoon or strong spatula, scrape the bottom of your instant pot - this will prevent any burn notices as your instant pot may have built up some food residue when sautéing.
Close the lid on your instant pot by screwing it tightly and set the valve to sealing. Set your instant pot to high pressure for 7 minutes.
Naturally release for about 15 minutes to make sure that all of the flavors are incorporated, and your rice is fully cooked. Then release the rest of the pressure manually. Stir, remove the bay leaves, and enjoy!
Notes
What kind of sausage to use: Any smoked sausage or andouille sausage will work in this recipe. Most of these kinds of sausages are sold fully cooked so they are easy to slice. If you have uncooked andouille sausage, I recommend browning and cooking the whole sausage in the jambalaya, and then carefully removing it to slice it. Otherwise it will fall apart if you try to slice and then cook an uncooked sausage.Tips for making jambalaya:
Not sure about your spice tolerance? Half the Cajun seasoning and skip the hot sauce at first. You can always stir in more at the end, but you can't take it out!
DO NOT SKIP the scraping step to make sure you don't get a burn notice. I've made recipes like this in my Instant Pot dozens of times and only got the burn notice ONCE. If you get the burn notice, you might need to remove the whole pot (carefully! It will be heavy and full), scrape the bottom like the recipe says, and allow the inside of the Instant Pot to cool down, then try pressure cooking again.
If you want a more soupy jambalaya, stir in another 1-2 cups of chicken broth after the jambalaya is done cooking. Remember, it will thicken a little as it cools, so if you feel like it could maybe use a little more broth, just go ahead and add it.
The Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, hot sauce, green onion, and thyme are all optional ingredients. They add a nice depth of flavor to this jambalaya, but at the end of the day, if you have the rest of the ingredients your jambalaya will still be delicious!