Jambalaya is a quintessential one pot recipe with chicken, sausage, shrimp and rice! Coming to you from New Orleans!
An easy Jambalaya recipe is pure comfort food, filled to the brim with flavour. The aromatic trinity of Cajun/Creole cooking: onion, celery, and bell peppers (capsicums), sautéed in andouille drippings with garlic, herbs and Cajun spices!
Adding chicken and shrimp to this pot of tomato rice is what gives the dish its authentic flavours, kind of like adding muscles and calamari to a seafood Paella. This jambalaya recipe is so unbelievably easy to whip up and all from the comfort of your own home.
WHAT IS IN JAMBALAYA?
Louisiana’s favourite one-pot dish varies from kitchen to kitchen, depending on the cook and the recipes passed down from older generations. Jambalaya traditionally contains any of the following meats:
- Chicken or pork
- Sausage — andouille, chorizo or smoked sausage.
- Seafoods — crawfish or shrimp are the favourite choices.
If you’re a fan of our Browned Butter Honey Lime Shrimp or our Tomato Garlic Butter Shrimp, I suggest adding shrimp to your jambalaya recipe.
A soffritto-like trinity of onion, bell peppers and celery are also included, along with rice, chili’s, seasonings and broth. Everything cooks together in the one pot, emanating flavour into the rice.
There are two kinds of Jambalaya: Creole and Cajun. This recipe is the tomato-based Creole version.
WHAT IS A SUBSTITUTE FOR ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE?
- Mexican chorizo sausage (comes close to andouille in flavour, but not in texture)
- Kielbasa
- Any Polish smoked sausage
CAJUN VS CREOLE
Creole cooks traditionally make a ‘red jambalaya’ using tomatoes, whereas Cajun cooks do not. Another difference is the order in which the ingredients are prepared. Trying both while testing, I decided to create a hybrid, combining both techniques in this jambalaya recipe. I first sauté the sausage to release drippings into the pot for the ‘soffritto’. We found doing this produced the best flavour!
JAMBALAYA VS PAELLA
Even though Jambalaya is very similar to a Paella and includes pretty much the same list of key ingredients, the spices and seasonings are different. Saffron is the main spice component used in Paella, and Paella is milder than Jambalaya in the heat department.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GUMBO AND JAMBALAYA?
Gumbo is a stew or soup usually made with a roux to thicken it, whereas Jambalaya is a rice based dish. Okra is normally used in Gumbo to help thicken the stew and add a wonderful flavour. I use it in this Jambalaya recipe for the same reason! If you don’t like okra, you can use File Powder.
WHAT IS THE BEST RICE FOR JAMBALAYA?
I use both long grain and short grain white rice. You could also use brown rice, but you will need to add more liquid and cook it longer than white.
BEST WINES TO PAIR WITH JAMBALAYA
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Vouvray
- Riesling
- Pinot Gris
- Pinot Noir
WHAT TO SERVE WITH JAMBALAYA
Jambalaya is the perfect one-pot meal, packed full of filling ingredients. This being said, you really don’t need to serve it with anything other than perhaps a slice of Cornbread, fresh baguette, or a salad with a simple dressing like our Easy Tomato Salad, so to not over-power all of the spices in the Jambalaya.
Love one pot meals? Try these!
One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken & Rice
One Pot Ravioli in a Creamy Tomato Beef Sauce
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
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or ¼ teaspoon Cayenne powder
- ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup okra thinly sliced, or 1 teaspoon file powder
- 1 ½ 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
- ½ teaspoon green onions sliced to garnish
- ½ 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 (about 5-6 minutes, depending on the size/thickness of the shrimp being used).
- 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.
Jess says
Hi! Can I use minute rice instead, and just let the jambalaya rest for 5 minutes? I made this recipe once with long grain rice, and it was AMAZING. It took a long time for the rice to cook, however. But I didn’t know if minute rice would have the proper texture for the finished jambalaya. Thanks for the great recipe, such a huge hit with the husband and teenage son, no leftovers haha!
James C White says
Second time making this wonderful dish. SO good. Made a double batch an it was awesome!
Gio says
Hi Karina.. I’m cooking your recipe for friends and can’t wait to eat it. Everything sounds wonderful. I have a question…Can I use Uncle Benz converted white rice so it’s not so “sticky”? I would like to make this a few hours in advance and I’m afraid the rice will stick together. Let me know and I’ll post a comment when completed.
Linda Noack says
Outstanding recipe.
I used Mountain Rose Herbs brand of creole seasoning instead of the brand in the recipe.
I used red, green and orange bell peppers and one dried habanero pepper.
I used calamari steaks sliced very thinly instead of shrimp.
I didn’t have okra but would have loved it.
My tomato sauce was slightly acidic which kept the rice from cooking correctly so it was kind of crunchy. Next time I’ll stir the tomato sauce later in the cooking stage to correct the texture.
Flavor was OUTSTANDING! Great recipe. All the herbs and spices blended wonderfully.
Cal D says
Made it today for Fat Tuesday. First time on new dishes I usually stick to the recipe, which is what I did tonight. It was absolutely fantastic! My wife is iffy on Creole/Cajun and she LOVED it. Spice level was great for us, just enough but not overpowering. Definitely a keeper!
Matt L says
I’m literally eating this as I type and it’s the best jambalaya I’ve ever had. And I’ve been to New Orleans several times. This is a perfect recipe. Thank you Karinna!
Sharon says
I should have left a rating long ago as I’ve made this many times and each time it’s AMAZING! My family doesn’t like hot spicy food so I left out the Cajun seasoning but added smoked sausage to give it a little more flavor. I also didn’t add the okra because I didn’t have any. Everything else in the recipe I followed exactly and time and again, this has not disappointed! Because it requires quite a bit of chopping, I’ve started making two batches and freezing one. If you decide to freeze this, do not add the chicken broth or the rice before freezing. When you’re ready to eat it, defrost in the refrigerator, bring the mixture to a boil and then add the broth and rice. I’ve also brought this frozen to a family with a new baby and they were able to eat it when they wanted. A win for both of us!
Karina, I’ve made many of your recipes and every one is AMAZING! Your photos are wonderful and your instructions are always easy to follow. Thank you for making my life so much easier!
Monet Dufala says
This was AMAZING. I used tony chacheres instead of slap ya mama seasoning to make it less spicy. I also did not have okra and I used a bit of flour to thicken it. Thank you so much for the recipe !!
Shawn says
This recipe was amazing. I did leave out the red pepper flakes and kicked up the seasoning just a touch. But followed everything else and it was delicious. I do think if I would have added the red pepper flakes it would have made it a little too spicy for me. I like hot but not fire hot! I will be making this again in the near future! Thank you for the recipe.
Janet says
Going to store for okra (frozen) today as I ran out of fresh. I cook the rice separate as Im serving small portions. Put the shrimp in separately, too. Any way ya do it, it’s yummy!