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Easy-Does-It Jambalaya

A one-pot dish of sausage, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, tomatoes, and rice simmered together.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Easy-Does-It Jambalaya

Time30 minutes simmer

Ingredients

Directions

Make the jambalaya

  1. Place a Dutch oven over medium heat until hot.

  2. Add oil and sausage.

  3. Cook until sausage begins to brown, stirring frequently.

  4. Remove from pot and set aside.

  5. Add the chicken to the pot and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

  6. Add the pepper and onion mix, celery, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, sugar and garlic.

  7. Bring to a boil over high heat.

  8. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

  9. Add the shrimp and sausage.

  10. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp is opaque in center.

  11. Remove from heat.

  12. Add the rice and salt.

  13. Cover and let stand 15 minutes to absorb flavors and to cook the rice.

  14. Serve immediately.

Freeze and reheat

  1. To freeze, cool completely.

  2. Spoon 1½ cups jambalaya into a 1-quart freezer resealable plastic food storage bag.

  3. Release any excess air from bag and seal.

  4. To thaw, place bag in refrigerator overnight.

  5. Alternatively, place bag on a microwave-safe plate.

  6. Open bag and cook on high for 3 minutes or until hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

968Calories
89 gProtein
33 gFat
78 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Meatnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Turkey + chickentop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together688 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).

  5. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Turkey kielbasa sausage
Browns in the pot first, adding savory flavor to the fat and the base of the dish.
Chicken thigh meat
Adds savory body and tender, moist bites after simmering in the tomato base.
Diced tomatoes
Provide acidity and liquid that form the sauce the rice cooks in.
Shrimp
Cooks quickly in the hot mixture, becoming opaque and tender without much extra time.
Instant brown rice
Absorbs the cooking liquid and softens during the rest, becoming the body of the dish.

The step that matters

Cooking the shrimp. Shrimp turn firm and rubbery when overcooked. Adding them to the hot mixture and covering the pot lets them cook gently through, so checking for opaque centers matters.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, turkey, chicken, meat, pepper, celery, tomato):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, turkey, chicken, meat, pepper, celery, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

More jambalaya recipes

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