This super flavorful jambalaya recipe with sausage and rice comes together effortlessly in the slow cooker with just a few steps. Fresh diced bell pepper along with a few other fresh ingredients slowly build a delicious savory base for the rice. Pinches of cajun seasoning and smoky sliced sausage really make this simple rice dish burst with bold, satisfying cajun flavors.
This is an easy and simple slow cooker rice recipe to keep on hand when you crave all the bold flavor of a creole jambalaya. In the wintertime, it’s especially wonderful when the cold makes us crave satisfying and savory comfort food with a little kick and a little cajun spice, sorta like this slow cooker hot chili!
Smoky Sausage Really Brings It Home…
For me, it’s that delicious smoky sausage that really brings it home and ties the rice dish together. I like to use beef smoked sausage that I cut into slices and brown in the pan. You might choose to use chicken sausage, or the ever popular andouille sausage. It creates a rich and flavorful beginning for this easy recipe that starts in the skillet and finishes off in the slow cooker.
The Flavor Power of Fresh Vegetables and Fresh Ingredients
The second portion of the recipe that makes this simple slow cooker jambalaya recipe pop with flavor is the addition of a few fresh ingredients. Lots of fresh diced green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, carrot, and celery create a delicious base that helps to infuse the rice with so much love and flavor in the slow cooker later on.
There’s No Shame In The Game with A Boxed Rice Shortcut
The last portion of the recipe is the one that keeps everything super simple and easy without any sacrifice on flavor! A quick box of cajun rice mix seals the deal and makes everything a cinch. Black beans along with a little butter and chicken stock all get stirred in with the rice mix to create a super simple jambalaya that cooks up perfectly tender, moist, and delicious in the slow cooker.
Using Rice Mix Packet In This Easy Jambalaya Recipe with Sausage
I like to grab a box of Zatarain’s one pot jambalaya rice mix from the grocery store. It’s already measured out and mixed up with few delicious added cajun spices. One packet of the rice mix makes the perfect amount to cook up nice and cozy in the slow cooker with lots of fresh diced veggies and smoky sausage for a great jambalaya recipe the entire family can enjoy. If you want to make a bigger batch of this delicious cajun rice recipe, it’s simple enough to double up so you can serve for a larger crowd, especially around Mardi Gras time!
Make An Easy Jambalaya Recipe with Sausage and Rice In The Slow Cooker
To make this simple slow cooker jambalaya rice recipe, start off by browning your smoked beef sausage in a large wide skillet over medium-high heat. Brown sliced sausage until golden around the edges. Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a small bowl. Set aside.
Brown The Sausage and Add Diced Vegetables
In the same large skillet with the juices left behind from the sausage, toss in diced onion, diced celery, diced carrot, and diced red and green bell pepper. This is sort of our version of that holy trinity (or basic mirepoix) that makes cajun cooking so darn good. Season the diced vegetable mixture with pinches of salt and pepper, if desired. Add more olive oil to as needed and stir to combine. Cook the diced vegetables over medium heat until softened and tender, about 8 to 10
Add Fresh Tomato and Garlic
Next, add in diced vine ripe tomato, minced garlic, and about a teaspoon of cajun seasoning and stir in. Cook through another 3 to 5 minutes or until all vegetables are softened, tender, and browned.
Add a Package of Cajun Rice Mix
Remove skillet from the heat. Transfer the cooked vegetable mixture to crockpot and top off with a package of Zatarain’s jambalaya rice mix.
Add in a can of drained black beans. Alternatively, you might choose to add red beans or pink beans.
Toss in about a tablespoon of butter. Stir everything together in the slow cooker to combine.
Add Stock or Broth To The Jambalaya Rice
Top off the rice mixture with about two and a half cups of chicken stock or chicken broth and then give everything one more gentle stir.
Add in a few bay leaves and cover. Set the slow cooker to high and cook for two to two and a half hours. If your crockpot is a little faster, check sooner. If rice is not yet tender, continue cooking as needed.
Add Browned Sausage Slices To the Jambalaya Rice
10 minutes before cook time is up, add the browned smoked beef sausage to the crockpot and gently stir in. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes to heat sausage through. Serve nice and hot!
As you can see, the rice cooks up fairly quickly in the slow cooker. It doesn’t take too much time for this sausage jambalaya recipe with rice to pick up all that flavor in the crockpot.
All the delicious flavors we built up from scratch in the skillet earlier on help infuse this easy one-pot meal with tons of delicious homemade cajun flavor. Keep this great recipe handy when you need easy weeknight dinners that satisfy a crowd. Make this easy jambalaya with sausage and rice anytime you crave some New Orleans inspired creole flavor on the fly!
Easy Jambalaya Recipe with Sausage and Rice in the Slow Cooker
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz link Beef Smoked Sausage - Sliced on a diagonal. I used Johnsonville Beef Smoked Sausage
- 1 15 oz can Black Beans, Pink Beans, or Red Beans - Drained
- 1 8 oz box Zatarain's Jambalaya Rice Mix
- 2½ cups Chicken Stock or broth
- 3 large Bay Leaves
- 1 Red Bell Pepper - Small diced
- 1 Green Bell Pepper - Small Diced
- 1 large Yellow Onion - Small Diced
- 1 large Carrot - small diced
- 1 to 2 large Celery Stalks - small diced
- 1 medium Vine Ripe Tomato - diced
- 4 cloves Garlic - Minced
- 1 to 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Cajun Seasoning
- Pinches of Coarse Salt and Pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Plug in your slow cooker and set it to high so that it may already be nice and warm as we begin to add ingredients later on. While the slow cooker warms up, brown sliced smoked sausage for about 5 minutes or so until golden. Remove sausage slices from the skillet with a slotted spoon leaving juices or drippings behind in the pan. Se aside.
- To the same skillet, toss in diced onion, celery, carrot, and diced colorful bell peppers adding another tbsp of olive oil to the pan as needed. Stir together to combine. Cook vegetables for 8 to 10 minutes more until softened and lightly browned. Season with pinches of salt and pepper, if desired. Â
- Now add in diced vine ripe tomato and finely minced garlic along with 1 tsp of cajun seasoning. Stir together and cook through 2 to 3 more minutes until all vegetables are tender and browned. Â
- Add the vegetable mixture from the skillet to the slow cooker and top with a package of Zatarain’s Jambalaya rice mix. Add in a can of drained black beans. Alternatively, you may also use pink beans or red kidney beans. To this mixture add 1 tbsp of butter and stir to combine in the slow cooker or crockpot.
- Top off with 2 1/2 cups of Chicken stock or chicken broth and stir one more time to combine. Top with the bay leaves and cover. Set slow cooker to high and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. If your crockpot is a little faster, check sooner. If rice is not yet tender, continue cooking as needed.
- 10 minutes before cook time is up, add the browned smoked sausage to the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook for 5 -10 more minutes to heat sausage through. When cook time is up, gently stir rice in the pot and serve hot.
