Do you love to eat gumbo? Our New Orleans gumbo recipe tastes amazing, and shows you how to make your own roux and seafood stock.
If you enjoy eating food from New Orleans, check out our chicken and sausage jambalya and our red beans and rice.
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Why This Recipe Works
- It incorporates a dark roux.
- It uses a rich homemade seafood stock.
- It uses the aromatic base or Creole "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers and onions.
- It uses okra and roux as thickeners.
- It has different proteins like chicken, sausage, bacon, and shrimp for added flavor.
Ingredients
Our New Orleans gumbo takes pantry staples, except the Andouille sausage. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Roux: We used flour and lard to make our dark colored roux.
- Aromatics: We used onion, celery, green bell pepper, and garlic.
- Meats: We used chicken breast, Andouille sausage, smoky bacon, and shrimp.
- Spices: We used salt, black pepper, bay leaves, and fresh thyme.
- Stock: We used a rich, homemade seafood stock.
How to Make
Gather the ingredients.
- Cook the coined sausage and cut up bacon, then make the roux. Put the meat in the fridge while you make the roux. Take your time making the roux, since this is a crucial step in making it taste mouthwatering. Get the step-by-step photos and lots of helpful tips in my recipe for roux.
- Saute the onions, celery, green pepper, and garlic.
3. Add the roux to the sauteed aromatics.
4. Brown the chicken in olive oil, then transfer to a plate. Once it cools, shred it with a fork.
5. Next, pour in the seafood stock. For this recipe, we used homemade shrimp stock. The step-by-step photos and the recipe for shrimp stock are here.
Continue making the gumbo by adding the okra, spices, and half of a lemon. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lemon, then add the shrimp, hot sauce, and black pepper. Stir and adjust seasonings to taste.
6. Serve hot with steamed white rice, sliced green onion, hot sauce, and optional file powder. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Jambalaya is a thick stew that is cooked with rice, while gumbo is served with rice. The other main difference is that gumbo has a roux and jambalaya doesn't. They have similarities with browning the meat first, using the same aromatic base (holy trinity) and stock, but jambalaya always has tomatoes, and Cajun gumbo doesn't.
The secret ingredient is the roux. Two ingredients (equal amounts of flour and a fat) are cooked together to make a dark colored roux. This takes about 45 minutes, but is worth it, as it will provide the deep, rich flavor that gumbo is famous for.
The three types of gumbo are: seafood, sausage, and chicken. Seafood gumbo is Creole and has tomatoes in it. Sausage gumbo uses Andouille sausage, which has a distinct smoky flavor. Chicken gumbo commonly uses chicken breasts or chicken thighs, but you can also slow simmer a whole chicken and debone for a mixture of both.
The most common meats are chicken, sausage, and seafood, but you can also find a meatless gumbo during Lent, which has hearty greens.
Common seafood used for gumbo are shrimp, crab, oysters, or crawfish. The chicken can be white breast meat, dark thigh meat, or a combination of both.
The sausage is usually Andouille, a spicy, smoky pork sausage, and or tasso, which is cured smoked pork shoulder, and is popular in Cajun style gumbo.
How do you thicken gumbo?
- The traditional way to thicken this dish is to use a dark reddish brown or copper penny-colored roux. It is the backbone of this recipe and gives it a lovely smoky flavor.
- Okra gives a silky smooth texture and helps thicken it. Some people think that fresh okra tends to thicken better than frozen, but frozen is more readily available and convenient.
- Adding file powder just before serving adds additional flavor and thickening, but if you used okra don't use file powder--it's a cardinal sin to use both!
What is file powder?
File powder is made from immature dried leaves of the sassafras plant, which is commonly found in the eastern U.S. It's often used as a thickening agent, and has a unique flavor that can't be substituted.
However, it shouldn't be added to the pot while it's cooking because it will make it stringy. Ideally, allow each guest to stir it into their own bowl.
Serve
Gumbo is traditionally served with steamed white rice and sprinkled with sliced green onions. Each guest can then spice it up with hot sauce or sprinkle file powder on top.
Store
- Make Ahead: You can make the roux up to 3 days in advance. Gumbo can also be made the day before as the flavors improve the next day.
- Leftovers: Allow to cool and cover and place in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Allow to cool and store in a freezer friendly container for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove top over medium heat.
Expert Tips
- This recipe tastes even better the next day. It also keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and it can be frozen.
- To make this quicker and easier, make the seafood stock and roux ahead of time. You can even brown the meat in advance.
- A dark roux is the backbone of gumbo; take your time making the roux as it will thickens this stew and will give it a smoky flavor.
- For additional thickening agents, use okra or file powder.
- Add hot sauce or file powder to your own bowl to customize it.
Note: This was the final post in a three post series. You'll want to check out Part 1: How to Make Seafood Stock and Part 2: How to Make Roux for Gumbo for more top tips.
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Recipe
New Orleans Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- sprinkle of salt and pepper
- 12 ounces Cajun-style Andouille sausage, cut in coins
- 6 slices smoked bacon, cut in ¼ inch pieces
- ¾ cup lard
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons garlic, roughly 6 cloves
- 5 cups seafood or shrimp stock
- 10 ounces fresh or frozen okra, sliced
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ lemon, without seeds
- 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
- hot sauce, to taste
- sprinkle salt and pepper
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, for garnish
Equipment
Instructions
Brown the Meat
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Brown the chicken breasts, turning over once. Once browned, remove from the heat and place on a plate. Once the chicken has cooled, shred with a fork.
- Add the bacon pieces and coined sausage to the pot, and cook until the fat is rendered from the bacon and the sausage is slightly brown. Remove from the heat and place on a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
Make the Roux
- In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, heat the fat (lard) over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and stir constantly until the roux turns a deep copper color, about 45 minutes. Check out my roux recipe get step-by-step photos and many helpful tips on this important step.
Making the Gumbo
- Transfer the roux to a heavy-bottomed pot and add the onion, green pepper, and celery. Stir and cook over medium high heat until it starts to soften, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Pour in the seafood stock and add the sausage, bacon, and shredded chicken. Stir until well combined, then mix in the sliced okra, fresh thyme, bay leaves, and half a seedless lemon.
- Cover and bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lemon, then add the shrimp, hot sauce, salt, and black pepper. Stir and cook for 5 more minutes, then adjust seasonings to taste.
- Garnish the gumbo with chopped fresh parsley or sliced green onion. Serve with freshly steamed white rice.
Notes
- This recipe tastes even better the next day. It also keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and it can be frozen.
- To make this quicker and easier, make the seafood stock and roux ahead of time. You can even brown the meat in advance.
- A dark roux is the backbone of gumbo; take your time making the roux as it will thickens this stew and will give it a smoky flavor.
- For additional thickening agents, use okra or file powder.
- Add hot sauce or file powder to your own bowl to customize it.
Todd
I've been making Gumbo all my life (50) and your techniques and ingredients our my favorite way to make Gumbo. I have found the key to a great Gumbo is a rich stock in which you incorporate. I always slow simmer a whole chicken in pot and debone for a mixture of white and dark meat flavors. In addition, use the chicken stock instead of water to incorporate within shrimp stock for a more richer flavor .
A best tip is to cool base completely to remove any excess fat that will rise to top and then reheat and add your shrimp at end as indicated.
Bon appétit
Emma
Those are great tips, Todd! We're honored that you like these techniques so much, too. Thanks for sharing!
Bill Reed
I love Cajun and Creole cuisine and this recipe is spot on. As in any gumbo it is time consuming and worth the effort. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Emma
You're welcome, Bill! We're so glad that you enjoyed our gumbo recipe.
Tonya M Woods
Can I substitute the lard for salted butter instead
Emma
Unfortunately, not for this roux; only light-colored roux can be made with butter. This Creole roux has to be cooked until it reaches the color of a copper penny, and the milkfat in the butter would burn before the flour cooked to this stage.