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My Delicious Stovetop Jambalaya is packed with savory andouille sausage, juicy chicken pieces, and fresh veggies stirred into fluffy rice in a flavorful broth, this jambalaya is a healthy and tasty comfort food the whole family will love.
Jambalaya is a southern delight that originated in Louisiana. It’s a rice dish with vegetables, cajun seasoning, and sausage. Loaded with veggies including celery, bell peppers, onion, and crushed tomatoes, this jambalaya is a healthy comfort food that’s the perfect weeknight meal. Packed with bold cajun flavors, your whole family is sure to devour every bite!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
Table of Contents
How to Make Skillet Jambalaya
You are going to love how easy this meal is to make and clean up. Made in only one pot, you won’t have to worry about a ton of dishes. Whip it up in less than an hour for a quick and easy meal.
Homemade Jambalaya Ingredients
First assemble the following ingredients:
- Cooking oil – Helps sauté the meats and vegetables while building a rich, flavorful base for the jambalaya.
- Andouille sausage – Adds a bold, smoky, slightly spicy flavor that gives jambalaya its signature depth.
- Chicken – Provides hearty protein and soaks up all the savory spices and broth as it cooks.
- Onion – Brings a sweet, aromatic base that enhances the overall flavor of the dish.
- Green bell pepper – Adds a mild, slightly grassy sweetness and classic Cajun flavor.
- Red bell pepper – Contributes a touch of sweetness and vibrant color to balance the spices.
- Celery – Offers a subtle earthy flavor and crunch that rounds out the vegetable base.
- Garlic – Infuses the dish with a rich, savory aroma and deep flavor.
- Crushed tomatoes – Adds acidity, body, and a slight sweetness to create a balanced sauce.
- Smokey paprika – Delivers warm, smoky undertones that enhance the overall Cajun profile.
- Salt – Enhances and brings out all the flavors in the dish.
- Cumin – Adds a warm, slightly nutty depth that complements the spices.
- Oregano – Provides a hint of herbal brightness to balance the richness.
- Basil – Adds a subtle sweet and peppery herb flavor.
- Thyme – Brings an earthy, slightly minty note that deepens the dish’s flavor.
- Pepper – Adds mild heat and sharpness to round out the seasoning.
- Cayenne pepper – Gives the jambalaya its signature kick of heat.
- White rice – Absorbs all the flavorful broth and spices, making the dish hearty and satisfying.
- Chicken broth – Infuses the rice with savory depth while helping everything cook together.
- Shrimp – Adds a tender, slightly sweet seafood element that pairs perfectly with the smoky spices.
Steps To Make Jambalaya in one pot
With 15-minutes of prep, and 40-minutes cook-time, this recipe is quick and easy to make in your Dutch oven. Gather all your ingredients and let’s get started!
Brown Meat
First, heat oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Then, add the cut sausage and chicken to the dutch oven and cook for about 5-minutes.
Add Veggies
Add the diced onion, bell peppers, and celery. Cook until the onion is soft.
Add Garlic
Add your garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Sauce
Then, add the tomatoes, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir everything well.
Boil
Stir in the white rice and chicken broth. Then, bring the mixture to a boil.
Add Shrimp
Once it is boiling, reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for about 20-minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Add Shrimp and Finish
Finally, stir in your shrimp, cover, and simmer for another 5-minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked.
Easy Jambalaya Tips and Tricks
Lightly sear chicken and sausage. You do not need to fully cook the chicken and sausage before moving onto the next step. Just lightly sear it.
Stir often. Be sure to stir your jambalaya every few minutes while it simmers so that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Shrimp size affects the cook time. Larger shrimp may need a couple extra minutes to cook. The shrimp will turn from translucent to opaque when it is cooked.
Celery is optional. It is a common ingredient in jambalaya, but many people leave it out if they don’t like it.
What To Serve With Jambalaya
Jambalaya is great as a whole meal option, but I like to serve it with a side of Easy Sour Cream Cornbread and my Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad. You can also serve it with a side of Air Fryer Corn on the Cob, Easy Jalapeno Cheddar Bread, or Bloody Mary Oysters.
You can find the rest of our side dish recipes in our The Best Easy Side Dishes page.
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Easy Cajun Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 8 ounces 227 grams andouille sausage, cut into ¼ inch slices
- 1 pound 500 grams boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 – 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup uncooked white rice, long or short grain- not quick cooking rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Optional garnish is freshly chopped green onion
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Add the cut sausage and chicken meat to the dutch oven and fry until lightly seared, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion, bell peppers, and celery and cook until the onion is soft.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir well.
- Stir in the white rice and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and allow to simmer until the rice is just cooked (about 20 minutes), stirring every few minutes.
- Stir in the shrimp, cover again, and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked (depending on the size of your shrimp).
Notes
- Celery is optional. It is a common ingredient in jambalaya but I have read lots of comments from readers that many people like it left out!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Cajun Jambalaya FAQs
You will cook your jambalaya over medium heat until it begins to boil. Then, you will drop the temperature to medium low and simmer.
This recipe takes about 15 minutes to prep, and 40 minutes to cook. So, you should have a complete meal in less than an hour!
The main difference between gumbo and jambalaya is how it is cooked. Rice is an integral ingredient to both, but gumbo is served with cooked rice separately and jambalaya is cooked with rice. Additionally, the dark roux that gumbo is made in adds a deeper flavor and color than jambalaya, but is thinner in consistency.
Absolutely! You can add all your ingredients except the shrimp into the slow cooker and cook it on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Follow this Slow Cooker Jambalaya Recipe for more details.
Nope! You could substitute Mexican chorizo sausage, or any smoked pork sausage you like. Or you could leave the sausage out and still have plenty of flavor.
ut other spices. Use 2 Tablespoons of Cajun spice and take out the paprika, oregano, basil, pepper, thyme, and cayenne from the recipe above.
Nope! You could substitute Mexican chorizo sausage, or any smoked pork sausage you like. Or you could leave the sausage out and still have plenty of flavor.
Absolutely, but you’ll have to take out other spices. Use 2 Tablespoons of Cajun spice and take out the paprika, oregano, basil, pepper, thyme, and cayenne from the recipe above.
If the rice isn’t cooked enough and there isn’t any more liquid for it to absorb, you can add more broth or water. Add about ½ cup at a time and continue to cook until the rice has reached the right consistency.
Store any leftover jambalaya in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Jambalaya is good for 3-4 days. Additionally, you can keep it in the freezer for up to 4-months. If freezing the jambalaya, be sure to put it in a freezer safe container or freezer Ziploc bag.
I loved his recipe! I had to switch up diced tomatoes for crushed because that is what I had on hand. Otherwise, I kept everything the same. Delicious!
Very good! Followed recipe and everyone loved it. Thank you!