Chicken Jambalaya

This chicken jambalaya recipe is one of those dishes that you can use for informal weeknight dinners or serve to large gatherings. It’s easy to make and doesn’t require that much work; most of the time is just cooking time, when the mixture is simmering on the stove. This version of jambalaya uses reduced-sodium broth, reduced-fat turkey sausage and cooking spray to control the amount of salt and fat in the recipe.

This recipe contains tomatoes, making it a “red” jambalaya. Red jambalaya with tomatoes is associated with Creole cuisine, while “brown” jambalaya doesn’t contain tomatoes and is associated with Cajun cuisine. This recipe is a great one to have in reserve for when you need to make a lot of food for a large group of people without spending your entire day cooking.

Chicken Jambalaya Ingredients

• Chicken breasts: Boneless, skinless breasts will be the easiest to prepare.
• Chicken broth: Aim for reduced-sodium broth varieties if you can; you won’t need the extra salt for flavor in this recipe.
• Brown rice: While you could use white rice, brown rice has more fiber and a chewier texture, which works well in this recipe.
• Reduced-fat smoked turkey sausage: Turkey sausage is already lower in fat than traditional pork sausage, but it’s not all that low in fat overall. Using reduced-fat turkey sausage helps control the amount of fat in the recipe while still providing lots of flavor.
• Celery with leaves, onion and green pepper: This is the Holy Trinity. It’s an aromatic mix that forms the basis of Creole and Cajun flavors and is similar to mirepoix. Slice the celery stalks and leaves thinly and chop the onion and the green pepper into small chunks to make it easier to mix them throughout the jambalaya. You don’t have to dice them, but don’t create larger pieces like you might find in stir-fries.
• Cajun or Creole seasoning: This chicken jambalaya is a red one with tomatoes, so Creole seasoning is more in line with the ingredients. However, Cajun seasoning will be just as delicious.
• Garlic: A couple of cloves add that wonderful garlic edge to every bite.
• Hot pepper sauce: The seasoning you use will already be spicy, but adding hot pepper sauce gives that spice a little boost.
• Bay leaf: This bay leaf will add a bit of brightness to the dish.
• Canned tomatoes: Canned, no-salt-added, diced tomatoes are best. You can dice fresh tomatoes, too, but you’ll need to add extra water to replace the canned juice.
• Green onions: This onion is an optional garnish.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the chicken and most of the jambalaya

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Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Saute the chicken for two to three minutes until it’s no longer pink. Add to the skillet the chicken broth, rice, sausage, celery, onion, green pepper, seasoning blend, garlic, hot pepper sauce and bay leaf. Stir to combine and bring it all to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover the skillet and simmer the mixture for 50 to 60 minutes. The entire mixture should be heated through.

Editor’s Tip: You can use a Dutch oven if you don’t have a large skillet.

Step 2: Add those tomatoes

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Add the tomatoes. Stir everything to combine, re-cover the pan and simmer everything for about another 10 minutes. The liquid should be absorbed and the rice should be tender when this is done. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for five minutes. Find the bay leaf and remove it; throw it away. Add green onions to the top of the chicken jambalaya if you want when you serve it.

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Chicken Jambalaya Variations

• Use shrimp, ham or another protein instead of chicken, or change the sausage: Jambalaya is commonly made with shrimp, but you can add in ham or another protein if you don’t have chicken on hand. You can also change the type of sausage; just be aware that if you use a fattier sausage such as the traditional pork andouille, the final dish will have more fat and a richer texture. You can find more variations in this collection of jambalaya recipes.
• Make it vegetarian: Jambalaya can also be vegetarian. Use vegan sausage in place of the turkey, and use tofu instead of meat. You can use extra-firm tofu cut into cubes, or you can freeze extra-firm tofu and use that. Freezing tofu changes its texture to one that’s chewier, spongier and “meatier” than unfrozen tofu.

How to Store Chicken Jambalaya

You can refrigerate leftover chicken jambalaya for up to four days. However, if you have a lot left over, don’t dump it all into one tall container. Portion out the leftover jambalaya into flatter containers with airtight lids. Putting a large amount in one deep container means the food at the center won’t cool adequately and instead will become a food-safety hazard, even in the fridge. When you store the leftovers, you want the food in each container to be no more than about 2 inches deep. This recipe makes about six servings, so you may not have that much left over. But if you’ve doubled the recipe in order to have a few meals’ worth ready to be heated up, for example, pay close attention to how much jambalaya you place in each storage container.

Can you make chicken jambalaya ahead of time?

You could make chicken jambalaya ahead of time if you keep two things in mind. One is what was just mentioned about storing it in flatter containers. If you make a large amount, transfer it when cooled to containers that are maybe a little over 2 inches deep. That allows you to store a safer amount without mashing the top layer with the lid. The other thing to keep in mind is that the time you store the jambalaya before serving it counts toward the four days that you can keep it. In other words, if you make the jambalaya two days ahead of when you’re going to eat it, and then after serving it, you have leftovers, you’ve got no more than two days to finish up the remainder.

Chicken Jambalaya Tips

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Can you make your own Creole or Cajun seasoning?

Yes, of course! Creole and Cajun seasonings are blends of common herbs and spices, just as for taco seasoning or barbecue chip seasoning. You can easily mix up your own blend at home. For a fast mix for this recipe, use this combination: For each teaspoon of Creole seasoning called for in the recipe, mix 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder and paprika. Add a pinch of dried thyme, a pinch of ground cumin and a pinch of cayenne pepper. If you want to mix up larger amounts of Creole or Cajun seasoning for general use, try this Creole seasoning recipe or this homemade Cajun seasoning recipe.

What’s the difference between Creole and Cajun?

Creole and Cajun cuisines and seasonings are similar and can be easily confused. However, they have some distinct differences. One is that Creole food tends to be more of a blend of French, Portuguese, Caribbean and other influences, centered on the city of New Orleans. Dishes tend to be richer and creamier, and Creole dishes often contain tomatoes. Cajun dishes tend not to have tomatoes and aren’t as rich. They’re based on French cuisine, and Cajun seasoning tends to not be as herby as Creole seasoning.

How can you make the flavor fuller and more intense?

If you like the flavor of chicken jambalaya to have a little extra depth, change the sausage from turkey to Andouille (a type of pork sausage), saute the sausage briefly and then saute the vegetables in the fat that was rendered out of the sausage.