What does andouille mean?
Andouille is a coarse-textured, spicy, heavily smoked pork sausage that occupies a celebrated place in both French and American cooking. Its best-known form today is the Cajun version of Louisiana, where the sausage is seasoned boldly with garlic, onion, and pepper, slow-smoked until deeply savory, and folded into iconic dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice. The name comes from France, where andouille has been made for centuries in regional styles, some incorporating chitterlings; French settlers carried the tradition to North America, where it evolved into the robust sausage now considered indispensable to Creole and Cajun kitchens. In recipes and on menus, andouille is prized for the smoky heat and richness it lends to slow-cooked dishes, and it is widely available in American supermarkets. For cooks and eaters alike, it signals hearty, rustic flavor rather than refinement.
nounA spicy, heavily smoked pork sausage of French origin, now especially associated with Cajun cuisine in Louisiana, where it is a key ingredient in dishes such as gumbo and jambalaya.
- A coarse-grained, spicy smoked pork sausage used in Cajun and Creole cuisine, particularly in gumbos and jambalayas.
- The original French sausage from which the Louisiana version derives, typically made from pork, chitterlings, and seasonings.
"The gumbo gets its smoky depth from a generous handful of sliced andouille."
"She browned the andouille first so its rendered fat could flavor the trinity of onions, celery, and peppers."
"The charcuterie board featured a French andouille alongside cornichons and whole-grain mustard."
The plural exists but is uncommon; cooks more often refer to links, rings, or amounts of andouille rather than counting individual sausages.
"The butcher had several andouilles hanging in the smokehouse."
Without andouille, a Louisiana gumbo just isn't a gumbo — this smoky French import became the backbone of Cajun cooking.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of andouille
The word "andouille" entered English from French, where it has long named a smoked pork sausage; its ultimate origin is debated, though one common hypothesis links it to Vulgar Latin *inductilia*, derived from Latin ducere ("to lead"), the same root behind words such as conduct and introduce. The term was borrowed into English in the eighteenth century, and the sausage itself was transplanted to Louisiana by French and German settlers, evolving into the spicy Cajun staple known worldwide today. A diminutive relative, andouillette, remains a distinct French specialty.
Related word forms
How andouille is actually used
In American usage, "andouille" almost always refers to the Cajun-style smoked sausage and is often modified as "andouille sausage." In France, the word denotes a different, less uniformly spiced sausage, sometimes made with offal. The plural is rarely needed since the sausage is usually discussed by amount (links, slices) rather than counted.
Easily confused with andouille
Andouillette is a much smaller French sausage traditionally made from chitterlings (pork intestines), whereas andouille is a larger smoked pork sausage associated with Cajun cooking.