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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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.
Chris says
Awesome! Tried this one out for my wife and she looooved it! (Cool husband points x100)
Will be making this one often! Thanks!
Tanya says
Yay, how awesome! Gotta keep us wives happy 🙂
Nicole A Livescu says
Any suggestions if I prefer to use fresh unfrozen shrimp?
Laura says
@Nicole A Livescu,
Don't cook the shrimp. Make it without the shrimp, then when you open the lid after cooking, press the shrimp into the rice, close the lid again and let the shrimp cook in the residual heat for 6-8 minutes. Make sure the shrimp is nice and pink. It will cook in the hot rice.
Emily says
This was soooo good! I made it last night for myself my husband and a friend. My friend asked if it was from a seasoning packet and she couldn’t believe it was from scratch. They both really loved it. I didn’t use shrimp, but instead used beef sausage and left over carnitas from another recipe. I also didn’t have any white wine so I just used more chicken broth. I also took another person’s suggestion and added green peas. First time I’ve ever had paella and it was so darn good! I’ll be making this gain for sure!
Linda says
Made this with basmati rice and used medium raw frozen shrimp with just the tails on. I added peas like others suggested and cooked for 6 minutes. It was perfect! Can’t make paella any easier than this! Thank you for a great recipe!
Grace says
I made this tonight and it was so good!! My problem is quite a bit of rice was burnt to the bottom of the pot, but the burn message did not come on. I read the prior reviews and this appeared to be a problem with a lot of people. The only thing I can think of is that I made this in the 8 quart pot. I will increase the amount of broth next time. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Barbara Clough says
This came out so good!! Made in Instant Pot, then served in paella pan. Used Arborio rice, added some chicken, chorizo, peas and a little salsa
Karen Edwards says
First, the flavor was on point. I followed the recipe for the most part. I had no red peppers so I used mushrooms. Also, the Saffron was not in my pay grade. Even using the jumbo frozen shrimp did not stop the shrimp from over cooking. Next time, I will cook my shrimp separately. Otherwise, the recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
Tanya says
Thank you for the feedback Karen. I love mushrooms so I may sub that myself next time.
Tina says
Has anyone tried to double this recipe? ?
Josie says
This is my favourite instant pot recipe, I share it with everyone!
Tanya says
Thank you so much Josie! It's one of our favorites too 🙂
Leesa says
I don't know what went wrong. I have had my IP for 6 months now and this was the first burn notice I received. I followed the recipe verbatim so I'm not sure the reason. It was kind of traumatic lol...
Niv says
Does the rice need to be cooked already when it is added?
Tanya says
nope, this recipe uses uncooked rice.
KK says
Thank you! This was quick and yummy even without all the ingredients (was missing some of the spices ;p lol!)
Tanya says
Awesome KK, so glad you liked it 🙂
Tiffany says
If my frozen shrimp is already peeled, do I need to change the cook time or adjust at all?
Tanya says
Hi Tiffany, I haven’t done it with peeled shrimp but I’d keep the cook time the same to make sure your rice gets fully cooked. As long as its jumbo raw shrimp is should be fine, the shells just add more flavor.
stephanie says
If I double the rice, would the time remain the same? I'm guessing I'll double the broth?
Tanya says
yes, the time willl remain the same.
Ed says
This was my first instant pot meal and it was delicious! I modded the recipe by adding some Spanish chorizo and substituted 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika plus 1/2 tsp of paprika (instead of a full tsp of paprika). Will try it with bomba or Arborio rice next time!
Tanya says
Thank you Ed. I love your additions and modifications.