Easy Jambalaya
Updated
Updated
My quick and easy Jambalaya is a flavorful and filling meal all made in one pot, featuring sausage, shrimp, rice, vegetables, and Cajun seasoning. Weeknight dinner comfort food at its best!
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5 STAR REVIEW
Easy Jambalaya Recipe
This Jambalaya recipe is a family favorite and never disappoints. Packed with flavor and made in one pot, it’s a great weeknight meal that’s delicious and hearty. Leftovers (if you’re lucky enough!) are great the next day, too.
Jambalaya is a Creole rice dish that usually consists of meat and seafood such as sausage, pork, chicken, crawfish, or shrimp, along with vegetables and rice. It’s also seasoned with Cajun spices.
New Orleans, famous for its culture, architecture, and food, has birthed many Creole dishes, including both gumbo and jambalaya. Gumbo has been around longer, though, originating in South Louisiana in the 1700s.
While both dishes are similar because of the vegetables and meats used, there are some major differences that set them apart. Gumbo is a stew, which simmers for hours, almost always made with a roux to thicken it, and served with rice on the side. Jambalaya, on the other hand, is a rice-based dish, usually made in one pot with the rice.
Easy Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined, (thawed, if frozen)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 1/3 cup diced celery
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 15 oz. petite diced tomatoes with garlic and oregano, 1 can, undrained
- 8 oz kielbasa or andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into ½-1 inch pieces
- ¾ cup uncooked long grain rice
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- pinch cayenne pepper
- ¾ cup small cubed cooked ham, avoid deli ham
- fresh chopped parsley, optional
Instructions
- Rinse shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
- In an extra-large skillet (with a lid), warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add in the onion and celery; sauté until softened, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Sprinkle with a touch of salt and pepper.
- Stir in the broth, tomatoes, sausage, rice, cajun seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the shrimp, cover again, and cook for another 5 minutes or more until shrimp is opaque and rice is tender.
- Stir in the ham and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a touch more salt and pepper, only if necessary.
- Sprinkle with parsley, if desired, and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How to Make Jambalaya Step by Step
Prepare shrimp: Rinse 1 lb. shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
Cook aromatics: In an extra-large skillet (with a lid), warm 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add in 1 onion and 1/3 cup celery; saute until softened, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Stir in 2 cloves garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Sprinkle with a touch of salt and pepper.
Add seasoning ingredients: Stir in 2 cups broth, a 15 oz. can of tomatoes, 8 oz. sausage, ¾ cup rice, 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Add shrimp: Stir in the shrimp, cover again, and cook for another 5 minutes or more until shrimp is opaque and rice is tender.
Add ham: Stir in ¾ cup ham and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a touch more salt and pepper, only if necessary.
Garnish and serve: Sprinkle with parsley, if desired, and serve.
How to Store
Allow to cool completely, then store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze, store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
What to Serve with Jambalaya
Jambalaya is full of so many hearty ingredients, it’s truly a meal by itself, but I love to serve it alongside some homemade cornbread and a simple side salad.
Absolutely the best! Everyone loved it! I felt like a fancy cook. Thank you
This recipe is very easy to follow and yet the end product is out of this world yummy.
Amazingly awesome. I could not access the New York Times cookbook online as I am no longer a subscriber. Now I am glad that I was locked out of it for this simple, unpretentious recipe is all I needed. Five stars easy.
P.S.
I used half Andouille and half kielbasa cause am an island girl and like to spice things up.
Great recipe….but where are the bell peppers? The holy trinity is bell pepper, onion & celery…still great and will be making again
One of the best we’ve tried!
Very good recipe! I added a little more spice and kept it lower carb by using cauliflower rice.
Great recipe for the family, just cut back a little on the cajun.
This was my first time to ever make homemade jambalaya, and my family loved it. One plate each and we were all full. Definitely will be freezing the rest. I fed 2 adults and 2 young boys. It will definitely give us another meal
FABULOUS!! I’ve never eaten or cooked Jambalaya so this was a first. My daughter brought me a pkg of andouille sausage and I didn’t know what to do with it. Found your recipe and — voila! It was so easy to make and so full of flavor. We LOVE it so much. The hubs says he could eat it every day. Thank you!
I have made this recipe several times and it is a hit! Simple, flavorful, and freezes well so make a double or triple batch! I use long grain brown rice and extra veggies.
Great recipe for also using up all those frozen pieces of chicken or bits of uncooked veggies. I tossed in over a period of time depending how long they take to cook…baby potatoes (pierced and pre-cooked in micro, carrot chunks, bok choy, gai lan, green beans, leftover corn on the cob. A friend gave me some poblano peppers and I tossed in three near the end so they still had some crunch. I also sprinkled in some cracked black pepper for some mild heat. I served with Naan bread as I didn’t want to make cornbread.
We really enjoyed this and it was easy to make!
Ooh, this was so delicious and easy! The entire family loved it. The rice and beans with kielbasa was also a huge hit over here. Thank you for such great recipes!