Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice is a super flavorful one-pot dinner made right in your electric pressure cooker. It is a combo of chicken thighs, smoked beef sausage and rice mixed with carrots, onions, garlic and peas all infused with Cajun spices. It is done in just over 30 minutes! You are going to love this dinner recipe.
Another great Cajun recipe to check out is this Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice, especially great if you have a ham bone leftover!
RELATED: Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli and Rice
Why You Should Make This Recipe
- A chance to use your Instant Pot to make something other than soup!
- It is a meal all made in ONE POT… Helloooo easy prep and easy clean up!
- Cooking the rice in the Instant Pot with the Cajun Seasonings , chicken and sausage really amps up the flavor or your long grain white rice.
- Everything is included in this dish.. starch, protein, and veggies. No need for a side dish here.
Ingredients
Here are the things that you need to make Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice, and a few notes to help you choose the right ingredients:
Rice – I have tested this recipe using long grain white rice and Texmati rice. Basmati rice should cook in the same amount of time.
Brown Rice
If you want to use brown rice, increase the time to 12 minutes at high pressure with a 5 minute natural release.
Andouille Sausage – I like to use the Johnsonville Andouille Sausage in this recipe. However if you cannot find that, a smoked beef sausage will work too!
Chicken Thighs- Make sure you buy boneless skinless chicken thighs. This is dark meat so it will be super tender and juicy after it is cooked!
Chicken Base- You can find this in the soup aisle of your grocery store. It comes in a paste form and is way more flavorful than bouillon. We like the Better Than Bouillon brand.
Cajun Seasonings
Some of the most important ingredients in this recipe are the spices and seasonings! It is what gives it that Cajun, Southern flavor.
You will want to use a “Cajun Seasoning”. There are a lot of options here; I have used the Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Seasoning as well as the McCormick’s Cajun Seasoning Blend. Both are great.
Store Bought Cajun Seasoning
Check and see if there is salt in your seasoning blend by looking at the ingredients. If there IS SALT do not add additional salt until you taste the final product.
But if you want to make your own it is super simple and you probably have most of the ingredients in your spice cabinet, pop over to this recipe for Homemade Cajun Seasoning!
Some other recipes to make with your Cajun seasoning are Cajun Shrimp and Dirty Rice and Beans.
Step-by-Step Picture Instructions
You will be building layers of flavor in this dish, and it turns out to be the most delicious one pot dinner!
- Prep Your Rice.
- Sauté Veggies.
- Add Chicken, Sausage, Seasonings, Etc…
- Add Rice and Liquid.
- Pressure Cook.
- Fluff The Rice and Add Peas.
Start by rinsing your rice under cool water in a fine mesh colander. Lightly toss it with your fingers until the water runs clear. Set it aside.
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With your Instant Pot on sauté mode add the oil and let it heat up. Add the cut carrots, onions and garlic and sauté for just about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Turn off sauté mode and stir in the chicken pieces, cut sausage, smoked paprika, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper and chicken base.
Give it all a good stir to coat.
Add the rinsed rice to the pot and give it a VERY LIGHT stir. You don’t want all the rice to sink to the bottom.
Pour in the chicken broth and make sure that most of the rice is submerged.
Lightly pour the canned diced tomatoes over top. Do not stir the pot again.
Pop the lid on and turn the pressure valve to seal. Set the pot to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
Do a 5 minute natural release and the finish with a quick release.
Stir the frozen peas into the pot and fluff the rice with a fork.
Taste for additional seasonings… kosher salt, Cajun seasoning, red pepper or cayenne for heat.
Serve hot!
Recipe Tips
- Make sure you rinse your rice before adding it to the pot. This will remove some of the starch and make sure your rice isn’t overly sticky.
- Taste the dish at the end to see if you want more seasoning… Cajun seasoning, kosher salt, or peppers.
- Cut your carrots about ½ inch thick so that they don’t turn to mush when they cook under pressure.
- Crank up the heat by adding a dash of cayenne or a few extra pinches of red pepper flakes.
- Sub red kidney beans for the peas to make more of a dirty rice with chicken and sausage. Drain the red beans and add them with the rice.
More Amazing Cajun Recipes
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Did you make this recipe?
I would love to hear your review, especially if you have tips and tricks to add! Pop down to the comment section and connect with me
Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 1 yellow onion - chopped
- 3 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 cup carrots - peeled, cut into ½ inch chunks
- 3-4 boneless skinless chicken thighs - cut into 1 inch chunks
- 13.5 oz Andouille Sausage - sliced into ½ inch chunks (I use Johnsonville Andouille Smoked Sausage)
- 2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning - (if your Cajun seasoning does not contain salt, then add ½ teaspoon kosher salt) or make your own Cajun Seasoning!!
- 1 tsp (heaping) smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon chicken base
- 1½ cups long grain white rice - rinsed**
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Start by rinsing your white rice under cool water in a fine mesh colander until the water runs clear. Set it aside.
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add the oil and sauté the onions, carrots, and garlic, 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally1 Tablespoon oil, 1 yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 cup carrots
- Turn off sauté mode.
- Add the chicken pieces, cut sausage, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and chicken base. Stir well to coat.3-4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, 13.5 oz Andouille Sausage, 2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, 1 teaspoon (heaping) smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoon chicken base
- Add the rice and VERY lightly stir it into the pot. You don't want to stir all the rice to the bottom.1½ cups long grain white rice
- Pour in the chicken broth. Make sure all the rice is submerged.2 cups chicken broth
- Very lightly pour the can of diced tomatoes over top. Do not stir.14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- Put the lid on and close the pressure valve to seal. Set the Instant Pot to the pressure setting on high pressure, normal heat for 8 minutes.
- At the end, when the timer beeps, do a 5 minute natural release. Finish with a quick release by turning the pressure valve to "vent".
- Once all the pressure is released take the lid off and add the frozen peas and stir to combine. The heat from the pot will cook the peas.1 cup frozen peas
- Serve immediately.
Storing
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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Recipe Tips and Notes:
- Taste the dish at the end to see if you want more seasoning… Cajun seasoning, kosher salt, or peppers.
- Cut your carrots about ½ inch thick so that they don’t turn to mush when they cook under pressure.
- Crank up the heat by adding a dash of cayenne or a few extra pinches of red pepper flakes.
- Sub red kidney beans for the peas to make more of a dirty rice with chicken and sausage. Drain the red beans and add them with the rice.
**This dish was inspired by Pressure Cooker Weeknight Paella with Chicken & Sausage from Simply Recipes.
Jess says
This has become one of my go-to meals when hosting!
TAS says
One of my families favorite dinners! It is requested by my kids often!
Valerie says
This recipe has become an immediate keeper!! I have been trying to find quick, delicious, and inexpensive recipes to make in the instant pot and this one is amazing. I love that the spices can be mixed, and the meats prepped ahead of time. It’s the perfect recipe for quick weeknight meals as well as simple weekend meals. We only use jasmine rice and we cooked it exactly per your instructions and did not find the rice to be too mushy. Thank you for sharing this recipe and I plan to pass it on to family and friends.
Ruthie Collins says
LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! The spice is great!! I am going to attempt it with shrimp as well!!!
Kelly Prenger says
This is my new favorite Cajun recipe!! It’s so delicious and was very easy to make. I used brown rice instead of white and added three extra minutes and it turned out great! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Terry Ham says
I am so confused. after 10 minutes in the instant, the rice was still firm and there was LOTS of liquid still. I reread the recipe twice thinking that I must have done something wrong. I put the lid back on cooked high for 5 more minutes and let sit under the pressure for 15 minutes then released the pressure and it looks pretty good. Still a little soggy but I can accept that with Jambalaya. I don’t understand why it worked for everyone else.
Susie says
Next time try cooking it on the rice setting for 15 minutes. That may help with getting your rice cooked and the liquid absorbed.
Amy says
I made this tonight and it was great! My family even went back for seconds! I added some mushrooms in when I added the meat & spices….YUM!!!
This is going in the family approved rotation. Thanks for an easy, tasty recipe!!
Susie says
I love hearing that your family went back for seconds!
Winnie says
What do you consider chicken base?
Susie says
It will be in the soup aisle of your grocery store, near the bouillon cubes. It comes in a jar or tub and is a paste consistency. Two brands I buy that are very common are Better Than Bouillon or LB Jamison’s. I hope you can find it, it does make a huge difference in flavor. (google “soup base” and you can see pictures of it too)
Melissa Groves says
My rice came out mushy. We just ate the chicken and sausage pieces and threw out the rest. Followed it exactly as written. Don’t know what I did or why it would come out this way.
Susie says
Im so sorry it didn’t work for you!!! The rice is definitely more of a wet- casserole type rice, but it shouldn’t be “mushy”
George Shomsky says
Melissa
I use basmati or jasmine rice uncooked and reduced the liquid to a little over 1 3/4 cups of chicken stock. I use the rice setting on my instapot for 10 mins. Rice turns out perfect.
Kelli says
I’ve made this recipe several times. What I now do is reduced the liquid to 1 1/2 cups to get the correct rice consistency. As I try to keep my salt low intake low so I used low sodium chicken stock instead of bullion cubes and water. I also tripled the spices that the recipe called for to really amp up the Cajun flavor. It is delicious, one of our favorite recipes!!
Susie says
Excellent! I love that you made it your own! Thank you for sharing.
Kat says
Hi Susie – if I wanted to adjust this to brown rice with beans, can i just up the cook time to 20 minutes, or will it ruin the beans completely?
Susie says
There are actually no beans in the recipe (except the peas, but you definitely want to add those after the pot cooks, or they will turn to mush). It looks like for brown rice you can set it for 20 minutes with a quick release, or do 15 minutes with a complete natural release. PLEASE let me know which you choose and if it works for you, you are not the first person to ask about brown rice. I think I need to test it with brown rice : )
Susie says
Im sorry… I just re-read your comment… you WANT to use beans!! OK.. if you are using canned beans, I would stir them in after the pot cooks. The residual heat from the pot will warm the beans enough and then they won’t turn to mush.
I’m afraid dried beans and the brown rice will not cook in the same amount of time, the dried beans would take longer (about 30-40 minutes), leaving the rice over-cooked.
Kat says
Thanks Susie!
cori says
can this be doubled in a 6 quart pot? i assume no?
Susie says
Im not sure it would fit in a 6 quart if you doubled. I also cook in a 6 quart, but would worry about it cooking correctly with that many ingredients in the pot (especially the rice). I think you could definitely do 1.5 x the recipes.
Rachel says
This looks incredible! How would I adjust the recipe/cooking time for cauliflower rice? I’m new to low carb and instant pot cooking.
Susie says
Hi Rachel, Thank you for checking out this recipe! I have not worked with cauliflower rice a ton, so this suggestion is just off the top of my head, I’m not 100% sure it will work since I haven’t tested it.(that’s my disclaimer- lol)
I would follow the first three steps, and add the first 14 ingredients EXCEPT change the liquid to 1 1/2 cups water (and still add the 2t chicken base), pop the lid on and cook for 8 MINUTES. Release the pressure and add your cauliflower rice, tomatoes, and frozen peas, the heat of the pot should warm them thru.
The only thing I am not 100% sure on is the amount of liquid, because you need the liquid to run the pot, but there is nothing to absorb the liquid (ie, rice), so this may be very liquid-ey.
You can always turn your pot back on to saute mode at the end and add a little cornstarch slurry to thicken the liquid.
If you do try it, let me know how it turns out!!!!!
You actually may have given me a great recipe to test, I started Weight Watchers this month and need some more vegetable heavy dishes. Thanks!!!!
Karen South Jones says
I have an 8 quart Instant Pot. Could I double the recipe? (I’m new to the Instant Post craze!)
Susie says
No, this recipe should work just find in your 8 quart! Enjoy, and check out some of my other Instant Pot Recipes. Especially my post titled “Instant Pot Recipes for Beginners”.
Nancy says
This was a fabulous recipe, thank you! I hade made meatloaf the other day in my Instant Pot and refrigerated the leftover cooking liquid so I used that for this recipe. I also left out the chicken, using just the sausage, and added a parsnip – it was fabulous! So easy to prepare and tweak as needed.
Susie says
I am so glad you loved it! I love hearing how people sub and tweak the recipe. Excellent!!
Alayna says
Sounds good! I have all kinds of soup and taco recipes for the instant pot/slow cooker, but this one is unique. Can’t wait to try it!
Susie says
Excellent! It is one of our favorites. Let me know how you like it.