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An easy Jambalaya recipe is pure comfort food filled to the brim with flavor. The aromatic combination of Cajun/Creole cooking: onion, celery, and bell peppers, sautéed in andouille drippings with garlic, herbs, and Cajun spices.
Adding chicken and shrimp to this pot of tomato rice makes this one amazing meal in the comfort of your own homes!
What Is Jambalaya?
Jambalaya is a Louisiana rice dish where the rice cooks right in the same pot as the meat, seafood, vegetables, broth and seasonings. Instead of serving everything over plain rice at the end, the rice absorbs all of those flavours as it cooks.
Most versions start with onion, bell peppers and celery, then build from there with chicken, pork, smoked sausage, shrimp, crawfish or a combination of a few.
It’s hearty, generously seasoned and meant to be a full meal on its own. Some versions are made with tomatoes and some aren’t, which brings us to the two styles you’ll hear about most.
Cajun vs Creole
There are two main styles: Creole and Cajun.
Creole cooks make a ‘red jambalaya’ with tomatoes, while Cajun versions generally leave them out. The cooking method can differ too, particularly in how the meat is browned and how the colour develops.
This is the tomato-based Creole version, but while testing it, I combined a little of both. Sautéing the sausage first releases its drippings into the pot before the onion, peppers and celery go in.
I found doing it in this way created the best flavor!
Ingredients
- Andouille Sausage: Browning it first gives the sausage some colour while leaving smoky drippings behind for everything that follows. If you can’t find andouille, kielbasa or another smoked sausage works well. Chorizo can also be used, although the flavour will be a little different.
- Onion, bell peppers, and celery: This is the Cajun and Creole ‘holy trinity’. They cook directly in the sausage and chicken drippings, picking up all of those browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Crushed tomatoes: These give the rice its red colour and bring a little acidity to balance the richer sausage and chicken.
- White rice: Both short grain and long grain work here. Brown rice can also be used, but it needs more liquid and a longer cooking time.
Note: Please see Recipe Card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make It
Start by seasoning your chicken and sausage with half of the Cajun seasoning. Heat a little oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and add the sausage first. Let those rounds sit against the pan long enough to brown before stirring them around too much.
Once the sausage has some good colour, take it out and set it aside. Keep everything left behind in the pot. Those drippings and browned bits are exactly what we want for the next few steps.
Add the remaining oil and your chicken to the same pot. Cook until the outside is lightly golden, then remove it and place it with the sausage. The chicken doesn’t need to be cooked through just yet because it will finish cooking later.
Build Your Base
Now add the onion, red and green bell peppers and celery straight into the same pot. Give everything a good stir while the vegetables soften, scraping up anything that has stuck to the bottom along the way.
Once the onion is soft and transparent, add the garlic and let it cook for about 30 seconds before stirring in your tomatoes, herbs, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.
Add the okra, chicken and sausage back in and let everything cook together for a few minutes. At this point, you’ve already built most of the flavour that the rice is going to soak up.
Add The Rice
Stir in your rice and chicken broth and bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot and let it simmer until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Give it a stir every now and then so the rice doesn’t catch on the bottom, but try not to keep lifting the lid every few minutes. It needs that trapped heat to cook properly.
Finish With The Shrimp
The shrimp always goes in last. Once your rice is cooked, place the shrimp over the top and gently stir them through.
Cover again and let them cook just until they turn pink and are cooked through. This only takes a few minutes, so keep an eye on them. Overcooked shrimp can go from tender to rubbery very quickly.
Taste everything before serving and add a little more Cajun seasoning, cayenne or hot sauce if you want extra heat. Finish with sliced green onions and parsley, then serve while it’s hot.
A Few Things That Make A Difference
Let the sausage brown. If you keep stirring it from the second it hits the pot, you won’t get those caramelised edges or as much flavour left behind for the vegetables.
The same goes for the chicken. We’re not trying to cook it completely at this stage. Just give it some colour and let it finish later in the tomato mixture.
Once the rice and broth go in, keep the heat at a gentle simmer. Too much heat can cook away the liquid before the rice has had enough time to soften.
And always save the shrimp for the end. They cook quickly and only need a few minutes. Adding them too early is one of the easiest ways to make them tough.
One more thing: Cajun seasoning can vary a lot from brand to brand. Some blends are already quite salty and spicy, so taste before adding more at the end.
What To Serve With It
Honestly, you don’t need much.
There’s already chicken, sausage, shrimp, vegetables and rice in the pot, so it makes a full meal on its own.
Cornbread is always good alongside it, especially for picking up anything left in the bowl. Fresh baguette works too, or a simple salad if you want something lighter on the side.
FAQ’s
There isn’t one secret ingredient. Browning the sausage and chicken first, then cooking the vegetables in those drippings, gives the rice and broth far more flavour than putting everything into the pot at once.
Rushing the browning, cooking the rice over too much heat and adding the shrimp too early are the big ones. Also watch how much extra salt you add if your Cajun seasoning already contains plenty.
Not necessarily. You can adjust the Cajun seasoning, cayenne or red pepper flakes and hot sauce to suit your taste. Start with less if you’re unsure, then add more at the end.
Yes, but it needs more liquid and takes longer to cook than white rice. You’ll need to adjust the broth and cooking time, and wait until the rice is nearly done before adding the shrimp.
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Jambalaya Recipe (Creole)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil divided
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning adjust to suit your tastes/heat preference
- 10 ounces andouille sausage sliced into rounds
- 1 pound skinless chicken breasts or thighs, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion diced
- 1 small green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 small red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 14 ounces crushed tomatoes canned
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne powder
- 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup okra thinly sliced, or 1 teaspoon file powder
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice short grain or long grain
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound raw shrimp tails on or off, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 teaspoon green onions sliced to garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the sausage and chicken pieces with half of the Cajun seasoning.
- Brown sausage in the hot oil; remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add remaining oil to the pot and sauté chicken until lightly browned. Remove with slotted spoon; set aside.
- Sauté the onion, bell pepper and celery until onion is soft and transparent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds).
- Stir in the tomatoes; season with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes (or Cayenne powder), hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and the remaining Cajun seasoning. Stir in the okra slices (or file powder), chicken and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
- Add in the rice and chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low-medium. Cover and let simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked, while stirring occasionally.
- Place the shrimp on top of the Jambalaya mixture, stir through gently and cover with lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through and pink
- Season with a little extra salt and pepper if needed and remove from heat. Adjust heat with extra hot sauce, Cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning. Serve immediately with sliced green onions and parsley.
Notes
Storage/Reheating/Make Ahead
You can easily get the prep out of the way ahead of time. Chop your vegetables, slice the sausage, cut the chicken, and measure out your seasonings. Keep everything covered in separate containers in the fridge until you are ready to cook. If you make the dish ahead of time, cool it down quickly and transfer it to airtight containers. Because jambalaya contains chicken, rice, and seafood, prompt refrigeration is key for food safety.- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this recipe twice, love the flavours and simple ingredients that you have in your fridge. I am having trouble with the rice, I use basmati but it goes mushy. What am I getting wrong, is it rice type? Please help as I don’t want to cook the rice separately.