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Short-Order Kitchen

Sheet Pan Jambalaya

By Wes Ellis2 min read
A cast-iron pan of saffron rice with shrimp, grilled sausage, squid rings, peas, peppers and lemon wedges.
Recipe card
Servings
4
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
14 minutes
Method
Sheet pan
Heat
425°F
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 6 of the thread Weeknight dinners

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • 425°F: sausage and vegetables go first for 8 minutes.
  • Shrimp and canned tomatoes go in for the last 6 minutes. Don't overcook them.
  • The rice gets stirred in on the pan to soak up the juices.
  • Cauliflower rice keeps it low-carb; regular rice works too.
THE RECIPE · SHEET PAN JAMBALAYA

Ingredients

The pan

Seasoning

To finish

You'll need

  • Large rimmed baking sheet
  • Large bowl

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F.
  2. On the sheet pan, toss the onion, peppers and sausage with a light spray of oil and 1 tablespoon of the Creole seasoning. Spread it out in an even layer.
  3. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the remaining 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning and the paprika.
  4. Roast the sausage and vegetables 8 minutes, until the sausage starts to brown.
  5. Add the shrimp and the tomatoes with their juice, stir, and spread it back out.
  6. Roast 6 minutes more, just until the shrimp are pink and opaque.
  7. Stir the cooked rice right into the pan so it soaks up the juices, and serve.
Notes Best fresh; shrimp gets rubbery the longer it sits. Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge and reheat gently in a skillet or microwave. Creole blends vary a lot in salt and heat, so start light. Roughly 350 calories and 35 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/sheet-pan-jambalaya/

Proper jambalaya is a pot dish with a long simmer. This is the weeknight shortcut: a sheet pan, fourteen minutes of oven time, and the same smoky-spicy Creole flavor. It won't fool anyone from Louisiana. It will get dinner on the table.

Two stages, on purpose

Sausage and peppers need time to brown. Shrimp needs almost none. So the pan goes in twice: vegetables and sausage for 8 minutes, then shrimp and tomatoes for 6 more. Put the shrimp in at the start and they'll be tough and curled tight by the time the peppers are done.

Heads up

Pull the pan the moment the shrimp turn opaque. They keep cooking on the hot pan while you stir in the rice.

Rice goes on the pan

Stirring the rice straight onto the sheet pan is the move that makes this taste like jambalaya instead of sausage-and-shrimp next to rice. The tomato juice and seasoned drippings soak into it. Spread everything out in a single layer, too. A crowded pan steams instead of browning.

Try this

The same Creole, shrimp and sausage mix shows up in a bigger way in Slow Cooker Shrimp Boil. For a lighter sheet-pan shrimp dinner, see Sheet Pan Shrimp and Asparagus, and Seasoning Combos That Always Work covers blends if you're out of Creole.

LINKED FROM4 notes

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