Instant Pot Jambalaya with Quinoa

Our easy Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe is a healthier twist on the classic Holy Trinity Jambalaya straight out of New Orleans. Creole-style Jambalaya is one of the most popular dishes of the South.

These flavors come together to form a residual heat full of mouthwatering flavors from all of the healthy and flavorful ingredients.  

This Instant Pot Jambalaya with Quinoa is packed full of bold Cajun flavors and healthy lean protein. If your family is anything like mine, this will become one of your favorite recipes in no time.

This is a great dinner for a busy weeknight and is also perfect for meal prep. It freezes and reheats really well. If you haven’t joined club Instant Pot yet, I also have slow cooker Jambalaya directions here. 

Where’s the recipe?

My readers have varying levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen. To better serve everyone, I include a lot of information in my posts to ensure everyone is successful.

There are cooking tips, diet information, and other helpful information below. If you prefer to skip this, please simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find the easy to print Instant Pot Jambalaya Recipe. 

Ingredients in this easy Jambalaya recipe

• Olive Oil: I prefer the Extra Virgin variety of any oil. This means it is a minimally processed oil and closest to its natural state.  
• Chicken: Chicken breast is one of the most commonly consumed high protein foods in the United States, and for good reason. In addition to its high protein content, it’s also a great source of minerals and B vitamins.
• Onion: To save time I love to grab pre-chopped onions from the freezer section.  
• Celery: Did you know celery was a member of the carrot family? The plant and its seeds provide an abundant source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 
• Garlic: You can also use pre-minced garlic to save time. If you prefer to buy the bulb use a hand grater to cut your chopping time. 
• Chicken Sausage: For this Cajun recipe I prefer an andouille chicken sausage instead of the traditional andouille sausage. I really love the simple ingredients in the Open Nature brand. 
• Diced tomatoes: Canned diced tomatoes are a staple in every pantry, opt for the low-sodium variety. Using diced tomatoes provides a more authentic flavor than using tomato paste. 
• Thyme: A relative of oregano, thyme has a gentle flavor that blends well with almost everything.  
• Oregano: Oregano is used worldwide. It’s popular in Italian, Mexican, and Mediterranean cooking. Oregano is a versatile herb spawning from the mint family.  
• Basil: Basil adds a bright finish to this recipe. I love to use dried while cooking, and stir in some fresh when I add my shrimp. 
• Red pepper flakes: If you prefer more spice you can add even more red pepper. I love the heat it brings. 
• Tabasco sauce: Any hot sauce will do, add more if you like it hot.  
• Shrimp: If you can’t find raw, peeled, tail off shrimp in your freezer section head over to your grocer’s butcher counter.  Often times they will have them there.  
• Precooked Quinoa: I love using quinoa in place of white rice or brown rice because it is considered a complete protein source, which means that it provides all nine essential amino acids. It’s also a good source of antioxidants and minerals. I typically use white quinoa, but you can choose your favorite variety. If you’re a jambalaya purist cooked regular rice works perfectly.
• Green onion: Green onions are completely optional in this recipe, but give a nice bite at the end that I really enjoy.  

How to make Instant Pot Jambalaya with Quinoa in the Instant Pot

1. Heat your Instant Pot: Turn your pot to the sauté function and add olive oil to the inner pot.
2. Sauté your chicken: Once your olive oil is hot, add the chicken, onions, celery, and garlic to the bottom of the pot.  Cook 3-5 minutes until fragrant, and vegetables begin to soften.
3. Add your sausage: Next, add your chicken sausage, diced tomatoes, and thyme, oregano, basil, red pepper, and tabasco sauce.  Stir everything together. 
4. Pressure Cook: Close and lock the lid and turn the valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook (high pressure) and set the cooking time for 5 minutes.
5. Quick Release: After the cook time is complete, quick release the remaining pressure and remove the lid.
6. Add shrimp: Stir in the shrimp, then close the lid for two minutes to allow the shrimp to cook. Do not turn the Instant Pot back on, just let the steam in the pot do the cooking. Shrimp cooks very fast. It’s fully cooked when the flesh turns opaque with orange/pink tones. If they are still translucent, close the lid for another minute or until completely cooked. 
7. Serve: Serve warm over cooked quinoa. Add some fresh basil and top with chopped green onions, and additional Tabasco as desired. 

Recipe Tips

• Buy frozen chopped onions to save time.
• A small hand grater works great to mince cloves of garlic. 
• We’re using precooked quinoa because the cook time for quinoa and the rest of the ingredients aren’t the same.
• If you’d rather use your favorite Cajun or Creole Seasoning in this recipe, replace all spices with 4 teaspoons of it. If you prefer more heat with your sausage jambalaya, feel free to add a *small* amount of cayenne pepper. A little cayenne goes a long way. 
• If you have bell peppers on hand, feel free to chop them and add them to the recipe. A green bell pepper would be perfect for this recipe. Just be sure to recalculate your healthy eating plans. 
• Bay leaves can be added to this recipe, just remember to remove them from the pot before serving!
• If you are gluten free, be sure that your chicken sausage and quinoa are labeled as such.
• This recipe uses no chicken broth, chicken stock, or water, the liquid in the diced tomatoes is enough for the pressure cooker.

Healthy Eating Plans

Weight Watchers Points

Per 2 ¼ cup serving

7 2023 Points | 7 Blue Plan Points | 9 Green Plan Points | 4 Purple Plan Points 

21 Day Fix Instant Pot Jambalaya with Quinoa

Entire recipe: 12 Red Containers, 6 Yellow Containers, 6 Green Containers, and 6 Teaspoons.  

Per serving (2 ¼ cup): 2 Red Containers, 1 Yellow Container, 1 Green Container, and 1 teaspoon. 

Chicken sausage isn’t found on the food list, so either leave it out and add extra chicken breast instead or, if you choose to use it, I’d watch what you eat that day (be super strict!) and flush with lots of water after.

2B Mindset

This would be a great 2B lunch with additional vegetables as a side. 

More healthy high-protein Instant Pot recipes

• Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Bowls
• Healthy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
• High Protein Egg Drop Soup
• Instant Pot Cauliflower Fried Rice
• Instant Pot Chicken Gyro Bowls

4.63 from 8 ratings

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Instant Pot Jambalaya with Quinoa

Created by: Becca Ludlum

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Approximate Serving Size: 2 1/4 cups

Servings 6 Servings

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This Instant Pot Jambalaya is packed full of bold flavors and healthy protein! If your family is anything like mine it will be come a fast favorite.

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 qt
• Cutting Board
• Kitchen Knife

Ingredients 

• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 lb chicken breast boneless, skinless, cubed
• ▢ 1 ½ cups onion chopped
• ▢ 1 ½ cups celery chopped
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1 lb chicken sausage sliced
• ▢ 30 oz diced tomatoes low sodium, 2 15 oz cans
• ▢ 1 tsp thyme
• ▢ 1 tsp oregano
• ▢ 1 tsp basil
• ▢ 1 tsp crushed red peppers
• ▢ 1 tsp tabasco sauce or preferred hot sauce
• ▢ 1 lb shrimp raw, peeled, deveined, tail off
• ▢ 3 cups quinoa cooked
• ▢ 1 green onion diced

Instructions

• Turn your Instant Pot on to Sauté and add olive oil. 2 tbsp olive oil
• Once olive oil is hot, add chicken, onions, celery, and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes until fragrant and vegetables begin to soften. 1 lb chicken breast 1 ½ cups onion 1 ½ cups celery 4 cloves garlic
• Add your chicken sausage, diced tomatoes, thyme, oregano, basil, red pepper, and hot sauce. Stir everything together. 1 lb chicken sausage 30 oz diced tomatoes 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp basil 1 tsp crushed red peppers 1 tsp tabasco sauce
• Close and lock the lid and turn valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook or Manual and set the time for 5 minutes.
• After cooking is complete, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
• Stir in shrimp, then close the lid for two minutes to allow shrimp to cook. Do not turn the pressure cooker back on, just let the steam in the pot do the cooking. Shrimp cooks very fast, and you can tell it's cooked when the color turns from translucent to opaque with orange/pink tones. 1 lb shrimp
• If your shrimp don't look done after two minutes, close the pot and allow another minute or two.
• Serve warm over cooked quinoa. Top with chopped green onions, and additional Tabasco if desired. 3 cups quinoa 1 green onion

Notes

Recipe Tips

• Buy frozen chopped onions to save time.
• A small hand grater works wonderfully to mince cloves of garlic. 
• Add salt and black pepper to your tastes before pressure cooking.

Weight Watchers

Per 2 ¼ cup serving

7 2023 Points | 7 Blue Plan Points | 9 Green Plan Points | 4 Purple Plan Points 

21 Day Fix- Per serving (2 ¼ cup): 2 Red Containers, 1 Yellow Container, 1 Green Container, and 1 teaspoon. 

2B Mindset- This would be a great 2B lunch with additional vegetables as a side. 

Nutrition

Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 292mg | Sodium: 1475mg | Potassium: 791mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 743IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 206mg | Iron: 6mg

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