If you are looking for an easy gluten-free skillet dinner, than this authentic Cajun jambalaya is guaranteed to hit the spot. Stir the homemade gluten-free jambalaya seasoning with rice, chicken, sausages, and optional shrimp to make the perfect zesty, vibrant one pot meal and get your taste buds dancing!
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Easy Jambalaya Recipe Made Gluten-Free
Making a zesty pot of gluten-free jambalaya is the perfect way to shake up gluten-free dinner ideas. When experimenting with this recipe I knew the process should be uncomplicated, flavors bold, and texture spot on, not too thin or soupy, or thick and mushy.
When making gluten-free cajun recipes there’s the option of buying a premade seasoning blend, like New Orlean’s favorite, Slap Ya Mama, or Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Slap Ya Mama is GF, according to their website, while Tony Chachere’s may contain cross-contamination.
However, I never like to buy extra ingredients if I can avoid it, especially when you can make your own gluten-free jambalaya seasoning with spices already in your cabinet. Win, win! Just like when making these family-favorite gluten-free zesty ground beef tacos, there’s no need to risk unfamiliar ingredients. Plus, you can customize the amount of spice and avoid spending extra dough.
It’s hard to resist the combo of tender chicken bites, smoky sausage and rice simmered together in an one-pot robust tomato sauce. It’s right up there with some of our favorite skillet dinners, like cheesy supreme pizza pasta and this 15-minute creamy coconut shrimp recipe. All are perfect examples of marrying flavor and ease. Can’t go wrong there!
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Ingredient Tid Bits
- Smoked sausage – Traditionally jambalaya uses andouille sausage. If you are an Aldi shopper (here, here) it’s not stocked there, but you can substitute smoked kielbasa sausage, which has a milder flavor. Andouille was at my local grocery store, though. If you are worried about the spice level, I found it to be mild to medium, if it’s not labeled “spicy.” For any sausage, read the ingredient label to make sure there are no unsafe fillers for a GF diet.
- Chicken – Use chicken breasts or boneless thighs. I prefer thighs for more flavor and extra tenderness.
- Shrimp – This is the way you up your jambalaya game and I highly recommend it. It adds a small extra step to sauté and another ingredient to buy, but if you want to make some authentic a$$-kicking cajun food, I recommend it.
- Veggies – I used a combo of onion, bell pepper, and celery, but there’s room for some other spins here. I list some more options below, under add-ins and modifications.
Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Sauté the meat trio.
You’ll need some room here, so start with a very large, deep skillet or, ideally, a 6-quart dutch oven, which gives enough surface area for browning and allows room for everything to come together.
Start with heating a splash of oil over medium-high heat and brown the sliced sausages. Transfer those to a bowl and continue on with the chicken, adding a little more oil before. Move those to the same bowl.
If you are adding the optional shrimp, cook about 2-3 minutes, or until it’s cooked through and pink. Transfer those to a separate bowl. I know, one pot, but more than one bowl…🤷♀️
Time for the veggies.
To the empty skillet, add the butter, onion, celery, pepper, and garlic. Cook until slightly softened. While it’s cooking, combine the spices in a small bowl. (Another bowl 🫣)
Add the rice, spices, more goodness and simmer.
Stir in the rice and spices with the veggies, coating everything with the oil and seasonings. Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste, scraping up the bottom of the skillet to bring up all those browned bits.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to a very gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is almost tender, stirring halfway through. Make sure the heat is very low to give enough time for the rice to get tender before the liquid cooks off.
Remove from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes, adding in the shrimp 5 minutes in to re-warm. Stir in the green onions and serve.
Fixing Common Rice Problems
Not a fan of mushy or crunchy rice? Who is?! There are a couple easy tricks to avoid it. First, rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear without any cloudiness. This gets rid of the excess starch residue.
The other trick is to not over stir the jambalaya. Stirring once, halfway through, is good insurance so you don’t have rice sticking to the bottom of the pot, but after that, hands off. Be sure the heat is barely simmering so it has a nice, gentle long cook time.
If you find the rice isn’t tender after cooking, you have some options. Remove from the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes, covered. If this doesn’t do it, add a splash more broth or water to the pot, stir gently, and let it sit 5-10 minutes longer.
Wondering if this GF jambalaya recipe can be frozen? You betcha. Make sure it’s completely cool first. To do this quickly, I spread the leftovers on a baking sheet to cool down, then transfer to an airtight freezer container. Freeze up to 2 months and rewarm gently on the stove.
Want to kick up the spice? Use a spicy andouille sausage or add more cayenne pepper to the homemade spice blend. Of course, you can always serve it with hot sauce on the side!
Gluten-Free Cajun Seasoning
Making a homemade gluten-free jambalaya seasoning is simple to do using commonly stocked spices. It’s a combination of sweet paprika, dried thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.
Some adjustments can be made to the type of paprika, subbing half for smoked or spiced. Also, you can up the amount of cayenne pepper for a spicier Cajun dish.
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Perfectly-Seasoned Gluten-Free Jambalaya (One Pot)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 14 ounces andouille sausage, cut into ½ inch thick slices, see notes for substitute
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs , cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled, with or without tails
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 1-2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 4 clove garlic, minced
- 4 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ¼ cup long-grain white rice, rinsed well in a mesh strainer
- 2 ½ cups gluten-free chicken broth
- 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 green onions, sliced
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the sausages and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl.2 tablespoons olive oil, 14 ounces andouille sausage
- Add the chicken and cook until the outside is seared, about 3 minutes. It doesn't need to cook through because it will finish cooking later. Remove to the bowl with the sausage.1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- Add the remaining oil and shrimp. Cook about 2-3 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked through and pink. Transfer to a separate bowl.1 pound large raw shrimp
- To the skillet add the butter, onion, celery, pepper, and garlic. Cook about 3 minutes, or until slightly softened. While it's cooking, combine the spices in a small bowl.2 tablespoons butter, 1 small onion, 3 celery stalks, 1-2 green bell peppers, 4 clove garlic, 4 teaspoons sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Stir in the rinsed rice and spices into the skillet with the veggies, coating everything with the oil and seasonings. Stir in the broth, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste, scraping up the bottom of the skillet and bring to a boil.1 ¼ cup long-grain white rice, 2 ½ cups gluten-free chicken broth, 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes, 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- Add the chicken and sausages back to the pan, saving the shrimp for later. Stir to combine, reduce theh heat to a very low, gentle simmer, and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is almost tender, stirring halfway through. (Be careful to not over stir or rice will become mushy.)
- Remove from the heat, and let rest for 10 minutes, covered, adding shrimp halfway through to rewarm. Remove lid, stir in green onions and fluff with a fork.4 green onions
Notes
Sausage
Instead of andouille sausage, smoked kielbasa sausage may be used. If you can find it, chaurice is a pork sausage used in Creole cooking.This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
