Ever since visiting New Orleans earlier this year I’ve really had a greater appreciation for all cajun food. One in particular. Jambalaya. Last month a coworker and close friend of mine was telling me about this awesome new crock pot recipe she found I knew I had to try it. It had all the ingredients that my husband would love and I really did enjoy eating Jambalaya in New Orleans.
I wasn’t sure about the andouille sausage, but decided to give it a shot. Woah, buddy. It gave the spiciness that this dish deserved! I’ve made this meal a few times now and have found it’s best with the rice cooked in with the meal. It will take an additional 2 hours give or take. Be prepared but know that its well worth the wait. If you get home at 5 your meal is almost done cooking. Add the rice in followed by shrimp and you’ll have dinner on the table by 7. If you aren’t patient and don’t want to eat that late then cook the rice on the side and spoon a generous portion of the jambalaya on top of the rice.
Update since making this recipe in 2011. I make this meal once a month. I now like to make my rice separately in a rice cooker. I will drain as much of the liquid from the crock pot and place that liquid into the rice cooker. This yields a flavorful rice and the recipe won’t take nearly as long. This is a spicy dish, and the andouille is what gives this crock pot jambalaya the spicy kick.
Crock Pot Jambalaya
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 pound Andouille sausage diced
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 pound frozen peeled shrimp thawed
- 2 cups white long grain rice
- Fresh chopped parsley as garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients for the slow cooker: cut chicken, dice sausage, and chop the onion, green bell pepper, and celery stalk.
- Place in the slow cook combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
- Once the contents in the slow cooker are done cooking, carefully remove the liquid. You will use this liquid to cook your rice in a separate pot. Cook the rice according to package directions using as much jambalaya liquid as possible;( 2 cups rice needs 4 cups liquid). Typically I can get 2 cups of liquid from the crock pot so I'll use an additional 2 cups water.
- While rice is cooking, stir in the thawed shrimp in the crockpot, cover and cook on high until the shrimp are cooked (about 30 minutes). Once rice is done mix into the crock pot. Discard bay leaves, add fresh chopped parsley if desired, and serve.
Notes
- Want more meat and less rice? Add only 1 cup of rice (with two cups of liquid).
- To drain liquid from slow cooker I use a dry measuring cup. Push the food to the side and continue to pull the liquid from the slow cooker and pour into a measuring cup until I have the desired amount I need to cook the rice. It's okay if the liquid has some of the vegetables and or sausage. You should still have a little bit of liquid left after removing most for the rice.
- If you feel that you have too much liquid you can always carefully drain.
- I use LOUISIANA Hot Sauce brand in this recipe.
This is one of my all time favorite recipes from Katie’s Cucina. Easy to make and full of flavor! A crowd pleaser in my family!
Veronica, thank you so much for taking the time to rate and leave a comment! I’m so happy that your family loves this recipe as much as mine does!
Hi Megan, sorry to hear that. Maybe, try lessening the time on the shrimp to 15 minutes. Also–another option is using fresh thawed shrimp and cooking for 10 minutes.
I’m gonna make this! But I’m thinking of substituting quinoa for the rice…any thoughts?
Hi Renee–you could do that I just wouldn’t add it to the slow cooker. I would cook the sausage/chicken/shrimp combo and maybe strain off some of the juice to add to your quinoa before you start cooking it to give it extra flavor that might work well. Similar to how I explain doing it for the rice!
Hi! This recipe was delicious, my roommates loved it! However, this dish is more of an etouffee than a jambalaya. Jambalaya doesn’t usually have tomatoes in it, but etouffee does, making a bit more of a creole dish than a cajun dish. I’m from south Louisiana, so I’ve learned all about the culture and food in school and throughout my childhood. I may experiment and try this recipe again without the tomatoes to see if it comes out as more of a jambalaya.
Hi Jessica. Glad everyone loved this. I’m not from Louisiana (just visited once). This is my take on “jambalya”. Thank you for sharing the difference between étouffée and jambalaya and creole vs cajun. Let me know how it turns out without the tomatoes!