Sheet Pan Jambalaya: maximum flavor, minimal dishes. Sausage, peppers, onions, shrimp, and cauliflower rice all roasted up on a sheet pan. Big flavor, easy dinner!
Sheet Pan Jambalaya
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Family said they were tired of chicken — then this popped up when I visited your site. Presto! Happy family with a new favorite! I used fresh cauliflower and processed it through a food processor using the grater attachment — perfect. Loved it. Thanks for this one!
Molly
Calling all big flavor / easy dinner / sheet pan meal lovers!
I have some good news coming your way in the form of sausage, peppers, onions, shrimp, and… wait for it… cauliflower rice!
This isn’t just your average pan of roasted yummies, though. It takes the form of a surprisingly satisfying riceless sheet pan jambalaya with the addition of Cajun spice, melted butter, lemon juice squeezed over the whole thing, and a nice little sprinkling of parsley to make it table-ready.
I mean, for being extremely practical and easy, you have to admit: she really is a beauty.
Watch How To Make This Recipe:
This isn’t my genius idea – our Minneapolis-based friend Charlotte of Clean Foodie Cravings wrote a cookbook called One-Pot Keto Cooking and this is just one of her many creative and fun low-carb recipes.
Personally, I’m not following a low-carb diet, I’ve never done keto, but I’m here to tell you, keto or not, this stuff is good. For all of us. Loaded with veggies, high in protein, and EASIER THAN EASY.
The kind of easy that works for even the most low-maintenance among us (ME).
I followed Charlotte’s Sheet Pan Jambalaya recipe to an almost perfect T, but this seems like the kind of recipe that can handle your personal preferences and substitutions. More or less sausage, seafood, spice, rice, or butter? Get after it. Make it your own. Charlotte’s gift to us is this recipe as a recipe, but also this recipe as a concept. One that deserves to be revisited and loved on week after week after week.
You and your hungry dinnertime self are going to love this recipe.
And if you like this and want another recipe like it, check out this similar Sheet Pan Shrimp and Cauli Rice!
This is a recipe republished with permission from the cookbook One-Pot Keto Cooking (affiliate link) by Charlotte Smythe, maker of delicious food and mastermind behind the Clean Foodie Cravings blog. You can also follow Charlotte on Instagram! Jambalaya is a dish of West African, French, and Spanish influence and there are tons of variations out there depending on where in the world you might be eating it (you can read more here). This is not a traditional jambalaya recipe as it’s made with cauliflower rice in place of rice. But it’s super delicious!
Common Questions About This Sheet Pan Jambalaya
Can I use fresh cauliflower rice?
Yes! Fresh works well, too.
Is there a substitute for kielbasa sausage?
We’d suggest subbing andouille sausage instead.
How long can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for 3-4 days.
Can I add regular rice to this?
Yes! Someone on our team once subbed in a bag of frozen rice in place of one of the bags of cauliflower rice and it worked perfectly.
Sheet Pan Jambalaya
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Sheet Pan Jambalaya: maximum flavor, minimal dishes. Sausage, peppers, onions, shrimp, and cauliflower rice all roasted up on a sheet pan. Big flavor, easy dinner!
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 ounces kielbasa sausage, sliced (Charlotte recommends no-sugar-added)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (Charlotte recommends avocado oil but I don’t normally have that on hand, so I used olive oil)
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, divided
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bags frozen cauliflower rice (10 oz. each, 20 oz. total)
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1/2 lb. wild-caught shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails on
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- fresh parsley, to garnish
- lemon juice, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Add the kielbasa sausage, onion, and bell pepper to a large sheet pan along with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning. Toss the vegetables and sausage to make sure they are well-coated. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the vegetables and sausage from the oven, add the tomato paste, and stir to thoroughly mix it in with the vegetables. Add the frozen cauliflower rice and remaining teaspoon of Cajun seasoning to the pan. Toss all the ingredients together until the are well-incorporated and return the pan to the oven. Continue to cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower rice is cooked through and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Taste the jambalaya and season with salt and pepper. Add the raw shrimp on top of the jambalaya and drizzle the butter over the top.
- Return the pan to the oven and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the shrimp is cooked through and pink. Garnish with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: Cajun
Keywords: jambalaya, sheet pan meal, cauliflower rice, keto meal, keto dinner, healthy dinner
Filed Under: All Recipes Cauliflower Dairy-Free Dinner Fall Fish and Seafood Healthy Lemon Main Dishes Meat and Chicken Quick and Easy Recipes Sheet Pan Tomato
October 12, 2020
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
I actually have all of these ingredients on hand! I didn’t meal prep yesterday so I know what I’m doing for dinner tonight
I can’t find frozen cauliflower rice, but I do have fresh. Do you think it will cook about the same? This recipe sounds so good and easy to make!
Cauliflower rice made from fresh cauliflower should work just fine, Sasha!
Please answer the amount of frozen cauliflower question, I shop at Costco and I know two bags would be wrong.
my thought exactly – I have the huge 3lb bag of riced cauli from Costco in my freezer 🙂
Hi Regina, we used 2 bags (10 ounces each) of cauliflower rice.
How large are the bags of cauliflower rice?
Need ounces or cups.
Would corn be good in this? Or am I just thinking crazy things
Yes to corn! I make this recipe all the time and add frozen corn to it (I like the fire roasted frozen corn from Whole Foods).
Yes please! Can’t wait to try this.
I do not use tomato paste haven’t bought it in years what can I substitute for tomato paste cuz I do not like to waste anything after I use a portion of it?
Here is a helpful link to some tomato paste substitutes! https://www.thekitchn.com/tomato-paste-substitute-23023169
I had stopped buying paste as well..hate waste..until I found that they sell paste in a tube..no more waste🥰
I hate being wasteful as well. I’ve started freezing unused portions of tomato paste in 1 or 2 tablespoon portions. Works great! 🙂
VERY good recipe base. I made this for a late lunch. Had a bunch of cauliflower in the fridge that was about to go bad, so I saved what I could and riced it in the food pro.
Easy instructions/good video. I used Trader Joes meatless italian sausage (pescatarians) and added a splash of white wine with the tomato paste for flavor. Also added lemon zest/juice with the parsley at the end.
I’ll be making this again for sure, but will probably use some frozen riced cauliflower to make it even quicker. And maybe add some leftover rice/quinoa for some heft.
Super fun take on a recipe, and so much easier to do in the oven…I watched a show while this roasted 🙂
Thanks for sharing – this got rave reviews and I will definitely make again!!
That’s awesome, Rose! Thanks for giving the recipe a try and reporting back!
Thank you and others for keeping me inspired. I’m going live on YouTube soon and going to discuss all inds of things on my channel. I’ll gladly give Lindsay and PinchOfYum a shoutout and spread love the Brooklyn way in one of my near future YouTube videos. Thank you for being consistent with your food blogging. 🙂
Thanks so much for the comment!
Congrats on your pregnancy, Lindsay. Prayers for a safe labor an delivery!
Made this tonight sans shrimp and it was GREAT! First time I’ve had success with cauliflower rice tasting good. I think the seasoning is pretty mild and will add more cajun seasoning next time or a little chipotle. I wasn’t sure about the butter but am glad I added it despite not using shrimp- really rounded out the flavors! Make it, you’ll love it!
So glad you like the recipe, Kate!
Did your Cajun seasoning have salt in it?
Yes, the Cajun seasoning we used contains salt!
Family said they were tired of chicken — then this popped up when I visited your site. Presto! Happy family with a new favorite! I used fresh cauliflower and processed it through a food processor using the grater attachment — perfect. Loved it. Thanks for this one!
So happy to hear it was a hit, Molly!
Omg it’s look soo god 🙂
Hope you enjoy it!
this looks wonderful. Can you specify the size of the bag of cauliflower rice? How many ounces? Thank you
We used 2 bags (10 ounces each) of cauliflower rice. We hope you love it!
I made this tonight so easy and One pan is a plus.. My Husband loved it!
Definitely will make this again.
One pan meals for the win! So happy you liked the recipe!
Execellent recipe! I’m on strict keto so 12 crabs is pretty steep for me for one meal. However, this was worth it. I cooked the sausage, onion, and red pepper separately from the cauliflower to ensure the texture would be adequate for me. The addition of butter to finish off the dish was perfect! Thank you for a great substitute of the real thing. I’ll look forward to more recipes.
So glad you liked the recipe, Mia! Thanks for the comment!
Amazing recipe! I used 2 Costco bags of cauliflower rice (the smaller bags within the big 3 lb bag) which was probably too much. I liked it, but 1 bag would’ve probably been a more appropriate ratio. I used tomato paste from a tube. Make sure to squeeze some lemon over it at the end! ( it’s in the notes but not the recipe)
So happy you liked the recipe!
This was delicious and I even forgot the lemon at the end. If anyone else is veggie, I made it with vegetarian sausage and omitted shrimp and it still worked. My meat eating husband thoroughly enjoyed it, too. I made my own Cajun spice so it would be less hot (I’m a wimp), too.
So glad you liked the recipe!
What size are the bags of cauliflower rice you used?
We used 2 bags that were 10 ounces each!
So many questions on the size of the cauliflower rice bags- would be helpful to update the recipe with the correct amounts!
Also, lemon? Mentioned in post but not in recipe or ingredients.
This was fantastic. I doubled the recipe because I wanted to use the entire thing of kielbasa, so initially I thought 4 bags of riced cauliflower would be too much. It wasn’t. Honestly this was the best riced cauliflower I’ve ever had! It was maybe too salty, but that’s my own user error. Definitely add the lemon at the end. Brings all the flavors together. I’ve tried three recipes from this blog, and they have all been winners (Instant Pot carrot soup, vegetarian chili and this one). All delicious. Keep the good and healthy recipes coming!
So happy to hear it, Melissa!
This recipe is so good! A huge with even with my 2-year-old toddler 🙂
Happy to hear that, Elsa!
Is it possible to use regular rice if you do not eat cauliflower? Thanks.
We think this will work! We’d prepare the rice separately and add it to the veggies, sausage, and shrimp at the end. If you give it a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
I tried this last night and it was delicious! I added some extra tomato sauce and cajun seasonings to the rice and mixed it in with the sausage and veggies at the last step and added the shrimp on top. I will add don’t skip on the lemon juice it adds a lot!!
I made this for dinner this week and invited guest to join last minute. Everyone loved it!! And so easy to prepare!! Cannot wait to make it again soon!!!
So happy to hear that, Kim!
Silly question, sorry if you answer this often – but how do you get your sheet pan so clean? Is it just newer than mine?
my family loved this! we had it with brown rice instead because i ran out of cauliflower rice. i also added cut corn off the cob. everyone was asking, “where’s this recipe from?”
Was your brown rice cooker, parcooked, or frozen? I would like to make this with rice too.
Made this tonight and husband and daughter gave it a 10! I do not usually care for cauliflower but this was delicious and I will make again! Made as written and it was a quick and very flavorful dinner. Thank you!
Glad to hear this, Stacey!