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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Is this recipe gluten free?
DOES IT MATTER IF IT’S MADE IN A CROCKPOT INSTEAD?
What a great way to prepare jambalaya. It comes out perfectly!
This was absolutely delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
This is an awesome game day party choice! So much flavor and SO easy!
It never ceases to amaze me that someone NOT from the south thinks they know how to make Cajun dishes!!! DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT cook shrimp and sausage together. The sausage taste completely drowns out the delicate flavor of the shrimp. Why purchase expensive shrimp for a dish and have them turn out tasting like sausage? Instead, if you cannot afford enough shrimp for the entire amount of “meat” in the dish, use some chicken to stretch the meal. BUT DO NOT USE SAUSAGE. You can, however, use only chicken and sausage and make a good jambalaya, but if you use shrimp leave out the sausage!!! Also, true Cajuns do not use so much tomato product in a jambalaya. It should be brown not red. OH, it can be made and will taste better if it is made on top of the stove in an iron pot!
Heavens to Betsy and bless your heart. It’s slow cooker jambalaya. Enjoy the inspiration. Now hush.
Well I was born and raised in New Orleans. Moved to the northeast at 42 years old a few months ago and a neighbor made this for me the other day. And I thought it was delicious! That’s just my opinion. Thanks for posting!
I am from New Orleans but my mother is from Crowley. New Orleans Jambalaya does use tomato–my mother called it Spanish Rice–while most Cajuns do not. It is good, but I don’t call it Jambalaya.
She is from the south, moron. Click on “About” at the top, and read about her. She’s from South Carolina. Get off your high horse you snobby witch.
Who cares if it is not 100% cajun, get over yourself! I have made jambalaya several times with the same ingredients- on stove top with the stump then, of course is steamed on top for approximately 5 minutes! Delicious
@Ann, that is actually the difference between “Creole” and “Cajun.” A Cajun Jambalaya will not be based in tomatoes and will appear more brown, while a Creole recipe with have tomatoes and appear to be red. I hope that you find some joy in your life.
It never ceases to amaze me that someone NOT from the south thinks they know how to make Cajun dishes!!! DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT cook shrimp and sausage together. The sausage taste completely drowns out the delicate flavor of the shrimp. Why purchase expensive shrimp for a dish and have them turn out tasting like sausage? Instead, if you cannot afford enough shrimp for the entire amount of “meat” in the dish, use some chicken to stretch the meal. BUT DO NOT USE SAUSAGE. You can, however, use only chicken and sausage and make a good jambalaya, but if you use shrimp leave out the sausage!!! Also, true Cajuns do not use so much tomato product in a jambalaya. It should be brown not red.
Lord, I have been cooking cajun/creole all my life and never heard so much nonsense. Shrimp should take on the flavor of the dish. The same as marinating and grilling the suckers. Enjoy your bland food.
Awww hush be quiet
So rice must be added to crockpot? How long??
It’s says cooked rice so at the end for about a half hour if you prefer that method. I like too treat it as if was red beans and rice , and add the cooked rice on top of the jambalaya in ur bowl or plate at the end.
Can I substitute beef stock for the beef broth and a different hot sauce for the Tabasco? Wasn’t sure if it would change the flavor or not.
Yes, you can make both of those substitutions.
This had absolutely no flavor. I doubled the spices (since I like spice) and it was still bland. I added the shrimp at the last minute and yet it still overcooked. Chewy and rubbery.
sounds like operator error i’m eating it literally right now and it’s delicious
I’m sensitive to spicy food, how can I adjust so it’s on the low-spice side for me (I find sriracha sauce hot) and also add spice to my husband’s before serving to suit his love of spicy. What level of spicy/hot is the base recipe?
This is really excellent. It was very easy to prep the night before, turn on around noon, and then prep the rice just before dinner. I will definitely be making it again.
What do you think the nutrition facts for this meal is? I need a low sodium diet. Is this recipe good for a low sodium diet?
You can add up the sodium from the ingredients list, but this would not be low sodium at all. Between the tomatoes, meat, and seasonings (salt, Tony Cachere’s), it probably pretty high in sodium. It is quite good, though.
You can buy low sodium canned tomatoes and low sodium beef broth..skip the salt and it’s probably pretty good. Just look at the ingredients with sodium and try to find something with low sodium. I always buy low sodium when it’s canned goods or soup broths.
Have you ever checked the sodium content of the boxed chicken/beef broth/stock? Omg, I made a pot roast and used Aldi’s brand beef stock w/o reading the label. I serving = 500 mg. of sodium. Everyone commented that it was very salty and I agreed. Now I only buy the low sodium kind. Spice blends also tend to be very high in sodium. This has taught me to READ LABELS:))
So I ended up cooking this on high for 4 to 5 hours instead of low, and it came out good. Probably a good thing that I did so because I used raw Andouille sausage, not cooked. I didn’t notice I needed cooked sausage until I read the comments. Maybe this clarification should be brought up in the recipe itself, to avoid confusion.
I am sure if the chicken will cook in 4-5 hours on low so would your sausage.
Smoked sausage is already cooked, you are reheating only
I made this yesterday for my picky family. Absolute hit! This is delicious. I used instant brown rice, added to the slow cooker the last 45 minutes. I had to leave it in the crock pot longer due to our schedule, so I had it on low for a total of 6.5 hours. I will definitely be making this again!
So happy your picky family loved it Tammy!
I want to freeze the leftovers? Thoughts?
I have fully cooked andouille is it supposed to be uncooked?
Andouille sausage comes already cooked. You have the right thing.
I made this recipe to entertain guests for a house-warming party/football game watch party and it was a big hit! I had to improve a little bit, because we have some friends with shellfish allergies … I doubled up on the kielbasa in lieu of the shrimp and it still turned out great. Thanks for sharing!
**Improvise … not “improve” !!
When do you add chicken.??
For those people asking about when to add the rice? Look on the package of rice… how long does it take to cook… 18 minutes? 22 minutes?? Add the rice, and wait the desired time to cook… if the rice is not done, cook longer. Hope this helps?
oops… I would ADD the rice, and possibly the shrimp together….
You need to add the rice to the crock pot when there is two hours cooking time left. I looked it up and made it myself and it really did take that long.
I felt that what you said was answering the question about how long to cook the rice in the crockpot….also there is a big difference when you are using instant rice (yuck) as opposed to regular rice. Personally, I would cook the rice 3/4 of the way the way I usually make my Uncle Ben’s rice, then add it to the crockpot.