Low Carb Keto Jambalaya Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How many carbs are in jambalaya? ›

Jambalaya With Meat And Rice, Chicken And Sausage Jambalaya (1 cup) contains 22.7g total carbs, 21.4g net carbs, 21.2g fat, 26.1g protein, and 393 calories.

One of the biggest complaints when making jambalaya is that the rice ends up mushy. And there's two main culprits of this – choosing the wrong type of rice and over-stirring. For this recipe, you want long-grain white rice, like basmati or jasmine. Don't use short-grain rice.

In a nutshell, you brown your meat, sauté your vegetables, add your rice, add your liquid, bring to a boil, give it a stir, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

There will likely be oil or butter used in the preparation of this dish, which can make it high in fat as well as carbs. High-fat, high-carb meals can cause blood sugar levels to rise hours afterward, so it's important to be aware of this and factor it into your diabetes management plan.

Zatarain's Big Easy Dirty Rice (1 cup) contains 46g total carbs, 45g net carbs, 3.5g fat, 5g protein, and 240 calories.

contains 160 calories per 43 g serving. This serving contains 0.5 g of fat, 4 g of protein and 34 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 0 g sugar and 1 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate.

Another signature of great jambalaya is the rice. There's a science to making sure it's just the right consistency: perfectly fluffy, not too wet, and not at all crispy. I've found the key is to bring your liquid, whether it's water or stock, to a complete boil to create a healthy amount of steam.

Add in the uncooked rice, chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, Cajun/Creole seasoning, thyme, cayenne and bay leaf. Give everything a good stir. Cover and cook. Then cook for 25-30 minutes, being sure to stir the mixture every 5 minutes or so (to prevent burning) until the rice is nearly tender.

If you haven't got any andouille at home, you will want to substitute the ingredient with another sharply flavoured smoked sausage. Chorizo Chorizo is a good substitute for andouille's distinctly smoky flavour. Polish kielbasa is another substitute that you can use.

The "holy trinity" in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine is the base for several dishes in the regional cuisines of Louisiana and consists of onions, bell peppers and celery. The preparation of Cajun/Creole dishes such as crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and jambalaya all start from this base.

Should jambalaya have tomatoes? ›

Two main categories of jambalaya exist: Creole (or red) jambalaya, which is associated with the city of New Orleans and contains tomato, and Cajun (or brown) jambalaya, which contains no tomato and is more common in other parts of Louisiana. The recipe I'm focusing on here is the former, with tomato.

Stir in the rice and simmer for 10 minutes, then turn the rice once, cover with a tight lid, turn down the heat and steam gently for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and add the prawns and sausage, turn the rice once, then replace the lid and leave to sit for 10 minutes.

Instead of a sweet barbeque sauce, try a chimichurri sauce with a base of olive oil, fresh herbs, and a bit of pepper. An herb-and-nut pesto can be used in place of sugary tomato sauce from a jar. Olive oil, with or without herbs, can take the place of dairy butter and bring a healthy unsaturated fat to the plate.

For this reason, pasta is the best option for a diabetic as it is rated as a low-glycemic index food. In contrast, potatoes, rice, and bread all fall under the high-glycemic index rating and are less good options for diabetics.

Chicken: You can use boneless chicken thighs or breasts as a substitute for sausage. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and sauté it in the same pan as the vegetables until cooked through. You can also use pre-cooked chicken, such as rotisserie chicken, and add it to the jambalaya towards the end of cooking.

Gumbo With Rice (New Orleans Type With Shellfish, Pork, And/or Poultry, Tomatoes, Okra, Rice) (1 cup) contains 17.1g total carbs, 15.4g net carbs, 7.5g fat, 13.6g protein, and 190 calories.

Stonemill Cajun Seasoning (1 serving) contains 43g total carbs, 33g net carbs, 5.6g fat, 6.8g protein, and 230 calories.

Most gumbos will have about 20 grams net carbs per serving, but it will of course vary recipe to recipe. Restaurant versions may be higher. In this recipe, we're skipping the roux (it will get plenty thick without it!) and the rice, so each serving of gumbo has just 8.6 grams net carbs.

In summary, feel free to incorporate cajun seasoning into your keto diet. It not only adds a punch of flavor to your dishes but also aligns well with the nutritional requirements of a typical keto diet. Just remember to use it in moderation due to its high sodium content.