This easy Jambalaya recipe is full of bold cajun flavors, and made in just one pan. It's the kind of healthy comfort food I crave, since it's hearty but also loaded with protein, and veggies.
Check out my other favorite cajun and creole inspired dinner recipes, including Gumbo, Cajun Kebabs and Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta.
Why I love this meal:
- One-Pot Meal means minimal mess in the kitchen, and no sacrifice of flavor, for the best sausage jambalaya recipe.
- Easy – it's simple enough for anyone to make. My kids often choose it when it's their turn to cook dinner.
- Adaptable: We like to add jumbo shrimp, or extra diced veggies from the fridge that need to be used. You can use any kind of sausage, or omit the meat and use vegetable broth, to make it vegetarian.
Gumbo vs Jambalaya:
Jambalaya and gumbo are both popular dishes made in Louisiana but the dishes and cooking methods are different. Jambalaya is a rice dish, similar to Paella (in appearance, but not taste), and Gumbo is more of a stew that's often served over rice. Both contain the “holy trinity” of cajun cooking, which is bell peppers, onion and celery. Both also often contain sausage and shrimp.
How to Make Jambalaya:
Brown Meat: Add the chicken to a large pan with a little oil over medium high heat. Cook, flipping once or twice to brown on all sides (don't cook chicken through). Remove to a bowl then add sausage and cook until browned on both sides. Add to the bowl with the chicken.
Sauté Veggies: Reduce heat to medium and add butter and flour to the pan then stir well, scraping up any leftover browned bits from the pan. Add onion, garlic, celery, and bell peppers then sauté for a 3 minutes.
Combine: Add basil, cajun seasoning, diced tomatoes, salt, then pepper. Stir well to combine then add chicken broth and rice. Bring mixture to a gentle boil then add reserved meat to the pan. Reduce heat, cover pan with fitted lid, then cook for 20 minutes.
Serve: Remove from heat and rest with the lid on for 10 minutes. Then gently fluff jambalya rice with a fork and rest again for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Variations:
- Sausage: Andouille sausage has a little bit of a kick. If you'd like mild sausage, substitute a Polska Kielbasa, or other pork sausage.
- Add Shrimp: Jumbo, uncooked shrimp could be added in the same time as the rice and cooked with everything together. Or you could cook the shrimp separately (or thaw frozen cooked shrimp) and add it at the end.
- Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe.
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Recipe
One Pan Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil (vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 pound andouille sausage* , cut into ¼ inch thick slices
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow or white onion , chopped
- 4 green onions , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 3 ribs celery , chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, add more for spice, if desired.
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/4 cup long-grain white rice
Instructions
- In a large skillet with a fitted lid, add the oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook, flipping once or twice to brown on all sides (don't cook chicken through). Remove to a bowl. Add sausage and cook until browned on both sides. Add to the bowl with the chicken.
- Reduce heat to medium and add butter and flour to the pan and stir well, scraping up any leftover browned bits from the pan. Add onion, garlic, celery, and bell peppers and sauté for a 3 minutes.
- Add basil, cajun seasoning, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper and stir well to combine. Add chicken broth and rice bring mixture to a gentle boil. Add reserved meat to the pan. Reduce heat, cover pan with fitted lid and cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and rest with the lid on for 10 minutes. Then gently fluff with a fork and rest again for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe April 2015. Updated January 2019 and August 2023.
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I made this recipe last night for company and it was absolutely fantastic! I skipped the flour to make it gluten free and added shrimp because I like my jambalaya with a little seafood. Will definitely make this again! Thank you
I’ve made this recipe three times now. A little bit of prep is involved with all the chopping but the results are amazing! Makes enough for leftovers too!
Husband Love love loves!!
To put it simply…this recipe was gooooood! So easy to make, flavorful and tasty. I might have had more than one helping at dinner of it and it might have even lasted less than 24 hours in our house. Definitely a keeper!
Yuuummmyyyy! I subbed out turkey sausage for the pork and it was amazing! I did not feel that it was overly spicy (I used a BADIA cajun spice blend). The prep was the thing that took the longest, so plan in advance for the veggie chopping. We will be having this a lot, I imagine!
First time ever making Jambalaya ! This is a very good recipe ! The flavor is amazing ! My picky children loved it. Husband gave me a round of applause! I added a little salt to the food. I used brown rice instead of white. I cook the rice before adding it! Thanks !
My husband is a picky eater and LOVES this meal, and the leftovers are still so good! Thank you for this recipe!
This recipe was so easy and delicious! My family loved it! Can’t wait to make it again!
We make this on a regular basis. My husband LOVES it. He requests it because he loves having the leftovers for work. The leftovers are just as good as the night it was made. The best thing is my kids like it too. Five stars for this one at our house. I often use the cajun chicken sausage instead of the andouille sausage. Love it.
I really didn’t expect the reaction from my whole family after trying this jambalaya! I’m not big on jambalaya and my elderly father won’t eat anything spicy so I had to have a backup meal in case he couldn’t tolerate the heat. My father had 2 helpings saying the flavor was so good he didn’t mind the spice and my entire family has already stated that we can’t wait to have this one again soon! Thank you. It was great to try something new and have such success all around. Everyone enjoyed!
That makes me so happy! Well done Joy!
I love this recipe. Do you have any suggestions with making it with brown rice? I tried it tonight, letting it simmer for 15 extra minutes, but the brown rice was still kind of crunchy. I ended up taking it off the heat because the bottom of the rice was sticking and I didn’t want it to burn.
I would increase the chicken broth to 3 cups and cook for 45-50 mins. Hope that helps!
A secret I’ve learned is use Aldi’s Earthly brand 90 second microwave rice. They have it in Brown, Brown Basmati, Jasmine, Basmati and Wlid Long Grain rice. You don’t microwave it. Just break it up in the bag and throw it in the pan since it is precooked. I use the Jasmine for last minute Fried Rice dishes which calls for day old refrigerated cold rice.
I have made this recipe a few times now due to family requests. It’s delicious and my adult kids fight over who is taking the leftovers for lunch. Easy to make but tastes like a lot more effort went into it. A hit in our household! Thanks for the recipe.