Have you tried harissa hot chili paste before? If you answered no then lets change that answer to a “yes” with this delicious chicken and sausage gumbo with harissa recipe!
Harissa is a smokey chili pepper paste or a dried ground powder that is slightly spicy and super savory with deep rich flavors. When you add it to gumbo it makes all the flavors amplify and the gumbo tastes amazing! I am a big fan of this chicken and sausage gumbo with harissa!
You don’t have to be from New Orleans to enjoy some great tasting gumbo! (I have never actually been to New Orleans!) This chicken and sausage gumbo with harissa is easy to make and the layers of flavors will make you feel like you are at mama’s house on the bayou or at least that is how I imagine my imaginary grandma that lives on the bayou being! Warm, inviting, funny, spunky and an incredible cook! Ha!
You can pour this over rice for a extra hearty meal or eat it like a soup/stew by it’s self or with a hunk of soft centered chewy bread (you know I like some rustic bread dipped in anything delicious, especially soups or stews. Yummm!)
I created this recipe for a baby shower that I needed to bring a soup to, I was really craving gumbo at the time! That is when I snapped this lovely picture of the gumbo in the front seat of my car because that is just how my life with 6 people’s schedules tends to be sometimes. Despite this not being the prettiest picture, everyone at the shower loved this chicken and sausage gumbo with harissa because at the end of the day taste is king!
This could also be made in a crock pot and slowly cooked all day! Just adjust the recipe by adding the flour and butter to vegetables and mixing everything then cooking on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
What you need
Serves 6 people
- 1 1/2 cups onion – diced
- 3 stalks celery – diced
- 1 green pepper – diced
- 1 cup carrots – diced
- 1/2 cup Harissa hot chili pepper paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 4 cups canned diced tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 -1 teaspoon salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon, taste and adjust, sodium in chicken stock varies so tasting the gumbo is your best judge if you need more salt or not)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound smoked kielbasa sausage – diced into 1/2 inch rounds
- 2 chicken thighs (rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken thighs chopped, bones removed)
Instructions
- Prep all your vegetables and meats.
- Add onions, celery, green peppers and carrots to a heavy bottomed stock pot. Cook for 3 minutes so the vegetables have a chance to soften and sweat a little.
- Add butter and sprinkle flour over the vegetables.
- Stir until the flour and butter start to get brown. This is a dark roux so we want the butter and flour brown.
- Whisk in chicken stock and get all the good flavors off the bottom of the pan.
- Add canned tomatoes, bay leaves, paprika, harissa paste, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper, kielbasa sausage, chicken thighs and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- remove bay leaves and serve.
- Serve with or without rice.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with Harissa
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups onion - diced
- 3 stalks celery - diced
- 1 green pepper - diced
- 1 cup carrots - diced
- 1/2 cup Harissa hot chili pepper paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 4 cups canned diced tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 -1 teaspoon salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon taste and adjust, sodium in chicken stock varies so tasting the gumbo is your best judge if you need more salt or not)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound smoked kielbasa sausage - diced into 1/2 inch rounds
- 2 chicken thighs rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken thighs chopped, bones removed
Instructions
- Prep all your vegetables and meats.
- Add onions, celery, green peppers and carrots to a heavy bottomed stock pot. Cook for 3 minutes so the vegetables have a chance to soften and sweat a little.
- Add butter and sprinkle flour over the vegetables.
- Stir until the flour and butter start to get brown. This is a dark roux so we want the butter and flour brown.
- Whisk in chicken stock and get all the good flavors off the bottom of the pan.
- Add canned tomatoes, bay leaves, paprika, harissa paste, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper, kielbasa sausage, chicken thighs and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- remove bay leaves and serve.
- Serve with or without rice.