“An iconic dish from New Orleans. It’s got lots of yummy stuff like chicken, prawns and tomato, rice and vegies! I didn’t think prawn and chicken could work together so well, but I was wrong.” — Tys Autagavaia, Influencer Client Executive.

Great for Big and Little Humans Too.

What goes in Jambalaya?

A whole lot of great stuff! When you look at the ingredients, you know you’re in for a good thing, right??

Just a note about a few of the items:

Sausages – Andouille sausages are the traditional type used but are hard to find outside of the US. But don’t fret! There are near perfect subs – read below the photo for more information.

Bacon – while not found in most traditional recipes, some call for cooking in bacon fat which, as you might imagine, is a very tasty thing.

Homemade Creole Spice Mix – because I’ve never been 100% happy with store bought. There’s not that many spices in it anyway! But if you are in hurry, the store bought is a great substitue

Rice – long grain white rice is best, medium and short grain are ok. Risotto, paella, brown rice, and wild rice won’t work. Jasmine and basmati rice will absolutely work but might add a non-New-Orleansy bent to the dish.

Best substitutes for andouille sausage:
The taste of your Jambalaya will still make any Southern Mama proud if you use either of these substitution options:

Smoked sausages –Kielbasa or other smoked European sausage from a Polish, German or European deli. This is the best substitute for andouille, I’d go as far as to say they’re a very close match.. I always ask for the smokiest sausage they have; or

Kransky or even chorizo, which are not very smokey, combined with SMOKED bacon and SMOKED paprika (instead of unsmoked, which the recipe calls for). Not quite as good a match, but will get you get much of the way there.

Serves: 5.

Prep: 20 minutes.

Cook: 50 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
180g bacon, preferably smoked, chopped
200g andouille or smoked sausage, sliced 0.5cm thick
300g chicken thigh, skinless, boneless, cut into 2.5cm pieces
12 large prawns, raw (peeled, with or without tails)
1 tbsp (15g) butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, cut into 1.5cm pieces
2 celery ribs, cut into 1.5cm pieces
2 medium green capsicums, cut into 1.5cm pieces
1.25 cups long grain rice, uncooked
2.5 cups (625ml) low-sodium chicken broth/stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
200g crushed canned tomato
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
1 cup green onions, sliced, plus more for serving

Creole seasoning mix:

4 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder (adjust spice to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (all types).
2. Heat oil in a very large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
3. Add bacon, cook for 30 seconds (to start fat melting), then add sausages. Cook until sausages are golden — about 3 minutes — then remove into a bowl.
4. Add chicken into the pan and cook until golden (doesn’t need to cook inside), then add to bowl with bacon.
5. Sear prawns in the pan for 1.5 minutes on each side, then transfer to a separate bowl (reserve until later).
6. Add butter, then garlic, onion, celery and capsicum. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly softened.
7. Add rice and stir to coat grains in oil.
8. Add chicken broth, tomato paste, canned tomato, thyme and seasoning mix.
9. Stir well, then add chicken, sausages and bacon (including all liquid).