Easy jambalaya

Aimee Boudreaux MacIver
Aug 20
2 min read

My dear (not Southern) friend recently asked me to send her a recipe for jambalaya. Now, y'all need to know that there is no easy response because there's not one absolute standard for jambalaya. Your granny makes her jambalaya differently than my brother makes his, which is different than what the local café serves. And while of course you can easily find a bazillion jambalaya recipes, just know that all those recipes are more like second cousins than identical twins.

Here's exactly how I answered my friend. As usual in Louisiana, you'll have the same issue with a "recipe" for gumbo or red beans: nobody really uses measurements, just eyeballs according to the size of their favorite pot.

Easy jambalaya

Ingredients

2 regular size boxes of Zatarain's jambalaya mix
1-2 lbs of good sausage, quartered, or shredded chicken, or both
2 cups uncooked rice (sometimes I use brown rice here to add a little more texture and flavor)
Oil (I like coconut oil for health benefits and because it complements the tomato and peppers, but people also use vegetable oil or even butter)
Diced frozen trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper)
Minced garlic
Bay leaves (break them to release the flavor)
Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning

Instructions

Don't be scandalized, but many of us in New Orleans use the Zatarain’s boxed jambalaya mix for an average weeknight jambalaya. BUT you have to doctor it up a little.
Start in a heavy pot or Dutch oven (one that holds about 5ish quarts) and cover the bottom with oil—not a ton, but enough for a thin layer.
Add garlic, onions, celery, bell pepper. I don’t measure; I use a heaping spoonful of that jarred minced garlic and then enough frozen diced trinity (onion, celery, peppers) to cover the bottom of the pot.
Give a good shake of Tony’s Cajun seasoning over everything.
I also like to throw in a few bay leaves from my tree.
Stir everything around until it's soft and golden.
Add both boxes of jambalaya mix, the amount of water indicated on the box, plus an extra two cups of rice and an extra four cups of water. If you're fancy, you can swap in chicken broth.
Get to a boil and then add meat and stir it around a bit. I usually use two pounds quartered sausage and maybe some extra chopped or shredded precooked chicken if I have that.
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer according to the box time.
Check on it after a bit to make sure the rice is getting properly cooked; add water if necessary, taste and add more Tony’s or salt if necessary.
Serve with good French bread and cold beer, and ideally during a Saints game.