Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with Potatoes

Traditional gumbo is served over a bed of rice. This chicken and sausage gumbo skips the rice and adds potato to make a thick and hearty dish. Sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission.

This is the second recipe that I am sharing with you for the promotion with the Idaho Potato Commission where I was asked to develop four recipes using a 10-pound bag of Idaho Potatoes that would feed a family of four for $25.

I have already shared my twist on two classic recipes: Chicken Pot Shepard’s Pie. There is also my Spinach and Potato Lasagna, oh so delicious! Today I am adding a twist to another classic dish: gumbo!

I am an oil brat. My parents both worked in the oil industry, and I was born in New Orleans. We only lived there my first four years of life, but for some odd reason, I wear that Cajun badge proudly. (I will always root for the New Orleans Saints, ya’ll).

Now I grew up in Houston, Texas, but living off the Gulf Coast meant we had a plethora of cuisines to choose from. And since my mom was an avid cook, it’s not too surprising that shrimp scampi and etoufee often made an appearance at our family dinner table.

But for gumbo, we relied on our dear Southern friends for this authentic meal. This potato gumbo is my twist of an iconic recipe that I adore.

Why you will love this recipe

Gumbo is a seafood (or not) soup (or stew) served alone (or with rice). Yes, gumbo comes in a variety of different textures, flavors and even consistencies. In its most common form, it is a thick soup with andouille sausage and rice.

A pot of gumbo almost always begins with the roux, melted butter with flour stirred in and then slowly browned to various degrees of brown. I go into more details about roux later in this post.

It is also served a little thicker, like a stew, and then served over rice. While I researched more about gumbo, I found people are very passionate about their gumbo recipes and traditions, and conflicting opinions were everywhere.

To add okra or not? To add tomatoes or not? Thicken with roux or with file? It goes on and on!

After a few disappointing rounds with gumbo, I decided to add the flavors and ingredients that I wanted and add my own special touch. Instead of serving this chicken and sausage gumbo over rice, I decided it was better, healthier and more delicious with potatoes.

My family went nuts over the gumbo. So many terrific flavors and so filling and hearty. I kept a bottle of hot sauce on the table for those of us who like a little more kick in our food.

Total comfort food in a bowl!

Ingredients you need

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• Chicken breast: You can add shrimp or crawfish to your gumbo, if you like seafood. But since I was creating an economical dish, I chose chicken. 
• Extra virgin olive oil: I brown my chicken and make my roux using olive oil. You can also use butter or vegetable oil.
• Onion: You can use yellow or white onions.
• Celery: This is key to building the flavor profile of gumbo. You only need a stalk or two.
• Green bell pepper: I used green bell peppers because they usually cost less, but you can totally use red, orange or yellow peppers.
• Potatoes: I used russet potatoes but you can also use the waxy red or yellow potatoes.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic has the best flavor, but you can substitute with garlic powder.
• Chicken broth: Because this gumbo has chicken, I used chicken broth. You can also use vegetable broth. For seafood based gumbos, I would use a combination of seafood stock or clam juice with vegetable broth.
• Canned diced tomatoes: You can also use diced fresh tomatoes, but do remove the skin before adding to the gumbo.
• Andouille sausage: Andouille sausage is almost always included in gumbo. It adds spice and tremendous flavor to your dish. You can also use kielbasa.
• Okra: You can use fresh okra for this recipe, but I found frozen okra to be very affordable and priced less than fresh. Plus fresh okra is not always readily available in grocery stores.
• Pantry staples: all purpose flour, tomato paste, bay leaves, paprika, ground thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt

Step-by-step directions

1. Season both sides of chicken breast with salt and pepper. Brown both sides of the chicken in a large Dutch oven with a little oil. Transfer chicken to a bowl and reserve.

2. Add remaining oil to the hot pot and stir in flour. Stir until a paste is formed and reduce heat to medium. Continue stirring and cooking until roux thickens and color is a dark caramel color, about 15-20 minutes.

2. Stir onions and celery into the paste and keep cooking until vegetables start to soften.

3. Stir in bell pepper, potatoes and garlic. Cook vegetables for 5-7 minutes then add chicken broth, diced tomatoes and tomato paste.

4. Scrape the browned bits off from the bottom of the pot. Add sausage, bay leaves, paprika, thyme and cayenne pepper to the pot. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and cook for 1 hour.

5. Stir in reserved chicken and okra. Cover pot and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Do not overcook okra or it will turn mushy

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

Roux is a French culinary term for the browning and cooking of melted butter mixed with flour. This paste is cooked slowly, as you do not want to burn it, as it transforms its color from caramel to chocolate brown.

Now roux is typically equal parts flour and butter heated together to make a paste. You can also make roux using oil. I chose to use olive oil, of course.

You cook the paste over medium heat to the desired color you like. Some prefer a dark chocolate color roux, others prefer lighter.

I made mine a caramel color because the darker roux made well, an unattractive looking potato gumbo. It is also easy to burn the roux when you get to the darker color, and no one wants to taste that in their potato gumbo.

Whether you are making gumbo with potatoes or without, you can vary the meat you want to feature. You can also adjust the spice level to your preference, but I like a small bit of kick, nothing too overpowering – especially since my 13-year old son loves gumbo and I can’t make it too spicy for him.

So next time you have an envie (craving) for some gumbo, cher (dear), try something a little different. I know this potato gumbo isn’t authentic gumbo, but it’s my twist on the classic chicken and sausage gumbo. And it’s really delicious.

Laissez les bon temps rouler! (let the good times roll)

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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