Smoked Sausage and Chicken Gumbo is a classic taste of the south. This mouthwatering recipe won me first prize at a family gumbo cook off!
Recently I had a conversation with friends about holiday traditions. I have fond childhood memories of candlelit Christmas Eve church services, playing card games on Christmas day, and eating my Dad’s gumbo the day after Christmas.
I know what you might be thinking. Gumbo? in Iowa? Despite having zero ties to the south – he’s lived in Iowa for decades and hails from Ohio – my Dad’s been making gumbo all my life. What can I say, it’s his thing!
While I don’t know what fun holiday traditions the future holds for our little family, I love that it could now include my own version of homemade gumbo – the Smoked Sausage and Chicken Gumbo I made for a recent family gumbo cook-off — and WON!
Smoked Andouille sausage and tender shredded chicken combine in a full-flavored, Cajun spiced broth that becomes thick and glossy after simmering low and slow for over an hour. Scooped over fluffy white rice, no matter where you live you’ll feel like you’re in the French Quarter at a restaurant older than you are while enjoying a big bowl of this perfectly spicy gumbo. Ice cold Abita on the side, naturally, if only in your imagination.
That said, I based this recipe on the gumbos I’ve enjoyed on my travels down south to New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah, where I ordered gumbo nearly as often as I ordered Shrimp and Grits. What can I say, a good gumbo speaks to my soul.
Whether you’re a seasoned gumbo eater, or new to the dish, promise me you’ll try this easy Smoked Sausage and Chicken Gumbo. Rich, hearty, and warming, it’ll keep you cozy on the coldest of winter nights.
Start by browning Andouille sausage in vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Andouille sausage is a smoked sausage that’s spicy. That said, feel free to go with kielbasa if you want a more mild gumbo.
Slice then sear the andouille sausage until golden-brown and sizzling. Scoop the sausage onto a plate then set aside.
Next season bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs with Cajun or Creole seasoning on both sides.
Place the thighs into the Dutch oven skin-side down then sear for 3-4 minute a side. They don’t have to be cooked through at this point.
Transfer the seared chicken thighs to the same plate as the sausage then set aside.
Now it’s time to make the roux, which will thicken and flavor the gumbo.
First take the Dutch oven off the heat to cool for a couple minutes. The roux is made from oil and flour and since the Dutch oven retains heat very well, we don’t want it to burn the roux.
After a couple minutes, return the Dutch oven to the burner over medium-low heat then add oil and sprinkle in gluten-free flour (or AP flour if not GF). Whisk constantly for the next 10-15 minutes until the roux has turned the color of caramel.
Next add green bell pepper, celery, and shallot or onion that’s been chopped then saute until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 5 minutes.
I like using a wooden spoon with a flat edge to make sure the roux isn’t sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Finally, add tomato paste and minced garlic cloves then saute for 1 more minute.
I always keep extra tomato paste frozen in 2 Tablespoon segments in a plastic baggie. So easy to snap off a segment then throw it in the pot!
Next add a couple big glugs of low sodium chicken broth then start scraping the bottom of the Dutch oven to loosen any bits. Just keep adding glugs and scraping.
Add the remaining chicken broth plus bay leaves and a few spices including more Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.
Add the sausage and chicken back into the Dutch oven, turn the heat up to high to bring the gumbo to a boil, then turn the heat back down to medium and simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours, occasionally skimming off any fat that raises to the top.
At this point your gumbo should be thick, rich, and luxurious. DROOL!
Remove and discard the bay leaves then take the chicken thighs out and discard the bones and skin. Shred the meat then add it back into the gumbo and stir to combine.
Scoop the gumbo over cooked white rice then devour!
Between the smoky Andouille sausage, buttery shredded chicken, and warming Cajun spices, this gumbo is packed to the max with flavor. Such a winner – enjoy!
More Gluten Free Comfort Food Recipes
- Gluten Free Lasagna
- One Pot Gnocchi Chicken Pot Pie
- One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Homestyle Chicken and Noodles
- Creamy Mushroom Parmesan Pasta
- Stove Top Beef Stew
- Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
- 14 oz Andouille sausage, sliced into half moons
- 4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs , ~1-1/4lb
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, see notes
- 6 Tablespoons gluten free flour, or AP flour if not GF
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded then chopped
- 2 small celery ribs, chopped
- 1 large shallot or 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more or less
- cooked white rice, for serving
Directions
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage then saute until browned, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a plate then set aside. Season both sides of chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning then place skin side down in Dutch oven. Sear on both sides until golden brown, 3-4 minutes a side (does not need to be cooked through,) then transfer to plate with sausage and set aside.
- Remove Dutch oven from heat for a few minutes to cool slightly then place back over medium-low heat. Add remaining 3 Tablespoons oil then sprinkle in flour and whisk constantly until mixture is the color of caramel, 10-15 minutes (this is your roux.) Add bell pepper, celery, and shallot or onion then saute until vegetables are slightly tender, 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the Dutch oven often with a wooden spoon to make sure roux doesn't burn. Add garlic and tomato paste then saute for one more minute.
- Slowly drizzle in the chicken broth while using the wooden spoon to scrape up any bits on the bottom. Add remaining chicken broth, remaining 1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, sauted sausage and chicken thighs then turn heat up to bring gumbo to a boil. Turn heat down to medium then simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours, occasionally skimming off any fat that rises to the top.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board then remove and discard skin and bones. Shred chicken then add back into the gumbo. Remove bay leaves then taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve over cooked white rice.
Notes
- I like Emeril's Creole Seasoning.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Made this recipe tonight & it will definitely be on repeat!! Love it! So delicious. The step by step photos really helped out.
Made this when we played bridge last week. It was excellent. Can’t thank you enough for all your good recipes.
Looks delicious…I’ll definitely try this. And what a great tip about the tomato paste! Never thought of that!
My family devours this recipe! Have you ever tried making this in the Instant Pot?
I am fairly new to your site but our family already has three favorites of yours and that is hard to do in our family of four with differing picky tastes!
We were having a hard time finding chicken at the beginning of the pandemic here so I told my his a band to buy what he could find. That ended up being bone in chicken thighs, I thought oh great… what am I going to do with these? I froze them and about a month later saw this recipe. We live in the desert and it’s not exactly gumbo weather here right now, but I pretty much had everything on hand (subbed a red pepper for the green, and turkey kielbasa for the andouille).
This. Recipe. Is. AMAZING. It reminded me of being in New Orleans and I’ve never had so much success re-creating a creole staple at home. We all ate it up and decided it was a keeper; even my picky kids! I read through the comments and I too had a very thick, pasty roux. It also only cooked for about 8 minutes because at that point it was a dark Carmel color and started smelling a little burnt. I really bet the difference is using regular AP flour vs. rice flour. We aren’t gluten free, but I may try the rice flour next time after reading from a commenter that it makes a smoother gravy. I really think what added so much to the flavor of this as well was scraping up all those burnt parts from the bottom of the pan.
Thank you for a recipe that will be made in our house for years to come!
Celiac family and we absolutely love this recipe! I
Have made it three times now adding okra and shrimp to it the last two times. Hubby loves it!
So happy to hear that, Marcella! I’m going to try adding shrimp next time. YUM.
Great recipe! You know it’s a winner when your husband brings up how good dinner was multiple times throughout the night!
I wanted to try this recipe for my daughter’s birthday, and we are both Celiacs. I haven’t had gumbo in 10 years, but I saw your recipe and it looked incredible, so I tried my hand at it. I went Cajun rather than Creole (basically omitting the tomato, and adding okra), plus I also added shrimp because my daughter loves her seafood.
Absolutely amazing! I cannot recommend this recipe enough, this is my go-to Gumbo recipe from here on out, without question. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Thanks for sharing this recipe again, Kristin. I made it for dinner the other night and it was a hit. The kids have already asked when I am going to make it again!
I made this tonight and it tastes amazing. I made a few tweaks to it for what I had on hand. I used olive oil, and did the chicken thighs first. I didn’t have andouille on hand but I had Hillsbire farm kielbasa. Brown both, and did the roux. I let that simmer a few. My local supermarket has a miripoux package that’s in the frozen aisle and I put that in and let that simmer for a few minutes then added the meat back. I did two hours. It tastes to die for. The mistake I made was using a Cajun seasoning with high of a salt content. It’s really salty so I put two raw potatoes in it and it will sit overnight in the fridge. I will fish out the potatoes and reheat (I find gumbo tastes better the next day). I can’t wait!!
Hi, first off we love your recipes. I have celiacs as well and so many of them are staples for us. My question is about freezing gumbo. I’m planning to make it as part of my postpartum freezer meal prep but I’m not sure if it’s best to cook everything and freeze in ziplocks or just prep my roux and chop all veggies and cook my chicken and freeze that in a kit then throw all in crock pot with the broth when I’m ready to cook it. Thank you!
I have to make this ONCE A WEEK now for my family! They absolutely love it! Super easy to make and such a wonderful hearty recipe, thank you so much Iowa Girl!
Oh my gosh, warms my hear to hear it, Joanna! Thanks so much for your feedback and recipe rating!!
My go-to gumbo recipe! THE BEST!
This recipe is awesome! I left out the tomato paste firmer to allergy but was still great!! I will make it again and again! Thank you and I look forward to trying out more of your recipes.