Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo Recipe
Chicken Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo Recipe: inspired by Disney Princess Tiana in The Princess and The Frog this gumbo is easy and delicious.
Tiana’s Gumbo From The Princess and The Frog
We were inspired by Tiana from The Princess and The Frog to make chicken sausage and shrimp gumbo! It’s so delicious and a great taste of New Orleans. This one was pretty quick and easy to bring together and so delicious. All the spices make it full of flavour, rich and delicious.
We had our gumbo as part of a special Disney Princess Dinner and Movie Night. You can read all about our The Princess and the Frog party here. We had so much fun making the food from the film, and enjoying it together as we watched the movie.
But this gumbo isn’t just for movie night. We love it, and we can’t wait to make it again.
Where Does Gumbo Come From?
Gumbo has its origins in Louisiana. Rooted in the cooking of black slaves from Africa, and based on a West African word for okra, the soup traditionally has okra in it as a thickening agent. Loved by the Cajuns and Creole, they both make it slightly differently, and season it slightly differently. Along with okra it often includes chicken, cajun style andouille sausage, and seafood.
Finding The Ingredients
We had trouble finding andouille sausage and substituted it with kielbasa sausage, which was delicious, so don’t let not being able to find authentic andouille stop you from trying this dish. The okra was easy to find in the freezer section of the grocery store. And the cajun spice was readily available in the spice section.
Making The Roux
The hardest part about making gumbo is making a roux. A roux is a mixture of butter and flour that you cook at the beginning of the gumbo. The roux is the thickening agent in the soup, and really important to the dish. Things can go wrong if the roux is undercooked. You’re looking for a nice dark brown, that will add nuttiness and richness to the soup, and not leave a floury taste. But, it’s easy to take a roux too far and burn it. You will want to still the roux constantly while you cook it, and take it to the colour of milk chocolate or a slightly lighter golden brown. Once you get the roux made, the rest is pretty easy to put together.
What To Serve The Gumbo With
This soup is a thick mixture, but not as thick as a stew. It’s often paired with rice, and crusty French baguette. The bread is perfect for soaking up the rich spicy broth. Make simple white rice as well and serve the soup over it for the perfect combination.
How Spicy Is It?
New Orleans food is traditionally full of spice. There is a richness and layers of flavour that the combination of spices give to this dish. If you don’t love hot food, you might want to cut back on the cayenne pepper in the dish. Also if you’re serving this dish to kids as part of a movie night, you also might want to use less cayenne pepper. Serving the gumbo with rice or bread helps mellow the dish a little too. We didn’t add tabasco sauce to ours, like Tiana did in the film, but if you like it hotter, feel free to add some in to yours.
Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 stalks of celery
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less for a less spicy version)
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 500 grams smoked andouille sausage or substitue keilbasa sausage
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 bayleaf
- 1 cup frozen okra
- 250 grams peeled deveined shrimp
Instructions
- Begin by chopping the onion, peppers, and celery. Set aside. Cut the sausage into slices, and then in half again. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.
- To make the roux, melt the butter in a large dutch oven or cooking pot over a medium/high heat. Whisk i the flour, and contiume whisking as it cooks to prevent it from burning. Cook for about 4 minutes, unitl the roux turns the a golden brown, similar to milk chocolate, and semlls nutty.
- Stir the chopped onions, peppers, and celeery into the roux, and cook until the vegtables begin to soften and onions become transparent
- Next add the minced garlic, cayenne pepper, ground mustard, paprika, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute and contiune stirring.
- The next step is to add in the chopped chicken, and stir occassionally until the chicken is browned.
- Next add the sausage, chicken stock, and bay leaf to the pot. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the soup to a boil, and cook about 10 minutes.
- Lasty add the shrimp and okra to the soup. Bring back to the boil and cook unitl the shrimp turns pink and is fully cooked. Serve with rice and french bread.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 623Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 200mgSodium: 2059mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 40g
Great Make Ahead
Because gumbo is full of spices, it’s one of those dishes that improves as it has a chance to sit. Feel free to make it ahead of time and store in the fridge overnight or even for a few days before serving. The flavours will only improve as it sits and the spices have a change to permeate the soup.
With homemade chicken sausage and shrimp gumbo to enjoy, life really is a party!