The moment I saw this recipe in a local magazine, I knew I had to make it. But when I did, the method didn’t work for me…nor did some of the ingredients. So, it was time for a recipe renovation on Baked Jambalaya!
I’ve found in my food freedom that I can tolerate single trigger foods better than combinations of them. The original recipe (find that here – 2nd recipe) called for rice, which in this case soaks up so much of the yummy flavors, I felt like that was the ingredient I would work around.
A compliant recipe for onion soup mix
If I was going to keep the rice, I had to figure out how to replace the French onion soup and for sure find compliant sausage (I chose not to go hot for mine). Beef broth and onion soup mix immediately came to mind, but I needed to find a compliant soup mix. Enter Cat from mycrashtestlife.com with a Whole30 onion soup mix (find it here).
I put this recipe to the test making simple onion soup mix dip for my daughter and her friends when I went to visit. They scarfed that down pretty quickly! So, I thought I would try it in this recipe. You can make the full recipe if you want, though you won’t use it all in this; but do keep it in an air-tight container so the nutritional yeast doesn’t get mushy.
“Healthier” Baked Jambalaya
- 3c compliant beef broth and possibly 1/2 to 1 c more (Great Value brand at Walmart fits the bill)
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/3 of a recipe of Whole30 Onion Soup Mix (a little over 5 Tbsps)
- 1 c uncooked rice
- 4 or 5 mushrooms, sliced
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped fine
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ lb hot smoked sausage, sliced (I couldn’t find the Pederson’s so just went with Aidell’s chicken apple sausage)
- 2c cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
- 2 Tbsp clarified butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour broth, tomato sauce, and soup mix into a greased 9×13 baking dish; gently whisk until smooth. Add in rice, mushrooms, onions, celery, and remaining spices; gently stir into the liquid.
Cover tightly with foil, carefully place in the oven and bake 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover and stir to ensure rice stays down in the liquid. Add more broth any time it’s needed. Replace the cover and bake another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, uncover and stir in sausage and cooked chicken. (I needed another cup of broth at this point.) Dot with butter, replace the cover, and return to the oven for 15 more minutes. Uncover, stir and serve. Serves 6 to 8.
Recipe renovation successful!
I rewrote the recipe according to the main baked rice recipe I like best (see that here) and tried it three different times before I was satisfied. I knew I was on to something when I served it to a visiting friend, and she asked for the recipe!
Got a recipe you love that needs a renovation? Drop me the link in the comments below…I’m game to work on it!
Try these entreé recipe renovations!
