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This chicken and sausage gumbo is a rich and flavorful version of the classic Louisiana stew. Filled with thick chunks of chicken and sausage, diced bell peppers, celery, and sliced onions, all encompassed in tomatoes and savory cajun seasoning. It is the perfect combination!
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Chicken and sausage gumbo is a classic Louisiana comfort food. It’s a warm stew of meat, veggies, and a rich broth. It is flavored with bold Cajun flavors like paprika, black pepper, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper. Gumbo is a great dinner to warm you up on chilly winter nights.
This easy gumbo recipe is so easy to make and comes together quickly on a busy weeknight. Simply slice and prepare the meat and vegetables then season it. It is a warm and comforting dinner that everyone loves. Grab your large pot and let’s get cooking!
Ingredients for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Recipe
Chicken and sausage gumbo is an unforgettable dinner! Loads of flavor, bites of sliced vegetables, thick pieces of meat, and all the flavorful spices and seasoning make this gumbo just right. It really is a delicious dinner that is simple to make and comes together with minimum ingredients.
- Vegetables – This chicken and sausage gumbo starts off with sautéed bell pepper, onions, celery, and garlic. Later, you add tomatoes and green chiles. Then, a few minutes before serving, you add sliced okra to finish off the dish!
- Meat – For this recipe, we use smoked andouille sausage and shredded rotisserie chicken. Chicken thighs will also work too!
- Broth – We use a medium roux, made with butter and flour, for the base of this broth. Then, we add chicken broth or chicken stock.
- Spices – This recipe gets its bold flavor from bay leaves, cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Rice – We like to serve this gumbo over a bed of white rice.
How to Make the Best Gumbo
Make this classic chicken and sausage gumbo recipe for a delicious and filling dinner this week! It is full of flavor, slices of meat, and all the rice you love. It is the perfect combination!
- Cook – Heat up olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add peppers, onion, celery, garlic, and sausage. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables become soft.
- Make the Roux – Remove everything from the pot, drain, and set aside. Add butter to the pot. When the butter is melted, scrape all the cooked bits off the bottom of the pot. Then add flour. Cook until the mixture turns a peanut butter brown color, whisking constantly. This is a medium roux. If you want a dark roux, cook for 30-40 minutes until the mixture is the color of milk chocolate.
- Combine – Add chicken broth, cooked vegetables, sausage, chicken, Cajun seasoning, diced tomatoes with chiles, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Simmer and serve – Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add in the okra and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve over rice.
Variations of Easy Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
This chicken and sausage gumbo can be changed up a million different ways, depending on your tastes and preferences. Follow the recipe as directed below for a spicy flavor and all the meats! But you can experiment with spices and other ingredients to make it exactly how you and your family like it.
- Protein – Feel free to omit one or more of the meats. Use smoked sausage only, chicken only, or go vegetarian! Alternatively, go all out and add crab meat, shrimp, or lobster for more of a seafood gumbo.
- Tomatoes or no tomatoes – Some may argue that tomatoes do not belong in gumbo while others love the added flavor of tomatoes. I really think there is no wrong way. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of okra, so it is something I usually leave out. Make it according to your tastes, be creative, and you won’t be disappointed.
- Oil – If needed, vegetable oil or canola oil also works well with this chicken and sausage gumbo recipe.
- Seasonings – In addition to the natural flavors of the ingredients, you can play with the seasonings by adding black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, thyme, paprika, liquid smoke, chopped parsley, and more garlic.
- Added heat – Play with the spice in this recipe by adding extra Cajun spice or cayenne. You can also adjust it after serving by adding hot sauce to your bowl.
“This gumbo has such great intense flavors! Yum!”
-Katherine
FAQs
The roux! The flour and oil cooked and stirred together on medium heat become a dark brown color that has the consistency of dough. This gives the gumbo a deep, rich, and flavorful texture that is thick and delicious!
A traditional gumbo recipe will have meat, shellfish, creole, flavored stock, bell peppers, celery, and onions. This is a thick chunky soup. There are several different variations of meat, shellfish, and vegetables.
The two rules about gumbo are to brown your sausages and not to put whole, undressed crabs in the pot. When it comes to meat, there can be no weiners, hot dogs, or franks in the recipe. That is technically three rules but they seem pretty strict in the south.
Gumbo originated in West Africa. The word gumbo comes from the West African word ki ngombo for okra.
The difference between gumbo and jambalaya is rice! They both have rice that goes along with the dish but gumbo is cooked separately compared to jambalaya. Jambalaya has rice that is cooked in the same pot.
Preparing the Roux
The roux is the base for the rich broth in this chicken and sausage gumbo. A roux is made by combining butter and flour, and cooking that mixture until it reaches the right color. It thickens and flavors the broth of soups, stews, and sauces.
For this recipe, we use a medium roux. When cooked to medium, the roux will be the color of peanut butter. A medium roux adds a deep nutty flavor to this gumbo. When you are making the roux, make sure to stir constantly and scrape the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t burn.
Storing the Perfect Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Place the leftover sausage and chicken gumbo in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for four to five days. If freezing the homemade gumbo, place the sausage and chicken gumbo in a ziplock bag laid flat in the freezer. When ready to reheat place the thawed gumbo on the stovetop or in the microwave until it is heated through.
More Cajun Recipes
If you are ready to celebrate Mardi Gras or have a Southern dinner prepared, these recipes are for you! Make dinner and dessert with all the classic Mardi Gras recipes. They are full of flavor and so easy to make!
How to Make Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 13.5 ounces Andouille sausage sliced
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound chicken cooked and shredded
- 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning we use Tony Chachere's
- 10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles Rotel
- 14 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 1 cup okra sliced
- 4 cups cooked white rice
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add peppers, onion, celery, garlic, and sausage. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables become soft.
- Remove everything from the pot and set aside. Add butter to the pot. When the butter is melted, scrape all the cooked bits off the bottom of the pot. Then add flour. Cook until the mixture turns a peanut butter brown color, stirring constantly. This is a medium roux. If you want a dark roux, cook for 30-40 minutes until the mixture is the color of milk chocolate.
- Add chicken broth, cooked vegetables, sausage, chicken, Cajun seasoning, diced tomatoes with chiles, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add in the okra and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve over rice.
No tomatoes in gumbo. Jambalaya is “almost” the same recipe and I use tomatoes + long grain white rice for it. And NO okra….just cause it’s too slimy for me. Ya want okra, fry it. Nothing better than fresh fried okra.
We know it’s not a traditional gumbo, it’s more personal preference. The tomatoes can easily be left out of the recipe. Fried okra is a fabulous idea!
This gumbo has such great intense flavors! Yum!
Oh wow, this looks incredible! I’m going to try this. I just have to get some okra and I’m going to take a crack at it. Gumbo is the best!
Bruh. No. Don’t use butter to make a roux for gumbo, the butter will be bitter in no time. Use a high heat oil, bacon grease, or lard. How many times do we have to say that tomatoes don’t belong in gumbo. Don’t use olive oil either because it burns and becomes bitter. If you want a simple gumbo recipe, check out Chef Issac Toups. This will not get you close to authentic.
We don’t claim that this is an authentic gumbo recipe. It is just an easy fun recipe that people can make and try some new flavors. I love it with tomatoes and this is my recipe, so I say its fine!