Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

5 from 18 votes

Louisiana Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is a true representation of classic home cooking - taking simple, inexpensive ingredients and elevating them into an extraordinary meal. This Creole gumbo is loaded with okra, tomatoes, sausage, and chicken - it is so delicious.

Prep Time30

Cook Time4

Total Time4 30

Servings: cups

Calories: 388kcal

Author: Kari

Equipment

a stock pot or a gumbo pot
the oven
a sharp knife
a cutting board
measuring cups
measuring spoons

Ingredients

2 - 3 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs I have started undercooking the chicken and letting it finish in the boiling stock - it gets poached with all the delicious flavors in the broth.
32 oz cut okra about 6 - 8 cups
1 pound andouille or hot smoked sausage, diced or sliced
⅓ cup vegetable oil canola, avocado, or light tasting olive oil will also work
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup onion diced
1 cup celery diced
1 cup green bell pepper diced
1 cup green onions thinly chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped If you do not have fresh parsley, use 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of dried parsley.
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon dried basil
2 dried bay leaves
½ teaspoon black pepper Pepper to taste at this point, you may need more depending on your preferences.
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice or use 2 - 2½ cups of fresh tomatoes, cut into small chunks
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt + more to taste
½ teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning + more to taste
3 quarts chicken stock, chicken broth, or bone broth

Garnish

4 cups cooked white rice
Tabasco Sauce

Instructions

Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F. Spread the okra on a cookie sheet and let it bake while you get everything else cooking.
32 oz cut okra
While the okra is in the oven, spread chicken breasts on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil & sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some Tony's Creole Seasoning. Bake the chicken for the same length of time as the okra and remove it when the okra comes out. (It's okay if it isn't fully cooked.)
2 - 3 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
Once the okra and chicken are in the oven, dice up andouille sausage and drop it in a large pot over medium heat. While it cooks, dice up the vegetables.
1 pound andouille or hot smoked sausage, diced or sliced
Once the andouille is cooked, remove it from the pot and start making the roux.
To make the roux, heat the oil over medium-low heat and then add flour. Stir or whisk until the clumps of flour are broken up. Scrape the sausage bits off the bottom of the pot as well. The roux will look kind of like paste at first, then it will slowly start to get darker and will start smelling toasty.
⅓ cup vegetable oil, ½ cup all-purpose flour
For this type of gumbo, you are looking for more of a cardboard box/peanut butter-colored roux. (There are more details about the roux above in the post.)
Once the roux is ready, add the baked okra right from the oven. Also, remove the chicken from the oven and set it off to the side.
32 oz cut okra
Stir the okra into the roux, then add the diced green bell pepper, diced onion, and diced celery. Stir into the roux and cook for about 5 minutes.
1 cup onion, 1 cup green bell pepper, 1 cup celery
When the onions start to soften, add the garlic, tomatoes, and green onions, then season with marjoram, basil, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, Tony's, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes.
1 cup green onions, 4 cloves garlic, ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon marjoram, ½ teaspoon dried basil, 2 dried bay leaves, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, ½ teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
Next, add the chicken - diced or shredded. (If you cooked the chicken in an Instant Pot, go ahead and add the broth that was in the bottom of the pot - it's liquid gold!)
2 - 3 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
Add the cooked andouille and cook for a few more minutes, stirring to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
1 pound andouille or hot smoked sausage, diced or sliced
Now, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
3 quarts chicken stock, chicken broth, or bone broth
Once the gumbo broth starts boiling, reduce it to a simmer. Simmer uncovered on low heat for at least an hour, I recommend 2 - 3 hours. The longer you cook the gumbo, the better it will be.
Stir as needed to prevent the gumbo from sticking to the bottom. It might develop a film on top - just stir that in.
When ready to serve, spoon the gumbo into bowls with a scoop of freshly made white rice. Garnish with extra salt & pepper if desired and a few dashes of Tabasco Sauce.
Tabasco Sauce, 4 cups cooked white rice

Notes

Tips

If you dice the vegetables a day or two before while getting things ready, cover the celery in water in an airtight container. It will lose moisture as it sits and will be crunchy and harder to cook.
Cook the gumbo for as long as you can. It will get nice and thick and will be so delicious.
The liquid in the gumbo will reduce A LOT, but if it starts to look like too much broth is cooking off, you can either add more chicken stock or reduce the heat even lower and put the lid on the pot.

Nutrition