One Pot Jambalaya
One Pot Jambalaya is a Cajun rice dish that’s packed with flavorful herbs and spices and loaded with tender chicken, shrimp, and sausage! Serve this dish up for dinner in under an hour!
If your mouth is watering for more Cajun seasoning flavor, you’ll also want to try my Cajun Chicken Pasta or Baked Cajun Chicken Skewers! Both recipes whip up tender chunks of chicken with the same great Creole flavor!
One Pot Jambalaya is a traditional New Orleans dish that’s filled with bold spices yet can easily be tailored to your preferred taste! This savory, hearty dish is loaded with tender chunks of chicken, flavor-packed andouille sausage, and delicious shrimp!
Serve up this Cajun rice dish with some Classic Southern Buttermilk Cornbread or Cheddar Drop Biscuits! With a hearty, flavorful meal like this, you can guarantee no one’s walking away hungry or unsatisfied!
5 Reasons Why This Recipe Works!
- Protein Packed! Chicken, sausage, and shrimp ensure this dish is packed with a protein that everyone will enjoy!
- Control The Heat! You can make this Jambalaya as spicy or as mild as you’d like just by simply controlling the spices!
- Classic Cajun Flavor! Packed with the best herbs and spices to deliver a flavor that you’d find on the streets of New Orleans!
- One pot Meal! Makes for easy cooking and quick clean up! Something we can all appreciate!
- Choose The Meat! Only want chicken? Then simply make it a Chicken Jambalaya! Prefer Shrimp? Just skip the other two meats and make it a Shrimp Jambalaya! This recipe truly makes it super easy to make it exactly the way you like!
Jambalaya Ingredient Notes
This Easy Jambalaya Recipe is packed full of protein so we’ll start there! For this dish, you’ll need andouille sausage, chunks of boneless, skinless chicken, and peeled and deveined shrimp.
Next, you’ll add what Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine have dubbed the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity consists of onions, bell peppers, and celery.
That Holy Trinity is the basis for several regional dishes, such as crawfish etouffee, gumbo, and jambalaya. This is actually similar to French Cooking’s Mirepoix, which consists of carrots, celery, and onion.
Once the Cajun/Creole Holy Trinity has been sauteed in cooking oil, crushed tomatoes, and minced garlic are and minced garlic cloves are then added. Afterward, the spices and herbs make their appearance. To finish it up, chicken broth and uncooked, long, or short-grain white rice are added to the Dutch oven! Lastly, when it’s time to serve, you can garnish with green onions!
How To Make Homemade Jambalaya
- Add oil to a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat.
- Fry up the cut sausage and chicken until lightly seared.
- Stir in the onion, bell peppers, and celery, cooking until softened.
- Add in the garlic to cook.
- Stir in the tomatoes, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Pour in the chicken broth and add in the white rice.
- Bring this mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to medium-low and covering to simmer.
- Mix in the shrimp, place the lid back on the pot, and cook the shrimp until they’re done.
- Garnish with green onions if desired.
If the rice isn’t cooked, but there’s no liquid left for it to absorb, simply add more broth or water! Add about 1/2 cup at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Mexican chorizo sausage or any smoked pork sausage would replace the andouille nicely. You could even leave the sausage out altogether since this dish will still be plenty flavorful without it.
- You can use 2 tablespoons of the Cajun spice, and just leave out the paprika, oregano, basil, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper.
- If you’d like the jambalaya to be a little saucier, I’d recommend adding the extra broth near the end, when you add the shrimp. Just be sure the broth gets heated.
- You can use brown rice instead of white rice, but you’ll need to make a few easy adjustments. First, you’ll need more broth or water. Usually, 1 cup of brown rice needs about 3 cups of liquid. Second, the cooking time will need to be increased to about 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Just place the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days! You can also store leftovers in the freezer; they will last up to 3 months. However, once reheated from frozen, the dish’s texture may not be as pleasing.
If you love the flavors of Louisiana, you might also enjoy this Gumbo Roux and these sweet Beignets!
More Comfort Food Recipes
Who doesn’t love a meal that’s made in just one pot like this Shrimp, Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya?! Grab another delicious one-pot recipe to whip up for an easy dinner on those busy nights!
- One Pan Pizza Pasta – A 30-minute meal that the whole family will look forward to devouring!
- Easy One Pot Lasagna – Everyone’s favorite comfort meal made right in a Dutch oven in under an hour!
- Lentil Soup – Cozy up with a wholesome, vegan bowl of soup that’s filled with savory spices and vegetables!
- One-Pot Chili Mac and Cheese – Loaded with tender macaroni, ground beef, spices, and cheese!
- One Pan Greek Chicken Quinoa – This healthy meal is filled with seared chicken, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and feta!
Did You Make This Recipe?
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One Pot Jambalaya
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Sharp knife
- Measuring spoons
- Can opener
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 ounces andouille sausage cut into ¼ inch slices
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup uncooked white rice long or short grain – do not use quick cooking rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound medium or large shrimp peeled and deveined
- scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the cut sausage and chicken to the Dutch oven and sear until lightly golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion, peppers, and celery and cook until the onion is translucent and soft, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper, and cayenne pepper until incorporated.
- Add the white rice and chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Allow to simmer until the rice is just cooked (about 20 minutes), stirring every few minutes.
- Stir in the shrimp, cover again, and let simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked (about 4 to 7 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp).
Notes
- How To Store: Just place the leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days!
- How To Freeze: Store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. However, once reheated from frozen the texture of the dish may not be as pleasing. I recommend thawing in the fridge and reheating in a skillet.
- Do I Have To Add Celery Into This Dish? Celery can certainly be left out though it is a common Cajun Jambalaya ingredient. Either way, the dish will still be delicious!
- What Can I Use Instead Of Andouille Sausage? Mexican chorizo sausage or any smoked pork sausage would replace the andouille nicely. You could even leave the sausage out altogether since this dish will still be plenty flavorful without it.
- Can I Just Use Cajun Spice In This Jambalaya Recipe? Of course! To do so just leave out the paprika, oregano, basil, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Then add in 2 tablespoons of the Cajun spice.
- Could I Use Chicken Stock Instead Of Chicken Broth? Yes, that substitution will work just fine since the two are commonly used interchangeably. The main difference is that the broth is made from both meat and vegetables whereas stock is made with bones.
- How Do I Know If The Shrimp Is Cooked? Once the shrimp turns from its translucent appearance to opaque it’s finished cooking.
- What Should I Do If The Rice Isn’t Cooked But There’s No Liquid Left For It To Absorb? Simply just add some more broth or water! Add about 1/2 cup to a time until it reaches the right consistency.
- Can I Add More Chicken Broth So That The Jambalaya Has More Liquid To It? Yes, definitely! I’d recommend adding the additional broth near the end when you’re adding the shrimp. Just be sure the broth gets heated.
- Can I Make This With Brown Rice Instead Of White Rice? Yes, you’ll just need to make a few easy adjustments to do so. First, you’ll need more broth or water. Usually, 1 cup of brown rice needs about 3 cups of liquid. Second, the cooking time will need to be increased to about 45 minutes or when the rice is tender.
Nutrition
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Everyone loved it. I will prepare this again. Maybe more shrimp if you dont have a lot of time do your prep day before
Excellent instructions. The sausage was too spicey for me but I fried it up and left the bits in the bottom of the Dutch oven when I removed it. It added just the right spice flavor for my house. I doubled the shrimp and enjoyed it very much!
Glad you enjoyed it and were able to make adjustments to suit your tastes!
My mother used to make this dish and I never learns and now I am it looks delicious
I hope you enjoy it!