Wanna take a big bite of this yummy Paleo jambalaya pasta with zoodles? Yep, you do? I don't blame you at all. Nope. With shrimp, chicken, and filler-free sausage, this lighter, grain-free version of the classic Cajun/Creole dish is huge on authentic south Louisiana flavor yet blissfully low on carbs.
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This Paleo Jambalaya Pasta With Zoodles is the Perfect Mix of Old Meets New
I was raised on traditional Cajun/Creole foods. Stews, gumbos, and jambalayas were weekly menu items that my mom painstakingly cooked for her family, and often a guest or two from the neighborhood friendship circle.
A seat at my mom's table was a hot commodity back in the day. And, an invite to stay and eat her red jambalaya for dinner meant that you were her favorite kids' friend of the moment.
One recent morning, I woke up with a craving for my mom's jambalaya that just would NOT go away for like the next three or four days. I knew that the only thing that would end the ceaseless craving agony would be to cook up a batch and eat it for like three meals in a row. Yep.
Since I don't eat rice or pasta often, I decided to replace the starches with my current food obsession, broiled zoodles. It was a risk, one that could have ruined the childhood nostalgia of the whole dish if not executed properly.
I just had to try it, though. I can't NOT live without jambalaya and still call myself a proud south Louisianian. That would be treacherous. A shame. A waste of the only culture that I know and love.
So, I got my awesome prep master Mark to julienne the zoodles.
And we broiled them in three batches so they would be ready to take on the pastalaya sauce.
Then I got the 'trinity' going in my cast iron Dutch oven.
When it was almost browned, I added the sausage and marinated chicken to the pot.
About 10 minutes later, I covered the meat and veggies with tomato sauce and seasonings.
And I cooked the whole thing down for another thirty minutes before adding the seasoned shrimp to the pot, and cooking all of the pastalaya ingredients together for 5 additional minutes.
Ten minutes later, Mark and I were munching down on Paleo jambalaya pasta with zoodles like we hadn't eaten in daaaayyysss. We knew we had another zoodles makeover dinner winner here, and we were both sooo grateful to finally know how to make Paleo jambalaya once and for all.
Mark grew up eating the same foods as I did, so continuously finding new ways to enjoy our beloved childhood foods without any pesky food intolerance issues for me is a double win for us. Yum and yay...
Paleo Jambalaya Pasta With Zoodles
Ingredients
- For the Zoodles
- 8 medium zucchini julienned with a mandolin using a 2mm blade
- salt pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
- extra virgin olive oil or oil of choice
- Jambalaya Ingredients
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper chopped
- 4 stalks celery chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- a sprinkling of cayenne
- 1 pound boneless chicken cut into cubes or strips
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 pound Paleo-friendly sausage sliced
- ¼ cup GF shrimp stock
- ¼ cup GF chicken stock
- 1 cup GF tomato sauce
- 5 shakes Tabasco
- 1 bay leaf
- salt black pepper, and cayenne pepper
- fresh parsley garnish optional
- 1 to 2 tablespoons tapioca or arrowroot starch optional
Instructions
- Preheat broiler. Season raw zoodles lightly with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Line three sheet pans with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil.
- Spread the zoodles out over the baking trays.
- Broil each batch of zoodles for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through.
- Set broiled zoodles aside in large bowl.
- Season shrimp and place in covered bowl and, then season chicken and place in another covered bowl. Set both aside in refrigerator.
- Cook down the trinity - onions, bell pepper, and celery - in the olive oil until the edges of the onions begin to brown.
- Add the sausage and marinated chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until meats are lightly browned.
- Deglaze the pot with the shrimp and chicken stock.
- Add the tomato sauce, Tabasco, bay leaf, and SP&C to taste.
- Cook over medium low heat for 30 minutes.
- Add seasoned shrimp. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Combine jambalaya pasta sauce with broiled zoodles. If you don't broil the zoodles long enough and the sauce thins, thicken the gravy with 1 to 2 tablespoons tapioca or arrowroot starch when hot, then remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes, or until thickened to your liking.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.Nutrition
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