Creole Chicken and Sausage? I don’t really know how to explain it, but it’s a like whoa yummy combo we have going on upinhere.
This idea originated as a simple shredded Creole chicken kind of thing made in the slow cooker so my cooking life could be awesomely easy and full of mouth rocking flavor, and then bam: it morphed into something a little more healthy. The addition of sausage (just kidding – not healthy and I still really ❤ sausage, in particular smoked Andouille sausage yum yum yum), beans, and bell peppers, all simmered up in that spicy tomato sauce?
I’m doing the Creole Chicken dance right now. Don’t even imagine it.
HOW TO MAKE OUR CREOLE CHICKEN & SAUSAGE (40 SEC):
And then I became food weird and random things were added. Like almond butter – no explanation there – and brown sugar, and green onions. But food friends, please resist the temptation to think that this doesn’t taste good. I’m telling you: it was really good. And oh, how I looked forward to eating the leftovers for lunch all week. Like, seriously. 10 AM, in the middle of a lesson on single digit division, this was on my brain. But what else is new?
Yesterday we returned home from our vacation to Arizona, and I’m not going to lie: I’m currently wallowing in the depths of Minnesota despair. I traded cucumber water and sandals for hot teas and slippers. It’s going to snow tomorrow, and for some reason my Facebook newsfeed is blowing up with people talking about yay spring. Like, what?! Breaking 40 degrees for a few hours in the afternoon is NOT yay spring. We probably can’t even be friends anymore if you’re going to act like that.
Six days ago you may or may not have seen my cruising through the hood with my windows rolled down, sunglasses on, wind blowing in the nice 41 degree Minnesota air. But now I have a major crush on Arizona, and it’s really hard to like my home state right now.
Grr. + Brrr.
I can’t wait to show you some vacation pictures next week! One of my favorite things about how the blog has developed in the last year is how much interest you guys have in regular-life posts that I do every now and then. I am all about the food, and so are you, but I’m glad we can be friends.
Like when I show you pictures of my house and you don’t judge me for leaving stuff laying around on the floor in the same exact spot for three months.
Or when you forgive me for talking your ear off about cliche things like the current weather in Minnesota.
That’s basically the definition of friendship.
It’s the weeeeeeekend. I am so haaaaaaappy.
Slow Cooker Creole Chicken and Sausage
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 7 hours 30 mins
- Total Time: 7 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This Slow Cooker Creole Chicken and Sausage just takes 10 minutes to prep and has beans and bell peppers for bonus healthy points.
Ingredients
The essentials:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 12 ounces smoked Andouille sausage, cut into small rounds
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Optional extras:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 14 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions for topping
- 2 tablespoons almond butter (randomly delicious)
- salt to taste
- brown rice for serving
Instructions
- Place the essential ingredients in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3 hours.
- Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot to your desired texture. Add the extras, if you want, and cover and cook for another 20-30 minutes. This is also a great time to make your rice, if you’re serving it with rice. When everything is ready, taste the chicken mixture and season with salt. Serve the creole chicken over rice and topped with green onions.
This question probably sounds super dumb but I just got a crockpot so im a bit unfamiliar with it lol do i put raw chicken and sausage in the crockpot or cooked?? Many recipes for crockpots say to cook the meat in a skillet first and then put it in the crockpot to cook so im a little confused. Forgive me for my stupid question! lol
Yes, I put my chicken in raw, but the sausage is probably already cooked if it’s something like Kielbasa.
I’m trying this recipe for the first time for a large group. In the second step where you say to shred the chicken directly in the crock pot, do you mean after it has cooked along with the other essential ingredients or do I keep the chicken separate/uncooked until this last stage when it will be shredded and added to the pot?
Yes – after it’s cooked, right in the pot, with all the other essentials.
Made this with spicy red pepper diced tomatoes (I pureed them), spicy andouille, and the additions of green bell peppers, brown sugar, and black beans – made the house smell great and has an excellent kick to it. Thanks! Making brown rice for it after work. 🙂
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I love hearing that! Thanks for the comment Erin!
can you add peanut butter instead of almond butter?? Don’t have almond butter right now…. The crockpot is currently on! Can’t wait!
Sure! yum!
Hello – I love the look of this recipe, but was wondering if it’s possible to do without a slow-cooker, so just in a big pot and put in a low heat in the oven? What temperature would be best and would it be the same amount of time?
Many thanks!
I prepared this last night and popped it in the slow cooker this morning. After smelling the flavor combinations going on, I longed to get home to taste it all day! It is so delicious! I used an African sausage that we tried at a local store this weekend. So good. The shredded chicken and sausage combo is one I never would have thought to make on my own. I also made my own creole seasoning because I didn’t have any. I used smoked paprika in it, which I think added to the awesomeness. I did add the brown sugar and almond butter, tasting between each addition. Kept getting better. Thanks so much for the unique addition to my recipe file!!
Thanks, Ann! Sounds like you made some delicious adjustments to the recipe. 🙂
Made this last week and loved it! I didn’t have almond butter so just used peanut butter and it was great. I liked that it reheated really well too. Thanks for sharing!
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Good to know about that substitution, Patricia! Thanks!
This recipe is AMAZING! I’m obsessed. I substituted chicken thighs and used a lean italian turkey sausage, but still used tons of creole seasoning to amp up the heat. I also used a big can of black beans, corn, and 3 bell peppers to increase the fibre.
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Sounds delicious, Lindsay! Thanks for sharing!
Just made this in the slow cooker, omitted the tomato sauce but added extra diced tomatoes and tomato paste. This recipe is super delicious and so easy! Thanks!!!
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We love to hear that, Charissa! Thanks for the comment!
This was so tasty. My hubby and I loved it
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We love hearing that! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Hi I have a question about the chicken…is it supposed to be cooked and shredded before adding to the crock pot? It’s in the essentials section, which the recipe says to put all the essentials in first…but then on the second direction it says to shred the chicken into the crock pot directly. Thanks!
We cook ours in the crockpot then pulled out after the 6-8hrs on low cook time. Shred up the chicken, then add back in the pot with some extras for another 20ish minutes. We’ve tried 3 or 4 times with yummy success every time.
Thanks for the tips, Heather!
I found this recipe in a search for andouille sausage recipes and it looked delicious. So I made it over the weekend. I followed the recipe – except the almond butter – and everyone absolutely loved it. I made a double size batch because I have a large crock pot and I love left overs. This will be even better after a few days…
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Glad to hear that, Mike!
Making this for dinner tonight! It will be perfect with football 🙂 Have I mentioned yet how much I love your blog?
Thanks, Ashlie! 🙂
This recipe looks terrific. It’s cooking right now as we speak. Quick question. I have a pressure cooker, and it has made me inpatient.
Has anyone tried this recipe in a pressure cooker, and if so what cooking time did you use?
One word sums up this dish….delicious. I made it last night for supper and I couldn’t believe how amazing it was. I find most things cooked in a slow cooker tastes the same. But not this. I added more cayenne pepper because we like spicy food, but other than that I wouldn’t change a thing. A must try!!!
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Great, Brandi! So glad you liked it! 🙂
I made this last night. It is now a family favorite I will make at least once a week. Thank you posting this recipe. I am going to go through more today and tomorrow to find more delicious recipes to make for my family. I used more cayenne pepper because I didn’t use the Andouille sausage. I am not eating anything with Sodium Nitrates in it. So I used Oscar Mayer Selects Harwood Smoked Uncured Beef Sausage. Our family is all about eating as clean as possible. Again thank you and we Love Love Love this meal.
Hollie from Florida
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Awesome, Hollie! Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. 🙂
I made this tonight! Dad brought home some sausage from the local chophouse so perfect timing. Few changes: I used a can of diced tomatoes with chilis and red beans. Also I did not have creole seasoning so I made my own with black pepper, red pepper, a little thyme, paprika, and dried onions and garlic. Super tasty, thanks! Brown basmati went with it perfectly.
Sounds delicious, Jill! 🙂
This turned out great! So easy. I was a little worried about how liquidy it seemed when I took the chicken out to shred, but the shredded chicken, black beans and bell pepper filled it out perfectly. Next time I make this, I think I’ll end up cooking the sausage stovetop because it’s SO much better browned up.
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Great tip, Delaney!
Want to make this today. In the essential ingredients what kind of “chopped onions”do you mean?
Hi, Carter! We used regular white onions.
this is AMAZING!
i made it over the weekend & added two peeled and diced sweet potatoes for the last hour or so… YUMMMM.
i’ve been serving it over spaghetti squash with a little hot sauce 🙂
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Sounds delicious, Lauren!
I was lucky enough to stumble upon this recipe through a link posted in a BuzzFeed article. And I am thanking my lucky stars! I just started using a crock pot a couple of weeks ago and have been searching for a delicious recipe. Seems the ones I tried looked better in the photos than they actually tasted. Your recipe is LEGIT. My wife and I had FOURTHS — yes I said it! I plan on trying out other recipes that I’ve found on this blog!
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Awesome, Ken! 🙂
Oh my word! I’m an emt and use my crock pot on my 48hr shifts. I made this today & it is fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
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Made this dish today. Absolute delish!! Will definitely be making this again!
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Glad to hear it, Nikii!
I have tried many recipes on this website, and loved them, but this one did not really work for me.
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Looking forward to trying this recipe this week. Until recently I’d never cooked in a slow cooker before. Why didnt someone tell me this could be so easy and so awesome?