Instant Pot Pastalaya. One-pot Cajun pasta jambalaya, pressure cooked in my Instant Pot.
This month's Camellia Bean Box came with a pack of spices for Pastalaya. I saw the name, and I immediately had to try it...after I figured out what Pastalaya actually is. (It's jambalaya made as a one-pot meal, with pasta instead of rice. Why didn't I think of that?)
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For a recipe I hadn't heard of, Pastalaya was everywhere. It sounds like it's the Louisiana equivalent of baked ziti, used at potluck dinners and church suppers, where the pasta makes it easier to make in large quantities for a crowd. (It also looks like a big hit at LSU Tigers tailgating.)
Where did Pastalaya come from? According to this interview with chef Nino Thibodaux, it's the story of Sicilian immigrants coming to New Orleans in the late 1800. They merged their pasta with the local jambalaya, and the result is fantastic.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Smoked sausage
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Cajun seasoning
- Fine sea salt
- Onion
- Celery
- Bell Pepper
- Garlic
- Southern hot sauce (Crystal, Louisiana, or Tabasco)
- Chicken broth
- Diced tomatoes and green chilies
- Penne pasta
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Green onions
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Instant Pot Pastalaya
Brown the sausage and chicken: Heat the olive oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté Mode - High until the oil starts shimmering. Add the smoked sausage and cook, occasionally stirring, until browned around the edges, about 3 minutes. Scoop the sausage out with a slotted spoon and move it to a bowl. Add the chicken thigh pieces and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning. Cook without stirring until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Scoop the chicken out with a slotted spoon and move to the bowl with the sausage.
Sauté the aromatics and spices: Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic to the pot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of sausage and chicken. Stir in the Cajun seasoning and sauté for 1 minute to toast the spices.
Everything in the pot: Add the sausage and chicken back to the pot, plus any juices in the bowl. Pour in the hot sauce and stir to coat the chicken. Pour in the chicken broth (plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt if using homemade chicken broth) and diced tomatoes. Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to ensure nothing is sticking. Stir in the pasta, poking it to ensure it is submerged in the pot liquid.
Pressure Cook for 4 minutes with a 10-minute natural release: Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 4 minutes. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook - high, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode for an Instant Pot, and set it to 4 minutes). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure. Unlock the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
Serve: Stir in the fresh ground black pepper. Pour into a big bowl, sprinkle with a bit of extra cajun seasoning and minced green onion. Serve, passing hot sauce, cajun seasoning, and minced green onion at the table. Enjoy!
Substitutions
Pasta shapes
Penne is the most common pasta in Pastalaya, but rotini and bowtie pasta (aka Farfalle) are common substitutes when the cook wants to look fancy. Any short pasta will work in this recipe, and if the box says it should cook for 11 to 14 minutes, the recipe works as written. If it takes 10 minutes or less to cook, cut the natural release time back from 10 minutes to 5 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure.
Cajun Seasoning
I like to make my own salt-free Cajun seasoning, and then add the salt myself. That said, there are a bunch of good store-bought cajun and creole seasonings, and any of them will work in this recipe.
What do you mean by Southern hot sauce?
There are a bunch of hot sauces from Louisiana - they like it hot down there. Tabasco is the most famous and hottest of the bunch. Louisiana Hot Sauce has Louisiana right in the name and is less hot than Tabasco. My favorite is Crystal Hot Sauce; I like the balance of heat and flavor. But, in this recipe, any of them will do to add a little heat and vinegar to the pasta.
Equipment
Scaling
Doubling this recipe needs an 8-quart pressure cooker. Cut all the ingredients in half, and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change; it takes the same time to cook a single piece of penne or chicken, no matter how many are in the pot.
Storage
Pastalaya will keep in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for a few months. I store it in 2-cup containers, which make the perfect size for a leftover lunch in the microwave.
Tips and Tricks
Spitting Starch
Most of the time, when I make this recipe, everything goes according to plan. Occasionally - one out of every five times I make it - quick releasing the pressure starts spitting starch everywhere. If your pressure cooker spits starch when you quick release the pressure, close the pressure release valve. (Carefully - the steam is scalding hot.) Let the pot sit for a couple of minutes, then pulse the pressure release open and closed a few times to release some pressure. Then try opening the pressure valve again and see if it releases clean. Repeat as necessary until all the pressure is released.
What's happening? The pressure drop in the pot lets the liquid jump to a rolling boil. The starch in the liquid is thrown into the air inside the pot - and then spit out through the pressure release valve. Closing the pressure release lets the liquid settle down and cool off a little more, so it doesn't bubble up as much the next time you open the valve.
(Why doesn't this happen most of the time? I don't know. If you're a pressure cooker engineer, let me know what's happening in the comments below.)
Liquid in the pot
There will be some liquid in the pot when the Pastalaya finishes cooking; most of it will be soaked up by the pasta as the pot rests, and you do want some liquid as a sauce. If the pot has too much liquid left after cooking, you probably used a 12-ounce box of pasta. (I've had complaints about too much liquid, and the ones I've followed up on were fooled by a box that looked like it was the same size as the other, 16-ounce boxes near it, but wasn't.)
Real Jambalaya
If you're looking for Jambalaya with Rice, check out my Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe. Or, for other cajun recipes, try my Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup, Instant Pot Dirty Rice, or Instant Pot Cajun Pinto Beans.
What to serve with Pastalaya
Collard greens and green beans are my favorite side dishes with Pastalaya. I also pass a few toppings at the table to sprinkle on the pasta: minced cajun seasoning, green onions, and hot sauce.
Adapted from: Southern Boyz Outdoors Pastalaya https://youtu.be/qXP9kJX81aQ
Print
Instant Pot Pastalaya Recipe
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Pastalaya. One-pot Cajun pasta jambalaya, pressure cooked in my Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12- to 16 ounces Smoked Sausage, cut into ½-inch rounds
- 1 pound boneless skinless Chicken Thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (store bought or homemade)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (if using salt-free Cajun seasoning)
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 stalk celery, minced
- 1 bell pepper, seeded and minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning (store bought or homemade)
- 1 tablespoon southern hot sauce (Crystal, Louisiana, or Tabasco)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (Or 4 cups homemade broth or water + 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)
- 15-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chilies (or 2 10-ounce cans)Â
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Toppings
- More hot sauce
- More cajun seasoning
- 3 green onions, mincedÂ
Instructions
- Brown the sausage and chicken: Heat the olive oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté Mode - High (use medium-high heat in a stovetop PC) until the oil starts shimmering. Add the smoked sausage and cook, occasionally stirring, until browned around the edges, about 3 minutes. Scoop the sausage out with a slotted spoon and move it to a bowl. Add the chicken thigh pieces, and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning (and ½ teaspoon salt if using salt-free seasoning). Cook without stirring until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Scoop the chicken out with a slotted spoon and move to the bowl with the sausage.
- Sauté the aromatics and spices: Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic to the pot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of sausage and chicken. Stir in the Cajun seasoning and sauté for 1 minute to toast the spices.
- Everything in the pot: Add the sausage and chicken back to the pot, plus any juices in the bowl. Pour in the hot sauce and stir to coat the chicken. Pour in the chicken broth (plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt if using homemade chicken broth) and diced tomatoes. Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to make sure nothing is sticking. Stir in the pasta, poking it to ensure it is submerged in the pot liquid.
- Pressure Cook for 4 minutes with a 10-minute Natural Release: Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 4 minutes in an electric or stovetop pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook - high, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode for an Instant Pot, and set it to 4 minutes). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure. Unlock the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
- Serve: Stir in the fresh ground black pepper. Pour into a big bowl, sprinkle with a bit of extra cajun seasoning and minced green onion. Serve, passing hot sauce, cajun seasoning, and minced green onion at the table. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Cajun
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My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Charlie DeSando
Great fun idea, looks delicious
Nancy
I am born and raised in Louisiana and I have never heard of Pastalaya but this looks delicious and authentic. Personally, I am a Tabasco lover but I would say Crystal is in most people's home. The Camelia Bean site has an instant pot recipe for red beans and I can tell you, it is the BEST! recipe for red beans and rice. So good.
Mike Vrobel
Thank you!