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
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 crockpot: cut chicken, dice sausage, and chop the onion, green bell pepper, and celery stalk.
- In the crock pot 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 crockpot 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 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.
Ive made Jambalaya in the crock pot a few times – it always comes out great! Yours looks fantastic.
gonna try it 😀
This looks fantastic and your photo is wonderful too. I just love jambalaya.
I got to try this one out. It seems like a similar version of the chinese dish Chao Fan or rice toppings.
what kind of rice do you recommend using? I used Whole Foods white long grain (the same rice I use for stove top jambalaya). Unfortunately, your recipe did not appear to include enough liquid to properly cook the rice. I added 16 oz Miller Lite and 2 additional cups of broth and still have crunchy, inedible rice.
Hi Rachel, I’m sorry to read that the recipe didn’t turn out for you. I have used both white long grain rice and basmati. The basmati turns to mush so long grain is the best choice. I’ve never had an issue with not enough liquid. If you add the rice into the crock pot you will need at minimum 2 hours. A quicker alternative is removing the liquid from the cooked jambalaya, add the shrimp to the crock pot (cooking that on high for 30 minutes) and then using the jambalaya liquid to cook your rice on the stove top or in a rice cooker. I’ve done this a few times as well to speed up the rice cooking process. Once the rice is done then I mix it into the crock pot and serve. I hope these few pointers help you achieve a delicious tasting meal.
I had the same problem, with the crunchy rice. It could be a quirk of my slow cooker vs. yours, but it’s not worth the risk. Cook the rice on the side, and dump it in with the shrimp. Such a shame. I’m pretty peeved, but, hey. I could eat it, but it was far from desired. Other than the unpleasantness, it is tasty. I doubled the cajun spice and hot sauce, too, but that’s me.
Hi Wenceslao, I’m sorry to read you had challenges with this recipe. I make it at least once a month for my family and we all enjoy the recipes. I’ve since made adjustments to the recipe. I almost always cook the rice separately utilizing the liquids from the crock pot. This gives the rice the additional flavoring yet it cooks quick (using a stove top or rice cooker method). I love to read when people adapt recipes. Every recipes is just based on taste and preference. If you like heat–kick it up a notch with additional hot sauce! I hope you’ll give this recipe a try again using my updated recipe.
I’ve never attempted this in a crock-pot but I love anything kind of meal that can be adapted into a slowcooker one! I’ll have to give it a try with the rice and without. Looks good, Katie!
Thanks Angie. I probably make this recipe at least once a month!
Love the recipe! I made it but used ham instead of chicken. No problems with the rice – everything tasted great!
Kate–I’m so glad to read you enjoyed this recipe. I make this once a month–it’s always a favorite in our house!
Sounds delicious! Silly question, but do you cook the sausage first? Or will it cut nicely before cooking? I haven’t cooked often with sausage…
Hi Melissa, I make this recipe once a month! Yes, the fresh sausage cuts very easily. I always like to use a serrated knife, but any sharp knife will do. The texture of the raw andouille sausage is similar to a hot dog. Hope that helps!
I just made this tonight and it was delicious. To solve the rice problem though I used left-over rice I had already cooked and just mixed it in at the last minute and let the rice warm up. Worked perfectly, just if you want a thicker Jambalaya I’d recommend putting less chicken broth than is called for.
Carson, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Yes, you could definitely just mix in leftover rice (and drain some of the excess liquid from the crock pot). Thank you for taking the time out to leave a comment. It is much appreciated.
what about brown rice? can i just add it to the crockpot with everything else and add more liquid?
Hi Kjasus, I have never tried this recipe with brown rice. I would safely say that you should cook it separately and add some of the crock pot juices to the rice that is cooking. Then mix the cooked rice in with the Jambalaya (draining any excess liquid in the crock pot). Good luck and if you make it with brown rice I would love to hear how it turned out.
This looks delicious Katie! I’ve never made jambalaya before but I’ve heard of it before… sounds a little like paella (which I LOVE!)? I’ll give this a go some time soon. Good to read everyone else’s comments… seems like there’s a lot of variance in people’s cooking experiences. I’m curious to see how it all turns out.
Thanks Laura–yes, its similar to paella, except you don’t cook the rice all day long in the slow cooker (it would turn to mush)! 🙂 Hope you get to try it one day soon.
Do not put rice in crock pot! Mine was one big mush. Followed recipe exactly. It didn’t take 2 hours extra for rice. Rice done in less than hour on low and mush
Hi Catherine, sorry to read about our experience. I think it depends on the heating element in your slow cooker. In my slow cooker the rice took 2 hours and it wasn’t mushy at all; however, I’ve found that I enjoy making and eating this when I cook the rice on the side and straining out the liquid from the dish. Then once the rice is done I mix it all into the slow cooker and serve. I hope you’ll try the recipe again with my other option for the rice. It’s a great recipe that I make each month!
Just put everything in the crock pot! Quick question…I want to cook the rice in the crockpot, but should I add any other liquid once I add the rice?
Yvette–you typically will have enough liquid to cook the rice within the crock pot. However, I highly advise you cook the rice separately before serving. Cooking times vary when cooking the rice with the rest of the jambalaya. I cook my rice on the side (using as much of the liquid as possible to cook the rice in) and then add it back to the slow cooker.
Hello, this looks amazing, but I noticed that you said you get about two cups of liquid from it. My question is how do you make it thicker without hurting the taste and quality of the recipe?
I use the excess liquid to cook my rice. But if you aren’t cooking rice you can just strain the juice out into a separate container. Heat it on the stove top with a couple tablespoons of cornstarch to thicken it up… add one tablespoon at a time whisking the cornstarch and liquid together until its thick enough for you. Hope that helps!
Just made this, Sooo yummy! To the people who’s rice came out crunchy, if you followed the directions it will come out perfect. Get 2 cups of the juice from the slow cooker, and two cups of water to that, bring it to a boil, add your 2 cups of rice to boil, cover, an reduce heat to low. Cook rice for about 20 minutes. Add rice to Jambalaya, mix and yum. I let mine cook for an additional 15 mins on low after adding rice. This was seriously some excellent stuff, everyone in my house licked their bowls and asked for seconds!! Thank you for the recipe!!!
Amanda I’m so happy to read this! Thank you for giving the recipe a try and I’m so glad that your family and YOU loved this recipe. It’s so good!
I want to make this tomorrow but was wondering if I need to drain the tomatoes and if I need to use pre cooked shrimp?
Hi jessica–sorry I’m just getting to this comment now. No need to drain the tomatoes and you can use raw shrimp. It cooks up fine in the slow cooker. Hope you enjoyed this as much as we do!
Just made this and it turned out great!!!! Only thing I may change next time is add more meat and use less rice. Otherwise, this will be added to the list of regulars. Thanks!!
Glad you enjoyed it Meredith!
This sounds wonderful! Jambalaya is one of my husband’s favorite meals. Question though. Can you just put the raw shrimp in at the beginning? Why must you wait until the end?
Katie Hi! I loved this recipe. It turned out great for me twice now! I had to link it to my own cooking blog to share with friends! Thanks for the recipe!
Vanessa, I’m glad you enjoyed it and that it turned out fine for you. It’s one of our favorite slow cooker recipes!
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!
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 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.