Easy Cajun Jambalaya Recipe: A Mardi Gras Recipe Poppin' With Flavor Seafood Dinner Casseroles Grains

While many of the parades went on over the weekend, Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is officially tomorrow, February 21, 2023. And you don't have to be in New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras! 

Bring Mardi Gras home by making this easy sausage and shrimp jambalaya recipe. This delicious jambalaya recipe is poppin' with all sorts of flavors and is cooked in a cast iron skillet. The cooking starts on the stove and ends in the oven. So simple! 

Jambalaya is an American Creole and Cajun rice dish of French, African and Spanish influence. The dish consists of meat, usually sausage, chicken or seafood, vegetables and rice. Lots of rice. This  jambalaya recipe is made with smoked sausage or andouille (Cajun sausage) onion, red bell pepper, celery, garlic, chicken broth, long-grain white rice, bay leaves, chopped fresh thyme, ground cayenne pepper, diced canned tomatoes and shrimp. Simple ingredients that create a dish full of flavors and textures. 

Serve this easy jambalaya recipe for dinner with a side salad and garlic bread. Pack the leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Cuisine: American / French / African / Spanish
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound smoked sausage or andouille sausage, cut into rounds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4 ribs celery, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups long-grain rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined 

Here's how to make it: 

1. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate.
2. Add the onion, pepper and celery. Cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. 
3. Put the sausage back into the pan along with the broth, rice, bay leaves, thyme and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. 
4. Cover the skillet and put into a preheated 350-degree F oven. Cook about 20 minutes. 
5. Add the tomatoes and stir into the rice. Put the shrimp on top. Cover and cook about 10 more minutes or until shrimp are cooked through. 

Note: 30Seconds is a participant in the Amazon affiliate advertising program and this post contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission or fees if you make a purchase via those links.

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

Take 30 seconds and join the 30Seconds community, and follow us on Facebook to get recipes in your newsfeed daily.