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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.
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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*I originally shared this recipe April 2015. Updated January 2019 and August 2023.
This is my GO TO recipe! I’ve been making it every month or two for a long time. I’ve made it with shrimp, different kinds of sausage, just chicken, or all of it and always do the cayenne pepper and it turns out perfect every time. It makes enough for plenty of leftovers (great healthy meal prep option!), and everybody who has tried it has loved it. This recipe is a winner!
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!
Excellent recipe, thank you! I changed the sausage for Chorizo and kept the rice separate as my wife likes her rice untainted by flavours (she’s Asian). But the flavour was fine, and your recipe made it easy.
I LOVE this recipe. Just made it again tonight for dinner. My only issue is that the rice sticks to the bottom of the pan (Le Creuset). Not sure what I am doing wrong. But delish!
Made this delicious jambalaya today! I used Italian seasoning instead of the basil, increased the Cajun seasoning to about 2 tablespoons, added black pepper, parsley and a dash of hot sauce. Turned out by really well. I will definitely be making this again!
This was scrumptious, I had leftover mushroom risotto and used that as my rice. I used sausage and left over chicken. Thank you for sharing
Good recipe! I left out the green peppers as I have family members that can’t eat them. And I did put in less Cajun seasoning as those same family members can’t tolerate a lot of spice. I used smokie sausages as that was what I had on hand. I really enjoyed it and even the fussy ones gobbled it down. I did find it needed more liquid so I added an extra. 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Thanks!
The BEST one pot Jambalaya ever. Family just ate, and ate. Thanks!!!
Would this double well?
Sure, as long as the pan is big enough!
My family loved it! Thank you
Great recipe . The only thing I do different is cook rice before or use left over cooked rice about 5 minutes before
It was a little bland for me, so I added a lot more cajun spice, and used chorizo instead of kielbasa. That did the trick! I also used brown sugar instead of regular 🙂 So good!