Name: Southwest Style Chicken Gumbo – Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon olive oil; 1 pound chicken breast (chopped); ½ cup peanut oil or vegetable oil; ½ cup flour; 6 ounces Hatch chile peppers (chopped (Substitution: poblano peppers or jalapenos)); 1 medium onion (chopped); 1 medium celery stalk (chopped); 3 cloves garlic (chopped); 1 pound heirloom tomatoes (diced); 2 15- ounce cans black beans; 1 teaspoon chili powder; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon paprika; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; Salt and pepper to taste; 4 cups chicken stock; For Serving: Cooked white rice (if desired)

A mashup recipe of your favorite Cajun chicken gumbo made with Southwestern ingredients, including Hatch chili peppers, black beans and plenty of Southwestern seasonings. This tastes awesome!

As you may have guessed by now, I am a gumbo FANATIC. Truly. What is it about gumbo that inspires such PASSION in me? I can answer that for you.

IT IS FREAKING DELICIOUS!

I don’t think I can shout that out loudly enough. When I first visited New Orleans, I remember the first taste of authentic, local gumbo and being astonished by the depth of flavor.

Is it a soup? Is it a stew? I don’t know how you might classify this dish, other than a GUMBO, but it’s one of those meals that basically leaves you gobsmacked.

When we want back to New Orleans just recently for a week, just because we wanted a foodie trip, I made it a point to try as much gumbo as I could fit in this belly.

So happy! #FoodieLife! Seriously, check out my Gumbo Recipes and you’ll see how much I love the stuff.

I mean, just look at it! I want to dive in right now!

About Southwest Style Chicken Gumbo

Which leads me to this particular recipe. Yes, I’m bringing you yet another gumbo recipe, but this one is different, and I highlight that point to illustrate the fact that gumbo is so darned versatile. It’s really more about technique, in particular, the roux.

Once you learn the basics of making a good gumbo, you can start to riff off of the classic recipe and begin to play around with the overall ingredients.

That’s what I did here. I’m calling this a Southwest Style Chicken Gumbo. It uses all of the typical techniques in making a gumbo, but replaces some of the traditional ingredients for those found in Southwest U.S.

I’m talking Hatch peppers, black beans and nicely spicy spices.

On Making Gumbo

DUDE!

I don’t even know what to say about this one. My deepest apologies to anyone in New Orleans offended by my bastardization of their traditional gumbo recipe, but seriously, people of Louisiana! Your techniques are WAY too good to let them be!

A heartfelt THANKS for introducing this stuff to me.

In all honesty, when I visited New Orleans last, I spoke with several chefs about gumbo, and the clear message about gumbo is that there is no “wrong” gumbo. If you like certain ingredients, throw them in. You’re the one eating it!

So truly, I have permission to play with the recipe.

As you know, I greatly enjoy the cuisine of the Southwestern U.S. Talk about flavors. I had some Hatch peppers remaining in my possession and decided to build my recipe around them, and in the end, I’m sorta torn on saying this is my FAVORITE gumbo recipe.

I mean, it’s so hard to choose! Maybe I’ll just say it’s right up there with all the others because, dang! Gumbo in pretty much ANY form is crazy, crazy delicious.

If you don’t have Hatch peppers, use jalapeno peppers or, better yet, poblano peppers. They will just fine here.

Patty went NUTS for this one. Just see her comments below.

I hope you make this recipe because it is SO. DANG. YUM.

If you do, please let me know how it came out for you. Apologies for gushing. I need another bowl now. Best! — Mike H.

Patty’s Perspective

This is “holy WOW” good. I want to bury my face in this. From this day forward, I want every meal made with roux!

Check Out Some Other Gumbo Recipes

If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

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