A famous favorite of Food Network chef Emeril Lagasse, etouffee is a delicious dish that we think should be a staple at every home in the country. It’s simple to make, packs a seriously flavorful punch, and gets better the longer it sits in the fridge which means that you can make plenty and take it with you for lunch all week long. Not into the idea of eating the same food for lunch every day? Trust us when we say that you will be after you try this.

This particular recipe has quite the list of ingredients, but don’t let that scare you away. As we mentioned above, it’s absolutely full of flavor and it’s hearty enough to stick to your bones but light enough to pack easily for lunches. Make sure you buy a propane tank before you get started, because your grill is going to be the key to your success with this recipe.

And without further ado, we present:

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Etouffee

Hopefully we’ve already sold you on the fact that you need to make this dish, so we’ll head right into the ingredients you’ll need to whip it up. Here’s what you should buy:

  • Boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • Andouille sausage
  • Olive oil
  • Butter
  • Onion
  • Celery
  • Bell pepper
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Flour
  • Chicken stock
  • Bay leaf
  • Rice

Like we said, it’s quite the list of ingredients, but the flavor you get is truly breathtaking.

Let’s Get Started

Go ahead and fire up your grill (you did buy a propane tank, didn’t you?). Grill up your andouille sausage the same way you would bratwursts–slowly and over low heat. Your finished temperature should be 160 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point you can either continue on with the recipe, bringing in the sausage when it’s needed or cook your sausage until it’s done and then focus on the rest of the recipe.

Back inside, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, stir in a few tablespoons of flour, and stir constantly. This roux is the base of your dish. Next up, add in diced pieces of onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook until everything is soft. At this point, add your chicken stock–about 2 ½ cups should do the trick fine, but you can feel free to add more as needed–and your bay leaf.

It’s All Coming Together

Go ahead and let your mixture boil for awhile. About five minutes should do the trick. Next add your bite size chicken pieces and let cook for 5-10 minutes. In the meantime, cut your andouille sausage into small pieces and transfer into your pot. That’s more or less all there is too it! Not too bad, right?

From here, all you’ll need to do is stir in a few tablespoons of butter to give it an extra dose of flavor and cook until everything is nice and thick for 10-15 minutes, stirring every so often to make sure everything gets perfectly cooked through.

Serve your etouffee over rice if you prefer things done traditionally. If you’re trying to stay healthy, cauliflower rice is a great alternative that’s low on carbs, but packs a nice flavor. A bonus for cauliflower rice is that if cooked correctly then the texture is pretty much indistinguishable from the white rice you’ve always known.

Now It’s Time to Serve It Up

Serve yourself a nice steaming dish of chicken andouille sausage etouffee and enjoy it in good health, knowing that this is a recipe that you’ll add to your rotation and one that’s likely to be passed down from generation to generation. It will be esteemed as one of the greatest dishes to ever come out of your kitchen and it will be revered for its charming depth of flavor and heartiness that’s sure to please both the manliest fella in your family as well as the daintiest dame in equal measure.

As we mentioned before, this recipe is one that’s equally well suited to making for dinner on a Tuesday night as it is for making on the weekends and packing away for leftovers. One recommendation if you do the latter–dish out your etouffee on one side of your container and your rice on the other, then microwave for lunch, stirring them together before you eat. Mmm…it’s almost better for lunch than it was for dinner!

And that’s all there is to it. Kind of makes you want to make a batch right now, doesn’t it? Well what are you waiting for? Head out and buy a propane tank (click here to find propane exchange locations near you), swing by the grocery store to grab your ingredients, and get to cooking! Your stomach will thank you, your family will thank you, and you’ll thank yourself for having found this awesome recipe.