Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya is perfect for tailgating and includes a spicy combination of chicken and sausage, mixed in with onions, bell peppers, garlic and a ton of rice. This well-loved dish feeds a crowd easily.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 50

Servings servings

Calories 394kcal

Ingredients

1 lb. andouille or hot pork sausage smoked or fresh are OK!
1 lb. chicken tenderloins
1 tablespoon avocado oil
3 large yellow onions roughly diced (~5 cups)
2 green bell peppers roughly diced (~2 ½ cups)
6 cloves garlic minced
3 1/3 cups unsalted chicken broth
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups white rice long grain, rinsed and uncooked

Instructions

First and foremost, chop all the veggies.
Measure out the rest of the ingredients, too, before you start cooking.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place the sausage in the pan, without oil. Cook, turning occasionally as the sides brown. Once all the sides have browned, remove from the pan, and set aside.
In the same pan, add the oil. When the oil is hot, place the chicken tenderloins into the pan. Cook the chicken on both sides until cooked through, then remove from the pan.
Using a sharp knife, slice the sausage into thin rounds. Shred the chicken tenderloins. Set them both aside for later.
Lower the heat to medium, and add the onions, bell peppers and garlic to the Dutch oven. Sauté until tender, about 5-8 minutes. Stir the veggies occasionally because they will begin to pull the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, which is great for flavor, and we want to ensure they do not burn.
Add the sausage and chicken to the vegetables, and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until everything comes together.
Pour in the chicken broth, salt, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil.
Stir in the rice, then reduce the heat to low and cover the Dutch oven. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Do not stir or lift the lid off until the 40 minute mark to confirm the rice is tender and all the liquid has evaporated.
Serve warm, and enjoy immediately!

Notes

Adapted from from Something to Talk About: Occasions We Celebrate in South Louisiana.

Make ahead tips and tricks to make entertaining with jambalaya even easier:

Chop all those veggies. You can do this 1-2 days in advance, too, and store them in food-safe containers in the fridge. The only negative of this is that if the container holding the onions isn't sealed well, your entire fridge will smell of onion.
Wash the rice. It sounds like such a silly recommendation, but this saves you from potentially splattering water all over yourself as you're trying to get this cooking. After washing, let it air dry.

Substitutions that work for my homemade jambalaya recipe:

If you, your family and/or your guests have sensitive palates and do not like heat, don't add cayenne. Also, taste the andouille after it cooks and before adding any other spices because I've had some recently that just about lit my tastebuds on fire.

Add salt-free Creole seasoning if you're skipping the cayenne pepper and the andouille sausage isn't too spicy on its own.
Can't find pork andouille sausage? Use chicken andouille instead OR hot Italian sausage if you can't find any type of andouille.
Chicken substitutions: This recipe calls for chicken tenderloins, but I've also used the same amount of chicken breasts in it. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs would be delicious, too.

Nutrition