Seafood Jambalaya

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Packed with tender rice, luscious shellfish, juicy andouille sausage, and a ton of rich flavor, this Louisiana-style seafood jambalaya is a good time in a bowl! Easily liven up your dinner table with this hearty, satisfying rice-based dish and savor all the warmth and flair of the Big Easy.

What We Love About This Recipe
- You simply can’t beat the combo of textures and flavors that make up a seafood jambalaya! Andouille sausage that’s browned to perfection. Juicy shrimp, succulent crab meat. Rice that’s simmered in a seasoned stock until it’s fluffy. Every bite is more incredible than the last!
- This recipe uses Creole seasoning, so you get all the flavors of paprika, onion powder, oregano, dried basil and thyme, salt, and pepper. If you’re concerned about it being too spicy, Creole seasoning is on the milder side compared to Cajun seasoning. You can also use less than I recommend!
Chef’s Tips
- When you slice the andouille sausage into smaller pieces, slice through the sausage at a 45° angle rather than a 90° angle. It’s a small thing, but cutting “on the bias” gives each piece of sausage a large surface area to brown. That means more deep flavor!
- You can leave the tails on the shrimp if you want. It’s just a matter of preference, really, and some people leave them on because they prefer the visual. Personally, I don’t generally enjoy having to stop and remove them while I’m actively eating a bowl of seafood jambalaya.
- Most Creole seasoning blends contain salt, so I recommend tasting the jambalaya before adding any extra. You may find that you don’t need to add any salt at all!
More Incredible Seafood Recipes
- Seafood Chili
- Lobster Mashed Potatoes
- Shrimp Parmesan
- New Orleans BBQ Shrimp Po-Boy
- Instant Pot Crab Legs
- Oyster Brie Soup (from Disney World’s Hollywood Brown Derby)
- Shrimp Remoulade
- Tuna Tetrazzini
- Lobster Fried Rice
- Shrimp and Corn Soup
- Cajun Shrimp
- Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Quick & Easy Blackened Shrimp
- Pan-Seared Salmon in a Creamy Red Pepper Parmesan Sauce
- Keto Gumbo
- Seafood Baked Potato
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Seafood Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 pound andouille sausage or smoked sausage, sliced on 45° diagonals
- 2 tablespoons butter or chicken fat, or lard
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic approximately 4 large cloves, plus more to taste
- 1 ½ cups chopped white onion approximately 1 large onion
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper approximately 1 large bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped celery approximately 4 stalks
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken stock or seafood stock
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2-3 tablespoons Creole seasoning more or less to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- salt optional, to taste
- 6 cups chicken stock or seafood stock
- 4 cups long-grain white rice uncooked
- 1 pound shrimp large (31-40 per pound) or extra-large (26-30 per pound); peeled, deveined
- 8 ounces jumbo lump crab meat drained
Equipment
- Large skillet
- large dutch oven or similar large, heavy-bottomed pot
- large wooden spoon
Instructions
- Place large skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add 1 pound andouille sausage to skillet and cook sausage, flipping slices often, until browned on both sides.
- When sausage has browned on both sides, drain liquid from skillet, then set skillet aside.
- While browning sausage, place large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot on stovetop over medium-high heat. When pot is warm, add 2 tablespoons butter and let butter melt completely.
- Once butter has melted, add 2 tablespoons minced garlic to pot. Sauté garlic, stirring frequently, 30 to 60 seconds or until just fragrant.
- Once garlic is fragrant, add 1 ½ cups chopped white onion, 1 cup chopped green bell pepper, and 1 cup chopped celery to pot. Stir to incorporate, then sauté trinity, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes or until onions become transparent.
- When onions just become translucent, reduce heat under pot to medium and add 2 tablespoons tomato paste to pot and stir to incorporate. Cook tomato paste 3 to 5 minutes until paste begins to brown and caramelize. Stir constantly to prevent tomato paste burning.
- When trinity has softened and tomato paste is rich, deep reddish-brown color, add 2 cups chicken stock to pot. Stir to incorporate stock and deglaze pot, making sure to scrape bottom of pot with spoon to loosen any browned bits of food that may have stuck.
- Continue stirring until paste and stock are fully incorporated and mixture is smooth and somewhat thick.
- Add 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, 2-3 tablespoons Creole seasoning, and 2 bay leaves. Stir to incorporate, then reduce heat under pot to medium-low.
- Simmer mixture over medium-low heat 10 minutes, stirring often.
- After 10 minutes, add remaining 6 cups chicken stock and 4 cups long-grain white rice to pot. Stir to incorporate.
- Simmer mixture 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is cooked through and all liquid has been absorbed into rice.
- When rice is fully cooked, taste rice and add Cajun seasoning and/or salt as desired.
- Reduce heat under pot to low. Add 1 pound shrimp, 8 ounces jumbo lump crab meat, and browned andouille sausage to pot and stir to incorporate.
- Simmer mixture, stirring frequently, approximately 10 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through and jambalaya has thickened.
- Once thickened, stir jambalaya to thoroughly incorporate all ingredients. While stirring, remove bay leaves and discard. Portion jambalaya into serving bowls and serve immediately with crusty french bread if desired.
Notes
- Sausage: Slice the andouille or smoked sausage “on the bias”, creating approximately 45° angles on each end of each piece of sausage, rather than giving each piece of sausage blunt vertical ends. This gives more surface area on each piece of sausage to brown.
- Garlic: I like to use a lot of garlic in my jambalaya, so I recommend anywhere from 3 to 6 large cloves, but you can use as much (or as little) as you like.
- Creole Seasoning: Like the garlic, use as much (or as little) as you like – but I recommend using lots!
- Salt: If your Creole seasoning contains salt, taste the dish before adding more salt. You may not need any extra!
Nutrition Information
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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