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You are here: Home » Food Preparation » Recipes » Main Dishes » Easy Jambalaya In The Crock Pot {dairy-free w/ grain-free option!}

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Easy Jambalaya In The Crock Pot {dairy-free w/ grain-free option!}

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Easy Jambalaya In The Crock Pot {dairy-free with grain-free option!} | Somehow, jambalaya hits the spot for me. What once had been a foreign cuisine altogether became soul food. Thus, every once in while, I crave jambalaya. This easy recipe is naturally dairy-free and has a grain-free option for Paleo or GAPS! | TraditionalCookingSchool.com

What comfort food do you crave?

What food cheers your soul after a long day, reminds you of childhood, or transports you back to a beloved place?

Jambalaya always hits the spot for me.

I harken it back to the Cajun restaurant that opened right when I got my first post-university job and my own apartment. I’d never experienced Cajun flavors or textures, but from my very first visit, the restaurant seemed to typify the exuberance I felt in my new-found independence in bona fide adulthood.

On my lunch break from work, I’d cross the street to order gumbo and jambalaya, and on free beignet days, I’d stop for a sweet treat on my way to the office. On summer days after work, my co-workers and I would gather on their lawn for the crawdad feast and gorge ourselves silly on crayfish.

What once had been a foreign cuisine altogether became soul food.

So, every once in a while, the comfort food I crave is jambalaya.

Note: I usually make jambalaya rather than gumbo merely because it’s super easy to approximate the proper flavors of jambalaya without any flour-based roux or even a flour substitute (it doesn’t need one!). Gumbo, on the other hand, relies more heavily on a thickener of some sort. Despite my deep, deep love of gumbo, jambalaya thus more easily fits into a traditional or real food diet.

As you prepare this recipe for your family and friends, I hope it will provide you with the same joy that it has provided me for many years!

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Easy Jambalaya In The Crock Pot

Easy and delicious comfort food! Serves 6 to 8.

Course Main
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 863 kcal
Author Kresha Faber

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pastured chicken cut up
  • 1 coil andouille sausage cooked, or any smoked sausage (about 1 pound)
  • 3 to 4 cups canned tomatoes or stewed
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 large green pepper diced
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • 4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning *
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • few dashes hot sauce optional
  • 2 cups uncooked rice **any variety (red, brown, basmati, etc.)
  • 1 cup chopped okra
  • 1 to 2 pounds raw shrimp peeled and deveined

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients except rice, okra, and shrimp to slow cooker or Crock Pot. 

  2. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. 

  3. If cooking on high, add the rice 2 hours before serving and the okra and shrimp 45 minutes before serving. 

  4. If cooking on low, add the rice 3 hours before serving and the okra and shrimp 1 hour before serving.

  5. If it's not possible to add the rice (say, you'll be away for the day), you may use precooked rice and just stir it together when you serve. (In that case, reduce the chicken stock by half and use only 1-1/2 cups.)

Recipe Notes

  • *See how to make Cajun seasoning here.
  • **For Paleo or grain-free version, use cauliflower rice instead. Simply place cauliflower florets from 1 medium cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the consistency of rice. Stir this cauliflower rice in at the same time as okra and shrimp. And make sure to use only 1-1/2 cups of chicken stock at the beginning since cauliflower doesn't soak up liquid in the same way that rice does.
Nutrition Facts
Easy Jambalaya In The Crock Pot
Amount Per Serving
Calories 863 Calories from Fat 198
% Daily Value*
Fat 22g34%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 373mg124%
Sodium 2069mg90%
Potassium 1520mg43%
Carbohydrates 105g35%
Fiber 9g38%
Sugar 14g16%
Protein 60g120%
Vitamin A 3566IU71%
Vitamin C 66mg80%
Calcium 347mg35%
Iron 9mg50%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy! Have you ever made jambalaya in the Crock Pot?

This post was featured in 52 Instant Pot Game Day Recipes For A Crowd (Keto, Paleo, Whole30, & more!).

We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).

Posted in: Food Preparation Main Dishes Main Dishes (Gluten-Free) Recipes Soups & Stews Soups & Stews (Gluten-Free)

About Kresha Faber

Kresha is the primary writer and blog editor at NourishingJoy.com, a website dedicated to real food, sustainable living, natural homemaking, and joyful parenting. She is the mother of three young children, the wife of one handsome organic farmer, an opera singer, a cloth diapering instructor, and an avid researcher. She and her husband share a passion for living life thoughtfully and intentionally in response to God's grace in their lives and she loves to share good meals (and good wine!) around a very large table.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenny says

    April 27, 2015 at 4:31 pm

    We like jambalaya too! I should think to prepare it more often. I have a quick and easy recipe but slow cooker would be great.

    Reply
  2. Betty Wiebe says

    May 6, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    I don’t do much cooking anymore, as my eyesight is poor, but I do crave pickles. I do not buy they as they have unhealthy ingredients. My question is does it take much time to make your fermented pickles? I would love to make them if you have a simple recipe.

    Actually I purchased your pickle recipe on Mar. 18, but have been off my computer because of eye surgery, and cannot stay on for long as it hurts my eyes. However, I cannot find the recipe as I looked for it today.

    Please give me some help,or suggestions in this matter.

    Thank you, and God bless you.

    Betty Wiebe

    Reply
    • Wardee Harmon says

      May 7, 2015 at 6:20 am

      Betty, I’m going to ask Millie to get in touch with you about getting you your download. Thanks so much and God bless your recovery.

      Reply
  3. JJ says

    May 9, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    This may be a tasty stew but it is not authentic Jambayala. Much of the flavor is garnered from caramelizing the veggies for a long time. It has scant spices, okra is for gumbo and rice needs to be very Al dente.

    I do find comments on wheat flour in gumbo to be interesting. Have read various cooks discuss which flour such as millet or almond is close to the browning and thickening properties of wheat. I generally cheat and use wheat flour on the rare occasions I make it but I am not celiac.

    I generally make a rabbit and Tasso ham Jambayala with 4 1/2 cups of onions, celery and bell peppers. The highly spiced Tasso provides red pepper, and I add hot pepper sauce, a little tomato paste and rabbit or chicken or rabbit broth towards the end. Cup less rice than broth at end and only cook 15 minutes. Take lid off to prevent overcoming rice!

    Reply
    • Kresha Faber says

      May 11, 2015 at 3:28 pm

      In many ways you’re right and I couldn’t agree with you more, as many many many classic Cajun dishes highlight those gorgeous flavors that come only with long and slow caramelization. Even traditional roux capitalizes on that technique.

      However, sometimes convenience trumps perfection and a “tasty stew” that closely approximates the flavor is a welcome substitute. 🙂

      (Oh, and a note about the okra – I call for it in this version because it helps thicken the jambalaya – and because it’s yummy!)

      The tasso and rabbit version you describe sounds delicious! Thanks for the suggestion.

      Reply
  4. RGD says

    May 26, 2015 at 8:18 pm

    My slowcooker Jambalaya destroys red beans overnight. No chicken, just sausage or bits of pork cooked down. use the bean paste as a thickener and add V8 spicy (12 oz can) and water about 30 min before adding rice. No hassle, very inexpensive main course. My flour alternative for gumbo is dehydrated eggplant through a food processor.

    Reply

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