Main Dishes

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Slow Cooker Jambalaya, with chucks of chicken and andouille sausage and lots of shrimp, is a super flavorful one dish

  • Serves 6 servings
  • Prep 15 minutes
  • Cook 4 hours
  • Total 4 hours

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Slow Cooker Jambalaya

It’s a southern favorite that does really well in a slow cooker.

I’m especially excited about Mardi Gras this year because guess what??!!

I’m going!!

I haven’t been to Mardi Gras since I was a student at Tulane University and that was over 20 years ago. It’s going to be so much fun.

Jambalaya is one of my favorite foods from New Orleans. I love making this Crawfish Jambalaya, but for years I’ve been wanting to try a Slow Cooker Jambalaya. This was my first attempt, and I was really happy with how it turned out.

Jambalaya in a slow cooker.

This Jambalaya has so many layers of flavors.

For some tomato flavor (I like a tomato-y Jambalaya), I used both diced tomatoes and tomato paste. For the liquid, I used a can of beef broth.  You could use chicken broth instead, but I like the deeper flavor that beef broth has.

For flavoring, I of course started with the Holy Trinity– onion, green pepper, and celery. Then I added garlic, bay leaves, oregano, basil, Cajun seasoning, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, and Worcestershire to round out the flavors.

Recipe Tips

To prevent a mushy mess, I cooked the rice separately but used the cooking liquid from the crock pot to cook it in so that the rice soaked up all that flavor that had been simmering away in the crock pot.

Don’t overcook the shrimp. The shrimp only need to go in the slow cooker for the last 30 minutes. Overcooked shrimp have a rubbery texture.

★★★★★
What readers are saying

Delicious!! My Husband has been wanting me to try and make Jambalaya since he went to Louisiana for a work trip. I have been nervous to attempt it until I found this recipe. He loved it!!

What Size Slow Cooker To Use?

A 6-quart slow cooker is the perfect size, but a slightly larger one will work too.

How Many People Does It Serve?

This recipe makes a big crock pot full of Jambalaya. Six very large servings or if you serve it with plenty of bread and maybe a salad, you could probably stretch it to 10.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya in a blue bowl.

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Storage

Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Shrimp are highly perishable and I really don’t like to keep them for longer than 3 days.

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Recipe

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Slow Cooker Jambalaya, with chucks of chicken and andouille sausage and lots of shrimp, is a super flavorful one dish meal.

  • Serves 6 servings
  • Prep 15 minutes
  • Cook 4 hours
  • Total 4 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth
  • 1 (8-ounce) can tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 1 green bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
  • 2 celery ribs (chopped)
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 pound Andouille sausage (or use kielbasa, cut into slices)
  • 2 chicken breasts (cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • 1/2 pound shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  • 1 1/2 cup white rice
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. 1

    Combine 1st 12 ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker and stir to combine.

  2. 2

    Add onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, sausage, and chicken. Stir to combine.

  3. 3

    Cover crock pot and cook on LOW 4 to 5 hours.

  4. 4

    Set a larger strainer/sieve over a large bowl and pour about 75% of liquid in the crock pot through strainer. You should have about 3 cups to cook the rice in. Add water to get 3 cups if necessary.

  5. 5

    Return all solids to crock pot. Stir in parsley and shrimp. Cover crock pot and cook on LOW 30 minutes.

  6. 6

    Meanwhile, bring the 3 cups of liquid to a boil. Stir in rice and cook according to package directions.

  7. 7

    Add cooked rice to slow cooker and mix in. Serve.

Notes

I tried to keep the ingredient list fairly reasonable. For extra flavor, try adding 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme and/or 1/2 teaspoon white pepper.

Equipment

  • 6-quart slow cooker
  • Fine-Meshed Strainer

Nutrition

  • Calories575 kcal

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