PASTALAYA is a delightful one-pot dish that combines the flavors of jambalaya with pasta. This recipe features seasoned chicken, smoked sausage, shrimp, linguini pasta, and a medley of vegetables, all simmered together in a rich Cajun cream sauce.
Jambalaya pasta (Pastalaya) is a delicious twist on traditional Jambalaya. This delightful one pot Cajun pasta dish features a medley of seasoned chicken, smoked sausage, shrimp, and vegetables, all simmered together in a flavorful Cajun sauce, tossed with linguini pasta. It's a hearty and satisfying dish that brings the vibrant tastes of Louisiana right to your table, making it perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or perfect for feeding a crowd.
The best part about this recipe is that the pasta cooks right in the delicious sauce, absorbing all the flavors and creating a satisfying one-pot meal. It yields a generous portion, ensuring you'll have plenty of leftovers to enjoy later. Since this dish is quite filling, I enjoy pairing it with a skillet of cornbread or my simple no knead crusty bread.
Here's the Ingredients you will need:
- Pasta: Use a thin noodle like spaghetti or linguini. Do not cook the pasta first. Uncooked pasta is best because once added it absorbs the flavors of the simmering liquid as it cooks.
- Chicken: I use boneless-skinless thighs, but you can also use boneless-skinless chicken breasts.
- Sausage: The sausage adds huge flavor, my sausage of choice is andouille or smoked sausage. My favorite brands are Country boy and Conecuh smoked sausage.
- Shrimp: the best shrimp for Jambalaya or Pastalaya is large or jumbo (16-30) count peeled and deveined.
- Seasonings: Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's or Slap ya Mama), garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
- The Trinity: chopped yellow onions, bell peppers, and celery, and garlic.
- Olive oil: to saute and soften the vegetables and cook the meat.
- Tomatoes: two varieties of tomatoes are used, petite diced and tomatoes and mild tomatoes and green chilis (Rotel).
- Chicken Stock: use store-bought or homemade.
- Cream & Cornstarch Slurry: The slurry transforms the liquid (stock/cream) into a semi-thick sauce that coats every ingredient, correcting the watery texture that can sometimes occur in one-pot pasta dishes.
- Garnish: sliced green onions or chopped fresh parsley.
Chop up all of the vegetables and mince the garlic. Slice the sausage, cut up the chicken and season well, rinse the shrimp, and set everything aside, so it is all ready to go when you're ready to prepare the recipe.
In a large skillet or pot heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add he seasoned chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
Add the sliced smoked sausage and continue cooking until it cooks starts to brown just a bit. Remove the meat from the skillet, place on a plate and set aside.
Add about the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and saute the vegetables and garlic until softened and the onions are translucent.
Add the tomatoes, Rotel, and chicken stock to the pan and give it a good mx. Cook for a 1-2 minutes.
Break the linguine past in half or use one pot spaghetti, add the pasta, and push down the so the liquid is covering the pasta.
Add the sausage and the chicken back to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
or until most of the liquid has absorbed and the pasta is tender. In a small, separate bowl, whisk the cornstarch and half & half together to form a paste. Pour the cream mixture into the pasta and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the shrimp last 5-6 minutes of cooking to avoid the shrimp from over cooking.
Cover the skillet and cook the shrimp until it just starts to turn pink.
Remove lid, give it a good stir and garnish with parsley, and a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning (optional). Allow the pasta to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
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