Creole-Style Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

This Creole-Style Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is classic south Louisiana fare. It’s delicious, and it’s a great way to celebrate Mardi Gras!

Fat Tuesday is less than a week away.  Yup, it’s early this year.  In honor of this wonderful season of celebration, Spiced will be featuring several traditional Louisiana-style dishes over the next couple of days.  If you’ve never made this style of food at home, then you are missing out!  So grab some beads ingredients, and make one (or several) of these recipes this weekend.

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I lived in southern Louisiana for several years, and my experience was amazing.  From the food to the people to the food to the culture, wait did I mention the food?  Many people think Cajun and Creole cuisine consists primarily of loads and loads of cayenne pepper.  True, some creole dishes can be spicy–but the food of this region is so much more than hot spices!  Take this Chicken and Sausage Gumbo for instance…you can definitely make this recipe spicy, but you can also make a delicious gumbo that has very little heat.

I was taught how to make Chicken and Sausage Gumbo from a coworker who had lived in southern Louisiana for her entire life.  There are probably hundreds of recipes for gumbo…Some include tomatoes, others don’t.  Some are seafood-based, some are rabbit-based, others are chicken or sausage-based. 

The great thing  about gumbo is that its not particularly difficult to make (but it does typically include some unique-to-Louisiana ingredients).  If you are lucky enough to live in a part of the country where these ingredients are common, then great!  However, if you are like me and live far away from southern Louisiana, then you might have to hunt for things like tasso or andouille.  The good news is that you can always order these specialty items on the web–you just have to plan ahead a bit…

Creole-Style Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

This Creole-Style Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is classic south Louisiana fare. It's delicious, and it's a great way to celebrate Mardi Gras!

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 590kcal

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Ingredients

• 3 split chicken breasts
• 4 chicken thighs
• 8 oz pork tasso diced
• 24 oz andouille style sausage sliced into ~1/2″ slices
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 medium yellow onions peeled and diced
• 2 green bell peppers diced
• 2 stalks celery diced
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 8 cups water
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• Rice for serving
• Gumbo file for serving

Instructions

• Begin by making a roux in a large stockpot. On low heat, add the oil and then gradually add flour until both flour and oil are well combined. Stir constantly until the roux reaches a medium-dark brown color. This will probably take about 20-25 minutes. (Roux can burn quickly, so pay close attention. If it burns, you will need to start over!)
• Meanwhile, saute the sliced andouille until outside of slices turns dark in color, about 15-20 minutes on medium-high heat. (This step adds a nice texture to the sausage once it goes into the gumbo.)
• Once the roux is done, add the onions, bell peppers, and celery. Stir well.
• Add the chicken stock, water, and tomatoes.
• Bring mixture to a light, rolling boil.
• Boil for about 45-60 minutes, then add the chicken and tasso.
• Once chicken begins to fall off of the bone (about 30 minutes), strain out all of the chicken pieces and debone.
• Discard bones.
• Place chicken back into the stockpot along with the sliced andouille.
• Bring gumbo back to a slow, rolling boil and cook for another 45-60 minutes.
• Serve over white rice with several slices of fresh crusty bread. (Once gumbo has been dished into bowls, add approximately 1/2 tbsp gumbo file. Stir well.)

Note: Celery, onion, and bell peppers are often referred to as the Holy Trinity of Cajun Cooking–many Louisiana inspired dishes include these 3 ingredients in some way.

Tip: If you don’t want to make your own roux, then there are plenty of other options.  When I’m not making my own, I prefer to use Savoie’s Old-Fashioned Dark Roux.  I use about 1/2 jar of Savoie’s when I go that route…

Tip: Gumbo is almost always served with some sort of crusty bread.  So pick up a baguette from your local market or check out my recent post on making your own homemade baguettes!

This Chicken and Sausage Gumbo serves a crowd…and it makes for a really fun dinner party.  In fact, this is one of our go-to recipes whenever my wife and I have a big group of friends over for dinner.  It’s relatively easy, delicious, and (depending on where you live) unique enough that people will enjoy trying something different at your place.  So make yourself a pot of gumbo, pick up a six-pack of Abita beer, and celebrate the Mardi Gras season!