This pressure cooker shrimp paella made in my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker will knock your socks off. And if you're not wearing socks, It'll make your toes curl. Not only does it have tons of flavor, it comes together so quickly with only a five minute high pressure cook time in the Instant Pot.
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The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.
I'm bizack with another Instant Pot recipe...and I'm super excited to share this one because it's such a quick and easy meal.
Although I love to cook, most weeknights I'm exhausted and I'd rather not stand in front of the stove. I'd rather not dirty up pots and pans. I'd rather order out but then my bank account says "no ma'am."
It's days like that that recipes in my Instant Pot are so important. If you haven't gotten an Instant Pot yet, you're so missing out. It is one of my all time favorite kitchen appliances, outside of my oven.
I go on and on about it in my post of Instant Pot Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge so I won't do that again here. But for those that don't know, it's an electronic pressure cooker that pretty much cuts cooking time in half.
It has a sauté function that makes it great for browning meats and softening onions that are part of meals.
Alrighty, so about this Instant Pot pressure cooker shrimp paella. Well I always keep a bag of raw frozen shrimp in our freezer at home. I love frozen shrimp because the defrost time is so quick and the cook time of shrimp is so fast.
The great thing about this recipe is that you don't even have to defrost the shrimp. It's a literally a throw it in the pot kind of recipe. And if you prep your ingredients ahead of time by chopping the onions, peppers, and garlic...well my friend, you may break the record for the quickest dinner on the table.
Your family will love this Pressure Cooker Shrimp Paella
I remember the first time I made this for my family, my daughter literally was shocked and thought I ordered out and didn't tell her. She couldn't believe how quickly dinner was done. I just told her I was Super Mom. She was indeed impressed.
People don't generally think of cooking shrimp in the pressure cooker. That makes sense because shrimp cooks quickly and if it's not done right it can lead to a rubbery mess.
The key to avoiding this of course is a short cooking time and using jumbo frozen shrimp with shell on. This will ensure your shrimp is perfectly cooked.
The only slight annoyance with this recipe is the taking the shell off after cooking and before serving. Honestly, it's up to you how you handle that part. On days I'm really tired, hubby and daughter are on their own when it comes to taking off the shells. On other days, I remove it for them so I don't hear their whining.
I've include step by step photos of how to cook this meal in the Instant Pot. I remember when I first got my Instant Pot I was lost on how to operate it. After pressing buttons and reading the manual 4 times, I figured it out. Well, as always, Enjoy 🙂
Pin Pressure Cooker Shrimp Paella for Later 🙂
Looking for more Pressure Cooker Recipes? Try these out:
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice (NY Street Cart)
Instant Pot Salmon with Creamy Herb Sauce
Southern Style Pressure Cooker Collard Greens
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Shrimp Paella
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo shrimp, shell and tail on frozen
- 1 cup Jasmine rice
- 4 Tablespoon butter
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup cilantro optional
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Saute function. Add butter to pot and melt. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook for about a minute more. Add paprika, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and saffron threads. Stir and cook for about 1 minute. Add red peppers. Add rice and stir. Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add chicken broth and white wine. Deglaze your pot by stirring to ensure that there is no food stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add shrimp on top. Turn off Instant Pot and cover. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set Instant Pot to Manual Mode and set a 5 minute timer. When done, quick release. Remove shrimp from pot and peel if desired. Serve with Cilantro.
Video
Notes
- Make sure there are no dry bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. This could result in that annoying "burn" signal some pressure cookers give off. Once you add your broth (but before you place frozen shrimp on top), stir with a wooden spoon to ensure there is no food stuck to the bottom.
- This recipe was prepared in a 6qt Instant Pot. Please adjust accordingly for 3qt and 8qt models.
Nutrition
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Notes on Pressure Cooker Shrimp Paella
- Use raw jumbo frozen shrimp with the shell on. This will ensure that your shrimp is not overcooked and your rice cooks perfectly. If you don't have jumbo shrimp or it's not frozen, then you will need to cook the shrimp seperatley.
- Make sure to deglaze your pot after the rice is added. Any food stuck to the bottom of an Instant Pot may cause the "burn signal to appear."
- This recipe can be modified with many different vegetable or meat additions. There are some great modifications on the comments below.
- Rinsed rice...I find this is a must in every rice recipe I make.
Step by Step Photos of Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Shrimp Paella
Adapted from Health Starts in the Kitchen.
Gracie says
Made this recipe Friday night, I made with Brown Basmati Rice and did what another viewer mentioned blanched them first for 15 seconds then added the shrimp at the end and let them finish cooking on the retained heat in the pressure cooker.cook since my pressure cooker is so ancient I had to manipulate a bit.
Nicki says
Question: Can chicken or chorizo be added to this recipe? Thanks!
Tanya says
Sure! I'd brown the chorizo or bite-sized chicken before proceeding with the remainder of the recipe.
Richard L Walker says
I have a bag of non-jumbo shrimp without shells. I'm toying with either cooking them separately and adding at the end of the Instant Pot cooking time OR figuring out a way to zap them in the microwave until they turn pink and then add them at the end. Have you ever used this type shrimp that you would prefer not to cook in the instant pot? If so what did you do?
Tanya says
Hi Richard, I haven't used that type of shrimp in the recipe as it would probably overcook. I'd cook it separately and add it in the end.
Ali says
This was a fantastic recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as mentioned, and it turned out to be amazing. Thank you very much!
Kelly says
Hi - Could this be done without the shell on? The idea of having to remove the shell post cook just bothers me and seems like a huge hassle. Otherwise I'm happy to try it.
Tanya says
Hi Kelly, shell on would work but the shrimp may become overcooked and it won't be as flavorful.
Lauren says
This is a great recipe, and I look forward to trying some more of your instapot recipes. I'm currently cooking through after having the 'food burn' signal cone on several times. I'm not sure how long to cook jumbo shrimp, since its had some time in there already. I seem to have this issue only when making rice mixed with other foods.
Leslie says
This is a great recipe but not for the @#$! Instant Pot! I’ve made it plenty of times in my other electric pressure cooker but just got the burn food notice 4 times in my new InstantPot! Grrrrrrrr....And then we ordered a pizza! So frustrating!
Tanya says
Thank you for the feedback and sorry about that Leslie. It’s one of the reasons I like to stick to my older model too.
Chelsey says
This was awesome. It worked perfectly. My only change: I replaced half the butter with coconut oil and when everything was in the pot (except the shrimp) I added a half cup of leftover cooked ground chorizo I had on hand. When it was all done cooking, I mixed a small bit of butter, cilantro, and lemon juice in the rice. My husband and I loved it.
Tips for others: don’t skip rinsing the rice, when you deglaze be sure you scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent the burn notification, and maybe add some chorizo?
I can’t wait to make this again. Thanks!
Sofia says
This looks so good! Silly question, I always get confused when recipes call for wine. Is it wine you’d drink, white wine vinegar, or a bottle of “cooking wine” that I should use? Thanks
Tanya says
Not a silly question at all. I mean wine you would drink. I usually use white wine, a Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay...whatever I have on hand 🙂
Andrea806 says
I literally just came here to comment. My husband and I tried this recipe and it just so good!!! I added fish sauce for extra umami flavour and it’s just the bomb! We didn’t add any red peppers anymore just the spices, shrimp and rice!
Tanya says
Thanks so much Andrea! Love the idea of adding fish sauce.
Pete N says
This is a great recipe which was incorporated in Tanya's early flyer. I have shared it with many friends and is so easy to divide for two. The cook times remain the same.
Tanya says
Thank you Pete 🙂
Phil says
Gave up on this recipe. Thoroughly deglaze the instant pot, but still get burn warning. This recipe is not worth the aggravation and food waste from the burn.
Tanya says
Sorry to hear you had that experience Phil. I haven't had the burn with this recipe in any of my machines but I do understand all machines are different. Here's a great resource for dealing with the burn signal with the Instant Pot. https://www.paintthekitchenred.com/instant-pot-burn-message/
Renee says
I want to try this and add scallops to the recipe? Do u suggest I add the scallops to the IP or cook separately. I feel like scallops and shrimp takes the same amount of time to cook.. what do u think?
Tanya says
Hi Renee, I wouldn't do it lol. Scallops are so tricky and I'm not sure how cooking scallops from frozen will hold up in the IP. If you give it a try I'd love to hear the results.
Tavleen Tarrant says
Hi. I only have dethawed shrimp and not frozen shrimp. Can I still use this for the recipe? Will I have to adjust cooking time so the shrimp doesn't get overcooked? Thanks!
Tanya says
Hi Tavleen, I wouldn't use thawed shrimp as they would overcook in this recipe. Reducing the cook time wouldn't work either as the rice may not cook if the time is reduced.
Laura says
@Tavleen Tarrant,
You can try something I do when making jambalaya. After your rice and everything is done, open the instant pot, press your defrosted shrimp into the rice, put the lid back on, and without turning it on, let it cook in the residual heat and rice for 6-10 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp. Make sure it's nice and pink when it's done and you should be good to go. It's how I always cook the shrimp for my jambalaya. My sausage and chicken I cook along with the rice, but the shrimp cooks after in the heat of the pot and rice.
Jackie says
I have a crackpot express, is manual pressure HI or LOW pressure??
Tanya says
Hi Jackie, it's high pressure.