Lazy Engineer’s Chicken & Sausage Gumbo Recipe: A Taste of New Orleans

This iconic dish represents the beautiful melting pot of Creole and Cajun cultures that makes New Orleans cuisine so special. Today, I’m sharing my tried-and-true recipe for Lazy Engineer’s Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. This recipe skips the mess and time needed to make traditional gumbo with a dark roux. Add this one to your list of winter comfort foods.

Essential Ingredients for Authentic Gumbo

• Spicy/Smoky Andouille sausage is the star of the show
• You can use either chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe
• The “Holy Trinity” of Cajun cooking: onions, celery, and bell peppers

Step-by-Step Gumbo Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes Servings: 8-10 Storage: Freezer-friendly for up to 3 months

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs or breasts
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 bag Kroger frozen gumbo vegetable mix(celery, onion, pepper, okra)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning(I use Tony Chachere’s)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped(optional)
• Cooked rice for serving
• Cooking oil

Instructions:

1. Dice and season chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
2. Fry chicken in 2 Tbsp of oil in a skillet, add chopped garlic just before chicken is finished cooking, and set in a large soup pot when cooked
3. Slice and fry Andouille in a skillet, set in a pot with the cooked chicken
4. Add frozen gumbo veggie mix, crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, remaining cajun seasoning, and bay leaves to the pot with chicken and sausage
5. Simmer for 30 minutes and reduce heat to low, let it cook until you’re ready to eat
6. Serve with cooked white rice, sprinkle chopped green onions over the top

Tips for Perfect Gumbo Every Time

• Be easy on the seasoning early in the cooking process, you can always add more seasoning at the end, but you can’t take it away once it’s in
• Let your gumbo simmer to develop it’s flavors, be careful not to boil the gumbo too hard
• Use a large soup pot when cooking to make sure you have enough space
• Store your gumbo and cooked rice separately if there are leftovers, adding the rice to the gumbo will make everything thicken up and become soggy

Creating an authentic Chicken & Sausage Gumbo is truly a labor of love, but the rich, complex flavors make it worth every minute. This lazy Engineer’s version takes the difficult work out of the process and leaves you with a hearty creole comfort food classic. I love eating this when we get back to the station from a cold/wet day on the drill field.