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.

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. Brown chicken. 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. Make the roux. 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.
3. Add onions. Stir onions and celery into the paste and keep cooking until vegetables start to soften.
4. Add potatoes. Stir in bell pepper, potatoes and garlic. Cook vegetables for 5-7 minutes then add chicken broth, diced tomatoes and tomato paste.
5. Simmer. 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.
6. Add okra. 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

The roux. 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.

Customizable. 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.

You can make yours thicker, like a stew, or more soupy to serve over rice. 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!

Who cares! It’s delicious in every way. 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.

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

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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with Potatoes

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

Traditional gumbo is served over a bed of rice. This Chicken and Sausage Potato Gumbo, skips the rice and adds potato to make a thick and hearty soup.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 434 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 chicken breast diced (approximately 1lb)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped onions
• ½ cup celery
• ½ cup green bell pepper
• 2 ½ lbs russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves crushed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 15 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 2 oz tomato paste
• 8 oz andouille sausage chopped (can also use kielbasa)
• 3 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground thyme
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 lb frozen chopped okra thawed

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Instructions

 

• Season both sides of chicken breast with salt and pepper.
• In a large Dutch oven, over medium high heat add 1 tablespoon oil. When oil is hot add chicken and cook until evenly browned. Transfer chicken to a bowl and reserve.
• Add 2 tablespoon 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.
• Stir onions into the paste. When onions have softened, stir in celery, bell pepper, potatoes and garlic.
• Cook vegetables for 5-7 minutes then add chicken broth, diced tomatoes and tomato paste.
• 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.
• Stir in reserved chicken and okra. Cover pot and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Do not overcook okra or it will turn mushy.

Notes

You can also use waxy potatoes like red and yellow potatoes.

TO STORE: Store any leftover gumbo in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 434kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 22gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 1321mgPotassium: 1415mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 465IUVitamin C: 33mgCalcium: 78mgIron: 4mg

Keyword gumbo with potatoes, potato gumbo, potatoes in gumbo

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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