Weeknight Kid-Friendly Jambalaya
on Mar 10, 2019, Updated Jan 02, 2021
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Easy Jambalaya – By now you all should know my MO. I like easy recipes that use what we have in the pantry and the fridge, and it has to be kid-friendly.
This past week I made a new dish that checked all of the boxes.
Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya Recipe
- Ingredients used from the pantry, check.
- Use up what was in the freezer, check.
- Kid-friendly dinner and approved, check, and check.
- Delicious, CHECK.
Please allow me to now introduce this weeknight kid-friendly jambalaya recipe.
Don’t get me wrong. This chicken and sausage jambalaya recipe is for kids both young and old alike.
It is a modification of a classic southern jambalaya that can be easily modified to meet individual tastes, and as a bonus it allows you to use what you have on hand.
In my version, I use turkey Italian sausage for three reasons.
- I had it on hand.
- My kids love it.
- It is a healthier alternative to other types of sausage.
What’s in this
- Diced Chicken that you cut up or store-bought.
- Italian Sausage
- Olive Oil
- Chicken Stock
- Diced Tomatoes
- Salsa
- Rice
- Salt & Pepper
A jar of your favorite salsa helps to quickly season this dish to your liking. If you or your kids like it a little spicier, then use a hotter salsa.
My kids are right in the middle, so I used mild salsa and allowed the other kids that like a little more spice to dash or two of Tabasco sauce.
How to make it for grown-ups
If I were preparing this jambalaya recipe for company or for older kids that are more adventurous, I would add some jumbo shrimp, which is typical for a jambalaya.
I did leave it out because the majority of our kids aren’t big fans of shrimp.
Also, if I can be completely honest with you, I didn’t have any shrimp to add, and I did not want to run to the store. As Dan always says, don’t judge me.
No one missed those little crustaceans.
This easy jambalaya recipe is a snap to put together, and it’s loaded with flavor.
It is a great go-to recipe in the middle of the week when you are sick of takeout.
By the time that it would take you to call for a pizza and wait for delivery, you can have this meal ready.
Take my advice and give this one a try. Trust me; you will love it. -Scott
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Weeknight Kid-Friendly Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cubed
- 2 links Italian sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 cups rice
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley, fine chop
- 1 tomato diced
- salt & pepper, to tasted
- tobasco sauce, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over med heat in a large skillet.Add sausage and cook until sausage is almost cooked and takes on a golden color.Remove sausage from pan and set aside.In the same skillet add the cubed chicken and cook until chicken is cooked. This will only take several minutes. Make sure to brown chicken on all sides.Remove chicken from pan and set aside.Add rice to skillet and stir continuously for 1-2 minutes.Stir in chicken broth.Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.Allow to cook for approximately 8 minutes.Add chicken, sausage, salsa and parsley.Cover and allow to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed by the rice and the rice is tender, approximately another 4 minutes. If you are adding shrimp, I would add the shrimp into the skillet at this time.You may need to stir from time to time to make certain that the rice is not sticking to the skillet.When serving add the fresh tomato to the top of each portion. You may also choose to add some additional fresh parsley when servicing as well.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Updated from the original post of September 10, 2015
Cook time for the rice is way off. Added the meat back in after 8 minutes as instructed, 10 minutes later the rice isn’t even close to having absorbed.
Brian, as stated in the directions, “…Cover and allow to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed by the rice and the rice is tender.” The time is going to vary, depending on what type of rice you are using and if you simmered and covered it to start with. I’m sorry you felt compelled to give it the lowest possible rating because the rice wasn’t allowed to cook thoroughly.
Just give people an accurate representation of the time involved. It’s your recipe, not mine. I would also recommend boiling the broth before covering and reducing to simmer, another crucial step missing from the recipe. And, of course I didn’t eat it yet…still waiting for the rice to actually cook.
Thanks for the feedback, Brain!
Love finding kid friendly but grown up meals!
What a perfect family-friendly meal! Jambalaya is fabulous!
I love that you made jambalaya kid-friendly! I really love jambalaya as well, but sometimes the spices are too overpowering for people. This is a nice middle ground for everyone ๐
This does look like a weekday family meal and I’m sure the left over tastes wonderful the following day as well.
Yay for kid friendly! My kiddos would devour this (and so would I).
I have never heard of a jambalaya but this looks amazing! great if you can get the kids to eat it too.
What a great way to use up some leftover veggies – this looks like such a delicious pile of flavours and colours!
Yum! I’ve never made any kind of Jambalaya but it sounds delicious and I love how colorful yours is!
This looks like the perfect comfort food. It would be a hit with my family – I’ll definitely give this a go!