JAMBALAYA WITH CHICKEN ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE & BROWN RICE
AU and I were browsing through Trader Joes this weekend (I love my time spent at Trader Joes) and we came across a massive amount of chicken sausage. I’m pretty sure there was every variety you could think of.
We bee-lined to the andouille sausage and I immediately thought JAMBALAYA. And last night jambalaya became a thing, and when I say jambalaya I mean scratch made jambalaya in June… Yes in June.
We don’t follow the rules.
I had thought I would just buy the pre-packaged jambalaya rice mixture and toss in our cut chicken sausage. Then my mind thought… okay I need a veggie, I’ll add in chopped red peppers.
And then I went on pinterest. That was where my food mind got away from me. I thought lets add in sweet onion and maybe some garlic and seasoning. I came across a recipe that had brown rice simmered in chicken stock. So naturally my mind skipped to making the jambalaya mix in chicken stock instead of boring water.
By this time I realized I might as well just make my own jambalaya and not buy the prepackaged mix (saving some sodium reduction for our bodies). So then the night really started.
I grabbed a few groceries and started the most delicious jambalaya I have ever eaten (first one I’ve made), I thought I was back in NOLA.
I loved this meal. It was easy and it was simple. Welcome to a meal in one pot, those are truly the best. And although this was a one pot meal the flavor was all there. The flavors steaming out of the big pot were made up of a mixture of paprika, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper, and that is just the spices I used.
Easy on the cayenne, I might of been a little shake happy and made it way too spicy!
I treated myself to some shrimp for this as well. Of course I saw it on pinterest and I couldn’t get it out of my mind that I needed large shrimp for my jambalaya. Note that you don’t actually need shrimp for this, the sausage is perfect on it’s own. But 6 shrimp, yes I said 6, were totally worth the $4.
The total cost of this meal was really low as well. AU and I worked out that with all the ingredients (chicken sausage, half a red pepper, some sweet onion, garlic, seasoning, rice, chicken stock, and the $4 shrimp) it came to roughly $13 for the whole pot.
For an all around filling, healthy, reduced sodium meal, that seems like an absolute steal to me.
This made 4 large servings for us, I suggest you could stretch it to 6 servings as well.
What really excites me about this one pot jambalaya is that everything simmers in chicken stock for about an hour.
The flavors flow through the rice cooking it to a plump texture bursting with flavor and the seasonings spice the sausage and the sausage spices back. The complexity that comes from simmering a pot of seasonings, meat, and grain are just one of the few things that make me a happy girl!
This meal is also lightened up from traditional jambalaya, using a chicken sausage decreases the amount of fat and oil in the dish. I also used unsalted chicken stock by Kitchen Basics, that stock is fantastic.
If I can make easy replacements with reduced sodium groceries or food products I always try to. It doesn’t hurt to try be a little healthier and still enjoy the good things.
JAMBALAYA
Notes
Adapted from Domesticate Me
Ingredients
- 1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL
- 12 OUNCES ANDOUILLE CHICKEN SAUSAGE
- 1 RED PEPPER
- 1/2 SWEET YELLOW ONION
- 3 CLOVES OF GARLIC OR 1/2 TEASPOON MINCED GARLIC
- 1 14.5 OUNCE CAN FIRE ROASTED DICED TOMATOES
- 1 TABLESPOON + 1 TEASPOON PAPRIKA (SMOKED PAPRIKA IF YOU HAVE IT)
- 1 TEASPOON OREGANO
- 1 TEASPOON CUMIN
- 1 + 1/4 CUPS BROWN RICE OR 1 + 1/2 CUPS WHITE RICE, UNCOOKED
- 4 CUPS REDUCED SODIUM OR UNSALTED CHICKEN STOCK
- 1/8 CUP DRY WHITE WINE
- 1 LB RAW LARGE SHRIMP, TAILS ON
- SALT & CAYENNE PEPPER FOR TASTE
- FRESH CILANTRO & GREEK YOGURT FOR SERVING
Instructions
- PREP ALL INGREDIENTS: CHOP SAUSAGE IN TO SMALL PIECES, RED PEPPER INTO SMALL CHUNKS, MINCED ONION, AND MINCE GARLIC IF USING FRESH.
- HEAT OLIVE OIL IN A LARGE DUTCH OVEN OR POT ON MEDIUM HEAT. TOSS IN SAUSAGE AND COOK FOR 4-5 MINUTES, STIRRING. ADD IN RED PEPPERS THEN ONION AND LASTLY GARLIC. COOK FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES UNTIL FRAGRANT. COVER WITH PAPRIKA, OREGANO, CUMIN, AND TOMATOES.
- LET IT COME BUBBLE ON MEDIUM HEAT, AND MIX IN RICE, COOK FOR 1 MINUTE. POUR IN CHICKEN STOCK AND WHITE WINE AND LET BUBBLE AGAIN.
- BROWN RICE: SIMMER FOR 45-50 MINUTES ON LOW WITH THE LID ON UNTIL RICE IS COOKED. WHITE RICE: SIMMER FOR 20-30 MINUTES ON LOW WITH THE LID ON UNTIL RICE IS COOKED. STIR WHILE COOKING A FEW TIMES.
- ONCE THE RICE IS COOKED AND SOFT, ADD IN SHRIMP, COVER AND COOK FOR 5 MINUTES.
- TASTE THE JAMBALAYA AND SEASON WITH SALT AND CAYENNE PEPPER FOR HEAT.
- SERVE WITH CILANTRO AND GREEK YOGURT.
Much love,
Katy | Her Cup of Joy
This dish looks amazing! I would love some for dinner tonight! Your photography is amazing by the way :)
Amber Knight
Katy,
This jambalaya is so tasty and easy! I hope you have a chance to make it sometime.
And thank you so much for the compliment!
Amber