Cajun jambalaya
One-pot Cajun jambalaya with chicken, smoked sausage and prawns — smoky, spicy rice comfort, ready in under an hour.
Jambalaya is the sort of one-pot wonder that looks impressive but is dead easy once you know the order: brown, soften, toast, simmer. This Cajun-style version leans on smoked sausage and chicken for deep, meaty notes, with prawns added at the end for a sweet pop.
Make this when you want a filling midweek supper that feeds a crowd or when you need a spicy, bowl-friendly dish for friends — it’s ideal with crusty bread or a simple green salad to cut through the richness.
Ingredients
- 30 ml vegetable oil
- 500 g chicken thighs — skinless, boneless, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
- 200 g smoked sausage — e.g. andouille or other smoked ring, sliced 1 cm thick
- 200 g raw king prawns — peeled and deveined
- 300 g long-grain white rice — do not rinse
- 800 ml chicken stock — hot
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 30 g tomato purée — approximately 2 tbsp
- 1 brown onion — large, finely chopped (about 150 g)
- 1 red pepper — cored and diced
- 1 green pepper — cored and diced
- 2 celery stalks — trimmed and sliced
- 4 garlic cloves — finely chopped
- 30 ml Cajun seasoning — store-bought or homemade mix
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 ml dried thyme
- 5 ml caster sugar — optional, to balance acidity
- 5 ml salt — plus extra to finish
- 5 ml black pepper — freshly ground
- 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley — roughly chopped, to finish
- 2 spring onions — sliced, to finish
Equipment
- large heavy-based casserole with lid
- wooden spoon
Instructions
Prepare everything: cut the chicken into 2.5 cm pieces, slice the smoked sausage, peel and devein the prawns, finely chop the onion, peppers, celery and garlic. Measure the rice and have the hot stock ready.
Heat half the vegetable oil in a large heavy-based casserole over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken in a single layer and brown it well on all sides, about 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and set aside.
Add the remaining oil to the casserole, then add the smoked sausage and fry until it colours and releases its oils, about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside with the chicken.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the brown onion, red pepper, green pepper and celery to the casserole and sauté until softened and starting to colour, 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Stir in the Cajun seasoning and tomato purée, cook for 1–2 minutes to toast the spices. Add the long-grain white rice and stir well so every grain is coated and glossy, 2 minutes.
Pour in the tinned chopped tomatoes and hot chicken stock, then add the bay leaves, dried thyme, caster sugar, the reserved chicken and sausage, and season with the measured salt and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer over 5 minutes.
Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook gently without stirring for 20 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is nearly tender.
Remove the lid, stir gently to check the rice, then scatter the raw king prawns over the top. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes until the prawns are opaque and pink and the rice is tender. If the rice needs a touch more liquid, add up to 60 ml hot stock and simmer a few minutes more.
Remove from the heat, stir in the chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and sliced spring onions, adjust seasoning with extra salt and pepper if needed. Leave to rest, covered, for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips
- Brown the meat properly in batches — that caramelisation is where much of the flavour comes from.
- Do not rinse the rice; you want the surface starch to help bind the jambalaya slightly. Toasting the rice first gives nuttiness and helps it keep separate grains.
- If your smoked sausage is very salty, reduce the initial salt and taste before serving.
- Make-ahead: cook through to the end, cool quickly, then chill for up to 24 hours. Reheat gently with a splash of stock to loosen the rice.
- Leftovers reheat well in a pan over a low heat with a little water or stock; the texture improves after a rest.
Substitutions
smoked sausage → sliced chorizo or kielbasa in the same quantity
Stays closechicken thighs → chicken breast, same weight, but reduce browning time
Noticeably differentraw king prawns → firm white fish chunks (e.g. pollock) added in the final 6–8 minutes
Stays closelong-grain white rice → long-grain brown rice — increase stock by 150 ml and cook covered for 30–35 minutes
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 690
- Calories
- 36 g
- Protein
- 62 g
- Carbs
- 33 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
- Sugar
- 1200 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make jambalaya ahead and reheat it?
Yes — cool quickly, store in the fridge up to 24 hours. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of stock so the rice loosens; prawns are best added fresh if possible.
My rice came out mushy — what went wrong?
Either too much stirring during the covered simmer (releases starch) or too much liquid. Use the stated stock amount and avoid stirring while the rice cooks.
Can I use a different rice?
Long-grain white gives the best texture. Brown rice needs more stock and a longer cook; do not use risotto rice — it will be too sticky.
How spicy is this jambalaya?
Moderately spicy — adjust the Cajun seasoning quantity to suit. If using a very hot commercial mix, start with 1 tbsp and taste.
Community Photos
No photos yet
Be the first to share your creation!