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Recipes / Weeknight · Soups · Chicken

Andouille Chicken Orzo Soup

Gumbo flavors on a Tuesday night — andouille, chicken thighs, the holy trinity and orzo, no dark roux. About 40 minutes.

Cook
About 40 min
Serves
4 bowls
Jump to the recipe
A red Dutch oven of soup with andouille coins, chicken, potato cubes and peppers in an orange broth

We wanted gumbo. It was a Tuesday, and we didn’t want to stand over a dark roux, so we raided the fridge and pantry instead: andouille, chicken thighs, the trinity of onion, pepper and celery, a couple of potatoes, and orzo to make it a meal.

It’s a cheater’s gumbo. Browning the sausage hard gives you the smoky depth, and the orzo gives it body without the roux. Use half a yellow and half a red bell pepper — it makes the pot look as good as it tastes. And double the garlic; it’s six cloves for a reason.

The same pot a few minutes later, with the orzo swollen and the broth mostly absorbed
Ten minutes after the orzo goes in. It keeps going — eat it soon or add more broth.

Make it

Makes 4 bowls

Ingredients

The trinity

For the pot

  1. Toss the chicken with 1 tsp of the Cajun seasoning.
  2. Brown the andouille in a little oil over medium-high heat until the edges are dark, 4–5 minutes. Lift it out and set aside.
  3. In the same fat, cook the onion, bell peppers and celery until soft, 5–6 minutes. Add the garlic and the rest of the Cajun seasoning and cook for 30 seconds.
  4. Add the potatoes and stock and scrape up everything stuck to the bottom of the pot. Simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
  5. Return the sausage and add the chicken. Simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, 6–8 minutes.
  6. Stir in the orzo and simmer until tender, 8–10 minutes, adding a splash of stock or water if it gets too thick. Taste before salting — the sausage and seasoning are already salty.

Good to know

  • Four thighs is about 1–1¼ lb.
  • The orzo keeps drinking broth. Leftovers set up thick in the fridge; loosen them with stock or water when you reheat.
  • Scale the orzo with care; it swells a lot. A 454 g box covers this recipe about two and a half times.
  • Doubled, this needs a big pot — more than a standard 5½-quart Dutch oven.