Easy Jambalaya (Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille)

8 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Easy Jambalaya made with Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage in under 45 minutes. Served over rice or rice cooked with the jambalaya for one pot meal.

This classic version is a great addition to the site since you all love the Cajun Jambalaya Pasta on here so much!

Easy Jambalaya in bowl

This savory and rich jambalaya contains chicken, sausage, and shrimp cooked with the trinity of New Orleans flavors, celery, onion and bell peppers. Thyme, oregano, cajun seasoning and tomatoes are added to flavor the dish along with rice which is traditionally cooked with the rest of the ingredients, or alternately served along side it.

YES, it is traditionally made with the rice in the pot, but here’s the thing. This is a giant pot of food. Unless you are serving 8 people tonight for dinner, you’re going to have leftovers. And do you know what that rice is going to do to that delicious jambalaya? Dry it out.

We tested cooking jambalaya the traditional way as well as without rice in the pot, and we  love it this version significantly more. You can make the rice buttery and slightly salted before pouring this over, and just give it a few minutes to marry the flavors together.

Try eating the recipe this way and once you’ve tried it, you’ll love it. And leftovers are a breeze because there’s still liquid in the pot! Traditionally jambalaya is served with rice and a side of Southern Cornbread. Sometimes a Creamed Corn is served, and if serving with creamed corn try spicing it up with some jalapeños.

Easy Jambalaya Collage

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a gumbo and jambalaya?

Gumbo is a traditional stew type dish made with a roux to thicken the sauce. Jambalaya is a traditional rice based recipe made with chicken, sausage and shrimp in one pot.

How do you make Cajun seasoning?

½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoons dried oregano
¼ teaspoons dried thyme

1. Mix all the ingredients together and store in a covered container for up to three months

How do I reheat Jambalaya?

1. If cooked without rice, scoop some rice into your bowl.
2. Ladle the jambalaya over the rice, removing the shrimp from the bowl and setting it aside.
3. Cover with a wet paper towel and microwave until very hot (for us this is 3-4 minutes).
4. Lift the paper towel, add the shrimp into the bowl and cover the paper towel back over it and let it sit for 3-4 minutes.
5. The shrimp will be hot but not rubbery as it would be if you were to cook it a second time in the microwave.

Easy Jambalaya Collage

How to Store Easy Jambalaya

  • Serve: Do not leave Jambalaya at room temperature longer than 2 hours before refrigerating.
  • Store: Refrigerate Jambalaya in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • Freeze: In a freezer safe container or plastic bag, Jambalaya will freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
Easy Jambalaya in bowl close up

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Easy Jambalaya Recipe (Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage)

Easy Jambalaya with Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage in under 45 minutes. Served over rice or cooked with rice for a one pot meal.
Yield 8 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 pound andouille sausage links , sliced
  • 1 large onion , chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper , finely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery , thinly sliced
  • 2 chicken breasts , skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
  • 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 pound shrimp , 13-15 count

Instructions

  • Add canola oil to your dutch oven on medium high heat.
  • Add the sausage to the pan and cook until crisp and browned.
  • Remove the sausage and add in the onion, bell pepper and celery.
  • Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
  • Reduce the heat and add the chicken, tomatoes, broth, thyme, oregano, cajun seasoning and cayenne and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes.
  • Add the shrimp and sausage, stir and cook for 3-5 minutes, uncovered, before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 179mg | Sodium: 730mg | Potassium: 385mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 1020IU | Vitamin C: 26.4mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 2.1mg
Keyword: Easy Jambalaya (Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille)
Easy Jambalaya Collage

Photos used in a previous version of this post.

Cajun Jambalaya Recipe

Cajun Jambalaya Recipe

Easy Jambalaya Recipe
Easy Cajun Jambalaya
Quick and Easy One Pot Jambalaya

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Jambalaya calls for meats to be cooked in a pot with rice, where is the rice in this recipe ? I’m from Louisiana and I’ve never seen such a recipe for jambalaya without rice, the whole dish is about the rice being cooked raw with the cooked meats thus the rice takes on all the flavor once the dish is done.

  2. Made this with 4 cups of chicken broth and the rice in the pot. Was delicious. It took the rice a little more than an hour to be fully cooked.

  3. I got the shrimp and sausage yesterday and tried your recipe this evening. It was fantastic, followed your directions exactly as given. I did put it over brown rice. It took me about an hour to
    prepare though, guess I’ll have to buy one of those old school choppers like my mom had.

  4. Is the nutritional information on the bottom of this recipe correct? It is 165kcal per gram or is this a typo? Any update would be greatly appreciated.

    1. Great recipe! I add diced a poblano or Anaheim chili, then okra (frozen chopped) and smoked paprika (1-2 tsp) with the sausage. Comes out a bit different every time but always good.

  5. Great quick recipe. I bought a whole rotisserie chicken and cut the breast into cubes to save time. It was still tender after letting it cook with the shrimp as it states in the last step. My husband gave this 2 thumbs up. Rice was made on the side and cornbread muffins. Definitely will keep this in rotation.

  6. Love this! However, since I hate bell peppers, I left those out. The spice combo was great and I usually don’t like cayenne but it works for me with all the other spices. This also goes well with leftover garlic butter noodles, but yeah, rice is better.

  7. Love this recipe! I’m wondering if I could use ham stock instead of chicken stock as I just made 4 quarts of it! What do you think?

  8. Love that you make the rice separately! My mom always did that for her shrimp creole. This is the perfect recipe for jambalaya!

  9. Easy to make and great flavor. I thought it might have too many tomatoes but it turned out fine. We used already cooked shrimp so next time I would use raw to soak up all the flavors. A side of cornbread would be great also.

  10. As a native of the Jambalaya Capital of the World, I have to point out a few things.
    – Jambalaya doesn’t have a broth. It’s not a soup. It’s never wet.
    – Most jambalaya cooks don’t mix meat and seafood. It’s one or the other.
    – Jambalaya never has tomatoes in it.
    Please consider getting a more authentic recipe for this dish.

  11. Jambalaya is a rice dish. I have made it with pork ribs and no tomatoes. It varies from town to town.More like paella. Chicken and sausage is popular. Gumbo is a soup. It is served over rice.A stew is called a stew in Cajun cooking,like shrimp stew.Its thick and served over rice.If you don’t cook the rice together with the ingredients you don’t have jambalaya you have a stew or if its soupy it might be more of a gumbo.No roux in jambalaya ,roux and little liquid in stew, roux and more liquid in gumbo.

  12. This recipe is amazing. I left out the shrimp and froze the whole batch in individual vacuum sealed bags for a camping trip off-grid. Serving this over fresh rice will be so awesome as a quick meal. Thank you! No soggy jambalaya for us!

  13. I live in Louisiana where jambalaya is taken Seriously. I took a chance and prepared this recipe at home and my family ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!

  14. I made this exactly according to your recipe, and also made your cornbread. What an easy, delicious comfort meal! Many thanks for sharing. We all loved it!

  15. Is this very spicy? It looks really good but my son doesn’t like spicy food so I was wondering how much I need to adjust the seasonings.

    1. I would say its medium spicy. You might have to test it out to get it to the heat level he would enjoy.

  16. This is not Jambalaya. Jambalaya is cooked with the rice and no roux should ever be in Jambalaya. Cajun Jambalaya does not have tomato’s. Creole Jambalaya does have tomatoes.

  17. This was my first time making Jambalaya and this recipe is absolutely delicious! Entire family devoured it. Will definitely be saving this one and checking out your other recipes! Thank you!

  18. This is Excellent, I made it as it says to, except for the Sausage
    I used Eckridge kilbosa
    Easy to make and Good to eat
    Will be making it again
    Have a Blessed day

  19. In step 5 are you adding raw chicken? I would think you should brown it first.

    5. Reduce the heat and add the chicken, tomatoes, broth, thyme, oregano, cajun seasoning and cayenne and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes

    BTW i love the rice on this side for those who want a healthier option with less carbs, you can control your rice intake when its on the side. that was how i found your recipe. Can’t wait to make it tonight, just concerned about cooking the chicken first before adding it.

    Cheers,
    Kay

    1. Pls adding chicken to the mix which onions celery and bell peppers cook down to water and your adding the tomatoes and chicken broth. So it is boiling for 20 mins. Cooked chicken anyone.

  20. This was my first time making jambalaya and it was great! Just the right kick. I used canned fire roasted red tomatoes and Better than Bouillon Lobster Base. My husband and I are pescatarians so I used only shrimp. Absolutely delicious ??

  21. Wonderful recipe! My dad loved it as well as the rest of the family! Just the right amount of spice!

  22. I have made 1/2 this recipe twice. Very good and easy to make. Big hit with the family. First time, I used the diced tomatoes. Second time, I used crushed tomatoes because I had them on hand. Didn’t notice much difference but will use diced next time – less liquid. Both times, served over brown rice. Thanks.

  23. Absolutely delicious I make it every week. I used Oktoberfest sausages and put them on the bbq and I also put chicken breasts on the bbq. I cut them up and add them with the cooked shrimp after. It was amazing. I made lemon rice on the side too it has great flavour. Great recipe I love it??

  24. I have made this recipe 3 times now. The first time I fixed the rice on the side and the next 2 times I cooked it with the rice. I love it both ways. It has great flavor and just the right amount of spice.

  25. This dish was absolutely delicious! My family and I loved it! Easy and not so many ingredients! You can prep ahead so when you are ready to cook it’s quick! Thank you!!

  26. This was fantastic! Served with a side of cajun seasoned catfish caught by my father in law! Next time gonna do some hush puppies!

        1. I’d add it in step 5 but allow the mixture to come to a simmer first before allowing it to cook for 15-20 minutes. Make sure to stir every 5 minutes or so while it cooks so that the rice doesn’t burn. Enjoy!

  27. This was quite lovely. Me and hubby really enjoyed it. I didn’t have an onion (which is quite rare in my household) but did use scallions. Cut down a bit on cayenne so it wasn’t spicy but maybe cut back too much since there wasn’t much of a kick. Other than that, everything was the same. Look forward to make more in the future. Thanks so much for the recipe!

  28. Hey there Sabrina! I came across your delicious recipe and realized that someone on Instagram is using same pictures and claiming it as their own. Not sure if that bothers you, but just wanted you to know. You worked on this recipe and it’s only right you receive credit.

      1. This sounds so good. Getting shrimp tomorrow and giving it a go. Too bad so many are critical of it. I’d say get over it and try it. Thanks, Sabrina

  29. This was an easy and delicious recipe! Takes me back to Louisiana where I served in the military. I just added a squeeze of lemon to my shrimp and extra cayenne because I’m spicy like that. Thank you!

  30. This is a great recipe and easy to prepare. I followed the recipe and it was delicious! We served it with rice and had a slaw and sourdough bread for a fabulous meal! Thanks for sharing this keeper!

  31. I really enjoyed this meal. I made a few substitutes, for instance, I used pasta instead of rice and I couldn’t add thyme however it still came out so good. I also add about a cup of parmesan because I wanted the juice to be thicker.

    1. ME again. I ONLY used sausage by the way. It was all the meat i had on hand . It with the pasta was enough to fill me up.

      1. Trying to watch my calorie intake but obviously I still want to eat this deliciousness! ? I noticed that the recipe says it is 8 servings but what would you say the serving size is?

      1. Hi Sabrina,
        Will be definitely making this recipe sounds AMAZING!! I would like to know if you are adding cooked shrimp or raw?
        Thank you for posting!