Chicken and sausage gumbo
Dark, smoky and rich, built on a slow chocolate-brown roux with andouille, chicken and the holy trinity of onion, pepper and celery, spooned over rice.
- 120 min total
- 60 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $3.06 a serving
- 710 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 oz andouille sausage, sliced into coins
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
From your pantry
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups water
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 710 calories, 38 g protein, 53 g carbs and 37 g fat, and costs about $3.06 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No hot sauce? Sriracha works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, bell pepper and celery, the garlic, the sausage and cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Keep everything next to the stove.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dolly’s tip: Chop everything before you start the roux. Once it’s going, you can’t walk away.Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a over medium heat and in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 20 to 30 minutes, until it’s the color of milk chocolate.
Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is a heavy pot, usually enameled cast iron, with a tight-fitting lid. It holds heat evenly, so it’s great for soups, stews and anything that simmers a long time.
How you’ll know: Any large, heavy pot with a lid does the same job if you don’t have one.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 25 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep stirring and scraping the whole time. If you see black flecks or smell burning, it’s scorched and you need to start again. Lower heat is slower but safer.Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and stir for 5 minutes, until . The roux will darken a little more.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Stir in the garlic, Cajun seasoning and thyme for 1 minute.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in the broth 1 cup at a time, after each so it stays smooth, then add the bay leaves and .
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Add the sausage and chicken, turn the heat to low and uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring now and then and spooning off any oil that rises to the top.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 45 min
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
While the gumbo simmers, the rice and bring it, the water and the salt to a boil in a .
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, then take it off the heat and leave the lid on.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Pull out the bay leaves and taste the gumbo, adding more Cajun seasoning or hot sauce if you want it spicier.
Spoon rice into bowls, ladle the gumbo over and top with green onions.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Instant Pot feijoada (Brazilian black bean stew)
120 min
Pork adobo
110 min
Chicken bog
80 min
Chicken pilau
65 min
High-protein dinners ›Cozy comfort food ›What to make with chicken and rice ›What to make with rice and bell peppers ›What to make with chicken and bell peppers ›