Jambalaya is a hearty dish of rice, chicken, spicy sausage (chorizo) and prawns, flavoured with tomatoes, garlic and plenty of spices. My easy homemade version of jambalaya with chicken, chorizo and prawns is so simple to make and it only takes 45 minutes.
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Homemade Jambalaya
I’ve never been to New Orleans in Louisiana, where this dish is said to have originated, so I can’t lay claim to having eaten the original Creole jambalaya. However, years ago, when I lived in South Africa, I worked for a subsidiary of a large American company. We often got American visitors who normally stayed in nearby hotels for the duration of their visit. I was chatting to one of the lady visitors one day, and she happened to mention how tired she was of hotel food, and how she missed her own home cooking. Of course, there was only one thing to do. I invited her round to my home, where she promptly took over the kitchen!
It appeared that Creole Jambalaya was to be on the menu and I was dispatched to the shops to pick up all the ingredients. Chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage, rice and various spices and vegetables. Unfortunately, andouille sausage was not available in the shops over there, so we had to settle for chorizo, which is a similar spicy sausage, liberally flavoured with paprika. It made a very good substitute.
History of Jambalaya
While we were cooking (well, actually I was only watching), I was given a brief history lesson. Jambalaya originated in the French quarter of New Orleans, where the Spanish settlers had attempted to make paella. As there was no saffron available, the Spanish substituted tomatoes. Later, a little French influence crept in with the addition of the andouille sausage.
Apparently, there are two versions of Jambalaya. The version we were making, which contains canned tomatoes, is known as Creole Jambalaya, or red Jambalaya. The other version doesn’t contain tomatoes and is known as Cajun Jambalaya or brown Jambalaya. It seems the further away you get from New Orleans, the less likely you will be to find tomatoes in your Jambalaya.
We dined like kings that night. on our homemade Jambalaya. The rice was perfectly cooked and had soaked up all the flavours of the tomatoes and spices; the chicken was nicely browned in the oil from the sausage; the prawns were plump and juicy, and the balance of spices was just right. Spicy, but not overpoweringly so. All we needed to add by way of accompaniment was a fresh green salad and a slice of garlic bread.
Luckily I wrote the Jambalaya recipe down while I was watching. I’ve made this Creole Jambalaya at home many times since, and I’m sharing it today so you can try it for yourself. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
How to make Creole Jambalaya at home
This recipe is sufficient for 4 people. You can get the complete list of ingredients and steps to make this easy homemade Jambalaya with chicken, chorizo and prawns on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Preparation
Remove the skin and visible fat from the chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. For the chicken you can use either boneless chicken thighs, or chicken breasts. Cut the chorizo sausages into thin rings or smallish chunks.
Defrost the prawns. I used frozen uncooked shelled prawns. If you are using fresh prawns in their shells you should remove the shells and also remove the dark vein (or alimentary canal) from the back of the prawn.
Jambalaya calls for a trinity of vegetables made up of 2 parts onion, 1 part celery, and 1 part bell pepper. You can use any colour bell pepper you prefer. Creole Jambalaya is traditionlly made with green bell pepper, but I prefer the taste of red, so that’s what I’ve used here.
Peel the onion, wash the celery stalks and wash the bell pepper and remove the seeds and inner membranes. Chop all the vegetables into approximately 1cm dice. Also peel and mince 2 cloves of garlic.
Of course, Creole Jambalaya is meant to be spicy. You can add as much chopped chilli as your taste will allow. I find that one small chilli is sufficient for my taste otherwise the chilli will overpower the other spices. What we are looking for is a balance between the heat from the chilli and the flavours of the spices.
If you have fresh chicken stock you can skip this step, and use that. Otherwise dissolve 2 chicken stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water.
Cook the meat and vegetables
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken and sausage over a medium heat until the sausage starts to release its oil and the chicken has changed colour from pink to white (image 1 above). There is no need to cook the chicken all the way through as it will continue to cook in the sauce. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Now add the vegetables, garlic and chilli to the pan and fry gently until the vegetables start to soften (image 2 above). There should be sufficient oil leftover from the sausage, if not you can just add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan before frying the vegetables.
- Once the vegetables have softened, add 1 can of chopped tomatoes, and the spices. You will need paprika, oregano, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Taste before adding the spices. If the chilli has provided enough heat you can omit the cayenne pepper.
- Stir this all through, then add 1 cup of uncooked rice and the prepared stock (image 3above).
- Jambalaya shouldn’t be too dry. Normally when cooking rice you would use 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, which is what we have in the recipe. But because there is an additional amount of liquid in the tomatoes the rice should cook perfectly, leaving just enough liquid to keep the jambalaya nice and juicy.
- Cover the pan with a lid, tun the heat down to a simmer and leave to cook for 10 minutes, by which time the rice should have absorbed most of the liquid (image 4 above).
Add the meat and finish the cooking process
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid and stir the sauce, then add the chicken, sausage and prawns (image 1 above). Replace the lid and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes remove the lid and check the rice. It should be tender without being mushy. If you think the jambalaya looks a little dry, you can add a little more stock. Don’t overdo it though, the jambalaya should not be runny.
- The prawns should have turned pink and are cooked through (image 2 above). If you feel the prawns haven’t cooked sufficiently, you can leave them to simmer for a few minutes longer.
- Remove from the heat, garnish with chopped basil (optional) and serve immediately with a fresh green salad and slices of crispy garlic bread.
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Your questions answered
You can use any long or short-grained rice. I used basmati rice for this recipe. Brown rice can be used, but it will take much longer to cook so you may need to adjust both the cooking time and the amount of stock you add. Don’t use risotto or pudding rice as this type of rice contains too much starch and will make the dish stodgy.
Yes, you can freeze any leftovers. Just pack them in a rigid plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and you can store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To use, allow to defrost in the refrigerator and then transfer to a large frying pan, cover with a lid, and heat gently until piping hot. Don’t turn up the heat too much or you run the risk of the rice burning on the bottom of the pan.
Alternatively, you could just reheat it in the microwave.
Pin for later
If you’d like to try this Creole Jambalaya recipe yourself, why not pin it to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it later. Just click the image below.
Other one dish recipes
You may also like to try these other easy one dish recipes:
- Spicy fish and rice bake
- Garlic chicken and rice tray bake
- Pad Thai noodles with chicken and shrimp
- Hamburger helper with tomato and mushrooms
The recipe
Creole Jambalaya with chicken, chorizo and shrimp
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Ingredients
- 8 ounce / 225 grams boneless chicken thighs
- 6 ounce / 180 grams frozen shelled prawns
- 4 ounce / 100 grams andouille or chorizo sausage
- 1 large onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 – 2 small chilli peppers
- 14 ounce / 410 gram can chopped tomatoes
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- 1 cup / 200 grams uncooked long grain rice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons smoked dried paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Preparation
- Remove the skin and visible fat from the chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. Cut the sausages into thin rings or smallish chunks. Defrost the prawns.8 ounce / 225 grams boneless chicken thighs, 4 ounce / 100 grams andouille or chorizo sausage, 6 ounce / 180 grams frozen shelled prawns
- Peel the onion, wash the celery stalks and wash the bell pepper and remove the seeds and inner membranes. Chop all the vegetables into approximately 1cm dice. Peel and mince the cloves of garlic and chop the chilli finely.1 large onion, 1 red bell pepper, 2 stalks celery, 2 cloves garlic, 1 – 2 small chilli peppers
- If you have fresh chicken stock you can skip this step, otherwise dissolve the chicken stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water.2 chicken stock cubes
Jambalaya
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken and sausage over a medium heat until the sausage starts to release its oil and the chicken has changed colour from pink to white. Remove from the pan and set aside.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Add the vegetables and garlic to the pan and fry gently until they start to soften. If you need additional oil you can just add another tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the can of chopped tomatoes, and the spices. Stir this all through then add the uncooked rice and the prepared stock.14 ounce / 410 gram can chopped tomatoes, 1 cup / 200 grams uncooked long grain rice, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 2 teaspoons smoked dried paprika, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt
- Cover the pan with a lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid and stir the sauce, then add the chicken, sausage and prawns. Replace the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes. If you feel the prawns haven't cooked sufficiently, you can leave them to simmer for a few minutes longer.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately with a fresh green salad and slices of crispy garlic bread.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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