This spicy gluten free jambalaya recipe is a tasty dish to eat during Mardi Gras celebrations or any time! You can enjoy the jambalaya as is or add it to baked potatoes for a fun twist on this spicy classic!
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One thing I miss since relocating to California is celebrating Mardi Gras. Dancing around to fabulous music, wearing bright colors, and getting cool plastic necklaces tossed at you during parades? Priceless.
In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is a major holiday. The season is celebrated during the two weeks before Fat Tuesday and typically includes parades and family gatherings where food plays a major role.
Jambalaya is a Louisiana Creole meat and rice dish that originated in France and Spain. Some even refer to it as New Orleans’s version of paella. You can buy several good Cajun spice mixes.
Stuffing baked potatoes with delicious fillings is also a great way for a meal to last for more days, which can help if you are on a budget.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Potatoes – I highly recommend using russet potatoes for this recipe. They are the best for baked potatoes.
- Sausage – I used Aidells Andouille Sausage, but there are many brands of gluten free sausage that I talk about below.
- Onion – Use regular yellow onion or Hawaiian sweet onions.
- Bell Peppers—Use any color. This recipe tastes good with green, red, orange, or yellow.
- Shrimp—Buy raw shrimp, and if the ones you bought are not cleaned, peel and devein them.
- Cajun Spice – I love using Zatarain’s cajun seasoning in this recipe because it is gluten free. You can use other brands, but read the label to ensure they are gluten free.
- Pepper Jack Cheese—You can use any cheese you like, but I love the zing of pepper jack in the baked potatoes.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
While rice in jambalaya is the classic way to make jambalaya, I am making mine rice-free so it can be stuffed into baked potatoes.
Step 1: If you put your jambalaya into a baked potato, as we did, you will need to bake the potatoes. There are so many ways to cook potatoes.
Ways to cook a potato:
There are several ways to bake a potato: in the oven, microwave, and grill. Each can lend a different flavor and texture to your baked potatoes.
- Oven: To bake your potato in the oven, use a fork to make slits on the top of the potato. Bake at 400º F for 45-50 minutes.
- Microwave: Known as the quick and easy cheat for baked potatoes, you will want to use a fork to poke holes in the top of the baked potato. This is very important so hot air will vent out of the potato. Place the potato into a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, turn it over, add a few fork holes to this side, and microwave an additional 5 minutes until the potato feels soft.
- Grilling: Poke a few holes in the top of your baked potato. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil. Place on the grill for one hour.
- Air frying: It is so easy to air fry a potato. You get all of that delicious baked flavor in a fraction of the time. Air fry for 25 minutes at 400º F.
If you love potato recipes as much as we do, you will definitely want to try these Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes and these Super Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Bacon recipes!
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Step 2: While your potatoes are cooking, let’s make the Jambalaya! I love using Zatarain’s cajun seasoning in this recipe because it is gluten free. You can use other brands, but read the label to ensure they are gluten free.
Step 3: Heat a skillet over medium heat with cooking oil and minced garlic. Add the sliced peppers and onions and sauté for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Add shrimp, sausage, and seasoning. You can also add chicken if you like. Cook for 20 minutes until everything is cooked and the flavors blend together.
Step 5: Slice open the baked potatoes and add the jambalaya mixture to each potato.
You can easily control the spice by how much cajun seasoning you use. The whole family will love this easy gluten-free jambalaya recipe! If you love Cajun food, try my easy Cajun Rice and Beans With Sausage recipe, too!
Frequently Asked Questions:
For this recipe, you will want to use russet potatoes. They are larger to hold more filling and have a creamy taste that is perfect with the spicy Jambalaya.
I use andouille sausage for this recipe. It has wonderful flavors. My favorite gluten free brands of andouille sausage are Aidelle’s, Johnsonville, and Applegate. There are many other brands, but these three are the ones I often find in stores.
This recipe should keep fresh for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
You can easily freeze this gluten free jambalaya recipe. Put it into a freezer-safe bag or container and seal it up. This will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.
More Gluten Free Dinner Ideas:
- Gluten Free Macaroni and Cheese
- Easy Gluten Free Egg-Free Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Twice Baked Kale Baked Potatoes
- Gluten Free One-Pot Italian Pasta
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If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Jambalaya Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes * see note
- 1 pound uncooked shrimp * see note
- 3 Andouille sausage links * see note
- 1 bell pepper * see note
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 2 teaspoons Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- sour cream
- pepper jack cheese shredded
- scallions
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Instructions
- In pan, heat olive oil on medium heat with garlic.
- Add onion and peppers and cook 3 minutes.
- Add shrimp and sausage.
- Cook 5 minutes.
- Add seasonings and cook an additional 10 minutes.
- In a microwave oven, pierce potatoes skin and cook potatoes for 8 minutes.
- Slit down the middle.
- Add jambalaya.
- Top with sour cream, pepper jack cheese and scallions.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- Oven: To bake your potato in the oven, use a fork to make slits in the top of the potato. Bake at 400º F for 45-50 minutes.
- Microwave: Known as the quick and easy cheat for baked potatoes, you will want to use a fork to poke holes in the top of the baked potato. This is very important so hot air will vent out of the potato. Place the potato into a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, turn it over, add a few fork holes to this side, and microwave an additional 5 minutes until the potato feels soft.
- Grilling: Poke a few holes in the top of your baked potato. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil. Place on the grill for one hour.
- Air frying: It is so easy to air fry a potato. You get all of that delicious baked flavor in a fraction of the time. Air fry for 25 minutes at 400º F.
- Gluten free brands of andouille sausage I like include Aidells, Johnsonville, and Applegate.
- Try to use raw shrimp that is already peeled and deveined. If you can’t find it, you will need to peel and devein the shrimp before cooking.
- You can use any color of bell pepper in this recipe.
- This gluten free jambalaya will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
(*This post was updated from an older post I wrote in February 2016.)
Thank you Shelby 🙂