Gumbo is the classic Louisiana food. It is a type of stew served over rice, usually eaten in a bowl. This article shows an easy to cook gumbo recipe that you will enjoy. There are two styles of gumbo in southern Louisiana, Cajun and Creole. I grew up with a more Cajun style of cooking gumbo. This recipe is a classic Cajun recipe made without tomatoes and optional boiled eggs. Creole style gumbo is cooked with more ingredients like tomatoes, okra, and corn.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Allie

An easy to cook gumbo recipe. This is a classic Cajun recipe, meaning this recipe has no tomatoes in it. It also does not use okra.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine Cajun

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 cast iron pot Using a cast iron pot makes cooking the roux easier as the heat can be turned down during cooking to avoid burning the roux. Additionally, the roux and veggies can be cooked in a large cast iron skillet and moved into a stew pot once it is done. Then the chicken broth and water can be added to the roux.

Ingredients

  

The Roux

• 1/3 cup neutral cooking oil
• 1/3 cup cup all purpose flour

The Greens

• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 2 sticks chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion

The Rice

• 2-3 cups rice (raw, add water) cooked separately

The Meat

• 1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 link hot sausage (Andouille) sliced
• water as needed

The Seasonings

• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp salt add more to taste as it cooks
• 1 tsp black pepper add more to taste as it cooks
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper add more to taste as it cooks
• 10 drops Tabasco sauce add more to taste as it cooks
• Gumbo file ground sassafras leaves

Instructions

 

Make the Roux

• The roux thickens the gumbo and adds flavor to it. Put the light cooking oil in the cast iron pot and heat it until pinch of flour bubbles in the pot.
• Put the all purpose flour into the oil and stir. Continue stirring and cooking the oil until it turns dark brown, but not burnt. [NOTE] You will have to turn down the heat as it cooks as the flour will burn if the oil is too hot.
• The roux is ready when it has a dark brown color like chocolate. Any darker and the roux will be burned. This may take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.

Add the Veggies

• Add the onion, green bell pepper, 2 sticks celery, and green onion to the hot roux and stir.
• Cook the veggies until they are softened, then add the bay leaves, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and Tabasco sauce.
• Add chicken broth and whisk together until mixed. If needed, add water as needed and whisk until the gumbo has the consistency of thin stew.
• Turn up the heat until the mixture reaches a slow boil. The gumbo will thicken as it cooks.

Add the Meat and Cook the Gumbo

• Once the gumbo is boiling, add the chicken and hot sausage (Andouille). Continue to boil until the chicken is nearly falling off the bone. This will take about an hour and a half.
• Season to taste while the gumbo cooks.
• During the last 30 minutes of the gumbo cooking, make the rice according to its instructions.
• Once the gumbo is done, serve it over rice in a bowl. Add enough gumbo to act like a soup. Place pieces of chicken and some sausage in the bowl. Season with more spice and add Gumbo file as needed.