Brown Rice 'Jambalaya' (Instant Pot Recipe!)

My dream food city is probably New Orleans. New Orleans cuisine is very distinct, and it has influences of French, Spanish, African, and Native American food. I especially love jambalaya, which is a dish made of rice and meat – often andouille sausage, chicken and shrimp. It is cooked with vegetables, typically the “holy trinity” of green bell pepper, celery, and onion, and Creole or Cajun spices. Some versions contain tomatoes, and some don’t.

I love jambalaya. It’s traditionally not pescetarian, so I swapped chicken for mushrooms and used vegetarian sausage to make my version. I also used brown rice instead of white rice, since that’s my family’s favorite type of rice. It also adds body to the jambalaya, so I prefer using it, even though it isn’t traditional. Since I don’t usually have the patience to cook the rice on a stovetop, I used my instant pot instead to make it. It’s one of my family’s favorite dishes!

Ingredients

The base for this recipe is the Cajun “holy trinity” of diced celery, onion, and green bell pepper. Like a soffrito, these three ingredients work together really well to provide a foundation for the stew. The jambalaya is spiced with a Cajun spice mix – since I couldn’t find it in stores, I made a homemade version.

The spice mix is made of:

• Salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Dried onion
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Red pepper flakes

For the rest of the jambalaya, you’ll need:

• Celery
• White onion
• Green bell pepper
• Diced tomatoes
• Vegetable or chicken stock
• Brown rice
• Vegetarian sausage
• Mushrooms
• Shrimp (optional if you want the recipe to be vegetarian)

Making Jambalaya

This recipe can be made all in the Instant Pot! It’s so easy: saute the ingredients, then let it pressure cook for 22 minutes, and you’ve got jambalaya!

First, you’ll need to saute the shrimp, sausage, and mushrooms until they’re cooked. Then remove them from the pot – you’ll add them back in at the end. (This isn’t the traditional way to make jambalaya, but it makes it simpler.)

Then, dice the celery, onion, and green bell pepper.

Saute them in the instant pot with your spices. Once they are fragrant, add the rice, tomatoes, and broth. Pressure cook it, let it release, and stir in the shrimp, sausage, and mushrooms.

Enjoy!

Tips

• Use a sharp knife when cutting onions to reduce the amount of eye-stinging sulfenic acid it produces.
• My favorite brand of vegetarian sausage is Beyond Meat’s sausage links or Tofurky vegetarian kielbasa. Use the hot variety for the best kick, but if you don’t like spice, use the sweet version.
• If you find the jambalaya a little soupy after it’s released pressure, you can turn the Instant Pot to saute and let it boil for a little longer to thicken up.

Brown Rice Jambalaya

A pescetarian take on jambalaya!

Prep Time: 20 min	Cook Time: 30 min
Total Time: 50 min	Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp onion powder or dried onion
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes or ground red pepper
• 1 white onion
• 3 stalks celery
• 2 green bell peppers
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb vegetarian sausage, sliced
• 1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
• 12 oz mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

Instructions

1. Dice onion, celery, and bell pepper into about equal-size cubes.
2. Turn the Instant Pot to saute and add 1 tsp olive oil. Cook vegetarian sausage until browned. Remove from the pot and set aside. Cook shrimp until pink and curled. Set aside. Cook mushrooms until water is released and evaporated. Set aside.
3. Add the rest of the olive oil to the empty Instant Pot. Add in diced onion, celery, and bell pepper, and saute until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Add in the spices and seasonings, and saute until fragrant.
4. Stir in rice, tomatoes, and stock.
5. Cover the Instant Pot and set to sealing. Cancel saute and set Instant Pot to manual for 23 minutes.
6. When the Instant Pot is done cooking, let it natural release for 10 minutes. Then manually release the rest of the pressure.
7. Open the Instant Pot and stir in the sausage, shrimp, and mushrooms.
8. Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe is gluten-free. If you want to make it vegetarian, omit the shrimp. You can use vegetarian chicken or double the amount of mushrooms instead.