In anticipation of Mardi Gras, I made gumbo!!! New Orleans chicken sausage gumbo 💜💚💛.
It was hands down one of my absolute faves when we went to visit Nola a few years ago (side note I need to go back that city is AH-mazing!). Let's dive right in.
There are three musts of a classic gumbo. Without them, it just ain't right!
Firstly, a super dark, nutty, brown roux using oil and flour. Whisk and whisk and whisk over medium-low heat for 30 minutes to get the right consistency, color, and flavor. Do NOT leave that stovetop or it'll burn in .2 seconds and you'll have to start over.
Basically, when you think it's dark enough, keep going for another 5 minutes until your arm is going to fall off from whisking 🤣 . Then you should be good to go!
Secondly, the holy trinity. In Cajun and Creole cooking, the classic mirepoix is switched up. Instead of onion, carrots, and celery, traditional Louisiana cooking uses onion, bell pepper, and celery. Gotta have it for a solid chicken and sausage gumbo!
Thirdly, the addition of gumbo file. Now, this add-in is technically optional, especially if not available near you, it adds a specific texture and taste to a gumbo that you won't find anywhere else.
PS. Some people may say that okra is required for a classic gumbo, but others say definitely not. Depends on your preference!
Enjoy this classic New Orleans chicken sausage gumbo on Fat Tuesday for a traditional Louisiana dinner! Scroll down for the recipe.
New Orleans Chicken Sausage Gumbo
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Classic, authentic southern style gumbo with chicken, andouille sausage and a hint of spice with a dash of Tabasco.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached, all purpose flour
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 12 ounces cooked andouille sausage, sliced
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced (I like to use ½ green bell pepper and ½ red bell pepper)
- 2 celery ribs, halved and sliced
- 2 cups fresh or frozen okra, sliced*
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ teaspoons gumbo file
- ¼ teaspoon Tabasco, more as desired
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Green onion, roughly sliced and fresh parlsey, roughly chopped for garnish
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Make the roux: In a medium sized skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook for 25-30 minutes, until dark brown, whisking frequently. Towards the end of cooking, whisk constantly, taking care to not let the roux burn. Set aside in a warm place.
- Pat chicken thighs and chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Season evenly with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add chicken and sear 1-2 minutes per side. You may need to do half at a time to avoid over crowding the pot. Remove chicken to a plate.
- Pour ½ cup of the chicken broth into the pot and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom.
- Add remaining olive oil, onion, bell pepper, celery and okra and saute until onion starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, cayenne powder, Cajun or Creole seasoning and saute for 1 minute.
- Stir in sausage and add the chicken back to the pot.
- Add the roux and stir until the contents of the pot is evenly coated.
- Pour in 4 ½ cups of the chicken broth and Tabasco. Add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and loosely cover. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove gumbo from heat. Add more chicken broth as desired for consistency. Stir in gumbo file. After you've added the gumbo file, do NOT reboil as this will make the gumbo stringy.
- Add salt, pepper, and more Tabasco as desired. Garnish with green onion and parsley. Serve immediately as a soup or over white rice.
Notes
If not available near you, substituting 14 ounces of canned okra, drained works too!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
John says
Hey y'all. My name is john. I'm cooking 5 gallons of chicken and sausage gumbo once a week for 5 weeks for our local soup Kitchen. I've got 25 lbs of gumbo base coming from the Zaterains co. I'm just a New Orleans born cook. NOT A CHEF. I've never cooked for 150- 200 people. I'm on my third week of creole cream style red beans donated by Camilla.
Benny says
The image can't be from the recipe.. red roux from flour and oil...? How is this so??
Aberdeen says
It's definitely from the recipe!
Amy says
There is something fundamentally wrong with this recipe. I am not a master soup chef or work in a cajun restaurant, but I am pretty familiar with my kitchen. I’m also pretty darn familiar with gumbos, both the $1.99 to $30.99+ variety. What’s truly unfortunate is that this recipe is stupid tasty! The flavor is correct but my goodness this produces a THICK THICK THIIIIICCCCCCKKKKKK gumbo. I have had biscuits & gravy with thinner gravy. Now, I’m willing to put myself up for possibly following the instructions wrong.....somehow....(even though I went over the ingredient list and directions 5 times myself, and then asked my boyfriend to read it back to me to make sure I wasn’t over looking something). The best I can figure is that I did not cook my roux long enough but ANYONE THIS FAR INTO THIS COMMENT BE WARNED, THE DARKER THE ROUX, THE LESS THICK IT WILL BE AND HOLY MOLY 25-30 MINUTES IS SIMPLY. NOT. LONG. ENOUGH for cooking the roux. If I ever venture this recipe again, I will prepare to spend hours in front of the stove to make sure I get the roux properly dark. This recipe, with a 30minute roux window will make a blonde roux, and in turn a spicy Cajun pudding. Not a gumbo. In order to fix this disaster, I had to perform emergency surgery on my gumbo, using a colander, strain the goodies from the....delicious goop, and the then put the veggies/meat on a low heat in my slow cooker with an additional 2-3 cups chicken broth just to walk it backwards to a relative consistency. The good news is I shouldn’t have any trouble trying to get it to thicken back up since I have about 5ish cups of gravy to add back in. If necessary. Big if.
Matthew Edens says
Can this be pressure canned when done. And how many minutes and pressure?
.Golden Spike says
A secret: all of my neighbors in New Orleans make the roux by stirring the dry flour in a dry cast-iron skillet until it’s a medium brown-only then do you add the oil. Otherwise, you’re just frying the flour and the roux will taste like Starbucks coffee - yuk. Toasting the dry flour is how good gumbo achieves that wonderful nutty taste.
Also-never ask where someone gets their filé-it’s a family secret, Asking will put them in the very uncomfortable position of having to say “no.”
Chef Michael says
Amy, Chill out, I bet if done by the recipe it will turn out great.