by Sabrina SnyderSlow Cooker Jambalaya with andouille sausage, chicken and shrimp cooked low and slow with bold spices and vegetables with just 10 minutes of prep.
Slow Cooker Jambalaya hardly any effort at all.
Hey guys it’s Sabrina again from Cooking with Points and Dinner, then Dessert with an easy slow cooker recipe that is so full of flavor you’ll save this recipe and make it over and over again.
One of my favorite slow cooker recipes is Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken or Pot Roast, but this jambalaya is so good we’ve been adding it into the regular rotation with our favorites.
MY LATEST VIDEOSJambalaya doesn’t have to take a lot of work. You can just prep and toss all the ingredients together and let the slow cooker do the work.
OR you could brown the sausage, then cook the onions and peppers in it before adding the ingredients to the slow cooker. Instant flavor boost.
What to serve with Slow Cooker Jambalaya?
The classic side dish to Jambalaya is steamed rice, but you can also serve it over some black eyed peas for an amazing and easy meal. On the side you can also add some Homemade Cornbread or baguettes.
What meats are normally in Jambalaya?
Most jambalaya recipes contain chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp.
What is the difference between Jambalaya and Gumbo?
Gumbo normally contains a roux which is cooked to a deeply flavored brown stage and contains more liquids like a stew with vegetables like okra as well as the trinity of bell peppers, celery and onions. Jambalaya is a traditional rice dish made in one pot with more meat than vegetables.
Looking for more Cajun recipes?
- Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Vegetable Sheet Pan
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Meatballs
- Creamy Cajun Sausage Linguine
- 2 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
- 1 pound andouille sausage links, sliced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 28 ounces
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound shrimp (13-15 count)
- Add all the ingredients except the shrimp into the slow cooker and stir.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours (high for 3-4 hours), in the last 15 minutes add in the shrimp.
- Serve over rice.
I am from South Louisiana and I have never heard of a Jambalaya made like this without the rice added. In essence you are making a gumbo without the roux . the ingredients are on spot. It would be great if you could develop the same recipe but figure out a way to add the uncooked rice during the end of the cooking time as mentioned with the shrimp, then you would have a true Jambalaya , one pot dinner.
I just added 1 cup of uncooked rice to the slow cooker 45 minutes before I served it. Worked for me.
Did you have to add more liquid!
True i made it with the rice
Is the shrimp in the jambalaya raw or cooked?
Cooked shrimp works best! Thanks for following along with me! XOXO
I like that the recipe doesn’t include rice for a lower carb alternative! I can’t wait to make this for my family!
Totally making it without rice for a low carb alternative for my family!
In the Slow Cooker Jambalaya, the shrimp is added cooked, also peeled and deveined. If you can’t find Andouille sausage, or you just don’t like it, you can substitute any kind of smoked sausage. I usually use deer sausage. It doesn’t need to be very spicy, but a LITTLE spicy is best.
Great recipes
Thank you
What is the serving size for this?
This serves 8 people. It is so good and you won’t be disappointed!! XOXO
We loved this with a couple adjustments. The andouille sausage that we used was already pretty spicy so I only used half a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning and omitted the cayenne (you can always add more later, right?). We like spicy food and that ended up being just right for us. Also, I used an Instant Pot on the poultry setting (High pressure for 15 minutes). Then I added the shrimp and cooked on the Sauté function (on the highest setting) until they were cooked through (just a couple minutes). It was delicious! Thank you!
What is the nutritional facts on this? i just need to know fats, carbs and protein! Thank you
I like to use skinnytaste.com or myfitnesspal.com to look up the nutritional facts when I need. Hope that helps and you are able to find what you are looking for. Thanks for following along with me! XOXO
So easy and so good! Next time I make it I will double the amount of chicken.
That sounds great! Thanks for sharing! XOXO
Yummy i made this the other day it was a hit with the family
Would this make good leftovers? Shrimp as a leftover makes me nervous.. ?
Oh yes! We have reheated this Jambalaya multiple times if I double the recipe. It is delicious even the second and third time;)!! XOXO
RECIPES LOOK GREAT!
My family is in Lafayette, Louisiana andwhile many people do add the rice to the pot as it cooks, many people these days serve the Jambalaya over the rice. Almost all of my family and friends serve it over the rice. Either way is acceptable.
Then what you are serving is gumbo. Gumbo is served over rice. Rice is the main ingredient in jambalaya…
i doubled the recipe for company coming over but it looks like its not enough liquid, any thoughts???
also, it says 2 stalks of celery. does it mean 2 pieces or two whole bundles??
2 Stalks is a whole head of celery. It is a lot but so delicious! You are welcome to use less if needed or wanted. XOXO
2 stalks is *not* a whole head of celery.. It might be 2 sticks, or it might be 2 heads, but 2 *stalks* is not a head.
In addition – this is gumbo. Jambalaya is a rice dish, most like fried rice, biryani or risotto, not a sauce to put over rice.
It doesn’t say cooked shrimp or cooked chicken in the recipe. Which is it?
I prefer cooked shrimp for this Jambalaya and the chicken is cooked with in the crockpot. XOXO
What size crockpot is used for this recipe?
This crockpot that I am using is a 6-8 oz crockpot. Hope that helps! XOXO
Did you mean a 6 – 8 quart crockpot?? Would doubling the recipe still fit in a 6 qt crockpot?
It may still fit; however it may overflow just a bit. You will want the bigger crockpot.
Regarding chicken breast.
Are you using 2 chicken breasts, or 2 chicken breast halves?
Or, how much in chicken breast in weight?
Yeah, I’m and weigh and measure person…
I like to use 2 chicken breasts cut into chunks. I am not sure how much weight each of them are depending on the chicken breast.
I was going to make this but on the ingredients list there is no mention of shrimp and on the very first instruction it says “add all of the ingredients except the shrimp” ok then.
At the bottom of the ingredients you will add in 1 pound of shrimp at the end. Hope that helps explain it better! Thanks for following along with me! XOXO
Is it possible to freeze the jambalaya? I made the recipe but have to go out of town for the weekend ?
Yes, of course! That sounds like a great idea! XOXO
I would like to ask you a couple of questions…..love the recipes….
I am a huge camper and with that being said, I also love to find new and exciting recipes to make at the campsite. I’ve done several of the foil packets….which turned out excellent. I was wondering if you had an alternative suggestion to replace the shrimp with? Not a huge fan.
Also, I was wondering if you had an other simple recipes that would be good for camping?
Appreciate your work.
Respectfully,
Djimon
Hi Djimon,
I am so glad that you reached out and asked. On my site you are welcome to search through the recipes at therecipecritic.com. Here are a few foil packet ideas for you to get started with: https://therecipecritic.com/?s=foil. Happy Camping!! XOXO
Hello
Is it possible to use pork instead of chicken? If so what cut of pork and how much.
Thanks.
Yes, of course! You are welcome to alter and make any recipe your own. It may change the taste and texture but it still should be good! Let me know how it turns out! XOXO
Thanks for your reply, really appreciate it. What cut of pork would you recommend and how much? Thanks again can’t wait to try it, looks so good!
I tried this today and although it was good it was lacking something. Maybe next time I’ll add some chili powder ..
Looks yummy and is an easy recipe to follow and do.
So is the the total Cook time 7-8 hrs? But out of those, 3-4 are on high setting correct? Or is it 10-12 hours total cool time?
The cook time is either low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. You choose which would be best for you. If you need it quickly then 3-4 hours on high if not then 7to 8 hours on low.
Trying this now (Saturday, 21 July 2018), so excited. Looked delicious. Went to the grocery store last night to get last minute items I didn’t have, and this morning, realized I didn’t have chicken broth. I ‘did’ have beef broth though, so substituting with the beef broth. I do hope it still tastes as good. 7 more hours to cook! Anticipation!!!
Jambalaya is an entree unto itself. Rice is already in it if it is made right. The other suggestions are really dumb. If you want the best mix I know of if Ma’am Papaul’s mix. Can use shrimp and or sausage, chicken, crawfish…Never serve with black beans….that is South American. Love ’em but a big NO NO.
s’s
I just made the jambalaya meal and am thrilled with the results. Thank you for making my life easier with a healthy, delightfully tasty meal that did not overheat the kitchen in the middle of a southern California heatwave!
I found a recipe like this a few years ago but not for a slow cooker. It was great but then I misplaced it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!! I love the fact that I can cook it in a slow cooker and I definitely love the fact it does not have rice in it!! This way I can pour it over my bowl of rice and it will be more like a gumbo. Adding rice makes it to thick. Thanks again!!
Hi, was wondering if you have the nutrition information on the slow cook jambalaya. Thanks
I like to use skinnytaste.com or myfitnesspal.com to find any nutritional information that I have. Hope that helps you too!! XOXO
I can’t wait to try this jambalaya plate.
We don’t do spicy foods. Are there any other seasonings to give flavor to this dish without the spicy ingredients.?
This is not too spicy but you are welcome to reduce the amount or omit it from the spicy. Enjoy! XOXO
I took this to our monthly church potluck yesterday and it got rave reviews. One man, who has lived all over the world, said that for this not being Louisiana ( it’s Kansas) it tasted like New Orleans. Will definitely make again.
Too much liquid. If you don’t use rice, then you just made soup, not jambalaya. If ya can’t eat rice, then add riced cauliflower at the end.
I made the Jambalaya and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!! I will be making this on a regular basis!!!!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!!!
we have chicken allergy so we used turkey broth and pork butt chunks.
Render out fat if needed first or use loin cuts. The other white meat.
I made this today and it is excellent! I tweaked it a little. I added the rice half way through, added more chicken broth as I went along to make it more soupy and a couple dashes of tobacco sauce to jazz it up . Nice and spicy! Will be a great winter meal to add to the menu.
Best slow cooker jambalaya ever!!
I’m curious. Someone asked whether the shrimp should be raw or cooked, and you said cooked shrimp works best. However, the video shows raw shrimp, so I bought raw shrimp. Would the raw shrimp still only go in for the last 15 minutes? Thank you.
These recipes look like they are perfect for me. I love good food but hate to spend a lot of time preparing. I think I have found my “cooking “home.
I just have to try this!! Very excited. Two questions, though. 1. We are not fans of andouille sausage. Can kielbasa be substituted? and 2. We are brand new Instant Pot owners. I’m not comfortable enough with the slow cook feature enough to give up my regular slow cooker. Is there an Instant Pot pressure version of this recipe? Thanks!
Yes, of course you are always welcome to substitute and make recipes your own. I don’t have an instant pot recipe just yet but it is in the works! Let me know if you try it! I would love to hear how it turned out! XOXO
In the video the shrimp 🍤 is blue /gray so that tells me the shrimp were raw going into the crockpot and the crockpot cooked the shrimp w/out me having to cook the raw shrimp ahead of time ?
Yes, that is correct.
Easy and delicious!
Hello Sabrina, this looks so good that my stomach is growling just looking at it. I was wondering before I go buy the ingredients if you used a yellow onion, sweet onion or a purple onion? I think I’m going to try this with some vegetables in it just to see how it turns out. I can’t tolerate really spicy foods so I will go easy on the cajun and cayenne.
This one is Bomb! I also add Jalapeños. I love it.
I have never posted before, but I just had to with this recipe. It is so so very good! The smell of it cooking was amazing but the taste was even better. I did as you instructed and cooked the rice separate. I will continue to do it that way. Some of my family like more rice than others and this makes zit easy. Thank you for sharing such a great easy and tasteful recipe. I am cooking this again and again!
I know this is 8 servings but what is the serving size? I’m logging all foods and I want to make sure it’s portioned properly. Thanks!
About 1 cup
Tried this last night, was a huge hit! Easy to make. Will add to our list of favorites!
Hi,
I made this tonight and will serve tomorrow. It smells great and tastes delicious flavor wise. The only problem is that the chicken chunks are very dry and not the greatest texture. Any suggestions for next time would be greatly appreciated.
This is delicious!! I followed directions, step by step. When it came to the shrimp, I removed the shells/tails and deveined them, then mixed them into the crock pot for the last 15 min (RAW). This was plenty of time to cook them through… if cooked prior to putting them in the crock pot, I believe they’d be overcooked for sure (I had my slowcooker on high the entire time- approx. 3.5 hours FYI). Next time I may add a green pepper in addition to the red. I like that the rice is cooked separately so I can choose how much I want with each meal; and when you mix it all together in your individual bowl, it absorbs the sauce just fine. Very tasty! Will definitely recommend and make again.