Crock Pot Jambalaya

Crock Pot Jambalaya has juicy shredded chicken, shrimp, and andouille sausage mixed with vegetables, Cajun seasoning, and rice that are cooked together in the Crock Pot for the most delicious Jambalaya. This hearty Cajun dinner is fit for a New Orleans king or queen.

I’ve been making this Crock Pot Jambalaya recipe for over a decade now. Although this is not authentic Louisiana style jambalaya it is delicious and gives you all the flavors you find in Cajun cuisine. I first had authentic jambalaya during a work trip over a decade ago when I was in New Orleans. It was amazing. I went home to work on recreating Jambalaya only (to be honest) very disappointed that it didn’t taste as good as the one in the restaurant I had consumed a week prior.

However, my husband, parents, and in-laws LOVED the recipe. Once my taste-buds forgot about the traditional Jambalaya I was hooked on this recipe. So the moral of the story is, if you are from Louisiana you might not find this recipe super authentic. My jambalaya recipe contains tomatoes, where traditional jambalaya is a brown roux and no tomatoes. If this is your first time eating Jambalaya I think you’ll fall in love with how delicious this recipe is.

Why this Recipe Works

Prep the meat and vegetables ahead of time to save time the morning you want to cook.

This is a 2 part Crock Pot meal. The meat and vegetables cook first, then you add in the rice and shrimp.

Jambalaya in the Crock Pot can feed a large group– which is perfect for entertaining or makes for a delicious lunch the next day.

Ingredients

• Chicken – I like to use boneless skinless chicken breast but chicken thighs work too.
• Andoullie Sausage – I find this in the refrigerated meat section.
• Shrimp – I use frozen shrimp that I thaw. I like the larger shrimp but you can use the smaller salad shrimp.
• Rice – I use Ben’s Original white rice for this recipe.
• Vegetables – 1 large can of diced tomatoes with the juice, an onion, bell pepper, and celery is what you’ll need for the base of the Jambalaya.
• Seasonings – A mix of Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, and oregano are the spices you need. I also like to add in fresh parsley at the end.
• Hot Sauce – I don’t use much since my kids like to eat the Jambalaya, but a little bit of Louisiana Style Hot Sauce is what I use. If I’m not serving this to the kids I double the hot sauce. I also serve the hot sauce on the side.

How to Make Jambalaya in the Crock Pot

Prepare the ingredients for the slow cooker, chop the onion, green bell pepper, and celery stalk.

Next, cut the andouille sausage into bite-size pieces. I like to cut them into larger pieces so my kids can pick them out if they want too since the sausage can be on the spicier side.

Place the sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, oregano, cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.

Add in the chicken breast. Then mix well until the chicken is covered. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.

This is how the jambalaya will look once it’s done cooking. Once the meat is cooked, carefully remove the liquid and reserve to the side.

PRO TIP – I cook the rice in a separate pot, but use as much of the reserved liquid as possible. This will give your rice so much flavor.

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 or chicken broth.

RICE COOKER – I cook my rice in a rice cooker the normal way I normally cook rice.

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.

Recipe FAQs

Tips & Tricks

Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks whenever I make Jambalaya.

• More protein – Want more meat and less rice? Add only 1 cup of rice (with two cups of liquid).
• Draining Liquid – To drain liquid from slow cooker I use a dry 1 cup measuring cup. Push the food to the side and continue to pull the liquid from the slow cooker and pour into a liquid measuring cup until you have the desired amount needed 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 liquid. If you feel that you have too much liquid you can always carefully drain and remove more.
• Hot Sauce – I use LOUISIANA Hot Sauce brand in this recipe.

What to Serve with Jambalaya

Wondering what to serve with Jambalaya? Here are a few of my favorite side dishes.

If you make this Slow Cooker Jambalaya recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a ⭐ star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!

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