Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Slow Cooker Jambalaya – a Mardi Gras staple! Easy to make and tastes great! Chicken, smoked sausage, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, cajun seasoning, and rice – this is THE BEST! Cooks all day in the slow cooker. Can add bell peppers and shrimp. Use cauliflower rice for a low-carb meal.

bowl of chicken & sausage jambalaya with text overlay

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Easy Slow Cooker Jambalaya Recipe

This Slow-Cooker Jambalaya Recipe is one of our favorite slow cooker recipes. It is super easy to make and has SO much flavor! Chicken, adouille sausage, and rice slow cooked all day in tomatoes and bold spices. I wanted to lick the bowl! This dish had the perfect amount of cajun flavor! It’s not too spicy, but it definitely had a little kick to it from the cajun spice mix. This easy recipe has quickly earned a spot on our favorite weeknight dinners list. You must add this to your menu. Your taste buds will thank you!

What is Jambalaya?

Traditional jambalaya is a Cajun dish made with meat, vegetables, and rice. Most commonly it consists of smoked andouille sausage, chicken, pork, and seafood (shrimp or crawfish), sauteed green bell pepper, onion, and celery (holy trinity vegetables), and white rice. Everything cooks together in the same pot for an easy and flavorful recipe.

How to Make Slow Cooker Jambalaya

This Creole dish is effortless to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sliced sausage until starting to brown. Place sausage in the crock pot. Add chopped boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced tomatoes, onion, chicken stock, oregano, parsley, garlic, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme. Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW heat. Stir in hot cooked rice and enjoy.

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

  • You can use any cooked rice that you prefer. Long grain rice, Instant white rice, brown rice, Louisiana popcorn rice or cauliflower rice all work great.
  • This is a great base recipe. Feel free to add onions, green bell pepper, or red pepper are all delicious.
  • I use a combination of chicken and sausage in this dish.
    • You can use any chicken you prefer. Chicken breasts, boneless skinless chicken thighs, or chicken tenderloins all work great.
    • Can use smoked sausage, smoked turkey sausage, or andouille sausage.
  • Feel free to toss in some large shrimp in the last hour of cooking.
  • What is Cajun seasoning? It is a combination of paprika, salt, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, and thyme. 
  • Here is our recipe for Homemade Creole Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
  • My favorite store-bought Cajun/Creole seasoning is Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. It also comes in a salt-free version.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
bowl of chicken & sausage jambalaya rice

What to Serve with Crockpot Jambalaya Rice

This jambalaya is a cajun favorite! It is a must for any upcoming Mardi Gras celebrations! We serve this rice dish with our favorite Cheesy Biscuits. Throw in a salad and some King Cake Bites and you are set! Give this a try ASAP! It is sure to become a family favorite recipe!

Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this delicious rice:

Creole Green Beans

Creole Green Beans Recipe – transform canned green beans into something amazing! Green beans, bacon, onion, green pepper, brown sugar,…

King Cake Bubble Up

King Cake Bubble Up – We loved this!! Cinnamon rolls, eggs, milk, vanilla and cream cheese. Ready in 30 minutes.…

Green Jacket Salad

Green Jacket Salad – original recipe from the Green Jacket restaurant in Augusta. SO simple and it tastes great! Lettuce,…

bowl of chicken & sausage jambalaya with text overlay

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Yield: 6 people
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Slow Cooker Jambalaya – a Mardi Gras staple! Easy to make and tastes great! Chicken, smoked sausage, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, cajun seasoning, and rice – this is THE BEST! Cooks all day in the slow cooker. Can add bell peppers and shrimp. Use gluten-free smoked sausage for a gluten-free dish. Can use cauliflower rice for a low-carb meal.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb andouille sausage or smoked sausage sliced
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes undrained
  • 3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 3 to 4 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

  • Brown sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Place cooked sausage in the slow cooker.
  • Add chopped chicken, diced tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, and broth. Stir in oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
  • 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.

Notes:

  • You can use any cooked rice that you prefer. Long grain rice, Instant white rice, brown rice, Louisiana popcorn rice or cauliflower rice all work great.
  • This is a great base recipe. Feel free to add onions, green bell pepper, or red pepper are all delicious.
  • I use a combination of chicken and sausage in this dish.
    • You can use any chicken you prefer. Chicken breasts, boneless skinless chicken thighs, or chicken tenderloins all work great.
    • Can use smoked sausage, smoked turkey sausage, or andouille sausage.
  • Feel free to toss in some large shrimp in the last hour of cooking.
  • What is Cajun seasoning? It is a combination of paprika, salt, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, and thyme. 
  • Here is our recipe for Homemade Creole Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
  • My favorite store-bought Cajun/Creole seasoning is Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. It also comes in a salt-free version.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Steph

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bowl of chicken & sausage jambalaya with text overlay

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Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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!

  4. 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?

  5. 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).

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

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

  8. 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.

  9. 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?

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

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