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Slow Cooker Jambalaya

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.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya in a bowl.

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.

Jambalaya in a slow cooker.

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.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya in a blue bowl.

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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

More Jambalaya Recipes

Watch the short video below to see how to make Slow Cooker Jambalaya.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Slow Cooker Jambalaya, with chucks of chicken and andouille sausage and lots of shrimp, is a super flavorful one dish meal.
PREP: 15 minutes
COOK: 4 hours 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 6 servings

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

I tried to keep the ingredient list fairly reasonable. For extra flavor, try adding 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme and/or 1/2 teaspoon white pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 575kcal
Course: Dinner, Main Dish
Cuisine: Southern
Keyword: Andouille sausage, cajun, rice, shrimp

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Originally published January 9, 2017.

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110 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Jambalaya”

  1. This is an easy and delicious recipe. My husband loves it so much that I double the recipe so we have lunch the next day.

  2. Jolie Jones

    My family loves this recipe! I add 2-14 oz cans diced tomatoes green onions if I have them and 1 Ilbs shrimp. This recipe does lack a few key ingredients that a true cajun flavor has so you can either purchase the ready made seasoning and add it (prob about 1 TBLS) or add the missing spices to round out your Jambalaya. Missing Ingredients: Garlic Powder Chili Powder Thyme and Sweet Basil. You’ll need to play around with the measurements as I have not taken the time to do it myself. Good luck and happy eating!

  3. chamila K evans

    It was really tasty. One lesson learned – I cooked for 4.5 hours and added rice and shrimp. My guests arrived 3 hours delayed, by that time it was too mushy – yet very tasteful. Also, there was no liquid at all. Next time i will make sure i add cooked rice and shrimp only about 30 minutes before serving. Thank you for the recipe.

  4. Me parece un platillo espectacular, amo preparar platos con camarones y esta receta me inspiró mucho a seguir mejorando en la cocina!!

    Éxitos y muchas gracias por compartir!!

  5. Thank you for taking the time to share this. There’s no reason to be negative on here people, she took the time to post this when you didn’t. If you don’t like it, don’t eat it….. i will continue as many other people will continue to eat this, while many of you above will continue to be a piece of $h!t

    1. People that are from Louisiana, is not knocking the recipe they just want to include some main ingredients that was left out of this jambalaya dish. So your out of line with your comments of using the shit word. I think you should check yourself before adding comments to a post.
      Pray and ask forgiveness for your ignorance .

  6. Adjusted this for the instant pot. Using the sauté feature, I sautéed all the veggies, chicken, and sausage. I then added all the other ingredients (except the shrimp and rice) and cooked on manual for 12 mins with a quick release. I reserved 1.5 cups of liquid and turned on the sauté feature and poached the shrimp. Once the shrimp was cooked I removed the contents to another pot to set aside. I added the reserved 1.5 cups of liquid to the instant pot with 1.5 cups of uncooked rice and cooked on manual for 3 minutes. I quick released after 13 mins. Mixed the rice with everything else. The taste was on point and very flavorful. You may need to cook maybe 1/2 a cup more rice (which would require 1/2 cup more of the reserved liquid).

  7. Dennis Martin

    I fell in love with Louisiana cooking after a few months of traveling back and forth there for work. I have made this recipe several times and its always been a hit. We are planning a Mardi Gras themed family dinner this weekend and this will be the star attraction. Thanks for sharing

  8. This was goood. I didn’t have the Cajun seasoning so I added 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of every ingredient that comes in Cajun seasoning.

  9. This recipe was incredible! The only substitution I made was instead of chicken breasts I used boneless skinless chicken thighs for a deeper flavor. I did not use a crockpot or pressure cooker but instead used a large pot with a lid. Brought it all to a boil then simmer. Added shrimp about 1/2 hour before serving along with the rice and then let that simmer for approx 1/2 hour. Soooo good!!!!!

  10. This is recipe is authentic and delicious. What is the serving size? My husband and I are using my fitness pal. Thank you!

  11. I made this yesterday for a potluck dinner. It was a big hit and the casserole dish that I served it in was cleaned out. I didn’t have any fresh parsley on hand so I used dried. Not a problem. I also did not cook the rice separately but rather added it uncooked into the crockpot with about an hour and a half cooking time left. I was asked to make this again as a side dish fir Easter. I think this time, I’m going to sautée the shrimp separately in garlic butter and then add to the jambalaya before serving.

  12. Hello, Do you use raw shrimp and can I use pork instead of chicken and if so which cut.
    Thank you it looks delicious.

  13. This looks really nice, i am going to try it tomorrow.

    Can I just ask, if I was going to add uncooked rice to the dish at the end, how long will the rice take to cook?

    TIA

    1. I added rice and shrimp after about 5 hours cooking on low, and the rice took another 90 minutes 🙁 Next time I’ll add rice at the beginning.

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