Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Everyone needs a recipe for gumbo in their recipe arsenal so today, I’m sharing an authentic gumbo recipe thanks to Sarah, my {soon-to-be} sister-in-law.

To say this gumbo was a labor of love, would be a huge understatement. I think it was a labor of my entire life. It seriously takes every ounce of energy in you to make this but the results are SO OUT OF THIS WORLD that I would do it all over again. This took so much energy out of me on Saturday, I went to bed at 9:30pm and woke up at 8:30am on Sunday. Yeah, 11 hours of sleep, baby. I’m a wuss.

Sarah was born and raised in Cajun country (more specifically in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and this is her grandmother’s recipe for gumbo. Now, before y’all go nutso on me over this gumbo, let me throw this disclaimer out there: yes, I’m sure your mother’s grandmother has a great recipe for gumbo. I’m not stating this is “THE” gumbo recipe. It’s a family recipe that I’m sharing with you. There’s nothing more to it than just that. Also, this is more of a Cajun gumbo rather than the regular Creole gumbo that most are accustomed to. The Creole gumbo would likely have a seafood mix instead of this chicken and andouille mix, hence why this is a Cajun gumbo.

Ok, now that little disclaimer is out of the way, we can get to cooking! The most labor intensive part of this is making the roux, which I highly recommend making the night before. You have to cook it to a chocolate color. Yeah, imagine turning white flour into a chocolate color. Mhm, definitely takes a while. It took me an hour to get it to be a dark chocolate color. Again, WORTH IT. It’s what gives the nutty and smokey taste to the gumbo. Another labor intensive part of this dish is all the chopping and stirring you have to do. I think this gumbo took me a total of 4 hours to make. Would I do it again? Hell yeah! It’s TO DIE FOR. So authentic and so delicious. It fills you up too! This isn’t a light dish at all, but was able to eat this for lunch and skip dinner. That’s how full it kept me! Let’s not mention the two bowls I ate – that might’ve helped in the “skipping dinner” part.

I’m trying a new thing out with step-by-step photos. You’ll notice some of the newer entries will have them but since I work a month out at a time, the step-by-steps will be few in far between for this month. Look for more in January :)

Anyway, so you see that first picture? That’s how dark my roux was. Gorgeous, huh? So then you move on to browning your sausage, then browning your chicken, then the veggies, then you throw the luxurious roux into the mix, stir it around, add the chicken broth, and let it simmer for at least 2-3 hours. It’s the most marvelous thing when it’s done. Trust me. Serve it over rice and take a nice long nap afterwards.

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Chicken and andouille sausage gumbo may be a bit time consuming but it is so worth it!

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Julie Chiou

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Ingredients 

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For the roux (highly recommend making the night before):

• ▢ 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
• ▢ ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil

For the gumbo:

• ▢ 1 large onion, diced
• ▢ 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• ▢ 1 cup (101 g) of celery, chopped, or 3-4 stalks
• ▢ 1 pack of Andouille sausage, cut into half moons, I had 6 in my 12 oz. package
• ▢ 3 pounds (1361 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch cubes (highly recommend using thighs and NOT chicken breasts)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Tony's Chachere's Cajun seasoning
• ▢ 8 cups (1893 ml) chicken broth
• ▢ ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon (⅜ teaspoon) cayenne pepper
• ▢ 4 leaves bay
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon file powder
• ▢ Salt and pepper, to taste

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

Equipment

• Dutch oven

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Instructions

• To make the roux, combine flour and vegetable oil in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Using a wooden spoon, continuously stir the roux as it cooks. Eventually, it'll turn darker shades of brown. This will take about an hour to achieve the color you see above. Don't leave your roux! It burns very quickly. Once you've achieved the desired color, remove from heat and let sit until it reaches room temperature then store in an airtight container in the fridge to use the next day for gumbo (or if doing all in the same day, you don't need to put it in a container, just let it sit in the pot while you prepare everything else).
• To make the gumbo, in a large dutch oven, brown the sausage in 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil. Once the sausage is brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Brown the chicken pieces in the same oil and sprinkle the tbsp. of Tony's Cajun seasoning on the chicken. Once chicken is brown, remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
• Next, in the same oil, sauté onion, green bell pepper, and celery (they call this the holy trinity in Louisiana) until soft and tender, then add the sausage and chicken back in the pot.
• Pour all the roux on top of the mixture and let it warm up with everything. Stir to coat.
• Add the 8 cups of chicken broth on top, stirring to get it all combined. Add cayenne pepper and bay leaves, as well as salt and pepper, to taste.
• Bring mixture to a boil then let it simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Half an hour prior to finishing and serving, whisk in file powder then continue to let it simmer.
• Serve over bed of white rice.
• Store in airtight containers in the fridge or freeze for later.

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 316 kcal | Carbohydrates: 12 g | Protein: 14 g | Fat: 18 g | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 2 g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Cajun

Keyword: comfort food

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