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Chunky, delicious & easy Jambalaya recipe prepared with chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage, and brown rice, all baked inside tender bell peppers.
WHAT IS JAMBALAYA?
Jambalaya is a chunky, spicy, and incredibly flavorful stew prepared with chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage, and rice. It is a one pot meal that comes together in just about 1 hour, and it is absolutely amazing!
Jambalaya is one of Creole cuisine’s most popular dishes and rightfully so. The flavors are very deep; it’s a little spicy, a lot more hearty, very chunky, and absolutely filling. Chock full of meats and veggies, Jambalaya is a classic one pot recipe that’s very easy to prepare and hard to resist.
Certain ingredients are very important to use in this Creole dish; andouille sausage is a must because, the smoky flavor and blend of spices will result in that authentic taste. Also, shrimp. Can’t make a Jambalaya without seafood, right? And, we’ll need some chicken, too.
INGREDIENTS FOR JAMBALAYA STUFFED PEPPERS
In trying to keep things on the lighter side, this time we’re going to use brown rice, and if you want to go a step further, you can also use cauliflower rice. Not so traditional, but rules were meant to be broken.
One other rule we’re going to break is stuffing our Jambalaya into bell peppers. You won’t believe just how good this comes out. My husband just grabs one out of the baking dish and eats it right out of his hands. Like it’s a toast!
Third rule to break is to use Old Bay Seasoning instead of making a cajun seasoning from scratch. Are we cool with all of that? I hope so!
JAMBALAYA STUFFED PEPPERS
- To get started, you’ll want to grab 4 bell peppers and cut them in half.
- Arrange the bell peppers in a large baking dish or baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, we’re going to heat up some oil in a dutch oven or a large pot; season our chicken pieces and cook for about 6 minutes, or until done. Set aside.
- We’ll do the same with the andouille sausage.
- Combine onions, garlic, and diced pepper in the dutch oven and cook for around 3 minutes, or until just tender.
- Stir in the previously prepared chicken; add tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add a cup of brown rice and a cup of chicken broth. If using cauliflower rice, use 2 cups.
- Stir in shrimp and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.
- Divide up the jambalaya mixture evenly among all the peppers.
- Return peppers to the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
- Remove from oven, garnish with green onions and parsley, then serve.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH JAMBALAYA
This recipe makes a lot of food; I suggest coming to the dinner table on EMPTY. Jambalaya is truly a one-pot meal filled to the rim with all the ingredients, so you really don’t need to serve anything more with it. A salad would be nice, though. My other half prefers a slice of Cornbread.
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVERS
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- I suggest not to freeze any leftovers because of the rice – it will turn into mush once reheated. If you’re planning on making Jambalaya in advance and freezing it, leave out the rice and cook it fresh when you’re ready to serve.
MORE ONE POT STEWS
ENJOY!
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Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 large bell peppers,, any color, cut in half, lengthwise, seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil,, divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts,, cut into 1-inch pieces
- salt and fresh ground pepper,, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 6 ounces andouille sausage,, sliced into coins
- 1 yellow onion,, diced
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1 small bell pepper,, diced
- 3 cloves garlic,, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes, , undrained
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked instant brown rice,, (you can also use 2 cups cauliflower rice)
- 1 pound medium shrimp,, peeled and deveined
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
- green onions,, thinly sliced, for garnish
- fresh chopped parsley,, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place prepared peppers inside baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the Jambalaya.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, and oregano; add to the pot and cook for 6 minutes, or until browned on all sides.
- Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add remaining olive oil to the pot and stir in the andouille sausage; cook for 2 minutes, just until lightly browned.
- Stir in onions, celery, and diced pepper; cook for 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and continue to cook for 1 more minute.
- Stir in tomato paste; stir until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add crushed tomatoes and scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in chicken broth and brown rice.
- Add shrimp and old bay seasoning; give everything a good stir and let cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until rice is tender and shrimp is cooked through.
- Remove from heat, and if there's any liquid left, let stand for 4 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- Divide up the jambalaya mixture evenly among all the peppers.
- Return peppers to the oven for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until sizzling and lightly browned on top.
- Remove from oven, garnish with green onions and parsley; serve.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- I suggest not to freeze any leftovers because of the rice – it will turn into mush once reheated. If you’re planning on making Jambalaya in advance and freezing it, leave out the rice and cook it fresh when you’re ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This is Very, Very Good!!! I substituted 2/3-3/4 cup of uncooked Quinoa for the Brown Rice in the recipe. Though for next time I probably will cook the Quinoa separately first as it takes longer to cook. I also added some chopped Kale (about 1 1/2 cups). It came out absolutely delicious!!! I highly recommend this recipe!
Now I want this for dinner! Looks so good!
These sound delicious right about now!
What a delicious idea for dinner! A must make for sure!
Oh, wow, these could be my new favorite stuffed peppers recipe! What a terrific filling!!
These stuffed peppers were so good and had so much delicious flavor!
Looks like another great dinner from you! Love the idea of using cauliflower rice as a substitute, thanks!
Delicious and a great way to introduce veggies to fussy kids.