Copycat Red Lobster's Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya With A Kick

Eating out is quite the indulgence these days — even a simple dish like jambalaya, which was once a dish that penny-pinching Cajuns made with what was on hand, may run you around $20 at a chain restaurant like Red Lobster. If you enjoy Red Lobster's version, which is made with shrimp and Cajun sausage, you may be able to stir up an entire batch of this duplicate recipe for less than what a plate will cost you.

"This copycat Red Lobster jambalaya recipe is hearty, delicious, and while it may have quite a few ingredients, it's very easy to prepare and can be on the table in about 45 minutes," says recipe developer Julianne De Witt. With grain, vegetables, and protein, it makes a one-pot meal, but you can add a side salad or bread for a hearty (yet still wallet-friendly) dinner. As far as the heat level goes, De Witt notes that "It's mildly spicy, but more heat can be added by serving it with hot sauce on the side." You can also add extra seasoning to the recipe à la Red Lobster, since the chain allows patrons to order its jambalaya either spicy or extra spicy.

The spice mix is made with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, cayenne, and black pepper, but you can substitute a store-bought Cajun seasoning mix if you wish. For the jambalaya itself, you'll need andouille sausage (if unavailable, another smoked sausage such as kielbasa will work), shrimp, an onion, green and red bell peppers, celery, garlic, canned tomatoes, orzo, a bay leaf, salt, and olive oil. Chopped chives add a touch of green to the finished dish.

Mix the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, cayenne, and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large braising pan over medium-high heat.

Add the sausage and brown on both sides. Remove the sausage and set aside.

Add the onion, peppers, celery, and garlic to the pan. Stir and cook until the vegetables are soft, approximately 5 minutes.

Stir in the chicken stock and tomatoes.

Add the bay leaf and 2 to 3 tablespoons (or more to taste) of the spice mixture, stirring to combine.

Add the orzo. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo not quite al dente.

Stir in the salt.

Add the sausage and shrimp. Stir and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through.

Remove the bay leaf and garnish the jambalaya with chives before serving.

• Spicy Charred Creole Salad Recipe
• Cobb Salad Recipe
• Crispy Fried Okra Recipe
• Southern-Style Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe

Jambalaya is one of those recipes that can be customized in a number of ways and still retain its character. As this recipe is Red Lobster-inspired, you can use other types of seafood in place of (or in addition to) the shrimp, including crayfish, white fish, scallops, or even lobster. You could also make a seafood-free jambalaya using chicken. The andouille can be replaced with a different kind of sausage, too: chicken, turkey, Italian, bratwurst, pretty much anything but breakfast sausage. (Smoked sausages are going to give you a more Cajun-like flavor, though.)

Another way to make your jambalaya a bit more budget-friendly is to swap out the orzo for plain white rice. Conversely, you could use another tiny pasta, a grain such as quinoa, or a vegetable substitute like cauliflower rice. The spices, too, can be changed up a bit — smoked paprika instead of regular, extra cayenne or crushed red pepper to increase the heat, and perhaps a pinch of filé powder. If you can find tasso ham, which is another ingredient often used in jambalaya, you can chop it up and add it to the pan along with the sausages.

One way to make this multi-ingredient recipe a little easier on yourself is to measure all of the ingredients before you begin. (There's even a fancy French term to describe this practice: mise en place, which is a restaurant cooking technique chefs think you ought to be using at home.) Apart from that, the best way to achieve success is to simply follow the recipe as written (apart from any ingredient tweaks you may wish to make).

Browning the sausage first, as the recipe specifies, will add depth to the flavor, as will sauteing the vegetables in the leftover sausage grease. The latter is also economical, since you don't need to add any extra oil or butter. As for the orzo, the recipe says to stir it occasionally, but don't interpret this too loosely. Regular stirring will ensure that it doesn't stick to the pan. Also, the reason you'll want to take the pasta off the heat while it's not quite al dente is that it will continue to soften in the residual heat. Finally, be careful not to overcook the shrimp, but don't let it be underdone, either. The easiest way to know how well your shrimp is cooked is to check that it's turned opaque at the head end.

• One-Pot Jambalaya Recipe
• Gumbo Recipe
• Andouille Po'Boy French Bread Pizza Recipe
• Stewed Okra And Tomatoes With Sausage Recipe