The method is very simple—you sauté the vegetables with chicken and sausage, add the rice and liquid, and then cook everything under pressure for just ten minutes. That’s it!
Ways to Adapt This Paella
Paella is such an adaptable dish, especially in the Instant Pot.
If you prefer white meat chicken, dice up some tenders in place of the chicken thighs. If you can’t find classic Spanish chorizo, use andouille or another spicy, cooked sausage. Or use a mild sausage!As for the spices, saffron is traditional for authentic paella—it adds a yellow hue and distinctive floral flavor. But it’s expensive and can be hard to find; skip it or use a pinch of turmeric instead.If you don’t have smoked paprika, regular sweet paprika will work just fine.
The Crunchy “Socarrat”
After cooking, you may see a crust of dark caramelization and crunchy rice at the bottom of the pan – this is ok! This is called “socarrat” and is traditional for paella. Just mix it in and enjoy.
Time Saving Tip for the Instant Pot!
Here’s a time-saving pressure cooker trick that I use in this recipe: Heat up the chicken broth ahead of time, and thaw the peas in the broth. You can do this on the stovetop or in the microwave, whichever you prefer. Hot ingredients take less time to come up to pressure so you shave a good 5 to 10 minutes off the total cooking time doing this, and dinner gets on the table sooner!
More Instant Pot Recipes With Rice
Pressure Cooker Porcupine Meatballs Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Instant Pot Chicken Adobo and Rice Instant Pot Chipotle Chicken and Rice Bowls Pressure Cooker Moroccan Chicken
Short-grain rice is traditional for paella, however it’s fine to substitute long-grain white rice or quick-cooking brown rice for this recipe. Cooking times are the same. Note from the editor: Our original version of this recipe called for one ripe diced tomato or one whole canned tomato (crushed), which adds a more authentic flavor to the paella. However, we received comments that this caused the paella to occasionally burn on the bottom. We’ve removed the tomatoes from the recipe to ensure a more consistently successful dish, but if you’d like to experiment with tomatoes on your own, add the tomato after cooking the garlic and cook until most of the liquid has evaporate before adding the onions. Thanks! (You can also heat the broth in a microwave safe bowl or liquid measuring cup for about three minutes. Add the peas and saffron after microwaving and cover to keep warm until needed.) Stir in the onion and bell pepper. Sauté until they have softened a little bit, 3 to 4 more minutes. Stir in the paprika and salt, and sauté for one more minute. Add the chicken and sausage and stir to combine. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, until the chicken has turned opaque. It’s ok if the chicken is still a little pink in the middle. The pot will take 5 to 10 minutes to come up to pressure, and then the cooking program will begin counting down. You may get a crust of dark caramelization and crunchy rice at the bottom of the pan — this is ok! This is called “socarrat” and is traditional for paella. Just mix it in and enjoy!
