Instant Pot Shrimp Paella

Instant Pot Shrimp Paella - a fragrant & vibrant Spanish yellow rice dish that's packed with Chorizo Sausage, jumbo shrimp, saffron, bell pepper and green peas. You'll love this Shrimp Paella Instant Pot that's ridiculously easy to make & gets ready in 30 mins.

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Chorizo and Shrimp Paella Instant Pot

Today's Spanish Paella recipe is totally inspired from our Spain tour (Valencia region) several years back. It is a simplified version of a traditional Spanish Paella.

The traditional version involves a long list of ingredients, cooked with round short grain rice like Bomba, Bahfa, Senia and made over an open fire in a large frying pan (Valencian meaning of "Paella").

The browned chorizo, the jumbo raw shrimp, the saffron, a little bit of smoked paprika all beautifully combine together to give extraordinary flavors to this Chorizo and Shrimp Paella recipe.

The gorgeous vibrant yellow color of the Paella is due to saffron, we love to use quite a bit, however, you can use turmeric for an economic alternative.

But, we will highly recommend using saffron because it's undeniably the heart and soul of a Spanish Paella.

What is Paella?

Paella is a Spanish rice dish originally from Valencia.

A traditional Paella is made with Spanish short grain rice like Bomba, Bahfa, that's slow cooked with proteins (chicken, shrimp, sausage, clams, squids, mussels), beans, paprika, aromatics, lots of saffron and veggies like bell pepper.

Everything is cooked in a large pan (known as paella in Valencian) over an open fire for a long time.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Find the Ingredients with actual measurements way below the post on the "Recipe Card". The list below is just a reference.

• Rice: I used Long Grain Rice (NOT the Instant variety) and that's what I'll recommend using. Never use Arborio Rice because they turn creamy quickly which is perfect for making Risottos but a disaster for a Spanish Paella 😀
• Shrimp: I used frozen Tiger Shrimp with shells on. Than, removed the shells and used them for making a fabulous flavorful shrimp stock in the Instant Pot in a jiffy. You can use fresh shrimp or frozen colossal or tiger shrimp as well. However, do not use the cooked pink shrimp and avoid using smaller shrimp. They taste awful in Paella because they do not contribute a lasting flavor.
• Liquid: You can use chicken broth, vegetable broth or plain water. But, for best flavors make yourself a quick Shrimp Stock using the discarded shrimp shells, saffron and olive oil. It'll take you only 5 mins in the Instant Pot but will reward you with the best ever chorizo and shrimp paella ever.
• Sausage: Use either Chorizo Sausage which is a spicy Spanish sausage or use spicy Andouille Sausage. Do not use brats or kielbasa.
• Aromatic: Yellow Onion and fresh garlic. Totally no to red onion.
• Exotic Spice: Saffron. We love it. I will highly recommend using it for the best flavors. The subtle sweet floral fragrance of saffron and the vibrant gorgeous yellow color is truly unbeatable. This one ingredient will take your Paella several levels up.
• Smoked Paprika: Adds a smoky flavor and helps mimics the slow cooked flavor of gradual cooking.
• Veggies: Red Bell Pepper and green peas adds a pop of color and a little bit of sweetness to the dish. It beautifully brings together the flavors and mellows down the taste of the finished dish. Add them at the end to avoid over cooking. They taste meh when mushy. Yikes!

Tips & Tricks

1. Use Long Grain Rice: This rice is super handy. You might already have it in your pantry and it makes the best Instant Pot Paella, trust me 🙂 You can use Jasmine rice as well. Read Notes to find out more details.
2. Quick homemade shrimp stock: Use the shrimp shells and heads if you happen to buy some fresh shrimp with head intact and use them to make the most fragrant shrimp stock at home. This will make a kickass Paella. Oh yes! I highly recommend it and this extra step will just take only 5 mins of your time.
3. Don't miss the Saffron: It's expensive I know but it makes a huge difference in flavor. This one ingredient helps develop deep complex flavor, a subtle floral sweet sublime taste that's so addictive. This is the start ingredient of todays' recipe.
4. Rinse the Long Grain Rice: You need to rinse the rice until clear water runs through. This helps discard the surface starch from the rice, as a result the rice doesn't become gooey or gummy. Paella rice never happens to be sticky or creamy like risotto.
5. Brown the Chorizo sausage: The browned sausage boosts the flavor of the dish manifold. Don't skip browning the sausage ever. As we are cooking Paella in a pressure cooker we don't want to miss any layer of flavor.
6. Choose Jumbo, colossal or Tiger shrimp: Whether frozen or raw choose these shrimp and avoid cooked pink ones and the smaller varieties. The meaty raw shrimp is all that you want.
7. Add the bell pepper & green peas at the end: Add them after pressure cooking the dish and turning off your Instant Pot. The residual heat will beautifully wilt the bell peppers and the peas. They'll have some crunch left and won't be awfully mushy!
8. Allow the cooked Paella to rest for 5 mins: This will help infuse the flavors from each and every ingredient.

Method

Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements way below the post on the "Recipe Card".

Step #1 Make a quick Shrimp Stock

Now, this step is not mandatory but believe me this extra 5 mins will reward you with amazing flavors.

I will totally recommend making this quick shrimp stock with discarded shrimp shells, olive oil and saffron strands.

Use this as the liquid in your Paella recipe.

Saute the shrimp shells with saffron in olive oil on SAUTE set at NORMAL until they turn pink.

Add water, de-glaze pot well. Pressure cook on HIGH for just 5 mins followed by a quick release.

Fish out the shells and use the shrimp stock to make a fabulous pot of Paella.

Step #2 Brown the Sausage

Whether you use chorizo or andouille sausage dice them into rings and brown them very well in the Instant Pot.

Keep the settings at SAUTE set at NORMAL heat.

The browned sausages will add tons of good flavors to the Paella.

Step #3 Saute Aromatics

Saute the aromatics like the onion and the garlic for 1 min.

They will gently begin to release a lovely aroma.

Step #4 De-glaze Pot & add Rice

CANCEL the SAUTE function.

Add the shrimp stock and de-glaze the pot with the help of your spatula very well so that there are absolutely no bits and crumbs stuck at the base of the pot.

De-glazing the pot will help prevent the BURN error.

Once you are done de-glazing the pot add the rinsed rice into the pot and mix well.

Try to spread the rice in an even layer by gently pressing down with the spatula.

Step #5 Layer Shrimp

Layer the de-shelled, de-veined shrimp in a single layer on the top of the rice.

DO NOT mix or stir.

Step #6 Pressure Cook Shrimp Paella

Cover the lid and SEAL the Valve of the Instant Pot.

PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 4 mins followed by 10 mins NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE.

Than release the rest of the pressure manually and open the pot.

Step #7 Add Veggies & rest

Turn off the Instant Pot.

Remove the shrimp quickly. This step is totally optional.

Removing the shrimp now and adding them back to the pot at the end will help you achieve 2 things:

• Prevent the Shrimp from getting over cooked.
• Help you dish out Paella in the traditional Spanish way which calls for a layer of shrimp on the top.

Add the veggies like bell pepper and frozen thawed green peas.

DO NOT mix or stir.

Just cover the Instant Pot with a lid and allow the Chorizo shrimp Paella to rest for 2-3 mins.

The residual heat will help wilt the veggies and prevent them from getting over-cooked or mushy.

Step #8 Fluff and Serve

Remove the lid and fluff the shrimp paella gently with the help of a fork in order to mix in the veggies.

Add the shrimp back to the pot and garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley.

Enjoy!

Serving Ideas

You can serve the following with Shrimp Paella:

• Spanish Cheeses like Iberico, Cabrales, Manchego, Mahon along with a Olive Platter.
• Spanish Tapas.
• Roasted Red Bell Pepper with drizzled olive oil.
• Caesar Salad or any green salad.
• Roasted Almonds.
• Prosciutto.
• Bacon wrapped dates.
• Spanish wines.
• Baguette.

Leftovers & Storage

Fridge: You can store Spanish Chorizo Paella for up to 5 days in the fridge. Do use air tight containers.

Freezer: You can freeze the instant pot paella for up to 2 months. We love to freeze the leftovers in individual portion control freezer safe bags or containers. That way it's so easy to take out as many serving as required, thaw them in the fridge first and than reheat. Do not re-freeze any extras!

How to reheat

You can reheat the thawed pressure cooker shrimp chorizo paella in the microwave oven for just 1 min on high. Do sprinkle a few drops water on top of the rice and than reheat. This will prevent the rice from losing excess moisture and getting dry.

FAQs

Note: Thaw them over night in the fridge and than re-heat either in the microwave oven or on the stove top. The peas and bell pepper will slight become soft and change in texture.

More Instant Pot Rice Dishes:

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