This jambalaya recipe is so rich in flavor and creamy. It’s an easy one pot recipe with chicken, sausage, shrimp, and rice. The perfect dish for any occasion.
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INGREDIENTS FOR JAMBALAYA
- Chicken thighs are going to give you the best flavor. They will help in deepening the flavor of the chicken broth. The benefit of using chicken thighs is that they will stay moist. If you choose to use chicken breast, brown them first, then remove them from the pot, and add them in at the last 20 – 25 minutes to prevent drying out.
- Uncooked shrimp, shelled, and deveined.
- Andouille sausage, or any hot sausage.
- Bell pepper, diced
- Celery, diced into small pieces
- A large onion, diced
- A head garlic, minced
- Oat groats (whole oats), if you can’t find oat groats, I reluctantly give you permission to use brown rice. This is not the traditional way of making jambalaya, but I am telling you, it needs to be. Oats will give you the most delectable jambalaya ever!
First, they hold on to their texture. So they are not going to become mushy, dry, or anything like that – that you would face with rice.
Second, oat groats will provide a creamy texture to your jambalaya that rice tends to lack drastically.
And third, oats are lower in carbs, and they are heart healthy! Trust me on this. You will not regret it. You can use my affiliate link to get yourself some gluten free oat groats. Always make sure that whatever oat product you purchase, it says gluten free on it. - Chicken broth use thee best chicken broth you have. Homemade is even better.
- Bay leaf
- Black pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Oregano
- Dried parsley
- Basil
- A dash cayenne pepper
- Olive oil
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Rotisserie chicken seasoning this is going to add all those extra good seasonings that are going to make this dish super delicious. Just make sure it’s gluten free!
- Cumin
- Salt
UTENSILS
- large, heavy bottom stockpot
- wooden spatula
- Cutting board
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoon
- Fine sieve
- Sharp knife
- Medium bowl
WHAT ARE OAT GROATS
Oat groats are the whole grain of oats. Generally, you would see rolled oats, or quick cooking oats, and most of the traditional breakfast oats. You almost never see oat groats, and that is because people forgot how to cook with them.
Oat groats are really healthy for you, and they are really easy to use. You can turn them into flour, you can cook with them, and you can even have them for breakfast. The just take a little longer to cook.
Oat groats in general take about 30 to 40 minutes to get fully cooked. You can even cook them for longer at low temperature to achieve a super creamy dish.
You can use oat groats to make oatmeal or rolled oat, slivered oat, oat flour, and whole variety of different oat products.
CAN I USE OAT GROATS TO MAKE JAMBALAYA
Sure you can! Oat groats will give you a creamier, more delicious, and even healthier jambalaya. The grains stay uniform in shape. There is no clumping, no mushiness, no drying. They really are the perfect gluten free grain for this jambalaya recipe.
Can I Use Rice Instead?
Sure you can, but I promise you, it will not taste as good, and it will not have the same amazing texture and flavor. If you want the best texture and flavor, you need to use oat groats.
Traditionally Jambalaya is made with rice, but I decided to forfeit this tradition in order to get the best results.
If you use rice however, you want to keep in mind that you might need either less or more liquid depending on the type of rice you are using.
You also want to make sure to stir more frequently as the rice is more likely to scorch at the bottom. You also need to follow the cooking time and direction stated on the package of rice that you are choosing to use.
WHY DO I HAVE TO STIR MY JAMBALAYA SO OFTEN
If you want to end up with a creamy, delicious jambalaya that has the best texture and flavor, and you want to prevent scorching, then you have to stir.
Frequently stirring your jambalaya, is going to move those starches around, giving you a creamy dish.
While you stir your jambalaya, you’ll also want to make sure to scrape the bottom every time you stir. If you do not scrape the bottom of the pot, the oat groats, or rice, will stick to the bottom causing it to burn. This will ruin your jambalaya dish.
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Jambalaya
Equipment
- Large heavy bottom stockpot
- wooden spatula
- Cutting board
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoon
- fine sieve
- Sharp knife
- Medium bowl
Ingredients
- 2 chicken thighs
- 20 uncooked shrimp shelled, and deveined.
- 1 pound andouille sausage or any hot sausage.
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 2 stalks celery diced into small pieces
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 head garlic minced
- 2 cups oat groats whole oats, if you can’t find oat groats, I reluctantly give you permission to use brown rice.
- 4 – 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon basil
- A dash of cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon rotisserie chicken seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Add the oat groats into a medium bowl and soak in cold water for 20 to 30 minutes. I highly recommend using oat groats. It is going to give you the best texture and creaminess. Oat grains will stay uniform while also adding creaminess and a delicious flavor to the dish. Not to mention that they are healthier, and also lower in carbs. However, if rice is the only medium you have, I recommend using brown rice, as it is the least likely to become mushy and clump up.
- Meanwhile, Add the 4 tablespoons of olive oil into the heavy bottom stock pot, and preheat on medium heat until the oil is glistening.
- Add the chicken thighs, skin side down, and the sausages. If you are using andouille sausages, or any kind of skin on sausages, make sure to slice them into bite size pieces before you add them into the pot. If you are using sausages with no skin on, just dump them into the pot, and brake them up a bit.
- Cook the chicken and sausages on medium heat, until the sausages are well browned, and the chicken skin is brown and crispy.
- Brake up the sausage meat into chunks, if using the no skin sausages, add the onions and garlic, and Sautee until the onions are translucent and the garlic is aromatic.
- Add in the bell peppers and celery. And stir fry for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Rinse and drain the oat groats, and add them directly to the pot with the chicken, sausage, and vegetables. Keep the chicken separate. Add the groats over the sausage and vegetable mixture. Stir fry for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add in the seasoning, with the exception of the bay leaf, and stir.
- Add in 4 cups chicken broth. Top the mixture with the bay leaf. Cover. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium low.
- Simmer on medium low for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes while also making sure to keep the bay leaf on top. No one wants to end up accidently chewing on that bay leaf.
- If you notice that after the 40 minutes have passed that the oat groats have absorbed all the liquid, add in a little bit of chicken broth. About 1/3 to ½ a cup.
- Stir the mixture again. Cover and let it simmer for 5 more minutes. After the 5 minutes have passed, uncover, stir while making sure to scrape the bottom. Level everything up, and layer the shrimp over the oat groats mixture. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve, and enjoy!
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