Jambalaya Recipe

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This is by far my favorite homemade Jambalaya Recipe ever. It’s full of all the spicy, classic flavors you expect from this classic Cajun dish. It also has room to adjust and tweak ingredients to make it perfect for your family.

The Best Jambalaya Recipe

I have a secret, which is that I used to make all of my jambalaya from a box mix. It was easy and I was too intimidated to make it from scratch. Now that I’ve learned how, this is how I make jambalaya every time. The flavor is so good and I can tweak it exactly how I like it. I think once you make it this way, you’ll love it, too.

Ingredients You Need:

  • Protein: Chicken, Andouille Sausage and Shrimp. You can choose to use all of those or just one or two.
  • Rice: Uncooked white rice, not Instant rice.
  • Spices: Paprika, Salt, Cumin, Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Salt, Pepper, Cayenne Pepper.
  • Veggies: Onion, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Celery, Crushed Tomatoes, fresh Garlic.
  • Chicken Broth: Keep a little extra around in case this comes out slightly dry you can add more broth.
  • Cooking Oil: Vegetable or canola oil.

If you want to save a bit of time you can skip the paprika, oregano, basil, pepper, thyme, and cayenne and use 2 Tablespoons of Cajun spice instead.

You can leave out any of the veggies if you don’t prefer them or just don’t have them on hand.

jambalaya ingredients

How To Make Homemade Jambalaya

1. Prep. Wash & dice all your veggies and chop the chicken and sausage into bite-sized pieces.

2. Fry the meat. Cook the chicken and sausage in oil until browned.

3. Add the veggies to the meat and cook until your onion is soft.

4. Add the spices.

5. Add the rice and broth, bring the mixture to a boil, then drop the heat down to low.

6. Cook. Let the jambalaya simmer, covered, on low for about 20 minutes.

7. If you’re adding shrimp, add it at the end, and let it cook an additional 5 minutes.

A Few Cooking Notes

Andouille Sausage alternative: you can substitute with Mexican chorizo sausage, or any smoked pork sausage you like. You can also leave the sausage out and still have plenty of flavor. 

Can I use brown rice? Yes! You will need to use more broth (or add a little water).  Usually you will use about 3 cups of liquid for 1 cup of brown rice. You will also need to increase the cooking time, to about 45 minutes or when the rice is tender.

How do I know the shrimp is cooked? The shrimp will turn from translucent to opaque when it is cooked. 

The best Jambalaya recipe -- full of all the spicy, classic flavors you expect from this classic Cajun dish with Andouille sausage.

How To Store Jambalaya

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and they should last for up to 4 days.  If you need to freeze leftovers, they will keep for up to 3 months.  However, the texture of the shrimp and rice may not be as nice when reheated after being frozen.

More Delicious Recipes To Try

Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Easy Beef Stir Fry

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Easy Goulash Recipe

The best Jambalaya recipe -- full of all the spicy, classic flavors you expect from this classic Cajun dish with Andouille sausage.
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Jambalaya

This is by far my favorite homemade Jambalaya Recipe ever. It's full of all the spicy, classic flavors you expect from this classic Cajun dish. It also has room to adjust and tweak ingredients to make it perfect for your family.
Servings: 6
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 55 minutes

Ingredients
  

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
  • 8 ounces 227 grams andouille sausage, cut into ¼ inch slices
  • 1 pound 500 grams boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 green bell pepper seeds removed, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper seeds removed, diced
  • 3 stalks celery chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp basil
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 cup uncooked white rice long or short grain- not quick cooking rice
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
  • Optional garnish is freshly chopped green onion

Instructions

Directions

  • Heat oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Add the cut sausage and chicken meat to the dutch oven and fry until lightly seared, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the onion, bell peppers, and celery and cook until the onion is soft.
  • Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the tomatoes, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir well.
  • Stir in the white rice and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and allow to simmer until the rice is just cooked (about 20 minutes), stirring every few minutes.
  • Stir in the shrimp, cover again, and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked (depending on the size of your shrimp).

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