Rice Cooker Sausage Jambalaya – An easy one pot rice dish filled with sausage and black-eyed peas. It only has 5 ingredients!
Hey everyone! I have a fun new feature on my blog called Cajun Cookin’. I’m so excited to share some of my recipes that are very near and dear to my heart. They come from one of the best cuisines on Earth-Cajun Food! Okay, maybe I’m a little biased, but our food down here in Louisiana has so much flavor, and I’m excited to share some of these dishes with you.
I thought I’d start off with an easy weeknight Cajun dish, Rice Cooker Sausage Jambalaya. Normally Jambalaya is a Sunday dinner at our house, but every now and then, it’s nice to enjoy on a busy weeknight.
This dish couldn’t get easier! Five ingredients and a rice cooker and you are on your way to a great Cajun dinner!
Plus, you’ve got your protein and sides all in one pot. Less clean up=a happier mommy!
UPDATE: This recipe has been modified to make it lower in sodium as of 12/28/15. I reduced the amount of french onion soup and replaced it with water. I also replaced black-eyed peas with bacon to a regular can of black-eyed peas. This helped cut down on the salt quite a bit. We really enjoyed it!
- ½ lb. smoked sausage, thinly sliced
- ½ can french onion soup (about a ½ cup)
- ½ cup water
- 1 can Rotel (mild) or diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can blackeyed peas, undrained
- 1½ cups uncooked rice*
- *If using the rice cooker measuring cup, use 2 of those cups for the rice since they are actually ¾ cup.
- Mix all ingredients in rice cooker.
- Start the rice cooker.
- Once it finishes, allow it to set for 5 minutes. (Do not lift the lid).
- Turn the rice cooker back on again. It will cook for a shorter cycle this time. Let it set for 10 minutes after it goes off.
- Stir and check rice to make sure it is done. If not, add a little more water (about 2 tbsp), stir, and set it to cook again.
**I also use medium-grain rice.
UPDATE: This recipe has been modified to make it lower in sodium as of 12/28/15. I reduced the amount of french onion soup and replaced it with water. I also replaced black-eyed peas with bacon to a regular can of black-eyed peas. This helped cut down on the salt quite a bit.
Other recipes you might like:
Cajun Boiled Shrimp Stuffed Potato
One-Pot Cajun Black-Eyed Peas & Rice
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Here are some great rice cookers to check out if you need one:
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
September 5, 2014 at 10:17 amOoohhhh I’m totally digging this Cajun Cookin’ feature! Can’t wait to see more fabulous recipes like this one. Looooovvveeee that there are only 5 ingredients!
Jaren says
September 5, 2014 at 9:49 pmThanks Julie!
Cnw says
December 30, 2016 at 1:16 amMy rice cooker has settings for white and brown rice and automatically switches to “keep warm” after the cooking cycle. How should I follow the recipe? All of the “start agains” have me a little confused because of all my different settings and the keep warm feature.
Jaren says
December 30, 2016 at 7:43 amHi! My rice cooker also switches to keep warm. I just restart it again. This cycle will be much shorter since it is just cooking a little more of the moisture out. I usually need to do that twice to make sure it is done. Hope this helps!
CNW says
December 31, 2016 at 10:35 pmJaren, I made this last night and unfortunately my rice turned out very mushy and the bottom was burnt.. I ran the white rice cycle two times waiting 5 minutes in keep warm mode before starting the second cycle and ten minutes in keep warm after the second cycle before opening to stir. Could you give me any tips for next time? Should I stir more, or run a third cycle? PS this was my first time using my new rice maker.. Loved the recipe, it was very tasty! thanks for posting!
Jaren says
January 1, 2017 at 9:38 amHi! It sounds like your rice cooker gets a little hotter than mine. Did it seem like there was still too much liquid in it but the rice was cooked? If so, I would add less liquid next time. If the rice wasn’t cooked, I would run a third cycle. I do have a little rice stick to the bottom on mine. Hope this helps and I really appreciate your feedback!!
Debra @ Worth Cooking says
September 5, 2014 at 9:13 pmThat is so creative to make it in the rice cooker! I love our rice cooker, but have only ever used it for rice.
Jaren says
September 5, 2014 at 9:48 pmThanks Debra! It really makes it so easy!
Kim Beaulieu says
September 5, 2014 at 11:15 pmI want a heaping bowl of this right now. Looks seriously delicious.
Jaren says
September 6, 2014 at 11:36 amThanks Kim! It smells divine too!
Don Tran says
March 30, 2015 at 12:41 pmCan I use brown rice with this recipe?
Jaren says
March 30, 2015 at 12:57 pmHi Don! I do not cook with brown rice very often, but I know it would be fine. You would probably need to increase the amount of liquid in the recipe though since I think it requires a little more than white rice. I would try adding about 1/2 cup of water to the recipe. Thanks for visiting!
ezekiel says
May 4, 2015 at 8:12 pmdo I need to add 4 cups of water to the recipe like I would normally do when making 2 cups of white rice??
Jaren says
May 5, 2015 at 9:53 pmHi Ezekiel! No, you do not need to add water. The french onion soup has a lot of liquid and leaving the liquid from the cans will help too. Thanks for visiting!
Jaren says
June 27, 2015 at 12:08 pmHi Krists! Yes, use 2 cups of uncooked rice. Hope you enjoy!
Vickie says
August 7, 2015 at 5:33 pmI do not have a rice cooker,, any suggestion
Jaren says
August 7, 2015 at 8:57 pmI think this would work on the stove with perhaps a little more water to keep it from burning or sticking too bad. Bring it all to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low and let cook with lid on for 20-30 minutes. Check it. If rice is still hard add a little more water to it, cover and let cook some more. Thanks for visiting Vickie!
Laura says
October 1, 2015 at 12:12 pmCould you just chicken broth or water instead of the French onion soup? I think that might have less sodium? Or does the onion soup add to the flavor?
Jaren says
October 1, 2015 at 1:25 pmHi Laura! Yes, I think that would be just fine! The French Onion soup does give it a distinct flavor, but I think the chicken broth would work too. Thanks for visiting!
Jaren says
December 28, 2015 at 10:22 pmLaura, I updated this post with a less sodium version in case you are interested.
Jaren says
December 22, 2015 at 9:20 pmHi Fatimah! I’m sorry you found the dish too salty. I agree that sometimes those condensed soup cans can be on the salty side, and I don’t believe they make this one in a low-sodium variety (which I typically like to buy). I also think that salt is such a personal preference and varies according to what you are accustomed to eating. I will try testing out this recipe next week using 1/2 the amount of soup and replace the other half with water, and see how it works and will adjust the recipe if it turns out okay. Thanks for your feedback. Throwing away food breaks my heart.
Jaren says
December 28, 2015 at 10:20 pmRecipe has been updated 🙂
Jaren says
December 29, 2015 at 7:19 pmIt’s 2 cups of raw, uncooked rice Susan. I use the cup that comes with the rice cooker too. Thanks for visiting!
Susan says
December 30, 2015 at 5:19 pmI made this recipe last night and it was delicious! Although your reply was super speedy, (Thank you) I was making it before you had a chance to reply and opted to use the measuring cup that came with the ricer. That cup is slightly less than the standard dry measuring cup. I’m sure either option works fine.
Thanks again. Putting this one in the rotation!
🙂
Jaren says
December 30, 2015 at 5:27 pmGood to know Susan! I always use the rice cooker one when I measure my rice. Thanks so much for letting me know how you all liked it! Happy New Year!
Jaren says
March 1, 2016 at 8:58 pmThanks Tara! I’ll put a note in the recipe.
Evelyn says
March 22, 2016 at 10:55 amHave rice cooker that I have used lots . Glad to get the Jambalaya sausage recipe.can’t wait to try. Thanks Eve
Jaren says
March 22, 2016 at 8:55 pmThanks Evelyn! We love this one!
Kelsey says
April 12, 2016 at 4:17 pmThis was yummy! I made a few changes: I didn’t have any french onion soup, so I used one beef bouillon cube, sautéed onions and water. My husband likes a lot of meat, so I doubled the smoked sausage and also added 1/3 lb of crumbled sausage. And because we like heat, a fresh chopped jalapeño. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Jaren says
April 16, 2016 at 7:06 amHi Kelsey!!! I love how you changed it up and made your own french onion soup!! Thanks so much for letting me know!
Marian says
November 8, 2016 at 10:43 amJust got a rice cooker for my birthday and I can’t wait to try this! I’m curious though: how many servings does this recipe yield? Thanks!
Jaren says
November 8, 2016 at 9:35 pmHi Marian! This serves about 4 to 6. Hope you enjoy!
Cal says
December 21, 2016 at 2:32 pmDo you know about how long the rice cooker takes to cook this? Just wondering for timing. Thanks!
Jaren says
December 22, 2016 at 2:18 pmHi Cal! It takes around 45 minutes depending on the rice cooker. I usually have to restart it two times after the original first cook time to make sure it is ready.
chad price says
January 2, 2017 at 11:15 pmIf one only has a 6 cup rice cooker, how much would i need to cut out of the recipe?
Jaren says
January 2, 2017 at 11:21 pmHi Chad! My goodness…that’s a tough question. My rice cooker is 8 cups. I’m tempted to tell you to make the full recipe because it may be okay in a 6 cup. However, maybe you should half the recipe and see how it does in your rice cooker the first time you make it. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Deb says
April 26, 2017 at 12:42 pmPlease include slow cooker options along with your recipe. Not all of us have a rice cooker 🙁
Jaren says
April 28, 2017 at 5:36 amHi Deb! I’ve never cooked rice in a slow cooker other than to add in a bag of instant rice at the end of the cooking time. This dish can be made on the stove top if you’d like. I’ll have to test it out soon and update it with those directions too. Thanks for visiting.
Nancy says
July 10, 2017 at 7:40 pmDarn ! I just gave my rice cooker away ! This sounds delicious ! I see that you said it could be tried on the stove; how about a crockpot ?
Jaren says
July 11, 2017 at 7:45 amHi Nancy! I have never tried to cook rice in a crockpot. You could try to do everything in crockpot except for rice and then try to throw in a couple of bags of cooked instant rice at the end. Thanks for visiting!
Kelley says
October 28, 2017 at 10:55 pmI just made this for my toddler and his friend.. In addition to the smoked sausage, I also cooked some bacon and crumbled them. The kids loved it so did the adults. Definitely adding this recipe to family dinner rotation
Jaren says
October 29, 2017 at 6:27 amThanks Kelley! so glad you liked it!
Ashley says
November 21, 2017 at 6:48 pmI just received a 30 cup cooker as a wedding gift and I am horrible at cooking. This would be awesome for my husband, what is your recommendation for the recipe and the amount to cook? Thanks!!
Ashley says
November 21, 2017 at 6:49 pmSorry I meant 20 cup!
Jaren says
November 21, 2017 at 10:59 pmHi Ashley! I would follow the recipe as stated. My rice cooker is smaller (it’s an 8 cup…makes 16 cooked cups), but it should still work fine.
Nick says
July 8, 2018 at 9:43 pmSo it says 1 and half cups for rice in original, but to use 2 of the cups that come with rice cooker because they are really 3/4of a cup, (which equals 1 and a half still..) but in comments use 2 REAL CUPS?? And why not make edit to 1 cup of water in original or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup French onion soup instead relying on afterthoughts. Good recipe but confusing method.
Jaren says
July 9, 2018 at 7:55 amHi Nick! Please follow the recipe (for 1 1/2 cups of uncooked rice), which was updated a few years ago. I deleted the comments that mentioned 2 cups since that was from the original recipe, and it did make it confusing.
Tracy says
August 15, 2018 at 1:45 pmI wanted to make this so bad but didn’t want to run to the store for French onion soup. I just sub’d 1 cup of beef broth for the ½ cup of water and French onion soup. It was delicious! Perfectly cooked and super quick to prepare in the rice cooker. I, too, added a serrano pepper, diced onions and mushrooms (sauteed in the rice cooker pot) and sprinkled the finished pot with Black River Creole Seasoning. This is going in our meal rotation for sure! Thanks so much Ü
Jaren says
August 16, 2018 at 4:41 amHi Tracy! Thanks so much for sharing!
Geoff says
April 7, 2019 at 3:14 pmThis is a great recipe. We don’t cook a lot, and when we do we usually keep it as simple as possible. I was looking for an easy jambalaya recipe and found this one. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out in the rice cooker, but it worked perfectly, and this literally couldn’t be easier. I followed the directions exactly, except for using a turkey smoked sausage and I probably used about 3/4 of a lb of it instead of just a 1/2 lb. It’s moist, flavorful, and filling. My wife said she would prefer not to have the black-eyed peas, but I like them. They give a little bit of an earthy flavor and add to the texture. I’ll also add, it was even better the next day. This will be in our rotation.
Jaren says
April 8, 2019 at 9:44 pmHi Geoff! I’m so glad you liked it! I love the black-eyed peas too!