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Spicy sausage and tender shrimp make this Jambalaya Pasta a dinner that’ll leave everyone asking for seconds. This saucy one-pot pasta is a weeknight dinner you are going to love.
This dish is loaded with fantastic flavor from Cajun spices. Both the kids and the adults in this house agree it’s a hit!
Jambalaya Pasta
The components of jambalaya are so well suited to serving with pasta. We love all kinds of noodle-based dishes, from simple Italian-inspired classics like Mongolian Beef with Noodles, and our beloved Stir-Fry Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables.
I’m always looking for interesting takes on pasta, since I know everyone in my family likes it. Recently, I posted this Cheesy Pizza Pasta Bake and Mexican Baked Pasta.
When I saw this recipe for Jambalaya Pasta in my friend Valerie’s new cookbook, The Foolproof Family Slow Cooker, I marked it to try first. This cookbook is full of both slow-cooker and one-pot recipes that are sure to make your meal planning easier.
And I’m happy to report that this first recipe I tried did not disappoint. I’ve already made it again, just to have more leftovers for my lunches!
What is Jambalaya?
Jambalaya is a classic Cajun dish that consists of chicken, shrimp, and sausage all cooked together in one pot, usually with rice. It’s a little like a stew, thick and completely satisfying with every bite.
Instead of rice, this Jambalaya recipe uses pasta. The version I’m sharing today has been a hit with everyone who’s tried it.
I’ve made it a couple of times now and I’m super happy to tell you it actually tastes even better the next day. I made it the second time, just to have it in the fridge for a few easy reheatable lunches.
Cajun Jambalaya Pasta
With andouille sausage, shrimp, and chicken, this recipe is perfect for meat lovers. The meat is skillet browned with Cajun spices and the shrimp is simmered in a cream sauce with chicken broth and tomato.
Everything comes together in one pot with cooked noodles along with cooked bell peppers, onion, and garlic. I served this in big bowls and everyone ate it with enthusiasm.
This jambalaya pasta recipe is so warming and comforting – perfect for these cooler autumn nights we’re enjoying lately!
If you like this Jambalaya Pasta recipe, you will also want to try this Creamy Cajun Pasta!
Can I substitute kielbasa sausage for andouille sausage?
Yes! It’s an easily accessible and often more affordable option. We enjoyed the andouille sausage in the original recipe but any smoked sausage would work well, too.
If you’ve been reading here for a while, you’ll have noticed that kielbasa is a frequent ingredient in our meals. Affordable and versatile, it’s a meat I almost always have in the fridge.
The spicy smoky flavors pair well with light fresh shrimp, like in this Kielbasa and Shrimp Fried Rice and are also a natural fit for jambalaya.
This recipe makes a good amount of food. Even so, I double the amount of shrimp and use the full amount of sausage in the recipe because my family is full of meat-eaters.
You might find you don’t need the full 14 ounces of sausage. If you’re feeding a family, I recommend starting with the full amount and then adjusting from there each time you make it.
It’s so good that I’m sure you’ll want to make Jambalaya Pasta over and over again!
One of the things I love about cooking the same favorite recipes regularly is that with time they become perfectly customized to you and your family’s own taste. I’ve already made a few adjustments to the original recipe from the cookbook based on what we like.
My kids are big on spicy flavors, for example, so I punched up the seasoning to a medium heat – you can do this too, by adding an extra teaspoon or so of Cajun spices. If you like less heat, start with the amount listed in the recipe below.
Jambalaya Pasta Recipe
- Drizzle 1 tbsp oil into a large deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven and place it over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sausage. Spread across the pot and cook for 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir and cook an additional minute or two. Transfer the sausage to a large bowl next to the stove.
- Add the remaining oil to the pot and then add the chicken. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of Cajun spices and stir to coat. Cook for 3 minutes, stir and continue cooking for a couple more minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and bell peppers. Stir and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to the bowl with the sausage.
- Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and remaining 2 teaspoons of spices to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta to the liquids. Stir, reduce to a simmer and cover with lid. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, stir to separate the pasta as needed. Add the cream and shrimp. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer 5 more minutes, until the shrimp is pinkish-orange and cooked through and the pasta is cooked to al-dente.
- Add the sausage, chicken, and vegetables back to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, only if needed. Sprinkle generously with fresh parsley. Remove from the heat and let rest for a few minutes before serving.
One-Pot Pasta
Raise your hand if you hate doing dishes as much as I do.
I admit it. For all the cooking and baking I do, I’ve hardly learned to tolerate the clean-up. That’s why I’m a huge fan of homemade recipes that use just a few dishes.
In this case, you only need one pan to make jambalaya pasta.
One-pot pasta recipes not only save clean up effort and time, but they also save space. If you’re cooking in a small space or sharing a kitchen with other cooks, recipes that don’t use every burner at once are essential.
You could also make this recipe gluten-free by serving with your favorite gluten-free noodles or over rice instead of pasta. (Just be sure your chicken broth and cajun seasoning mix are gluten-free too.)
Now that we live in Ohio where we’ll experience “real” winter, I can’t wait to fill our dinner menus with hearty soups, chilis, and stews of all kinds. We’re pulling out the sweaters, getting the slow cooker ready and so excited to see the seasons change!
Filled with fresh vegetables, tangy Italian dressing, and delightful twirls of pasta, you’ll want to savor each bite of this California Spaghetti Salad.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil, divided
- 8-14 ounces andouille or smoked sausage, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the diagonal
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp, plus 1 tsp Cajun seasoning mix, divided
- 1 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, about 1 cup's worth
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces, about 1 cup's worth
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces dry linguine or spaghetti pasta, broken in half
- ½ lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed (31-40 ct)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped small
- additional salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Drizzle 1 tbsp oil into a large deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven and place it over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sausage. Spread across the pot and cook for 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir and cook an additional minute or two. Transfer the sausage to a large bowl next to the stove.
- Add the remaining oil to the pot and then add the chicken. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of Cajun spices and stir to coat. Cook for 3 minutes, stir and continue cooking for a couple more minutes.
- Add the onion, garlic, and bell peppers. Stir and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to the bowl with the sausage.
- Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and remaining 2 teaspoons of spices to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta to the liquids. Stir, reduce to a simmer and cover with lid. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, stir to separate the pasta as needed. Add the cream and shrimp. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer 5 more minutes, until the shrimp is pinkish-orange and cooked through and the pasta is cooked to al-dente.
- Add the sausage, chicken, and vegetables back to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, only if needed. Sprinkle generously with fresh parsley. Remove from the heat and let rest for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 9/9/19 – recipe notes and photos updated 6/16/22}
I just finished making this and I have to admit…it took all my will-power not to sit down and eat the whole potful. This is absolutely THE BEST Jambalaya I have eaten. Thank-You for a delicious dinner.
These photos are just gorgeous, Mary! Thanks so much for your kind words and I’m so happy your family loved the pasta. 🙂
Thank YOU for the awesome recipe! We loved the pasta so much.
This was soooo good. It was a little spicy but the cream tones it down. So much flavor. I made a half recipe as it was just my husband and myself so I have a suggestion for anyone else doing the same. Add more broth or tomatoes so you have enough liquid to cook noodles. Also I cooked the sausage and chicken as written. Then I removed them and cook the onions, peppers and garlic by themselves and left them in pot to cook with the tomatoes and liquids. Just a delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear that you loved the recipe, Judy!
Can you substitute Chorizo for the Andouille?
Absolutely, Sandy. I bet that will be delicious.
Loved this recipe! My husband always talks about the jambalaya pasta dish Joey’s Restaurant used to serve back in the day and how he was disappointed when he realized most other versions of jambalaya are served with rice. I made this for his birthday dinner and he absolutely loved it. I couldn’t find the andouille sausage so I used spicy hot chorizo and it was delicious. Thanks for an awesome recipe-adding it to our family favourites.
I am so happy that you love the pasta, Jackie!
I’m a little confused. Do you put the pasta in the pot uncooked? Seems like it, but the text says you can use the same pot to cook the pasta.
Yes, the pasta is added to the sauce uncooked and it simmers in the sauce. Thanks for catching that mistake in the text, Dave!
This looks awesome – I will be making this fall/winter for sure!
Can you use frozen shrimp instead of raw?
I use frozen every time, just thaw in the fridge before cooking, Rick.
Do you drain the can of diced tomatoes?
I do not drain the tomatoes, Jennifer.
Just made this recipe! Very good. It does have a good kick. My husband’s only critique is that next time I make it add mushrooms. 😂
I’m team mushrooms as well, so I say when in doubt, ALWAYS add mushrooms, Vikki.
I have always wanted to try jambalaya but I hate rice mixed in my food. This was so good my husband says keep it on the list.
I think that’s why I love this so much too, Marci!
Could I leave out the tomatoes? I don’t eat them. Could I use the same amount of crushed tomatoes.
Thanks, Janet
Sure, that would work, Janet.
I am unable to print this recipe. I hope you can fix this at your end. Thank You! This looks delicious! I ordered and received the magnetic recipe holder, at your recommendation, and LOVE it! Thank You , again!
Pat
Hi Pat, I just tested the recipe print feature and it worked fine. It sounds like it may be a printer issue. Hopefully you’ll be able to print it and enjoy the pasta soon!
Absolutely delicious!
Awesome!
Excellent taste, I’ll definitely be making this again!! I was drawn to the pictures, but loved the “hate to do dishes” & “1 pot” concept…which it is not unfortunately.
I follow recipe directions to the letter the first time always, then decide what I would do different. So I mis-gauged the ‘side bowl size’ first thus had to use a second bowl for chicken/veggies. But again the taste far outweighs any clean up.
I changed up a few things, so the questions as to the sausage should be put to rest. It really shouldn’t matter, and in my case I feel it did not. I would have liked to seen more liquid when I started the noodles, as someone suggests but the end result justified the lack there of. So I would leave that part alone.
Thank you Mary again so much for the idea/suggestion!!
Thank you for sharing what worked for you. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe, Ed.
when do I add the cream?
Hi, Donna! The cream should be added to the pan with the shrimp after the pasta finishes cooking.
My only feedback is to double the recipe to have a lot of leftovers. You’re going to want them.
I feel the same way about this one, Eleen!
This recipe looks tasty and I’m trying soon! Can I substitute evaporated milk for the heavy cream? Thank you
I haven’t tried that myself, Emmie, but it should work fine.
We recently traveled to Hilton Head, Savannah, and Charleston and thoroughly enjoyed all the food. I found your recipe and decided I had to try it because my family and I already miss all the food. This was an absolute 10 for all of us. My husband said this is the BEST DISH I have ever made for him!! Thanks so much for sharing! Our kids loved it so much too!
YAY! I’m so glad you like the recipe, Megan.
Very tasty dish that I modified sightly due to ingredients I had on hand: shrimp and spicy chicken sausage, relatively low fat fettuccine alfredo sauce instead of cream, Anaheim peppers instead of bell peppers, red onion instead of yellow onion, and fettuccine pasta instead of linguini. Came out great. And spicy hot! One pot aspect is a great convenience.
I’m happy to hear that it was a hit, Guido!
Delicious recipe, but 20 minute prep time is ludicrous unless you have every ingredient pre-sliced and just need to pull them out of a container to weigh them up. It’s more like about two-hour prep time (and it would have been even more if I felt like I really needed to de-vein the prawns/shrimp).
It still gets four stars because the end result is still quite good, but really recipe websites need to be more realistic about prep times. It won’t prevent me from making it again, mind you, but the white lie “prep time” of recipe websites is a windmill I’m happy to tilt at again and again. My basic rule of thumb is to multiply any “prep time” on a recipe website by about 4 and you’ll get a more accurate picture of how much prep time you actually need. 🙂
I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Carl. I’m sorry to hear that the prep time didn’t work out for you, I’m glad you were able to roll with it though. While I do time myself making the recipes and I add 5 minutes to my own time, it sounds like I need to reassess that method of setting the time for some recipes. (And you’re right about the shrimp. I do buy my shrimp peeled and de-veined, as I simply have no patience for that myself most of the time. And it adds significantly to the amount of time required here.)