Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya is a classic Cajun meal that is delicious, filling and really easy to make. Perfect for Mardi Gras or anytime of year.
Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya is one of my most favorite meals to cook and eat. I discovered it years ago when my husband and I were first dating, we went out on a date at a local Cajun restaurant and he ordered it. I was determined to make it for him one night he was working. I made it, he loved it, and now I am sharing the recipe with you all.
And the best part? Its all made in one pot.
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What is Jambalaya?
Jambalaya is a Cajun or Creole rice based dish that starts with the "holy trinity" of onion, celery and bell pepper, long grain rice, seasonings that include smoked paprika, white pepper and cayenne pepper and usually has one or a combo of Andouille sausage, shrimp and chicken. I love for mine to have all three proteins.
Cajun Jambalaya is a brown Jambalaya and doesn't consist of tomatoes, I use tomatoes which is more known as the Creole red jambalaya. Either version is so tasty.
Ingredients:
- Andouille sausage
- Shrimp
- Chicken thighs
- Jambalaya seasoning ( storebougt or see recipe notes for a quick homemade blend)
- Holy trinity - yellow onion, celery, green bell pepper ( I use half red bell pepper since green isn't my personal favorite)
- Oil - I go for a neutral high heat oil here such as sunflower or avocado, you can use olive oil)
- Roma tomatoes and tomato paste
- Long grain white rice ( I love Lundberg)
- Bay leaves
- Water and broth
- Scallions
- Hot sauces - I use tabasco, Cholula, Tapatio
See recipe card for exact amounts:
How to make Jambalaya
The majority of the recipe is in the prep work, with a majority of the cooking is for the rice to steam and all the flavors get a chance to blend together. I think Jambalaya tastes even better the next day after all the flavors have a chance to marinate a bit overnight.
- Saute the sausage then brown the chicken after it has been seasoned with the Jambalaya seasoning.
- Saute the holy trinity, then add in the rice to toast it.
- Add in the tomatoes and tomato paste, and add the chicken back in.
- Add in the water and broth and let it cook until the rice is done.
- Finish with adding in the shrimp and stirring occasionally until the shrimp is done.
- Season wit hot sauce and serve with sliced scallion
When I first made this recipe years ago I just added in the sausage with the shrimp. After updating the recipe, I like to saute the sausage first to get them crispy, I just didn't update the photos for that step.
Other chicken, shrimp and sausage recipes you may enjoy:
Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya
Equipment
- 1 Stock pot or 7 qt Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb smoked Andouille sausage,, sliced into thin rounds
- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs,, cut into 1-2” pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons Jambalaya or Creole seasoning blend,, see notes
- 2 tablespoon oil, divided ( avocado, sunflower, olive oil), divided
- 3 stalks celery,, diced
- 150 g yellow onion,, diced ( about 1 medium onion)
- ½ red bell pepper,, diced (can use just one whole large red bell pepper or green pepper instead of half each)
- ½ green bell pepper,, diced
- 3 garlic cloves,, peeled and minced
- 1 26 oz carton Pomi diced tomatoes,, or other canned Roma tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 bay leaves
- 370 g long grain white rice, (2 cups)
- 480 ml water, (2 cups)
- 480 ml Chicken or veg broth, 2 cups (may need 1-2 cups more)
- 1 lb medium-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 bunch scallions, root end trimmed off, thinly sliced
- Hot sauce - tabasco, cholula or tapatio
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Add in the andouille slices and cook until a little crisp, 3- 4 minutes. Remove from the pan to a bowl.
- Season the chicken with one tablespoon Jambalaya seasoning.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot and add the seasoned chicken. Sauté the chicken until starting to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl. Not the same bowl as the cooked sausage.
- Add the remaining oil and sauté the diced celery, onion and bell peppers until starting to soften, about 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously while cooking Add in another teaspoon or so of the Jamabalaya seasoning. Add in the garlic and stir for one more minute.
- Add in the roma tomatoes and juice along with the tomato paste. Stir well.
- Add in the long grain rice and cook about 3 minutes until the rice is lightly toasted.
- Add in the, water, broth and bay leaves and stir well. Bring to a boil. Stir to make sure the rice isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan, add the chicken back into the pot.
- Stir well, bring back to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and place a lid on the pan. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stirring occasionally to make sure rice isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- You want the rice to steam so if it isn’t quite cooked enough for your liking you can add in more water or broth 120 ml ( ½ cup) at a time, stir and let steam on low heat until it is done.
- Add in the shrimp and sausage and cook another 5-7 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through.
- Taste and season with more jambalaya seasoning and more salt if desired. Add a few dashes of hot sauce - I like using two different hot sauces.
- Garnish with diced green onion. Serve hot with several more dashes of the hot sauces if desired.
Notes
- 4 tablespoon Smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon Garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon Onion powder
- 2 tablespoon Paprika
- 2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon ground White pepper
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne
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