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Gluten-free Jambalaya Recipe

This Gluten-Free Jambalaya is probably my favorite 1-pot rice dish I have ever made. It’s quick, easy, and delicious. Something as the primary cook in my house, I really appreciate.

Gluten-free Jambalaya Recipe - Tayler Silfverduk, celiac dietitian

What is Jambalaya

Dictionary.com defines Jambalaya as “a Cajun dish of rice with shrimp, chicken, and vegetables”. This differs from Gumbo (like this Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo) because instead of a soup, the liquid is cooked into rice.

According to McCormick, Jambalaya was created in Louisiana out of the desire to find a way to cook Paella without saffron using available local ingredients. It’s influenced by a melting pot of cultures from German sausages, the mirepoix of the French, the cooking technique from the spanish, and rice from slaves from west Africa.

If I had to describe Jambalaya, it would be as a heavily spiced rice dish with seafood and meat.

Is Jambalaya Naturally Gluten-Free?

Jambalaya can be made gluten-free but often it is made with a wheat-based roux. A roux is a flour and fat mixture that is used to start thick soups. It’s important if you’re not making you’re own jambalaya, that you’re making sure your jambalaya isn’t started with flour and oil.

If you’re making your own jambalaya, you can make it naturally gluten-free by either making a roux with gluten-free flour, or omitting it all together.

In this recipe for simplicity sake and because the rice thickens up nicely anyways, we’ll be omitting the roux to keep this Jambalaya recipe gluten-free.

Gluten-free Jambalaya Recipe - Tayler Silfverduk, celiac dietitian

How to Make Gluten-Free Jambalaya

I will not claim to even begin to know how to make a traditional authentic Jambalaya. I consider myself as a lazy gluten-free cook because I pretty much make my own food everyday, all day.

So this gluten-free Jambalaya is made my lazy way. It’s essentially made using the same technique as my 1-Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe.

Start by cooking the mirepoix (if you want to make your life easier, substitute the fresh ingredients for a bag of frozen mirepoix at your super market) until the onions are translucent.

Then you add in the chicken and cook it until it’s browned. Then you add in the shrimp, broth, tomatoes, seasoning and rice, cover and let cook for 20-30 minutes until the rice soaks up all of the liquid, and enjoy!

So let’s dive into the official Gluten-Free Jambalaya recipe, shall we?

Print Recipe

Gluten-free Jambalaya Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, one pot meal
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp avocado oil (or another high heat cooking oil)
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 jalapeno, diced
  • 2 chicken breasts, cubed
  • 8 oz frozen shrimp, deveined
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 14 oz crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp gluten-free cajun seasoning
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup Jasmine rice

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan on medium heat, add the oil, onion, garlic, and peppers and cook until the onion is translucent
  • Add in the cubed chicken and cook until browned
  • Add in the white rice, crushed tomato, broth, shrimp, and cajun seasoning
  • Stir well, cover, and let simmer until the rice soaks up all of the liquid (around 20-30 minutes)
  • Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

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