Cajun Jambalaya
Jambalaya is another one of those dishes that you will find hundreds upon thousands of different recipes for! It is widely associated with the state of Louisiana, but can easily be made by anyone anywhere. The components are always some types of meat, especially the smoked sausage, veggies and rice. Not to be confused with gumbo, as gumbo is a stew that is served over rice, even though the ingredients are very similar, they are very different dishes.
What is the difference between Cajun and Creole Jambalaya?
There is also a difference between Creole Jambalaya and Cajun Jambalaya, the main difference being Creole Jambalaya is made with tomatoes. I love both of them. The greatest thing about either of these dishes is that they can both be made the way you like! You can swap out ingredients that you don’t like and add ones you do! The sky is the limit, but let me show you how I like to make my version of it!
Ingredients
The ingredients are pretty simple and common household ingredients that most people have access to. Note, I forgot to add the rice in the picture, but I used Jasmine rice. Any long-grain rice will work.
You will need a Dutch oven for this recipe. Add 2 tbs of oil to your pan over medium heat. (Any type of oil is fine and you can even use butter, but I almost always use avocado oil in my recipes due to the neutral flavor and high smoke point. Once the oil is hot, add 1.5 lbs of chopped boneless, skinless chicken. I prefer thighs, but only had breasts when I made this, so feel free to swap them out if you prefer.
Season the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and smoked paprika. *(When I season meat, I do not use measurements, I just make sure that it is completely coated in seasonings, and I go light on the salt because any dish can have more salt added at the end. Remember you can always add but not take away! Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the pan and set aside.
To the same pot, add 1 lb of sliced andouille sausage, or any type of smoked sausage. Let that get nice and crispy on both sides and remove it from the pan and set aside.
You might need to add a little butter to the pan at this point. I used one tbs. I then added 1 lb of raw jumbo shrimp, and seasoned it using the same seasonings as I did for the chicken.
Shrimp cooks very quickly, so once it is pink and no longer translucent, immediately remove it from the pan and set it aside as well.
Now here comes the “holy trinity”, a mixture of onions, bell peppers and celery. Add a couple more tbs of oil to the pan and add in the veggies.
Season with salt and pepper. Let these cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring often until they are soft and have a beautiful dark brown color to them.
Now add in your minced garlic (the Pope) and let that cook for about 1 minute, just until the garlic is fragrant, being very careful not to burn it. Burnt garlic tastes very bitter and can ruin an entire dish very quickly!
Hopefully you didn’t eat all the meat that we set to the side! It is time to add it back in (just the sausage and chicken!)
Now we go in with 2 cups of long grain rice. Give that a quick stir and we will add our seasonings. I will have exact measurements listed in the recipe below.
Once you have the seasonings mixed in, stir in 4 cups of chicken broth. (You can use any flavored broth here, I just happened to have chicken flavored on hand).
You will want to mix it up will and then place 2 bay leaves on top. Place the lid on, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked.
The final step is to remove the bay leaves and add the shrimp back in. Mix it up really well and it is now ready to be served!
This is great as a stand-alone dish but also pairs well with garlic bread or cornbread. A nice green salad on the side would also be nice. All I know is that it is a staple dish in our house and I hope it becomes one in yours as well!
Cajun Jambalaya
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Boneless Skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 lb Smoked Andouille Sausage, sliced any smoked sausage will work
- 1 lb Raw Jumbo Shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail off
- 2 Yellow Onion, Diced
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
- 2-3 Celery Stalks, sliced
- 6-7 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 4 tbs Avocado Oil, divided any oil will work
- 1 tbs Unsalted butter
- 2 Cups Jasmine Rice, or any long grain rice
- 4 Cups Chicken or any other flavored broth
- 2 Bay Leaves
Seasonings for Chicken and Shrimp
- Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt, Pepper, Smoked Paprika I do not measure when I season meat, just make sure it is coated. Go light on the salt as you can always add salt at the end
Cajun Blend
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tbs Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbs Dried Basil
- 1-2 tbs Cajun Seasoning (I love Slap Ya Mama) use more or less to adjust to how spicy you like it.
Instructions
- In a Dutch Oven, add 2 tbs of the oil and set heat to medium. When the oil is hot, add in the chicken.
- Season the chicken with the above spices and cook thoroughly. When finished, remove and set aside.
- Add the smoked sausage, and cook until nice and crispy on both sides. Remove it and set it aside.
- Add the butter to the pan and then add the shrimp. Season with the same spices used for the chicken. Cook until pink and no longer translucent. This should only take about 4-5 minutes. Remove it and set it aside.
- Add the remaining 2 tbs of the oil then add the onion, celery and bell pepper. Cook that for at least 15-20 minutes until it turns a rich brown color, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook for one minute, just until garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add the chicken and sausage back in, then the rice. Give it a quick stir then add the Cajun blend. Stir in the broth, place the bay leaves on top, place the lid on and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes until the rice is fully cooked.
- Remove the lid and take out the bay leaves. Stir in the shrimp and it is ready to serve!
- You can add salt if needed.
