

Once the pan is de-glazed by the addition of chicken stock, these deeply caramelized bits get scraped up and mixed in with the other ingredients, giving the jambalaya a smoky flavor and brown color. The Cajuns even have a name for them: graton. While typically you would want to add lots of oil when high heat cooking to prevent bits of meat and vegetables from getting stuck to the bottom of the pan, in this case, only minimal fat is used to grease the pan because we actually WANT those stuck bits. The meat and veggies are cooked first over a high heat. The brown color in Cajun jambalaya comes mostly from the cooking method.

After all, without tomatoes, the jambalaya would be closer to white rather than brown. Our Ham and Shrimp Creole Jambalaya is a great example of a “red jambalaya.”Ĭajun jambalayadoes not have tomatoes, giving it the nickname “brown jambalaya.” But, it’s not just the lack of tomatoes that contributes to the brown color.

So, keeping the tomatoes in their jambalaya keeps the connection to the Spanish roots of the dish. You will find two major categories of jambalaya: red and brown.Ĭreole jambalaya is characterized by the use of tomatoes and is often called “red jambalaya.” The Creole people are descendants of the French and Spanish upper class in Louisiana. They decided that tomatoes were the perfect way to give the dish the extra color and flavor that it was missing from the lack of saffron.Īs time went on, the French/Caribbean influence in the Louisiana region became stronger, and Caribbean spices started to creep into this New World “paella.” Red Jambalaya or Brown Jambalaya? Saffron, paella’s key ingredient, was incredibly expensive to import to the New World, so they had to find other ways to flavor their rice dish. The dish is thought to have been originally developed by the Spanish settlers to the New World who attempted to make paella. Jambalaya is a Louisiana dish with heavy Spanish, French, and Caribbean influence. Whether you like it spicy or mild, this recipe is sure to be a favorite for family dinners and parties. This is perfect for sauteing the onions and sausage before you slow cook.Chicken and Sausage Cajun Jambalaya is a smoky and flavorful one pot meal. To make Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya I used my Ninja Auto-iQ 6 Quart Slow Cooker.* My favorite feature of this slow cooker is that it has a stove top function. Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice What Slow Cooker Did You Use? Instant Pot Cajun Sausage and Shrimp Pasta Pin this recipe for later! More Recipes You’ll Love… Halve all the ingredients and keep the same cooking time. So if you don’t want to make a ton of food you can easily halve this recipe. And you know my son should count for about 3 people. This instant pot jambalaya recipe makes a lot! I served 6 people and we still have some leftovers. For convenience sake I like buying the frozen bags of cooked shrimp. Stir the deveined shrimp into the hot rice and let it cook until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. If you do want shrimp you can add it in when there is about 30 minutes left of the cooking time. My husband is allergic to shrimp so I left it out. What about the shrimp?! Many jambalaya recipes have shrimp and sadly mine does not. I don’t love how white rice turns out in the slow cooker so I would avoid that. I chose to make my jambalaya with brown rice. My daughter’s 2 friends were over and they loved it too. My son literally had 3 bowls of it for dinner last night. Everybody can eat it (not too spicy) and it has loads and loads of flavor. I now have a recipe that I absolutely love and that my family loves too. I used to think jambalaya was a spicy dish that my family wouldn’t like. Get the INSTANT POT Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya recipe here Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya It has so much flavor, you’re going to love it! Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya– an easy, healthier, non-spicy version of jambalaya.
