What to Eat with Jambalaya – Breads, Greens and Sides

How it works

What to eat with jambalaya? Not more rice: it is cooked in the pot with the meat and the vegetables. These 45 sides are bread, greens, cold salads, beans, toppings, something cool or sweet to finish, and four cold drinks.

Read the full guide

One pot, rice and all

Jambalaya is a Louisiana rice dish. The rice is not cooked apart: it goes into the pot raw and cooks in the stock with sausage or other meat, sometimes seafood, and the onion, celery and green bell pepper known in Creole and Cajun cooking as the trinity. Creole jambalaya is red with tomatoes. Cajun jambalaya has none and is brown.

What the pot leaves out

So the starch, the meat and the cooked vegetables are in the bowl already. What is missing is bread to push it round with, something green, something cold and crisp, and a sweet or icy end if the pot is a hot one.

Beside a red jambalaya, leave out the tomato and onion salad and the smothered okra and tomatoes. Beside a brown one, both earn their place.
For a crowd, set out one bread, one green and one cold salad, and put the hot sauce where everyone can reach it.

Questions and answers

What sides go with jambalaya?

Bread first: French bread with butter or skillet cornbread. Then one green, such as collard greens or green beans with bacon, and one cold salad, such as creamy coleslaw.

Do you serve jambalaya with rice?

No. The rice is already in the pot. Gumbo is the dish usually served over white rice cooked separately.

What bread goes with jambalaya?

French bread with butter is the plain choice, torn at the table. Skillet cornbread, hush puppies and hoecakes bring a little sweetness, and buttermilk biscuits can be split and filled.

What salad goes with jambalaya?

A cold, crisp one: creamy coleslaw, a green salad with a sharp vinaigrette, a wedge salad or three-bean salad. Potato salad works too, on the side or as a scoop in the bowl.

What dessert goes with jambalaya?

Something cold or soft after the spice: watermelon wedges, lemon sorbet, banana pudding or lemon icebox pie. Bread pudding, peach cobbler, pralines and beignets are on the list for a bigger finish.

All 45 sides

Breads 7

Buttermilk biscuits Split one and spoon the jambalaya inside.
Corn fritters Sweet corn in a crisp batter cools a peppery mouthful.
French bread with butter Tear it at the table and push the last of the rice onto the fork with it.
Hoecakes Crisp at the edges and made for scooping.
Hush puppies Small and crisp, to pass round while the pot rests.
Plain salted crackers Crumble a few over the bowl for crunch.
Skillet cornbread A little sweet beside a spicy pot. Serve it warm, with butter.

Greens and vegetables 7

Collard greens Slow-cooked and soft, with a splash of vinegar at the table.
Corn maque choux Corn cooked down with peppers and onion until it is sweet and soft.
Fried okra A crisp cornmeal crust, eaten with the fingers.
Green beans with bacon Cooked until tender, with the smoky bits left in.
Mustard greens Sharper than collards. Cook them down with onion.
Smothered okra and tomatoes Soft and a little sweet. It sits well beside a brown jambalaya.
Yellow squash with onions Mild and soft, a rest from the pepper in the pot.

Salads 7

Creamy coleslaw Cold and crunchy. A forkful of slaw cools the heat.
Deviled eggs A plate to hand round before the pot comes out.
Green salad with a sharp vinaigrette Cold leaves and vinegar after a hot, rich spoonful.
Potato salad Cold and creamy, on the side or as a scoop set right in the bowl.
Three-bean salad Sharp with vinegar, and it can be made the day before.
Tomato and onion salad Ripe slices, thin onion, oil and vinegar. Skip it beside a red jambalaya.
Wedge salad A cold wedge of iceberg lettuce under a creamy dressing.

Beans and fried sides 6

Butter beans Creamy and plain, which a well-seasoned pot needs beside it.
Fried green tomatoes Tart slices inside a cornmeal crust.
Fried pickles Sour and crunchy, with a cool dip.
Onion rings Sweet onion in a crisp coat, for a table that likes fried things.
Stewed black-eyed peas Soft and savory, with a little of their cooking liquid.
Stewed red beans Thick and smoky. Spoon them next to the rice, not over it.

Pickles and toppings 6

Chopped parsley A green handful on top, for color and a fresh taste.
Hot sauce Put the bottle on the table and let each person decide.
Lemon wedges A squeeze wakes up a seafood jambalaya.
Pickled jalapeños For the ones who want more heat than the pot has.
Pickled okra Sour and snappy, straight from the jar.
Sliced green onions Scatter them over the bowl just before serving.

Something cool or sweet to finish 8

Banana pudding Made ahead in one big dish and served cold.
Beignets Eat them hot, under a drift of powdered sugar.
Bread pudding Warm, soft and sweet, with a spoonful of cream.
Lemon icebox pie Chilled, tart and sweet, sliced straight from the fridge.
Lemon sorbet Sharp and icy after a heavy bowl.
Peach cobbler Serve it warm, with something cold on top.
Pralines One each, with coffee, when nobody has room for more.
Watermelon wedges Cold from the fridge, the simplest end to a spicy meal.

Drinks 4

Cream soda Sweet and smooth against the spice.
Hibiscus tea over ice Deep red and sour, sweetened to taste.
Lemonade Tart and cold, the quickest way to put out the pepper.
Sweet iced tea A big cold pitcher, with lemon slices.