Shrimp Jambalaya Recipe (2024)

Use 3 cups of stock rather than 5 if your are serving over rice. The uncooked rice in the recipe, if used, will absorb 2 cups of stock. The reason some found this soupy is because 5 cups of stock without uncooked rice is too much liquid

The blandness is because Paul Prudhomme uses quite a lot of spices in his cooking, which although this recipe claims to be adapted from his recipe, it certainly lacks. Paul calls for 2 bay leaves, 1.5 tsp salt, 1.5 tsp ground cayenne, 1.5 tsp of oregano, 1.25 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, .75 tsp thyme. Note: the white pepper is in almost all his jambalayas, it adds heat. Oregano only appears in seafood jambalaya. Don't use pimenton. Use tomatoes and tomato sauce.

For someone who has criticized others for making substitutions, I have to admit I used uncured Andouille sausage sliced up instead of ham. It was very straight forward and a great meal for a cold night before a blizzard.

Read the label carefully, as San Marzano tomatoes are not necessarily from Italy anymore. I got a can that turned out to be domestic, and they were underripe and a waste of money.

You can freeze this if you make a few changes: (1) Do NOT add the rice; (2) Do NOT add the shrimp; (3) Simmer the sauce with all of the other ingredients as directed in Step 3 for 15 minutes. Portion the sauce into small containers, cool, cover and freeze for up to 3 months. To finish bring the sauce to a low simmer, add the shrimp and simmer only until the shrimp are firm (no more than 4-5 minutes). Serve rice on the side. I prefer extra garlic, red pepper flakes and Andouille for more flavor.

Better served immediately or could I prepare 24 hrs. Before serving & refrigerate.....would the flavors meld & taste better the next day (..like lots of soups & stews)?!?! Having 10 for dinner tomorrow night & trying to get as much done ahead of time as possible.

Pescetarian here. Subbed chanterelle mushrooms + old bay seasoning for the ham - it was delicious.

This is hilarious. Why did you even use this recipe? I am from Louisiana. Chef Paul Prudhomme is one of the most celebrated Creole chefs in history; former EC of Commander's Palace and Prudhomme's Creole Kitchen, both New Orleans' icons. As is his Jambalaya. And while this comment has no reflection on the taste of what you made, I'm certain you enjoyed it, I can assure you it would be returned at every table to which it was served as "Jambalaya." Brown Rice? Wine? Charizo? Paprika?

I used chopped pork belly instead of the ham, and I added a large finely diced jalapeño with the other vegetables. I also used a liberal splash of tabasco. Even still it was a very mild but delicious jambalaya. All guests added more Tabasco to their servings. The shrimp really only needed to cook for a couple of minutes. Any longer and they would have been tough. I think it is best to indicate that the shrimp should be cooked until they are pink.

I use Andouille rather than ham and would agree with some other posters that it could use a little more spice either through the addition of jalapeno or tabasco.

Great base recipe. I used two types of linguica, white wine, tomato achaar, smoked paprika added more garlic to give the sauce more depth/flavor since the simmering time is weeknight short. Served over red beans and rice.

What do people think about freezing leftovers of this? Or would the shrimp become too mushing after thawing? Too large a recipe for 2 people and not sure about cutting it in half.

Pierre Franey died nearly twenty years ago, well before all this foodie taste-testing was the norm. In 1983, when this recipe first appeared, it was hardly "over the top" to specify imported ingredients if quality was your goal.

Made this as written (including the shrimp shell stock) and thought it was over the top delicious. And considering how rich it tastes, it’s pretty healthy! Used previously frozen wild shrimp and some crushed dry farmed tomatoes I froze late last summer when they were at their peak (though I’m sure canned would do fine) and some leftover ham I happened to have on hand. Easy and company worthy.

Used 3 cups of broth from Pierre Franey's Shrimp Broth recipe. Substituted andouille sausage for the ham. Used 2 bay leaves, 1.5 tsp salt, 1.5 tsp ground cayenne, 1.5 tsp of oregano, 1.25 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, .75 tsp thyme. I do not recommend the cayenne when using andouille sausage- way too spicey!!This is a lovely flavorful dish if not too spicy from the cayenne.

I doubled the amount of thyme and oregano, and it turned out delicious! I cooked the rice separately so it would keep better, because it made quite a lot.

Really good with a kielbasa. I used turkey. I like to cook the roux a little darker & also peeled tomatoes in can (I break them up by hand as I add to the pot to yield a chunky consistency.Also adjusted as follows based on an earlier comment -- - 2 bay leaves- 1.5 tsp salt, pepper...adjust to taste- 1 tsp thyme- 1.5 tsp cayenne (7/10 on my heat scale which was perfect; would need to dial back for some)- 1.5 tsp oregano- .25 tsp white pepper

Agree with Jeff on reducing the broth and I substituted sausage. So delicious!

Jambalaya is not a soup nor is it a stew. It is a pilaf or more accurately a rendition of paella done in the new world concocted by the Spanish and the French in the melting pot of New Orleans using Native American ingredients. I'm really unsure how it became relegated up north to a soup or a stew? Was it the Seinfeld episode that did it? If you go to Louisiana, you are going to get a rice dish, not a soup nor a stew.

Delicious jambalaya! That said, I added oil, then cooked bacon and diced salami. I removed the meat from the pan and then deglazed the pan with a little bit of beef broth, added 1 tbs of oil, and then cooked the veggies. I didn’t have shrimp broth and thought water would be too bland so I used beef broth instead. Really delicious!

My partner made this and it was amazing. 1 cup of Malbec instead of shrimp broth. 2 c of water and 2 c of white wine instead of broth. I love him :).

The nice thing about Prudhomme's recipe is that the result is not a paste.

This may have been tasty to New Yorkers when Pierre Franey was writing, but it’s not to this Texan from Houston (not far from NOLA). Totally lacking in depth. Rather than to try to save it, next time I’ll us Paul Prudhomme’s or Leon Soniat’s version. In the meantime, we have leftovers which I will figure out how to jazz up.

Solid, easy dish, hardest part was cleaning the shrimp. will make again.Made a few changes based on previous comments - used about 4 tablespoons of cajun seasoning blend, used a mix of fire roasted chopped tomatoes and a regular can of tomatoes, used brown rice and increased the cooking time to 40 minutes. Used store bought fish broth instead of water. My guests loved it..

Made as written but with 4 cups of broth. People are correct. It's good but need a bit more spice and heat.

I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Great addition for spicy.

Needs more spices!

andouille sausage