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This authentic chicken and sausage gumbo is a labor of love, and it is well worth it. A rich, dark roux is at the base of this chicken and andouille sausage gumbo, along with chicken thighs, andouille sausage, and veggies. This Louisiana specialty can now be made in your own kitchen!
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo: A Louisiana Specialty
This authentic Louisiana chicken and sausage gumbo is from a former friend’s grandmother. It is more of a Cajun gumbo rather than a Creole gumbo. The Creole gumbo would likely have a seafood mix instead of a chicken and sausage mixture. Regardless of Cajun or Creole, this gumbo is wildly flavorful and so hearty.
The base of the chicken and sausage gumbo starts with the richly flavored dark roux that you make. It is what makes ALL the difference. It’s what gives the nutty and smokey taste to the gumbo.
Gumbo Roux
The hallmark of a richly flavorful gumbo is in the roux. I’m not talking just any roux though. The gumbo roux has to be a deep, chocolate brown color. It takes about 1 hour to reach this gorgeous shade of brown. You don’t want it to be dark chocolate colored because then it becomes bitter.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Take care to not walk away while making your roux. It can burn in a blink of an eye and you’ll be left with a bitter roux and you’ll have to start all over!
- When making the roux, do not add cold ingredients directly to it. It can cause separation. You want all the ingredients at room temperature before adding to the roux.
- Use a neutral oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. Do not use butter, olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, etc.
- As mentioned above, if you want to make this more of a Creole gumbo, swap out the chicken and sausage for seafood like crawfish or shrimp. Or, this Cajun seafood gumbo that has a trio of seafood like shrimp, crab, and oysters!
- Serve chicken and sausage gumbo over white rice or dirty rice.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Allow leftovers to cool then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, portion out a desired amount into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until warmed through. Alternatively, you may also reheat this on the stovetop in a small pot.
To freeze, allow leftovers to cool then spoon gumbo into Souper Cube trays *. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, pop out the desired amount and reheat in a pot on the stovetop until warmed through.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Equipment
Ingredients
For the roux:
- 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
For the gumbo:
- 12 ounces Andouille sausage, cut into half moons
- 3 pounds (1361 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup (101 g) chopped celery, about 3-4 stalks
- 8 cups (1893 ml) chicken broth
- ⅛ – ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons file powder
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 below. 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).1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour, 1/2 cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
- To make the gumbo, in a large dutch oven, brown the sausage with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Once the sausage is brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.12 ounces Andouille sausage
- Brown the chicken pieces in the same oil and sprinkle Cajun seasoning on the chicken. Once chicken is brown, remove with slotted spoon and set aside.3 pounds (1361 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- Next, in the same oil, sauté onion, green bell pepper, and celery (they call this the holy trinity in Louisiana) until soft and tender.1 large onion, 1 large green bell pepper, 1 cup (101 g) chopped celery
- 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.8 cups (1893 ml) chicken broth, 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 4 bay leaves, Salt and pepper
- Bring mixture to a boil then let it simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- 30 minutes prior to finishing and serving, whisk in file powder then continue to let it simmer.1 1/2 tablespoons file powder
- Serve over bed of white rice.
Nutrition
Photographs by Eat Love Eat
That Cajun seasoning is a staple in so many meals in our house! We have a friend who grew up in Louisiana and she is the queen of gumbo too. Definitely a labor of love and definitely worth it, 100%!!
Well, thank you Sister-in-Law-Sarah! This recipe looks so perfect.
(Future SIL here!)
Looks awesome, Julie! You really did justice to our family recipe! And like Andie said, today is one of the first good “gumbo weather” days here in south Louisiana so this is really making me want to whip out my gumbo pot and go for it. :)
You will not be disappointed with this very filling, very comforting version of a Louisiana favorite!
This looks delicious! A perfect dish for the cold weather.
Like I mentioned on twitter, this recipe is pretty much spot on to my mom’s recipe and how she makes gumbo. We do same version with roux whether we do chicken & sausage or seafood gumbo. We usually reserve seafood gumbo for Christmas Eve or during Lent, or a special occasion. I’ll give a secret for when you are in a pinch, though, for roux- you can BUY jarred roux that is pretty close to homeade (if you want to make a quick pot of gumbo instead of slaving over the stove for 4 hours) my mom uses it sometimes and so do I. If you need some, I can send you a jar (it lasts a long time, too)
Also, you can tell a lot about where a person is from in Louisiana by how they take their gumbo. Some add their file to the rice first, some add okra to thicken, some people boil eggs in their gumbo (my mom does this for extra protein and to make it go further) and some people serve their gumbo over potato salad instead of rice. A good gumbo recipe is passed down through generations and its value is clearly evident! :)
SPeaking of, the weather down here in Louisiana today is PRIME “gumbo weather” Ask your SIL all about “gumbo weather” :) It’s an expression down here in Louisiana!
Gumbo is such a comforting meal – looks amazing!
Mmm, I can’t remember the last time I had gumbo! This looks fantastic!
Sometimes the most labor intensive recipes turn out the best which looks like the case in this gumbo. I can’t wait to make this!
Yeaaaah if you could just find a way to get this into my mouth, that’d be cool.
I ADORE gumbo! We have a restaurant nearby that has the best gumbo, but I’ve always wanted to make it on my own and just that picture of that chocolate-colored, smoky roux alone is making me race to the store to buy everything right this second! Holy heck, this looks amazing!!