Enjoy making this one pot seafood jambalaya recipe We serve this as our family vacation dinner, and when feeding a crowd at home watching football.
It was our turn to have the family over for dinner. They are all big Steeler fans, so I was looking for something easy that could feed a crowd, and something they could eat in front of the TV. This is pretty much the same crowd of my siblings who we vacation at the beach with, and this year we did not go to the beach.
When we do go to the beach, we take turns cooking dinner. In the past, my husband and I have always tried to include some of the readily available fresh seafood as part of our dinner. A few times we made a great one pot seafood jambalaya. Even though Pittsburgh is not known for its seafood, it turns out that this recipe works great with frozen shrimp and scallops too.
This dish also has meat in it, however, you could easily leave it out. We use polish kielbasa, but have also added andouille sausage, as it is a traditional ingredient in most creole or Cajun recipes.
The biggest challenge to making this recipe is having a really large pot to cook it in. Can you use two pots? Of course, you can, but then it wouldn’t be a “one-pot” meal. 🙂
Maybe the best part of this one pot seafood jambalaya dish is that it’s ready by game time, so you get to sit back and enjoy the game, the company and the food, without having to scurry around preparing food to serve once people arrive at the party.
One Pot Seafood Jambalaya to Feed a Crowd
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic grated or crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon red pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 # polish kielbasa
- 1 # shrimp, raw, peeled and de-veined
- 1 # sea scallops
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 cups long grain rice
Instructions
- Saute onions, peppers, garlic and celery in olive oil for about 5 minutes.
- Add bay leaves, Creole seasoning, red pepper and oregano and stir well.
- Add tomatoes, kielbasa, rice, water and turmeric. Stir well.
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 mins or until rice is tender.
- Add shrimp and scallops.
- Simmer until shrimp is pink and scallops are opaque. About 10 minutes.
- Serve.
Notes
What does it mean to feed a crowd? When I say this feeds a crowd, I'm talking about somewhere in the range of 15-20 people. That's because we usually have other things like salad, bread, etc.. at our family gatherings. The 12 servings listed here is pretty conservative and would be nice hearty servings.
Other Recipes that Feed a Crowd:
Robin says
How many does this serve? You say a crowd, how many is a crowd?
Patti Estep says
Robin, this easily provides 12 good sized servings but if you are having a party and serving a few other dishes, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could feed close to double that amount.
Marcia says
Hi. Is this recipe very spicy.
Thank you.
Patti Estep says
Hi Marcia,
So glad to hear that you liked it!
Sandra L. says
Just stumbled on this recipe and it sounds delicious. I am lucky enough to live Cape May, NJ and seafood is always fresh here all year. We have tons of professional fishing boats that go out all year and you can fish on the jetties at the beach which is about 3 blocks from where I live. I love just about when it comes to fish or seafood except Oyster’s. I am going to half the recipe and when my youngest grandson (age 7)comes for his next visit make this for him. He loves shrimps and scallops so I know this will be a huge hit and he would be in heaven if I tossed in some crab.
Patti Estep says
Hi Sandra,
You are lucky to be able to get fresh seafood living so close to the shore. I’m sure your grandson will love it, and I think crab would be an excellent addition.
Have a great weekend!
Patti
Sandra L. says
I made this for my grandson and he loved it and we made enough for two dinners. We, I mean he, decided he wanted to save the crab for another time.
Patti Estep says
Hi Sandra,
So glad to hear that your grandson liked the dish. Two meals is great and crab is delicious any time of year.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend,
Patti
Italian Belly says
I’ve had Jambalaya on my mind for a while now but have never made it. Thanks for the recipe and great photos!
Patti Estep says
Hi Chandra,
This recipe was a big hit with my family. I did to make it more often. I hope you love it too.
Thanks for stopping by,
Patti
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
Oh my this looks good! Sorry it took so long to visit – I’m a tad behind!! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner link up!
melissa says
Patti
I was just thinking about making some Jambalaya the other day! This looks like a great recipe-Thanks for sharing this week at the Family Joy Blog Link Party!
Jeanne says
You had me at “One Pot” – looks divine…thanks for posting.
Patti Estep says
Hi Jeanne,
I hope you love it as much as we did. There were very few leftovers and even they were eaten the next day.
Thanks for stopping by,
Patti
Carole @ Garden Up Green says
This is one of my favorite meals.. and this looks so tasty! Pinning because I think it should be on the dinner menu next week. Yum!!
Patti Estep says
Hi Carole,
That means a lot coming from a true southerner. You’ll have to share some of your favorite Tex-Mex with me. My family loves anything spicy!