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.
What you will need
Equipment
For cutting up the meat and vegetables you will need a sharp knife and a chopping board.
To cook the jambalaya, you will need a saute pan or a large frying pan.
Ingredients
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**
- Chicken – you can use either skinless chicken breast fillets or deboned thighs. I prefer to use thighs as they can withstand the cooking time without drying out. If you use breast meat, there’s a chance it may dry out in the time it takes the rice to cook.
- Chorizo sausage – don’t skip this, it adds a delicious smokiness to the dish.
- Prawns – these are raw frozen prawns that have been shelled and deveined.
- 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 traditionally made with green bell pepper, but I prefer the taste of red, so that’s what I’ve used here.
- Tomatoes – a can of chopped tomatoes, and for additional tomato flavour I like to add a tablespoon of tomato paste (or tomato puree).
- Cajun spice – this should be readily available on the spice shelf at your local supermarket. Depending on the amount of cayenne pepper in your brand of Cajun spice, you may like to add additional chilli paste, or a finely chopped red chilli.
- Paprika – to further enhance the smoky flavour.
- Garlic – you can use either freshly crushed garlic cloves, or for convenience use ready-crushed garlic from a jar.
- Olive oil – for frying.
- Rice – this is just long-grained white rice – I like to use Basmati.
- Stock cubes – you can use either chicken or vegetable flavour.
- You may also need salt and pepper for seasoning.
What to do
Preparation
I like to prepare everything up-front before I start cooking.
- Remove the skin and visible fat from the chicken and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Cut the chorizo sausages into thin rings or smallish chunks.
- Defrost the 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.
- 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. If you are using fresh garlic, mince it finely.
- If you have fresh chicken stock you can skip this step. Otherwise dissolve 2 chicken stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water.
Cook the meat and vegetables
Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onions, garlic, celery, chilli and red peppers over a medium heat until they start to soften.
Push the vegetables to one side, add the chicken pieces and continue to fry until the chicken turns white.
There is no need to cook the chicken all the way through, it will continue to cook in the sauce.
Now push the chicken to one side and fry the chorizo until it starts to brown and release its fat.
Stir everything together and add the rice.
Add the stock, paprika, cajun spice and tomatoes, and season with salt.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed.
Stir occasionally while the dish is cooking.
If the mixture looks a little dry, add another splash of stock, but don’t make it too wet.
Add the prawns.
Cover with a lid and leave on a low heat until the prawns have cooked and turned pink.
Stir and garnish with chopped parsley.
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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.
Jambalaya can be safely stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for 2 days.
There’s no difference. It just depends on where in the world you live. In the UK and most Commonwealth countries we call them prawns. In the US they are known as shrimp.
Pin for later
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Other one-dish recipes
You may also like to try these other easy one-dish recipes:
- Spicy fish and rice bake – juicy fillets of fish oven-baked in a spicy tomato sauce.
- Garlic chicken and rice tray bake – succulent paprika-flavoured chicken thighs oven-baked on a bed of buttery garlic rice.
- Pad Thai noodles with chicken and shrimp – all the flavours of Thailand combine in this delicious meal of Pad Thai Noodles with chicken and shrimp.
- One pan pasta – ground beef and pasta shells cooked in a delicious onion and tomato sauce.
- Unstuffed cabbage rolls – all the flavour of cabbage rolls but with none of the effort. This one-pan dish of beef mince, cabbage and vegetables in a tasty tomato sauce is the perfect mid-week meal.
The recipe
Creole Jambalaya with chicken, chorizo and prawns
(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 / capsicum
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 cloves garlic or 1 teaspoon crushed garlic from a jar
- 1 – 2 small chilli peppers optional (or 1 teaspoon chilli paste)
- 14 ounce / 410 gram can chopped tomatoes
- 1 – 2 tablespoons tomato paste / tomato puree
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- 1 cup / 200 grams uncooked long grain rice
- 2 teaspoons cajun spice
- 2 teaspoons smoked dried paprika
- 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. If you are using fresh garlic, mince it finely.1 large onion, 1 red bell pepper / capsicum, 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 pan and fry the onions, garlic, celery, chilli and red peppers over a medium heat until they start to soften.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Push the vegetables to one side, add the chicken pieces and continue to fry until the chicken turns white.
- Push the chicken to one side and fry the chorizo until it starts to brown and release its fat.
- Stir everything together and add the rice.1 cup / 200 grams uncooked long grain rice
- Add the can of chopped tomatoes, the spices and the prepared stock.14 ounce / 410 gram can chopped tomatoes, 1 – 2 tablespoons tomato paste / tomato puree, 2 teaspoons cajun spice, 2 teaspoons smoked dried paprika, 1 teaspoon salt
- Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed. Stir occasionally.
- If the mixture looks a little dry, add another splash of stock, but don’t make it too wet.
- Add the prawns. Cover with a lid and leave on a low heat until the prawns have cooked and turned pink.
- 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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