Instant Pot Jambalaya with Plant-based Andouille Sausage

A tasty oil-free and plant-based jambalaya brought together in a pressure cooker, featuring plant-based andouille sausage!

Every now and then, I get a craving for a delicacy from a past life. Have you ever enjoyed a food that hallmarks a time or place in your life?

A couple of decades ago, I lived in Slidell, Louisiana, within a mile of Lake Pontchartrain – across from New Orleans. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago… long before my current life began.

Being a young and single twenty-something, I enjoyed learning about the Crescent City’s culture and traditions; though admittedly, Mardi Gras was a tradition with a little more pizzazz than I was comfortable with. But that didn’t stop me from seeing the sights, sounds, smells, and foods of the area. It was a time of self-discovery. I learned big-city things – for example, I knew that I didn’t want to be anywhere near Bourbon Street after midnight by myself. Remember, this was an era long before cell phones and Uber or Lyft existed.

I enjoyed ordering and eating fresh beignets at Cafe Du Monde Riverwalk – “a New Orleans tradition”. Founded in 1862, it’s an iconic coffee house serving up beignets (pronounced ben-yei) along the Mississippi River. Beignets are square French-style fried doughnuts made out of choux paste and lavishly covered with powdered sugar. Thinking about it now, I’m still amazed at how much powdered sugar was left at the bottom of that greasy paper bag. But back then, beignets were my favorite splurge.

Needless to say, I quickly fell in love with all of the many culinary treasures of New Orleans. I mean, what’s not to love? Every time I thought I had tried everything the city had to offer me, I was introduced to something new. My favorites were ettoufee, red beans and rice, po-boys, gumbo, and jambalaya.

I think it was at this time in my life that I really discovered my deep appreciation for delicious food. Before then, I had only really lived a few places and my exposure to world cuisine was limited. I was fortunate that my parents earnestly offered me many opportunities to discover new foods. For New Years each year, we sampled different dishes that my parents researched and recreated in an effort to broaden our palettes for a different region, country, or cuisine.

And I already mentioned in another post that I was introduced to freshly made flour tortillas in Texas. But these small snippets only intrigued me. I was only just beginning my world food exploration and fairly unaware of all the world has to offer.

So when I moved to Louisiana and became acquainted with Cajun and Creole delicacies, I gained an insatiable desire to try whatever cuisine a town, state, region, or country has to offer me. And just so you know, between the beignets, festivals, and plethora of rich and delicious foods, I took up running… obviously nothing like Forest Gump. But I did run in the Crescent City Classic (a 10K) before I was transferred again.

As I mentioned, Jambalaya became a solid favorite. Jambalaya is a Cajun delight with so much unique flavor, heavily influenced by many of countries around the world, including Africa, France, Spain, and Native America. It contains an incredible array of spices that embolden it with bright flavors and spice – it has been made a myriad of ways and using a variety of ingredients, most prominently with the area’s famous smoked andouille sausage.

Have you ever had andouille sausage or jambalaya?

So when I started craving some of my favorite New Orleans flavors, I had to make some Plant-based Andouille Sausage first. Please know that my Plant-based Andouille Sausage is super easy to make and stores extremely well in the refrigerator and freezer. Simply mix up the ingredients, shape into rolls, and bake or smoke. That’s it.

Not only is it amazingly simple, it’s incredibly delicious and versatile in a wide array of Cajun dishes, including Gumbo. My husband enjoys putting sausage on a hoagie roll with sautéed peppers and onions.

And my Plant-based Andouille Sausage perfectly embodies the authentic flavors of this Instant Pot Jambalaya. Just look at this bold and colorful Jambalaya! Imagine that these colors and sausage represent piquancy and you’ll understand what I’m trying to convey.

Once you have your Plant-based Andouille Sausage ready, you’ll need to gather your ingredients, which includes several more key components, the next being the holy trinity – the mirepoix of Cajun and Creole cuisine. Mirepoix traditionally consists of onion, celery, and carrots. But in Cajun cooking, the mirepoix or holy trinity consists of onion, celery, and bell peppers.

According to the Food Network, the traditional holy trinity uses three parts onion, two parts celery, and one part green bell pepper (Food Network). For this recipe, I use one onion, some celery, and a couple of bell peppers. Add in an extra onion if you’d like. As long as you use a variety of color, this Instant Pot Jambalaya maintain the flavor composition and will be absolutely delicious.

Now this is where the pressure cooker comes in. Using the sauté function, cook your fresh vegetables until translucent. Then add the crushed tomatoes and sliced okra.

Another critical component for authentically flavored jambalaya is the unique blend of spices, including bay leaf, thyme, paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, and a blend of peppers.

It’s important to note that instead of serving the vegetable-sausage medley over rice as you do with étouffée and gumbo, jambalaya employs the technique used to produce Spain’s paella and Italy’s risotto. In other words, jambalaya is made by cooking the rice with the vegetables and sausage. And Instant Pot Jambalaya really simplifies the process to ensure it turns out perfect each and every time.

To increase the depth of flavor in this Jambalaya, I employ my Umami Vegetable Broth. In addition to kitchen scraps mostly consisting of onions, celery, and carrots (remember that incredible mirepoix combination?), it also contains dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, garlic, and bay leaves. Best of all, it does not contain any added salt or unnecessary additives. And bonus, you can use the Umami Vegetable Broth for just about every recipe that calls for broth, stock, or water – it truly enhances soups, stews, stir-fries, and grains.

One note – and this one is very important – the time in the Instant Pot depends entirely on the kind of rice you use. If you use white rice, you only need 8 minutes on High Pressure. If you are using brown rice, you need to set it for 25 minutes on High Pressure.

Once the pressure releases naturally, remove the lid, add in the slices of Plant-based Andouille Sausage and replace the lid for about five minutes to heat it through. Then remove the lid once again and stir the Jambalaya gently to fully incorporate.

I hope you enjoy this Instant Pot Jambalaya with Plant-based Andouille Sausage. It’s fantastic served with salad, gumbo and cornbread.

Ingredients

• 2 bell peppers
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 onion
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic

• 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups rice*
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup fresh or frozen okra, sliced
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper
• ½-1 tsp cayenne pepper**

• 3 cups Plant-based Andouille Sausage, sliced
• salt to taste (optional)***

Instructions

1. Chop your peppers, celery, and onion.
2. Using the sauté function in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, sauté the vegetables for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1-2 additional minutes.

1. Add in the remaining ingredients – except the sausage – and stir to combine.
2. Lock the lid and ensure the sealing knob is turned to “sealing” or “closed”.
3. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes* if using regular white rice or 25 minutes* if using brown rice.  Allow the pressure to release naturally, about 15-20 minutes.

1. Remove the lid. 
2. Add in the sliced Plant-based Andouille Sausage and stir to combine.
3.  Replace the lid to allow sausage to heat through with residual heat for 5 minutes.
4.  Remove the lid and serve. 

Notes

* Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes* if using regular white rice or 25 minutes* if using brown rice.  Allow the pressure to release naturally, about 15-20 minutes.

** Use ½ tsp cayenne pepper for mild and 1 tsp for medium.  Add more if you prefer it spicy.

*** I normally don’t add salt; but if you prefer to enhance the flavor profile, add ½ -1 teaspoon of salt, to taste. If you use commercial vegetable broth, you may find there is already enough salt in it.

This recipe is adapted from Gimme Some Oven’s Jambalaya Recipe.