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Instant Pot Paella takes me back to the beautiful region of Valencia in Spain and the flavoursome local dish paella. Loaded with saffron infused rice, seafood, chorizo and chicken, it is the best Spanish rice dish I have ever tried.
Instant Pot paella is anupdate of my one pot 30-minute easy paella that I originally published on theblog back in 2016. It is one of those recipes that my readers have asked me timeand time again to convert to the Instant Pot and here it is!
Table of Contents
Instant Pot Paella
Drum rollplease we finally have Instant PotPaella on the blog!
We allhave that favourite food that we love. That one dish that completes us. The onedish we would move heaven and earth to get to.
Kyle hasalways been obsessed with lasagne and would always nag me for it until I cookedit for him, Dominic is addicted to burgers and my obsession has always been theSpanish dish Paella.
I would have holidays in Benidorm as a teenager. We would spend the fortnight of the Christmas holidays there and it was one of those over the top places driven by English tourists.
It was like you had placed an English seaside town in Spain and that is what you had achieved. You would walk down to the seafront and on the corner, there would be a McDonalds followed by café after café selling English breakfasts.
Clearly, I rebelled as I am really not a fan of English food and when someone offered me some Spanish food in the form of a really big Paella at a barbeque I was in love.
The taste of the saffron along with the taste of the rice, the seafood and the beautiful seasoning had me hook, line and sinker.
Since thenit has remained my favourite food. Spain is only a 90-minute drive away fromour front door and whenever we go, I am planning my lunch at a restaurant thatserves fresh Paella.
We alsohave our Portuguese version in the local cafes called cataplana which is justas nice, so I am often in food heaven.
But could you make an Instant Pot Paella in the time to takes for a takeaway to arrive on your doorstep? Including the time to prep the food and the time the Instant Pot takes to go to pressure?
Instant Pot MixedPaella
The Instant Pot Paella I am making for you today is a mixedpaella. The mixed paella is the paella I have nearly always been served and isthe most famous among tourists. Imagine it as a surf and turf with a good mixof meat and fish.
If you ordered amixed paella in a restaurant you would expect to receive:
- Chorizo
- Mussels
- Prawns
- Chicken
- Squid
Though it can vary from region to region.
You can use a bag of mixed seafood that you have purchasedfrom the supermarket along with some diced chicken to achieve a similar result.
Though if you went to Valencia and had an authentic paellayou would expect to see rabbit on the meat list and have less seafood.
Instant Pot Paella(DIY)
I get it, not everyone wanted a mixed paella and we all havefavourite foods and hated foods. The great thing about paella is that you canuse the basics of it and then add your favourite meat or fish, or even keep itvegetarian.
- Chicken Paella = double the chicken from the ingredients list and forget the seafood
- Vegetarian Paella = swap all meat and fish for green beans
- Shrimp Paella = lose the chicken and swap the seafood mix for just shrimp
My all-time favourite paella though, is chicken paella andthen the top is decorated with mussels and king prawns.
Or go old school, paella started as a dish of leftovers thatservants ate, so why not clear out your fridge or freezer of spare meat, fishor vegetables that you have in?
What Is Paella?
I am sure before I dive in with our Instant Pot Paella, I amsure if you have not tried paella before, you will want to know what it is allabout.
Paella comes from the Valencian region of Spain though as itis regarded as the best dish of Spain by tourists, means that it can be foundin nearly all restaurants in Spain, to please the tourists. But to Spaniards itis considered to be just one great dish among their many local dishes.
Paella to tourists visiting Spain is like American touristsheading to Mexico for tacos. It would just feel wrong to visit the country andnot have some.
There are several versions of Paella including Valencianpaella, mixed paella, chicken paella and vegetable paella. All of which youwill find on a menu in Spain.
Paella is a Spanish rice made up of short grain rice. Many countrieson the Mediterranean use risotto rice for it as it cooks it perfectly.
It is flavoured with threads of saffron, a fish stock andoften features green peas, red peppers, plus the meat or fish or vegetables forthe type of paella that you are having.
Cooking PaellaIn The Instant Pot
Even though a classic paella uses a large paella pan, it is easy to make your own version of paella at home using the Instant Pot, or any other brand of electric pressure cooker.
Paella is essentially, a one pot cooking recipe making itperfect for the Instant Pot. Because of the Instant Pot having a pressure cookand a sauté setting, you can sauté your paella first and then pressure cook, insteadof simmering like you would in a pan.
The Instant Pot we have, that we used to make our paella in, is the Instant Pot Duo and you can order it here or read our Instant Pot Review.
How To Cook PaellaIn The Instant Pot?
Paella probably looks over complicated to you, when you see a recipe or a video online, but it is easy. Many of my parents’ friends made it after an afternoon of drinking wine and if they can do it drunk, I am sure you can do it the easy way in the Instant Pot while sober.
The process of Paella is best described through thedifferent stages.
- Sautéing = this is when you sauté the peppers, onion, garlic and chorizo and it brings the flavour to your Instant Pot.
- Deglazing = when you deglaze your Instant Pot and add in your white wine and fish stock and flavour your pot.
- Load it up = this is when you dump the rest of the ingredients into your Instant Pot, give it a stir and let it cook at pressure.
Once the Instant Pot is cooking, you can do the washing up and go and set the dinner table, as it won’t be long before you have Instant Pot Paella on the dinner table.
How Long Does ItTake To Cook Paella In The Instant Pot?
What if I told you that the cooking time in the Instant Potis JUST 6 minutes? That of course is6 minutes under pressure to cook your paella. You need to factor in time forthe Instant Pot to go to pressure, as well as the sautéing process.
Over all you can still have Instant Pot Paella on the dinnertable in under 30 minutes.
MORE Instant PotRice Recipes
Many people find cooking rice in the Instant Pot rather scary.There is the fear of overcooked rice and ruined inner pots. But it is easierthan you think to make Instant Pot Rice.
Here are a few moreof our favourite Instant Pot RiceRecipes:
- Instant Pot Mexican Black Bean Rice
- Instant Pot Rice Pudding
- Instant Pot Caramel Rice Pudding
- Instant Pot Nandos Spicy Rice
Print Recipe
Instant Pot Paella
Instant Pot Paella takes me back to the beautiful region of Valencia in Spain and the flavoursome local dish paella. Loaded with saffron infused rice, seafood, chorizo and chicken, it is the best Spanish rice dish I have ever tried.
Prep Time3 minutes mins
Cook Time12 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Instant Pot, Mediterranean
Servings: 8
Calories: 449kcal
Author: RecipeThis.com
Ingredients
Kitchen Gadgets:
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 Small Onion
- 6 Large Garlic Cloves
- 1 Small Red Pepper
- 30 g Sliced Chorizo
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 150 ml White Wine
- 1 Litre Paella Stock
- 3 Cups Risotto Rice
- 250 g Frozen Mussels
- 250 g Frozen Shrimp/King Prawns
- 250 g Frozen Mixed Seafood
- 250 g Diced Chicken Breast
- 100 g Frozen Peas
- 3 Strands Saffron
- 1 Tbsp Turmeric
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Parsley
- Salt & Pepper
Metric – Imperial
Instructions
Peel and thinly slice your onion and garlic. Deseed and medium slice your red pepper. Place the onion, garlic and red onion into the Instant Pot with the extra virgin olive oil and cook on sauté for approximately 3 minutes or until the onion is soft and tender.
Add in the chorizo and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the chorizo has added flavour to the pot.
Add the seasonings and stir well.
Deglaze the Instant Pot and mix any bits off the bottom with the white wine and the paella stock.
Add in the rice, chicken, seafood, peas and stir one last time.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 6 minutes on manual pressure.
Use quick pressure release, stir and serve.
Notes
The thing about paella is it is a big dish for sharing, you can use the button above to change it based on how many people you plan to feed. Paella once cooled, is perfect for the freezer and reheating for later.
Many people can’t get saffron and instead swap it for turmeric which gives a similar colouring and flavour. It is important that you use frozen seafood because otherwise it will overcook.
We got our paella stock from Spain, but any fish stock such as this one is a good alternative. The mixed seafood bag that we had was a good mix of the Mediterranean such as more prawns, more mussels, squid, clams and small pieces of white fish.
A good rule to avoid dry rice is to make sure you have nearly double the liquid to rice. For example, we used 3 cups of rice to 5 cups of stock. As well as this we had liquid from the frozen seafood as well as the white wine.
Nutrition
Calories: 449kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 488mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1070IU | Vitamin C: 29.5mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 5.8mg
Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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