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Jambalaya is the second of famous Louisiana Creole dishes. It arose in the original European sector of New Orleans (the French Quarter, or Vieux Carré, in colonial days). It combines ham with sausage, rice and tomato. Today, jambalaya is prepared two ways: red and brown. Red jambalaya is native to New Orleans and its immediate environment, in parts of Iberia Parish, as well as in parts of St. Martin Parish.

It is a stew consisting of seafood gumbo (shrimp, crab, sausage, and oyster) or chicken-sausage gumbo (chicken, sausage). Both contain the "Holy Trinity" and are served over rice. It is often seasoned with filé.

Over time it became less of a bouillabaisse and more of what is called gumbo. Later the Italians blasted it with garlic. The Germans contributed potato salad as a side and even started the practice of eating gumbo with a scoop of potato salad in it; they also introduced the practice of eating gumbo with buttered french bread.

Gumbo is a traditional Creole dish. It was created in New Orleans by the French attempting to make bouillabaisse in the New World. The Spanish contributed onions, peppers, and tomatoes; the Indians contributed filé, or ground sassafras leaves; the French gave the roux to the stew and spices from the Caribbean.

Louisiana Creole cuisine is recognized as a unique style of cooking, which makes use of the Holy Trinity (in this case, chopped celery, bell peppers, and onions), but has a great variety of European, French, Caribbean, African, and American influences.

In present times, Creole has come to represent people of generally mixed background, generally French, African, Spanish, Native American, English, German and Italian.