Date Published: Jan 21st, 2025 | Last Updated: Jan 21st, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

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What is Jambalaya?

Jambalaya is a savoury rice dish often made with chicken and Andouille sausage, but can contain any variety of proteins. It’s a staple in Louisiana cuisine and is very similar to gumbo in terms of flavour (think of this as a rice version to the stew). The ingredients to both of these dishes are so similar that when I’m making one, I’ll usually make the other 😅. To best describe Jambalaya as a dish, I’d say it’s like an earthy rustic paella – which is not surprising since it has roots from both Spanish and French cuisines.

Special Southern Seasonings:

There are 2 special seasonings in this recipe that I had to order specifically to make this as authentic as possible.

Cajun Seasoning – This is a blend of spices that adds salt, spiciness, and smokiness to the dish. Common go-to brands are “Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning” or “Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning“. If you can’t find either around you, a quick Google search will yield many recipes to make a spice blend of your own.

Gumbo Filé / Filé Powder – Filé powder, also known as gumbo filé, is a spice that is made from dried ground leaves of the sassafras tree. This powder has dual purpose as a thickening agent and also provides earthy flavours. The aroma is similar to that of sage and bay leaf. If you can’t find gumbo filé in a pinch, consider using cornstarch to thicken and some pinches of sage – it won’t be quite the same, but it’ll be similar enough.

Creole vs Cajun – adding tomatoes is optional

Both Creole and Cajun food are Louisiana cuisines from different areas. Think of Creole as city-style cooking with more variety of ingredients at their disposal, whereas Cajun food can be considered country-style cooking with ingredients that are more limited to what can be harvested and what is available. Tomatoes is one of those ingredients that is commonly seen in Creole food, but not Cajun. Across my hours of research, I found tomatoes incorporated into many recipes, but also just as equal number of comments omitting the tomatoes to tailor to the authenticity of cajun rustic flavours. I’ve chosen to exclude tomatoes in my recipe to bring out the earthy flavours more, but feel free to add a can of crushed tomatoes if you want it more tangy.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 500g / 1lb chicken thighs, cut to 2.5cm pieces
• 1/2 Tbsp + 2 tsps Cajun seasoning (I use ‘Slap Ya Mama’ brand, find it here)
• 1 Tbsp of bacon fat (you can use vegetable oil or lard instead)
• 340g/12 oz (1 package) Andouille sausage, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper/capsicum, diced
• 1 stick of celery, diced small
• 1 + 0.5 tsps gumbo filé/filé powder
• 2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
• 1.25 cups of uncooked white rice, rinsed (a long-grain white rice is preferred, but you can also use basmati. Jasmine is okay but will be a little softer and mushier)
• 2.5 cups of chicken stock
• Garnish: sliced spring onions

*Note: if you prefer a tomato-based jambalaya, add in one 16oz crushed can of tomatoes just after the vegetables have softened (between step 4 and 5).

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, mix the diced chicken with 1/2 Tbsp of Cajun seasoning and let it marinate until ready to use.

In a deep pan on MED-HIGH heat, melt 1 Tbsp of bacon fat and sear the sliced Andouille sausages on both sides until browned (you may want to do this in batches if you can’t fit all the sausage in a single layer). Once browned, remove the sausage onto a plate and set aside.

In the same pan, add in the marinated diced chicken (from step 1) and sear both sides until lightly brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. You don’t want to fully cook the chicken at this time. When browned, remove from the pan and set aside.

Still in the same pan, add in the garlic, onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Add in 1 tsp gumbo filé, 2 tsps Cajun seasoning and 2 tsps Worcestershire sauce. Mix well, then add in the Andouille sausage (from step 2) and the chicken (from step 3). Cook for 5 minutes.

Add in 1.25 cups of white rice and 2.5 cups of chicken stock. Mix well, turn the heat down to LOW and put the lid on, checking on it every few minutes to give it a stir, ensuring nothing sticks to the bottom. Let the rice cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. If the rice is still undercooked once the liquid is gone, add a little more chicken stock to continue cooking.

Once the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, mix in another 0.5 tsp gumbo filé, taste and adjust salt as needed.

Garnish with sliced spring onions. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe: