This authentic, Louisiana-style Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is made from scratch with a rich, slowly developed dark roux, lots of fresh vegetables, shredded chicken thighs, and spicy smoked sausage. Serve this gumbo with buttered white rice to create the perfect, authentic Creole meal!
As a girl who was born and raised in Mississippi, about three hours outside of the city of New Orleans, Cajun and Creole food is something I grew up eating all the time. Gumbo is a dish that we serve at just about every holiday meal and throughout the year. Authentic, no shortcuts gumbo is a coveted dish where I'm from and I am excited to share this recipe with you!
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What Is Gumbo?
Gumbo is an iconic Creole stew-like dish, most popular in Louisiana, and can be made with an array of different ingredients and flavors. Gumbo typically includes fresh vegetables - including what's known as the "holy trinity" of onion, bell pepper, and celery - some type of meat or seafood, broth, a rich roux, and oftentimes okra as a thickener.
The history and roots of gumbo run deep and are representative of the melting pot culture that exists in Louisiana. Gumbo is said to have influences from African, Native American, and French cultures. The first documented references to gumbo were found to have appeared around the turn of the 19th century
This is a great article that dives into some of the history of gumbo making.
What Is Roux?
If you ask me, roux is the most important part of gumbo making and is how you get the richest flavor in a gumbo dish. Roux is a smooth paste, made from flour cooked in fat, and is added to sauces, soups, or gravies to make them thick, smooth, and rich.
Roux originally comes from French cooking techniques and is made with butter and flour. French-style roux is typically a lot lighter and is not cooked as long as Cajun-style roux. Think of the roux used to make bechamel sauces and macaroni and cheese sauces when you think of a French-style roux.
In Cajun and Creole recipes, such as this Chicken and Sausage Gumbo recipe, the roux is cooked for much longer until it reaches a dark, chocolate brown color. For this reason, Cajun and Creole roux is made with oil instead of butter as the butter would burn when cooked for an extended period of time.
This Michelin article provides a great breakdown of the different types of roux and their history.
Ingredients Needed to Make This Recipe
- Light flavored oil such as vegetable or canola oil. It is important to use a light flavored oil with a high smoke point in this recipe as we will cook the oil for a very long time with the flour to create our roux.
- Four boneless, skinless chicken thighs. About 1.25 pounds of chicken is the perfect amount for this recipe. You can also use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs if you prefer. Just be sure to cook the chicken until done and remove the skin and meat from the bones before adding back into the gumbo.
- ¼ pound of smoked sausage. 4 sausage links is a good amount for this recipe. Andouille or another variety of spicy pork sausage is what is typically used in authentic gumbo. You can also use chicken, turkey, or any other variety of smoked sausage you prefer, however.
- All-purpose flour. Flour is used to make the roux in this recipe and is cooked in the oil until it reaches a dark, chocolate brown color.
- 1 large onion. You can use yellow or white onion for this recipe. We use an entire diced onion to flavor the gumbo.
- Half of one green bell pepper. Rinse, seed, and chop your bell pepper for the gumbo.
- 1 red bell pepper. Rinse, seed, and chop your bell pepper for the gumbo.
- 2 large ribs of celery. This vegetable is also used to flavor our gumbo. Rinse and chop the celery ribs for the gumbo.
- Five cloves of fresh garlic. Fresh, minced garlic adds another layer of flavor to the gumbo.
- Salt, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper. These are the spices we will use to flavor our gumbo.
- Chicken stock. We add the stock to the gumbo once the roux has developed and the veggies have softened a bit to create a rich, flavorful broth. You can use store-bought or homemade stock.
- Fresh bay leaves and thyme sprigs. These fresh herbs are slow-simmered with the gumbo for added freshness and flavor and are removed before serving.
- Worcestershire sauce. Ok, I'll admit that this isn't a true authentic-style gumbo ingredient, but I find that it adds wonderful flavor to the gumbo. A small amount of this ingredient is added toward the end of the cooking time and is a completely optional step.
How To Make This Gumbo
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Season chicken thighs on each side with salt and pepper and cook until browned on both sides, about 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken meat using your hands or two forks and set it aside.
- Add the sliced sausage to the pot that you cooked the chicken in and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain using a slotted spoon.
- Add the remaining ⅔ cup of oil to the Dutch oven along with the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to create a paste. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until the roux reaches a chocolate brown color, scraping the bottom of the pot and stirring the roux frequently. Be careful not to scorch the roux while cooking. If you smell the roux starting to burn, lower the heat to the lowest setting and continue to cook while stirring frequently. This process should take about 30-40 minutes.
- Once the roux reaches a dark brown color, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pot and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until vegetables are softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add black pepper, paprika, and cayenne to the Dutch oven and stir to mix it into the roux. Add chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme, stir and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- Add more salt to taste and simmer the gumbo, uncovered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shredded chicken, sausage slices, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer for an additional 35-40 minutes, until a thick stew-like consistency is reached. Skim any fat that accumulates at the top while simmering.
- Remove gumbo from heat, add additional salt and pepper to taste if desired, and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Serve gumbo with warm white rice and garnish with sliced scallions. Have a bottle of hot sauce handy for serving 😉!
Make Ahead and Storing Instructions
This gumbo can be made ahead of time and frozen until ready to serve. To freeze gumbo, allow it to cool completely and transfer gumbo to large, heavy-duty freezer bags. Tightly seal bags, wrap them in plastic wrap, and store them in the freezer in a lying-down position for up to three months.
To reheat gumbo, allow it to thaw completely in the refrigerator then transfer it to a large stockpot and heat it until simmering. Add additional stock as needed until desired consistency is reached. I recommend transferring the gumbo to the refrigerator the day before serving to give it enough time to thaw.
Variations of This Gumbo Recipe
There are tons of different versions of gumbo out there, featuring all types of different ingredients. Some of my favorites are:
- Seafood Gumbo, made with several different types of shellfish.
- Redfish Gumbo
- Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo
What to Serve With Gumbo
Gumbo is traditionally served with nothing more than buttered white rice. This is how you see it served in Cajun and Creole restaurants and this is how I recommend serving gumbo.
You will also sometimes see gumbo served with some type of bread, such as crusty French bread, cornbread, or hushpuppies. You can also add a side salad of fresh greens to lighten things up if you prefer.
Also consider serving gumbo with a side of sauteed or steamed vegetables, such as okra or corn on the cob.
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
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📖 Recipe
Authentic Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon light flavored oil such as vegetable or canola oil
- 1.25 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs about four chicken thighs
- Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- ¼ pound of spicy sausage such as Andouille, about 4 links
- ⅔ cup all-pupose flour
- 1 large onion yellow or white, chopped
- ½ large green bell pepper rinsed, seeded, and chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper rinsed, seeded, and chopped
- 2 large celery ribs rinsed, sliced lengthwise, and chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons paprika
- 4 cups chicken stock store-bought or homemade, 32 ounces
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce optional
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Season chicken thighs on each side with salt and pepper and cook until browned on both sides, about 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken meat using your hands or two forks and set it aside.
- Add the sliced sausage to the pot that you cooked the chicken in and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain using a slotted spoon.
- Add the remaining ⅔ cup of oil to the Dutch oven along with the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to create a paste. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until the roux reaches a chocolate brown color, scraping the bottom of the pot and stirring the roux frequently. Be careful not to scorch the roux while cooking. If you smell the roux starting to burn, lower the heat to the lowest setting and continue to cook while stirring frequently. This process should take about 30-40 minutes.
- Once the roux reaches a dark brown color, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pot and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until vegetables are softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about another minute.
- Add black pepper, paprika, and cayenne to the Dutch oven and stir to mix it into the roux. Add chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme, stir and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- Add more salt to taste and simmer the gumbo, uncovered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shredded chicken, sausage slices, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer for an additional 35-40 minutes, until a thick stew-like consistency is reached. Skim any fat that accumulates at the top while simmering.
- Remove gumbo from heat, add additional salt and pepper to taste if desired, and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Serve gumbo with warm white rice and garnish with sliced scallions.
Made this tonight for Sunday dinner. It was perfect and super easy. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Tamara,
I’m so happy I could be a part of your family’s Sunday dinner and that you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you!
This is perfect, and my family's kind of gumbo all the way back to my grandfather learning to cook it from a cajun man on a boat in south Louisiana! I noticed though that the yummy garlic in the ingredient list is not in the steps. I know most would know to add it after your other veggies are added however! So nice to see the real deal on here!!!! ❤😊
Hi Kristi, I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Southern food is my first love and I'm so glad it translates through this recipe. Thanks for the call-out on the garlic. I will get that updated right away!