Thursday, March 3, 2011

Slow Cooker Jambalaya


It's Mardi Gras time!  Chicken Legs and I aren't big Mari Gras people.  I've only been to Mardi Gras once.  I went with a bunch of sorority sisters when I was in college.  We all piled in my Honda Prelude and took a road trip to New Orleans.   We stayed in the French Quarter so we were close to the action.  I saw things on Bourbon Street that I've never seen before or since.  It is truly amazing what people will do for some cheap plastic beads.   It was definitely an experience to remember - once was enough for me!

Our current Mardi Gras celebration is much more tame.  We just like to make some jambalaya.  I thought about making my favorite Creamy Jambalaya Pasta, but then I found a slow cooker jambalaya recipe.  It sounded easy so I gave it a try.  It turned out to be the best jambalaya ever!  We both absolutely loved it. 

This was SO easy to make.  I mixed everything up in the crockpot insert the night before and threw it in the fridge.  I put the insert in the crockpot before I left for work and dinner was ready when I got home.  The only thing I had to make was our favorite Cheesy Biscuits




Slow Cooker Jambalaya
adapted from AllRecipes.com
(Printable Recipe)
approximately 5-6 servings

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
white rice or instant rice (I used 2 packs of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Garlic & Butter flavor)

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.  (I do this the night before and put it in the fridge.  I put it in the slow cooker before I leave in the morning.)

Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Mix in cooked rice cook for about 15 minutes to warm through.

post signature>

52 comments:

Jan said...

I love jambalaya!

Sage Trifle said...

Hi Steph, I made this and just blogged about it. Happy Mardi Gras!
Rocquie

Erin said...

This sounds wonderful. I'm printing it out right now. Thanks!!!

Martha (MM) said...

Another really great one! :-)

AP Mommy said...

Just put this in my crockpot! Can't wait to eat it tonight. Thanks for the recipe!

SAM said...

Do you think I can make this non-crockpot?!

SAM said...

PS- WAR EAGLE!!

Steph@PlainChicken.com said...

SAM - absolutely. Just let it simmer on the stove until the rice is cooked. War Eagle!

Reba said...

I feel dumb asking but just raw chicken or boiled first? I wonder if I could add shrimp too...this looks delicious!

Steph@PlainChicken.com said...

Reba - the chicken is put in the slow cooker raw. If you do shrimp - put it in about 5-10 minutes before you want to serve it. Shrimp cooks up quick!

Reba said...

Thank you! That is kind of what I was thinking on the shrimp. I see this in our very near future. :)

MyLife said...

This recipe looks delicious! I am going to try it for tonight but wondered if you use raw celery or dried celery flakes. Celery isn't mentioned in the list of ingredients, but you do list it below when mixing everything together. And what amount depending on if it is raw or dried?
Thanks so much!

Theresa Carlile said...

I made this recipe with just a few changes and it turned out awesome!! I featured it on my blog with a link to your recipe. Stop by and check it out.
http://threeyellowlemons.blogspot.com/2011/11/jambalaya-slow-cooker.html

deadbrownie said...

how much rice do you use? uncle bens rice comes in different sizes, so i'm not sure how much to use.

Steph@PlainChicken.com said...

Deadbrownie - i use about 4 cups of rice

deadbrownie said...

sweet, thanks. putting this in the crock pot in the morning!

Sandy said...

This looks wonderful! I am looking forward to giving it a try. TY!

Ocie Jane said...

This looks fabulous - can't wait to try it! I was just wondering if you could define Cajun seasoning. Is that like Tony Chachere's? Or can you just buy a jar of something called "Cajun seasoning" at the grocery store? Thanks!

Steph@PlainChicken.com said...

It is both - Tony Chachere works well and I also have a recipe for a homemade cajun seasoning on the blog

Cajun Seasoning

Ashley said...

Soooo yummy! It disappeared fast when we had friends over this past weekend. The only thing I did different was add a couple chopped up peppers. Thanks!

musicole2 said...

Any idea on how many calories per serving??

jessica j said...

This was delish! Thank you! Love the blog too.

Sam said...

I had the same question about the celery, do you use it fresh? and how fine do you chop it if so?

Sandy M. said...

I don't see the celery in your ingredients list and I'm guessing you cook the rice and then add it in later as you said? It is kind of unclear.

Mrsblocko said...

I made this and wrote about it here. I'm not big on cajun flavors, but I loved this. It was a huge hit with the whole family. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.

Benjamin Riley said...

This recipe is right up my ally. I also found this recipe for Shrimp Creole that is very tasty. http://www.getcrockingapp.com/blog/shrimp-creole/

sldrwfe said...

Are you able to describe how spicy this dish is?

Steph@PlainChicken.com said...

sldrwfe - I wouldn't say this was spicy. It has a little heat from the cajun seasoning, but this isn't burn your mouth hot

mhickman said...

Making this in the morning so don't know if I will get an answer by then. It doesn't seem like there is enough liquid with one cup of broth to cook all day while I'm at work. I guess this is more of a statement

Stephanie Parker said...

mhickman - there is also liquid from the tomatoes. It turns out great. You can always add more broth after it cooks if you feel it needs more.

Caroline said...

Just made this last night for dinner, and it was delicious! Thanks for another fabulous recipe!

Ana Lyman said...

I have a picky eater in my youngest son, but tonight, he demolished his serving and asked for seconds of this! Thank you for posting such an easy, wonderful recipe. I did end up adding some frozen chopped spinach to the mix just to sneak in some veggies, and it was amazing. All my guys gave it two huge thumbs up, and I have already planned on making this again this month!

Aimee Horne said...

Same question about the celery?? It's not listed in the ingredients?

Brillante and Darin said...

I would love to make this and am curious about the celery also. How much do you use?

Stephanie Parker said...

Oops! I just used one stalk of celery. I'll go add it to the ingredients.

Sasha Zarins said...

What size crockpot do you use?

manda12 said...

i found there was alot of grease from the sausage... did yours accumulate grease at the end from the sausage? there is like a layer on top.

Stephanie Parker said...

manda12 - I didn't have any grease. I used butterball smoked turkey sausage.

Stephanie Parker said...

Sasha - I have a 6 quart slow cooker.

Gina said...

I will be making this recipe for the 3rd time for my family for my Mom's Cajun Christmas Eve. I LOVE this recipe! You can smell it cooking outside :) Looking forward to trying it with her shrimp and grits.

Abbie Blackwell said...

I will.be making this tomorrow. I'm going to leave out the tomatoes though. Do you think this will affect it much? I'm just scared there won't be enough liquid?

Stephanie Parker said...

Abbie - I think the tomatoes are important. They give the dish a lot of the flavor. You can use crushed tomatoes if you don't like the chunks. You could also use some tomato juice or tomato sauce if you don't want to use diced tomatoes.

Dars3 said...

Steph, I know the recipe calls for 1 pound chicken breast halves, but can I just use 1/2 pound of chicken breast meat?

Stephanie Parker said...

Dars3 - sure! You can add as much or as little of the meat as you like.

BlueTulip said...

Can I use regular long or medium grain white rice, rather an an instant rice?

Stephanie Parker said...

Blue Tulip - if you use regular rice, you will need to cook the rice first before adding it to the jambalaya.

Dillys mom said...

I made this for dinner yesterday and it was absolutely delicious. Of course, I realized after we devoured it all that I forgot to put the garlic in. I can only imagine how good it would have been with that. But it definitely was great without it (in case anyone else forgets lol).

Meredith said...

Made this yesterday, and it was (and as, as I'm eating leftovers as I type) delicious!

My only complaint was that both of the meats seemed a bit overdone. I think next time I will put it in for less time, or throw the meat in halfway through. Do you think that would change anything?

Cassie Feller said...

I received a gift certificate for a specialty meat shop from my work for Christmas. I ordered some alligator sausage and when I saw this recipe I had a feeling the alligator would be a perfect substitute for the turkey sausage and I was right. This was excellent and very easy, thanks for sharing!

b said...

Do you think this could be made with quinoa instead of rice?

Stephanie Parker said...

b - I think it could be made with quinoa. I am not sure how long to cook the quinoa though. I've never made it at home - I've only eaten it out. Let us know how it turns out if you try it.

mhilton4 said...

I just made this recipe and it smells delicious, but it has a lot of liquid. Is that normal? The photo you posted doesn't seem to have as much liquid.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin