One-pot jambalaya
Hearty Creole-style jambalaya: smoky sausage, tender chicken, pink prawns and spiced rice, all cooked in one pan for easy midweek feasting.
Jambalaya in one pan — smoky, saucy and terribly satisfying. This Creole-inspired recipe keeps things honest: sausage for depth, thighs for succulence and prawns for that seaside twang, all cooked with spiced tomatoes and rice.
It’s brilliant for a crowd or a fuss-free midweek supper because everything finishes together in one pot. Make it with good stock and don’t rush the browning stage — that’s where the flavour sings.
Ingredients
- 30 ml olive oil
- 500 g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless — cut into 2–3 cm pieces
- 250 g smoked pork sausage — sliced 1 cm thick
- 250 g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
- 300 g long-grain rice — uncooked
- 900 ml chicken stock — hot
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 30 g tomato purée — about 2 tbsp
- 1 brown onion — finely chopped (about 200 g)
- 1 red pepper — deseeded and chopped
- 1 green pepper — deseeded and chopped
- 2 celery stalks — finely sliced
- 4 garlic cloves — finely chopped or crushed
- 10 ml smoked paprika
- 5 ml dried thyme
- 5 ml dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 0 ml cayenne pepper — increase to 0.5 tsp if you like heat
- 5 ml sea salt — plus extra to taste at the end
- 5 ml ground black pepper — plus extra to taste
- 15 g fresh parsley — chopped
- 4 spring onions — trimmed and sliced
- 1 lemon — cut into wedges, to serve
Instructions
Prepare everything: chop the brown onion, red pepper, green pepper, celery and garlic; slice the sausage, cut the chicken into pieces, and measure the rice and stock.
Heat half the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan or casserole over a medium–high hob. Season the chicken with a little sea salt and ground black pepper. In batches, brown the chicken for 4–5 minutes per batch until nicely golden; remove and set aside.
Add the remaining olive oil if needed and fry the smoked pork sausage for 3–4 minutes until browned. Push the sausage to one side.
Add the brown onion, red pepper, green pepper and celery to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until softened and beginning to caramelise; season with a pinch of sea salt.
Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried oregano, cayenne pepper and tomato purée. Cook for 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
Tip in the long-grain rice and stir for 1 minute so each grain is coated in the tomato and spice mixture.
Pour in the tinned chopped tomatoes and hot chicken stock, add the bay leaves and return the browned chicken to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook gently for 18–20 minutes until the rice is nearly tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
Nestle the raw king prawns and sliced spring onions into the rice, replace the lid and cook for a further 4–6 minutes until the prawns are opaque and cooked through and the rice is tender.
Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaves, stir through the chopped fresh parsley, check seasoning and leave to rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over.
Tips
- Brown the chicken and sausage properly in batches — those browned bits are flavour gold; don’t rush or overcrowd the pan.
- Use hot stock when adding to the rice to avoid shocking the cooking process and to bring the pan back to a simmer quickly.
- Resist stirring the rice while it’s simmering; lifting the lid releases steam and can make the rice unevenly cooked.
- If using frozen prawns, thaw fully and pat dry on kitchen paper before adding to prevent extra liquid in the pan.
- Leftovers taste even better the next day; gently reheat in a low oven (150°C fan/170°C conventional) covered for 15–20 minutes with a splash of stock.
Substitutions
smoked pork sausage → sliced andouille sausage, same quantity
Stays closeraw king prawns, peeled and deveined → 150 g diced smoked haddock or firm white fish, same weight
Noticeably differentchicken thighs, boneless and skinless → chicken breast, same weight (cook time may be slightly shorter)
Noticeably differentlong-grain rice → basmati rice, same weight (reduce stock by 50 ml if very fragrant)
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 880
- Calories
- 55 g
- Protein
- 68 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
- Sugar
- 1200 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I use frozen prawns?
Yes—defrost completely and pat dry on kitchen paper before adding. Add them at the same stage but check earlier as thawed prawns can cook faster.
Can I make this in advance?
You can cook it, cool quickly and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Reheat gently in a low oven (150°C fan/170°C conventional) covered with a splash of stock.
How do I make it spicier or milder?
Adjust the cayenne pepper: increase to 0.5 tsp for more heat or omit for milder. Smoked paprika adds warmth without heat.
What rice is best?
Long-grain white rice is the reliable choice here — it keeps separate grains and absorbs flavours well. Basmati works, though the texture is slightly different.
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