Traditional Jambalaya Recipe

Louisiana is home to a robust culture, history, and cuisine; in New Orleans, the charming, colorful streets fill with jazz and the scent of sweet beignets. Throughout this southern state you'll find the world's most delicious Cajun and Creole foods like alligator, crawfish, étouffée, gumbo, and, of course, jambalaya. Jambalaya is a rice dish much like Spanish paella, in which rice is cooked with saffron, chicken, and seafood like shrimp and mussels. Similarly, jambalaya is cooked in one pot, layering flavors including andouille sausage, onion, pepper, and shrimp to create a bold and plentiful rice stew. Cajun and creole cooking differ slightly, especially in their jambalaya: while Creole jambalaya uses tomato, Cajun jambalaya does not. In this recipe, we guide you through a traditional Creole, tomato-based jambalaya, complete with the New Orleans' "holy trinity" of onion, celery, and green bell pepper. This recipe is made to be medium-level spicy, but if you want New Orleans heat, try doubling the hot sauce and cayenne.

While jambalaya is an easy, one-pot meal, it requires a lot of ingredients to achieve its delicious end result. First, you will need long-grain rice. You'll also need chicken cut into bite-sized pieces, thinly sliced andouille sausage, butter, and seasonings like salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Once the meats are cooked, you'll need Louisiana's Creole "holy trinity" of diced onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Additional seasonings and aromatics include garlic, Worcestershire, parsley, hot sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, bay leaves, creole seasoning, and broth. Here we use Louisiana-based Tony Chachere's, but you can swap in your favorite Creole seasoning blend – or simply use paprika.

The last ingredient needed in the jambalaya is your shrimp; leave the tails on for the most flavor, or peel them off for easy eating. After everything is cooked and ready to serve, we're going to garnish with some sliced green onion.

One-pot meals involving rice can be tricky; the rice tends to sink to the bottom of the pot and stay there. Rinsing the rice first washes away the outer starches that cause stickiness, allowing you a stick-free cooking experience. This method can be done when cooking white rice of any kind, but it is especially helpful in a one-pot meal like jambalaya, where the rice is cooked in broth and tomatoes instead of its standard water.

In a Cajun jambalaya, you might see the andouille sausage go into the pot first along with bacon or ham pieces and the chicken added later — sometimes as whole thighs cooked down to tender shreds. In Creole jambalaya, it is traditional to cook the chicken first and remove it, then continue layering the flavors of the sausage, vegetables, and tomato broth. Since you're making Creole jambalaya, season and add the chicken to the butter first, cook it through, then remove and cook the andouille until your slices are deeply browned. The andouille will look caramelized and leave behind a salty, delicious fat, which we'll use to cook the vegetables.

You might be familiar with the Italian "holy trinity" of onion, celery, and carrot. Louisiana has their own version, closely adapted but swapping the carrot for bell pepper, which suits Creole and Cajun cooking much better. After softening the vegetables, layer in the seasoning, starting with Worcestershire sauce and parsley and eventually filling the pot with tomato.

Now you can add the cooked chicken back to the mix and the rice along with it, covering them in broth until submerged. From here, it is just like making rice: bring to a simmer, lower the heat, cover, and steam until fluffy. The flavors blend together and the chicken gets extra tender in the broth, leading to a flavorful and spicy jambalaya.

Shrimp are small, delicate, and best when they are juicy and plump from just barely cooking. This is why you are tossing them in when you're nearly finished — shrimp are so delicate that residual heat can cook them all the way through. Fold the raw shrimp into the hot rice until pink and opaque; the tails will curl in slightly with the heat. Once the shrimp are cooked through, your jambalaya is ready.

Top the jambalaya with sliced scallions, using both the white and green parts as desired. This batch makes at least six servings and each one is packed with meat, shrimp, and rice. With this recipe, you can feed a crowd or save for meal prep for the entire week as it keeps and reheats well in airtight containers.

While jambalaya is full of proteins, vegetables, and rice, there are plenty of delicious sides you can make to complete the meal. Jambalaya goes well with cornbread, collard greens, green beans, or salad.