This year for Mardi Gras, I want to share with you one of my family favorites, jambalaya. Jambalaya is a rice-based dish with chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, tomatoes, and the trinity (bell pepper, onion, and celery). Traditionally these are combined in a cast iron skillet, and cooked together with chicken broth until the rice is cooked. With all of the ingredients combined before cooking the rice, it creates an amazing, flavorful rice upon completion. This dish is fairly easy to make gluten-free also. With more companies becoming aware of the need for gluten-free foods, gluten-free andouille sausage is becoming easier to find at traditional grocery stores. You will want to make sure your cajun seasoning is gluten-free as well. If you cannot find that, I will add a link to my blog from Mardi Gras last year, that has my cajun seasoning recipe. It can be found here; Dirty Rice

I have tried making this in the pressure cooker, however, I prefer using my large cast iron skillet. If you would like to try using the pressure cooker, I recommend reducing the amount of chicken broth used in the traditional recipe (below), to only 2 cups. I found it didn’t have as much flavor, but works well enough in a pinch.

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts, diced and fully cooked
  • 1/2 Tbs olive oil
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • 1 package of gluten-free andouille sausage ( 12 oz at least)
  • 16 oz peeled/de-veined shrimp ( I use frozen shrimp, and add them still frozen)
  • 1 bell pepper, diced (traditionally green, but any color works)
  • 1 onion, diced ( traditionally white onion, again any variety is fine)
  • 4 celery stalks, sliced
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups uncooked long grain white rice , or jasmine rice (my preference)
  • 32 oz of chicken stock or broth (4 cups, reduce to 2 cups if using pressure cooker)
  • 1 Tbs cajun seasoning, add more if desired. My cajun seasoning recipe can be found in this blog post; Dirty Rice
  • 3 bay leaves

Directions

  1. Dice 2 chicken breasts.
  2. Cook chicken breast until cooked through (internal temp of 165°F).
  3. While the chicken is cooking, dice your trinity (bell pepper, onion, and celery).
  4. Over medium heat, cook the trinity with 1.5 TBS oil and kosher salt in the cast iron pan you will be using to bake the jambalaya (or sauté setting on the pressure cooker).
  5. Cook the trinity until slightly translucent, or until soft when pressed on with a spatula.
  6. While the trinity is cooking, slice your andouille sausage.
  7. Turn off the burner for the skillet.
  8. Begin pre-heating oven to 375°F
  9. Add the cooked chicken breast to the trinity mixture.
  10. Add the sliced andouille sausage.
  11. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes.
  12. Add shrimp.
  13. Stir in 2 cups of uncooked rice.
  14. Add chicken broth.
  15. Add 1 Tbs (more if desired) of cajun seasoning
  16. Carefully stir mixture together again.
  17. Add 3 bay leaves. *if using pressure cooker, stop here and see instruction below.
  18. Cover with aluminum foil.
  19. Place in oven and bake 30 min.
  20. After 30 minutes, carefully remove the jambalaya and stir the mixture so that any rice on top can get moved to the liquid to cook through.
  21. Place foil back on the skillet and carefully place back into the oven.
  22. Bake for another 30 min, or until all liquid is absorbed, and rice is cooked through. (I live at a high altitude, the remaining baking time may be less in your area.)
  23. Remove from oven, and let cool for a few minutes.
  24. Serve and enjoy!

*If using a pressure cooker complete steps 1-17 in the pressure cooker (skipping step 8). Remember to only use 2 cups of chicken broth. Secure pressure cooker lid, and cook on high pressure for 30-45 minutes. (again, I’m at a high altitude, if you are lower than 5,000 feet, 30 minutes should be more than enough time)

I hope you enjoy this family favorite. Does your family celebrate Mardi Gras?

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