This hearty seafood jambalaya is a fast and easy recipe, thanks to your electric pressure cooker! It’s great for meal prep, and freezes well as a make-ahead meal.
If you’ve ever traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, you’ve likely had the pleasure of enjoying authentic Creole and Cajun cooking. There’s honestly nothing quite like it!
This Seafood Jambalaya recipe is a Creole dish that’s a mix of French, Indian, and Spanish cuisine influences. It starts with what’s known as the Holy Trinity in Cajun and Creole cooking: onions, celery, and peppers. It’s a delicious flavor base for jambalaya, which is a dish consisting of a mix of rice, vegetables, and meat.
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🍤 Gather your ingredients
To make this delicious seafood Creole recipe, you’ll need:
Andouille Sausage – This adds a delicious bit of a kick to the dish! You can also use a mild Italian sausage if you prefer this dish to be super mild.
Onions – Use yellow onions in this recipe, or white onions. If you only have red onions, you can substitute those, but be aware that they may lend a very sharp flavor to the dish. You can also add green onions as a final garnish.
Celery – I prefer finely chopped celery in this dish but some people prefer larger chopped chunks of celery. Go with how you generally prefer celery in dishes.
Bell pepper – Bell peppers complete the Holy Trinity of Cajun/Creole cooking. For this recipe, I prefer red bell pepper. But you can use green bell pepper instead.
Garlic – I use 2 or 3 garlic cloves in this recipe. You can cut that to one clove if you prefer a more subtle garlic flavor. But definitely include at least one clove; this recipe isn’t the same without garlic, and garlic powder is not an equal substitute.
Cajun seasoning – I keep mine pretty simple for this recipe — just dried oregano, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.
Rice – Rinse and drain long grain white rice for this jambalaya recipe.
Chicken broth – use homemade or store-bought chicken broth
Raw shrimp – Jumbo shrimp or large shrimp work best for this recipe. You’ll want to peel and de-vein the shrimp.
Peas – Frozen peas are great for this recipe!
👩🏽🍳 How to make seafood jambalaya in the Ninja Foodi
Detailed instructions and exact measurements are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
STEP 1 – Select Sear/Sauté on your Ninja Foodi, then set to HI. Select Start/Stop to begin. Let preheat for 5 minutes.
STEP 2 –Pour the olive oil into the pot. Once the oil is hot, add the sausage and sear it evenly on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the sausage to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
STEP 3 –Add the onion, red pepper, celery, garlic, paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper to the pot. Sauté for 2 minutes, just until vegetables are soft and fragrant. Add a tablespoon or so of chicken broth to the pot then use a wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Select Start/Stop. Stir in the uncooked rice, tomatoes, kosher salt, and black pepper.
STEP 4 –Pour in the remaining chicken broth and gently press down on the rice and vegetable mixture to submerge it in the liquid.
STEP 5 –Assemble the pressure lid, making sure the pressure release valve is in the Seal position. Select Pressure and set to HI. Set the time to 5 minutes. Select Start/Stop to begin.
STEP 6 –When pressure cooking is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, quick release remaining pressure by moving the pressure release valve to the Vent position. Carefully remove the lid when the unit has finished releasing pressure.
STEP 7 –Stir the ingredients in the pot. Immediately add the sausage, shrimp, and peas. Gently push the shrimp down a bit so it’s mostly covered by the rice.
STEP 8 –Re-assemble the lid and seal, then allow the shrimp to cook in the residual heat until shrimp is fully cooked, between 5 and 10 minutes. Once the shrimp has turned pink and is cooked, stir the ingredients to combine, and serve.
💡Recipe FAQs
Let the jambalaya cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to four days.
The best way to reheat it is in a pot or pan over the stove with a little bit of oil. That will retain the seafood flavors and texture the most. You can also microwave it for 1-2 minutes if you prefer.
⏲ Tools & equipment you need to make this recipe
To start: you need either a 6-quart Ninja Foodi or 8-quart Ninja Foodi, a 6-quart Instant Pot or 8-quart Instant Pot, or other electric pressure cooker. NOTE: I make this recipe in my Ninja Foodi 8-quart Deluxe XL Pressure Cooker.
You will also need:
🍽 What to serve with seafood jambalaya
Because this is a hearty, satisfying main course in and of itself, you don’t need to serve much in addition to this seafood jambalaya for dinner.
Add a side of veggies and/or fruit, and you’re set! I like to serve it with Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots. It’s also delicious with simple Air Fryer Broccoli.
🍷 What wine pairs with seafood jambalaya
While this recipe is not spicy, it does have big, bold flavors. Pair seafood jambalaya with an off-dry Riesling.
If you’re in the mood for red wine, stay away from wines with high tannins, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. High tannins tend to make the spices more pronounced. Instead, opt for a soft, low tannin red wine, such as a Spanish Rioja or a Pinot Noir.
More pressure cooker recipes
- Instant Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Ninja Foodi Shrimp Scampi Linguine
- Healthy Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken
- The BEST Instant Pot Chili recipe
Seafood Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 ounces Andouille sausage, cut into ½-inch thick slices
- 1/2 cup yellow or white onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth, divided
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 cups large shrimp, peeled, tails removed (about 22 to 24 shrimp)
- 1/2 cup peas
Instructions
- Select Sear/Sauté, set to HI. Select Start/Stop to begin. Let preheat for 5 minutes.
- Pour the olive oil into the pot. Once the oil is hot, add the sausage and sear it evenly on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper to the pot. Sauté for 2 minutes, just until vegetables are soft and fragrant. Add a tablespoon or so of chicken broth to the pot then use a wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Select Start/Stop. Stir in the rice, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
- Pour in the remaining chicken broth and gently press down on the rice and vegetable mixture to submerge it in the liquid.
- Assemble the pressure lid, making sure the pressure release valve is in the Seal position. Select Pressure and set to HI. Set the time to 5 minutes. Select Start/Stop to begin.
- When pressure cooking is complete, allow pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, quick release remaining pressure by moving the pressure release valve to the Vent position. Carefully remove the lid when the unit has finished releasing pressure.
- Stir ingredients in the pot. Immediately add the sausage, shrimp, and peas. Gently push the shrimp down a bit so it’s mostly covered by the rice.
- Re-assemble the lid and seal, then allow the shrimp to cook in the residual heat until shrimp is fully cooked, between 5 and 10 minutes. Once the shrimp has turned pink and is cooked, stir the ingredients to combine, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this with Jasmine Brown Rice and just cooked it longer. The kids don’t even realize it’s brown rice!
Love Pressure Cooker recipes, they speed up the cooking and handsfree processing time!
This looks incredible and it reminds me of being in New Orleans. I really need to try making it myself.
Really love how quick and easy this recipe is. Definitely something worth trying for family gatherings during weekends!
I love how easy this recipe is to make!! Anything that’s meal prep friendly is a win in my book! Can’t wait to make this again soon!
Cooked this in my pressure cooker tonight and the whole crew loved it. Dinner with rice in it always goes down a treat! We served it with extra veggies.