I absolutely LOVE me some jambalaya. Keto Jambalaya? Even better! For me, jambalaya is such a comfort food.
I remember being a kid and going to restaurants with my mom, and if they ever had jambalaya on the menu, we would both order it. And then she’d say, “that’s my kid.” Every single time.
Until I tried the ketogenic diet, jambalaya was always just a treat when I went out to eat… Now, I eat this dish all the time! This easy one-pot keto jambalaya is so flavorful, fast, and effortless. Plus, you only dirty ONE skillet. I mean, how could you not?
Life is short, so lets get right to it!
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The ingredients…
- 2 Andouille sausages (6 oz)
- 1 1/2 cup chicken, cooked & chopped
- 8 oz uncooked shrimp, peeled & divined
- 3 cups cauliflower rice
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 Jalapeno, seeded
- 1 Poblano pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 14 oz canned petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 3 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 3 tbsp oil of choice
- Cilantro
Cajun spice blend recipe (you can also just buy it premixed from the store, here).
This Cajun spice blend is a total of 3 tbsp (which is how much this dish calls for). I usually mix up a small mason jar of this, that way I only have to make it every few months.
Cajun Spice Mix recipe: 4 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1 1/4 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 3/4 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp lemon pepper.
How to fork it up…
There are two main ways you can mess this recipe up:
- Cooking the shrimp for too long. Overcooked shrimp is just nasty. To avoid the nasty, flip the shrimp once you start to see ANY bit of pink on the side not directly on the skillet, and then cook for another minute or two, until pink. Once they are done cooking, let them hang out on top of the veggies until ALL the shrimp is done cooking.
- Overcooking the cauliflower rice. This is a super common issue. The spices in the dish will cause your cauliflower rice to soak up much of the moisture. And then you wind up with wet, soggy cauli-rice. It’s gross, just trust me. To avoid this, we will cook the rice by itself and add it to the dish once everything else is done cooking.
Easy Keto Jambalaya Recipe…
- Chop sausages, chicken, peppers, & onion.
- In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp of oil, over medium-high heat. Cook cauliflower rice until browned, about 10 minutes.
- Move cauliflower rice to the side, on a heat-safe plate. Add 1 tbsp oil and sausages to the skillet, cook 3-5 minutes, until browned.
- Add another 1 tbsp oil to skillet, add peppers, onion, diced tomatoes (drained), diced chicken, & Cajun spices.
- Cook about 5 minutes, until vegetables soften, stir frequently.
- Move everything in the skillet to the sides, making a circle in the middle. Use this space to cook the shrimp. Cook about 1-3 minutes on each side (add a bit of oil if needed). Once cooked, move on top of the veggies until all shrimp are cooked.
- After the shrimp are all cooked, stir everything together. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add cauliflower rice to the mixture. Stir everything together well.
- Top with cilantro & enjoy!
Easy Keto Jambalaya Meal Prep Tips…
1. Cut up all the veggies (except cauliflower) and store them in an airtight container.
Dice up the red bell pepper, poblano pepper, onion, and jalapeno. (Remove seeds from all peppers). Store these ingredients together in an air tight container.
P.S.- DON’T forget to use gloves to avoid jalapeno hands. Jalapeno hands are mother-forking painful. If you haven’t heard of it, just google it. Basically, the oils from the pepper soak into your pores and BURN.
2. Have pre-cooked chicken on hand. Or use a left-over rotisserie chicken.
3. Shred your cauliflower ahead of time, on meal prep day. Or don’t save money, and buy frozen cauliflower rice.
I usually shred a head of cauliflower on my meal prep days. But, you can also buy pre-shredded frozen cauliflower. I hands down, prefer shredding my own cauli-rice. It’s just too simple! I use the shredding disc in my food processor and just shove those babies in. The whole process takes about 10 minutes, from start-to-clean-up.
Easy Keto Cauliflower Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 2 andouille sausages
- 1 1/2 cup chicken cooked, chopped
- 8 oz shrimp uncooked, peeled, divined
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded, diced
- 1 poblano pepper diced
- 1/4 cup red onion diced
- 14 oz canned petite diced tomatoes drained
- 2 cup cauliflower rice
- 3 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 3 tbsp oil
- cilantro for topping
Instructions
- Chop sausages, chicken, peppers, & onion.
- In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp of oil, over medium-high heat. Cook cauliflower rice until browned, about 10 minutes. Move cauliflower rice to the side, on a heat-safe plate.
- Add 1 tbsp of oil and sausages to the skillet, cook 3-5 minutes, until browned.
- Add another 1 tbsp oil to skillet, add peppers, onion, diced tomatoes (drained), diced chicken, & Cajun spices.
- Cook about 5 minutes, until vegetables soften, stir frequently.
- Move everything in the skillet to the sides, making a circle in the middle. Use this space to cook the shrimp. Cook about 1-3 minutes on each side (add a bit of oil if needed). Once cooked, move on top of the veggies until all shrimp are cooked.
- After the shrimp are all cooked, stir everything together. Cook about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add cauliflower rice to the mixture. Stir everything together well.
- Enjoy!