Slow Cooker Jambalaya, with chucks of chicken and andouille sausage and lots of shrimp, is a super flavorful one dish meal. Since Mardi Gras is just around the corner, my belly has been craving all those wonderful New Orleans foods.
It’s a southern favorite that does really well in a slow cooker.
I’m especially excited about Mardi Gras this year because guess what??!!
I’m going!!
(Note: This post was originally published January 9,2017.)
I haven’t been to Mardi Gras since I was a student at Tulane University and that was over 20 years ago. It’s going to be so much fun.
Jambalaya is one of my favorite foods from New Orleans. I love making this Crawfish Jambalaya, but for years I’ve been wanting to try a Slow Cooker Jambalaya. This was my first attempt, and I was really happy with how it turned out.
This Jambalaya has so many layers of flavors.
For some tomato flavor (I like a tomato-y Jambalaya), I used both diced tomatoes and tomato paste. For the liquid, I used a can of beef broth. You could use chicken broth instead, but I like the deeper flavor that beef broth has.
For flavoring, I of course started with the Holy Trinity– onion, green pepper, and celery. Then I added garlic, bay leaves, oregano, basil, Cajun seasoning, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, and Worcestershire to round out the flavors.
Recipe Tips
To prevent a mushy mess, I cooked the rice separately but used the cooking liquid from the crock pot to cook it in so that the rice soaked up all that flavor that had been simmering away in the crock pot.
Don’t overcook the shrimp. The shrimp only need to go in the slow cooker for the last 30 minutes. Overcooked shrimp have a rubbery texture.
What Size Slow Cooker To Use?
A 6-quart slow cooker is the perfect size, but a slightly larger one will work too.
How Many People Does It Serve?
This recipe makes a big crock pot full of Jambalaya. Six very large servings or if you serve it with plenty of bread and maybe a salad, you could probably stretch it to 10.
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Storage
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Shrimp are highly perishable and I really don’t like to keep them for longer than 3 days.
More Slow Cooker Recipes To Try
- Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Low Country Boil
- Crock Pot Cubed Steak and Gravy
- Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Sausage
More Jambalaya Recipes
- Crawfish Jambalaya
- Instant Pot Jambalaya
- Paul Prudhomme’s Chicken and Tasso Jambalaya
- Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers
- Spaghetti Squash Jambalaya
Watch the short video below to see how to make Slow Cooker Jambalaya.
Slow Cooker Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound Andouille sausage or use kielbasa, cut into slices
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 1/2 cup white rice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Combine 1st 12 ingredients in a 6-quart slow cookerand stir to combine.
- Add onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, sausage, and chicken. Stir to combine.
- Cover crock pot and cook on LOW 4 to 5 hours.
- Set a larger strainer/sieve over a large bowl and pour about 75% of liquid in the crock pot through strainer. You should have about 3 cups to cook the rice in. Add water to get 3 cups if necessary.
- Return all solids to crock pot. Stir in parsley and shrimp. Cover crock pot and cook on LOW 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring the 3 cups of liquid to a boil. Stir in rice and cook according to package directions.
- Add cooked rice to slow cooker and mix in. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally published January 9, 2017.
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My local grocery store didn’t have Creole seasoning but they had Tony’s more spice seasoning. Can I use that as a substitute?
Thanks
Yes, it may be a little more spicy so you might want to be careful how much you add. You can always add more! 🙂
When would I add the uncooked rice to the mixture if I like mushy rice? Would I need to add any additional liquids as well? Thanks!
Have yet to even make the rice but can’t stop tasting the Everything Else in the croc pot! Will do many MANY times again! May even skip the rice to reduce carbs!
Yes, I would imagine it would make a good soup without the rice. Good idea!
Can I use frozen shrimp? If so would I need to put the shrimp in sooner?
You can use frozen shrimp but I would at least partially thaw them before adding them. Super easy to do. You can either run warm water directly on them and then pat them dry with paper towels. Or put them in a ziptop bag and place the bag in a bowl of warm water.
Can I leave this cook for longer if I put the crock pot on warm? It would cook from 9-5, or should I keep it on low?
I wouldn’t recommend doing that. The temperature might not be high enough to prevent bacteria growth.
Do I add raw chicken or cooked?
Looks delicious!
Raw chicken
So if im using sausage, chicken and steak instead of shrimp should I cook them first?
I follow the recipe exactly, I’m sorry, but is not my favorite… I didn’t like the flavor at all…
Absolutely amazing! Was looking for something different to make for dinner tonight and this was it!
If you add the rice to crockpot instead of cooking separately when would you add and how long would it take to finish cooking?
Do u think this would be ok to freeze?
just wanted to say this is one of the best recipes i ever made in slow cooker do you have anymore
I am doubling this recipe to feed a group but I only have one 6 quart slow cooker. Will the ingredients, without the rice, fit in this cooker? What changes in cooking temperature and duration do I need to make? I can drain the liquid and cook the rice separately; then serve rice in the bottom of a bowl with chicken, shrimp etc. ladled on top. Thanks for such a great sounding recipe!
Can i add raw crab legs?
Yes, that would be delicious!
Can I use Old Bay Cajun Seasoning instead of the one you mentioned? The store did not carry a creole seasoning. Anything extra I should add if I use OB?
Yes, you can definitely use Old Bay.
Are the shrimp raw or cooked shrimp?
They are raw.
I have a little bit of frozen crab meat that I’ve been hanging in to. Can I add that in? I was looking at gumbo recipes today too, but I think this recipe sounds like more of what I’m looking for…
Yes, you can definitely add the crab meat in . Yum!
I am contemplating making this for Supper Club this coming Saturday. The SC consists of 12 so my guess is I need to make this twice (2 crockpots) to serve everyone. Agree? With the amount of spice (heat) that you use, would you say it’s “just right” or a bit on the spicy side? I may want to cut the heat some but it’s a guess. Thanks.
I would double it Janie and I don’t think you will find it too spicy as is.
Can I add the rice to the crock pot to cook instead of taking out the liquid to cook it separately?
Yes, you can cook the rice in the crock pot.
At what point would you add the rice? Do you think it would become mushy?
I am making this for tonight and am wondering if you would reccomend Pre cooking any of the ingredients in this.
Thanks,
Ally
Loooooooooooved it. Yammmmmm.
I have a 4hr and 6hr setting on High dial and an 8hr and 10hr setting on Low dial on my slow cooker. How should I set my dial….on High or on Low for the jambalaya?