Jambalaya is standard Louisiana fare, and like most Cajun and Creole comfort foods I’ve come to love while living here, it somehow manages to use inexpensive, standard fridge and pantry ingredients while still being unbelievably delicious. In fact, I call this my “Hey, I’m cleaning out the fridge!” meal because it uses up all those odds and ends I never got a chance to use and it’s still probably one of my family’s favorite meals! It can be served as a side dish, but really, it’s meant to be a main dish. It’s one of those rustic meals that somehow manages to be homey and yet could be served for company at the same time.
Ingredients Needed
See full recipe card below for measurements an instructions.
- White rice
- Butter
- Green bell pepper
- Onion
- Green onion
- Celery
- Garlic
- Smoked Sausage– You’re looking for fully cooked smoked sausage. Something local is great, or the horse-shoe shaped sausages widely available at grocery stores, like this one. Avoid Kielbasa and make sure it says sausage on the label.
- Ham -I usually buy a simple ham steak for this recipe
- Canned tomato sauce
- Creole seasoning – like Tony Chachere’s
How to Make Jambalaya
This is just a quick overview. You’ll find a full recipe card below!
- Cook white rice. Nothing fancy here, just cooking rice!
- I like to make this in a large dutch oven so there’s plenty of room in the pot to stir. Heat some butter to melt.
- Add all your vegetables: finely diced green bell pepper, celery, green onion, and white/yellow onion. Cook these until tender.
- While those cook, you’ll prep your proteins. If you have a food processor, it works great here. I add the ham and sausage, diced in large pieces and pulse a few times.
- Add the meats and fresh garlic to the vegetable mix and cook for about 10 more minutes.
- Add tomato sauce and creole seasoning and then add your cooked white rice and mix everything together.
- Season additionally to taste and serve!
Frequently Asked Questions
For sure! Personally, I’ve found it difficult to control the heat level when using Andouille (the majority of the time having it be way too spicy!) But if you’re not afraid of heat, or have a brand you love, feel free.
You can vary the proteins in this, or add additional. However keep in mind if you sub out shrimp or other shellfish, or chicken, you’ll miss a lot of the smoky flavor you get from the ham and sausage. I feel like that’s the best combo, so if you skip out on the sausage and ham, you might want to add some liquid smoke and extra seasoning to compensate.
Yes, leftovers are fantastic! If you find your rice has absorbed moisture and it feels dry, add a splash of water to loosen things up.
Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups white rice
- 5 cups water
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 12 ounces high quality smoked sausage *could be anywhere around that measurement depending on the package you buy. Shoot for somewhere between 8-12oz.
- 8 ounces ham
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning or other creole seasoning of choice
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook Rice
- We're just cooking white rice here- if you have a go-to method, feel free to use it. You could also cook in a rice cooker if this fits your capacity. Place rice in large stock pot and rinse first. To rinse, add some cool water and swirl rice around, then carefully discard the cloudy water. Repeat this processes a couple times, drain well and then add the 5 cups cooking water. Bring rice to a simmer on the stove top. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
Cook Jambalaya
- Heat a large pot like a dutch oven (my preference), or an extra large skillet (at least 14" – this recipe makes a LOT of jambalaya!) to medium heat on the stove top. Add butter to melt and coat pan. Add green pepper, onion, green onion, and celery to pot. Saute, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Cut sausage and ham into 1" pieces and place in a food processor. Pulse just a few times to roughly chop. You're not making ground meat, just rough chopping. Alternately, you can use a knife and cut it into very small bite-sized pieces.
- When vegetables are tender, add garlic and sausage/ham mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce and 1 ½ teaspoon creole seasoning and stir everything well.
- Add cooked rice to pan and stir to combine.
- Lastly you'll season to taste. This varies depending on what brand Creole seasoning you are using, the salt content of your sausage and ham, and your personal preference. If you are using Tony's with salt, continue seasoning, being careful to not over-salt. If using salt-free Tony's, add flavor until sufficient to your liking, and season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve immediately.
Questions & Reviews
You say lots of garlic but you don’t say when to add.
Oops–my mistake! Thanks for pointing it out. You should add it with the onions and other stuff.
What a great recipe.. Ever since I moved to New Orleans I have become obsessed with gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice and cajun seasoning – you name it if its from here I love it.
I’m making this tonight for our Mardi Gras dinner. My husband served his mission in Louisiana, so hopefully I don’t mess it up. Could the rice be done in a rice cooker?
Yep, you could for sure do the rice in the rice cooker! In fact, make the rice now if you have time and then keep it in the fridge–it’ll help the rice from becoming too sticky or gummy.
Where did your hubby serve? I bet he’s got LOTS of stories! 🙂
It was yummy. Honestly, it wasn't anything better than the Zatarains box mix (which is very tasty!). It's nice to have the fresh veggies (but you could just add those to the mix version). My husband is from Baton Rouge and he shares my sentiments. So, if in a pinch for time, just keep some sausage on hand in the freezer and a box of Zatarains on the shelf!
Yummmmm!! Is all I have to say. I am new to the whole cooking thing but I've discovered I LOVE it. And I love this site. All of your recipe's and quick and easy. My husband and I mad the Jambalaya this evening and it was wonderful. I work late and so I had my husband cut everything up before hand, broke out the electric skillet when I got home and put it all together. It was soo easy and tasty. Thank you so much for all of the fun wonderful things you come up with.
Oops commented on the wrong recipe that last time.
Anyways, I made this Jambalaya on Sunday night and I absolutely loved it. The only things I changed was that I added carrots to the recipe and omitted the ham. Everything else was as is and it turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this tonight and it was yummy. It makes a TON TON TON. Enough to feed a small army. But it's a great meal to freeze, so it's all good.
I liked the flavor, but will definitely add in some shrimp or crab next go around to help give a more authentic taste/feel.
It's a keeper!
Made This Tonight – Seriously Easy and Super Good! Even My Husband Devoured It And He's Not One To Try New Things. He Even Asked If I Could Pack Leftovers For His Lunch Tomorrow! SCORE!
Ok, Kate, I'm gonna try your recipe. We've been eating the box version since we moved to LA, and I think it's time to make it fresh! Thanks for sharing! :0)
I made this jambalaya for dinner last night and it was wonderful! It immediately made the 'keeper' list on our fridge. My husband loved before he even tried it! I bookmark nearly every recipe you two ladies post and have mentioned your blog on my own–thanks so much!