Easy Jambalaya Recipe with Sausage and Rice in the Slow Cooker
This super flavorful jambalaya recipe with sausage and rice comes together effortlessly in the slow cooker with just a few fresh ingredients that 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 flavor.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Tried this recipe?Show me how it went! Tag @RedWineDragons and hashtag #redwinedragons!