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This Authentic New Orleans Gumbo is made with a dark roux, vegetables, chicken, sausage, and shrimp, and served over rice. This is a beloved recipe shared with me by a native New Orleanian.
As you probably have gathered, I love making comfort food style recipes that use lots of fresh produce and real ingredients. This gumbo is no exception, and if you like this then I know you'll love Jambalaya and Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice.
We had a really fun neighbor growing up who was from New Orleans and made a fantastic homemade Gumbo! I'm so thankful my Mom took him up on his offer to teach her how to make a true, authentic Gumbo! Decades later it is a beloved recipe that has become a staple in our family and we have made it hundreds of times! It is definitely in my top favorite meals of all time! Nothing tastes better on a cold winter day.
Gumbo vs. jambalaya:
Jambalaya is primarily a rice dish (think paella) while gumbo is more of a stew that is thickened with a roux and made with chicken, sausage, and/or seafood. Both gumbo and jambalaya are often made with some similar meats and vegetables but the process of making them and flavors of the end result are completely different. Here is my favorite Jambalaya recipe!
The key to this recipe is the Roux!
A “roux” is made with two ingredients; flour and oil, and it's the key to any great gumbo recipe! The flour and oil are cooked and stirred together for about 30-45 minutes until it becomes dark brown almost like mud, or chocolate and the consistency of dough. The roux is what adds the deep, rich flavor to the gumbo, and it gives it it's thick texture. Make a good roux is a labor of love, but but one that totally pays off, and you can make it ahead of time!
Step-by-step Authentic Gumbo:
1. Make the roux. in a large pot, combine flour and oil and cook, stirring constantly on medium low heat. You have to be careful to stir it constantly, on medium low heat, so that you don't burn it. It's easy, but takes patience. The darker the roux, the richer the flavor!
2. Chop the veggies. When you're ready to make your gumbo, start by chopping celery, onions, bell pepper, parsley. I love the freshness from the green bell pepper, onion, celery and parsley. You can also add okra, if you want. Add it at the same time as the other vegetables.
3. Brown the sausage. Spread the sausage in a single layer on a hot, large skillet. Once browned, flip each one over individually, to make sure they all get nice and brown on both sides.
4. Add to large pot. Add chicken broth veggies, parsley, and roux to the pot and stir well. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste.
5. Add meat. Add chicken, sausage, and shrimp and taste. Add more seasonings to your liking–salt, pepper, chicken bullion paste, garlic, more Joe's stuff or more chicken broth–until you reach the perfect flavor.
6. Serve warm over hot cooked rice. This recipe tastes even better the next day as the flavors have a chance to blend. If you're really wanting to go all out, serve it with a side of homemade potato salad!
Make ahead, Storing and Freezing Instructions:
Store Gumbo covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The roux can be made 3-5 days in advance, stored in a large resealable bag in the fridge.
This recipe makes quite a lot but it also freezes really well. To freeze, allow it to cool completely and store it in a freezer safe container (separate from the rice) for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Consider trying these similar recipes:
- One Pan Jambalaya
- Caribbean Jerk Chicken Bowls
- Mongolian Beef
- BBQ Ranch Grilled Chicken and Veggie Bowls
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Authentic New Orleans Style Gumbo
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Roux:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, , a little more may be needed
- 2/3 cup oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
For the Gumbo:
- 1 bunch celery, , diced, leaves and all
- 1 green bell pepper, , diced
- 1 large yellow onion, , diced
- 1 bunch green onions, , finely chopped
- 1 bunch fresh chopped parsley, , finely chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1-2 Tablespoons Cajun seasoning, *
- 8-10 cups chicken broth, *, you can add a little chicken bouillon paste to enhance the flavor of your chicken broth.
- 12 ounce package andouille sausages, , sliced into 'coins' (substitute Polska Kielbasa if you can't find a good Andouille)
- Meat from 1 Rotisserie Chicken*
- 2 cups Shrimp, , uncooked or pre-cooked
- hot cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Make the Roux*: In a large, heavy bottom stock pot combine flour and oil. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 30-45 minutes. This part takes patience--when it's finished it should be as dark as chocolate and have a soft, "cookie dough" like consistency. Be careful not to let it burn! Feel free to add a little more flour or oil as needed to reach this consistency.
- Brown the sausage. In a separate skillet on medium-high heat place the sausage slices in one layer in the pan. Brown them well on one side (2-3 minutes) and then use a fork to flip each over onto the other side to brown. Remove to a plate.
- Cook the vegetables in broth. Add ½ cup of the chicken broth to the hot skillet that had the sausage to deglaze the pan. Pour the broth and drippings into your large soup pot.
- Add remaining 5 ½ cups of chicken broth. Add veggies, parsley, garlic and roux to the pot and stir well.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly tender. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste. Add uncooked shrimp, if using and cook 2 minutes.
- Add meat. Add chicken, sausage, and pre-cooked shrimp, if using.
- Taste and serve. At this point taste it and add more seasonings to your liking--salt, pepper, chicken bullion paste, garlic, more Joe's stuff or more chicken broth--until you reach the perfect flavor. Serve warm over rice. (Tastes even better the next day!)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe in 2015 but updated it in November 2017 and again in December 2019 with process photos and step-by-step instructions.
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Best Gumbo I’ve ever had. I’ve made it several times. It’s my new Christmas dinner (the last 3 years). I made two batches today for a church potluck in South Dakota (where casseroles are king) and all of it was eaten. Really great recipe. Thank you.
Best Gumbo I’ve ever had. I’ve made it several times. It’s my new Christmas dinner (the last 3 years). I made two batches today for a church potluck in South Dakota (where casseroles are king) and all of it was eaten. Really great recipe. Thank you.
This is one of my go to recipes. Yes, add your choice of things but as long as it’s followed Gumbo will be 10/10
I’m from California, raised in the Midwest, lived in the deep south and this is an awesome gumbo recipe. It came together in the time allotted, beautiful dark brown roux smooth as silk and looked like a page out of a cookbook when I was done. Added a few more seasonings, lump crab meat, and a little extra dash of chicken stock and buddy she’s singing. Thanks for a great recipe.
If I could give this recipe 10 stars I would. Even though it was my first time making gumbo, I doubled the recipe to feed a farm full of teenagers. Everyone loved it, ate their fill, and we still had a weeks worth of leftovers. The ingredients are simple and accessible—stuff I usually keep on hand, and the instructions are helpful and descriptive. I use a Smokey Cajun seasoning from the bulk food section of the grocery store and the flavor with the meats and veggies is amazing. The roux is easy to make and thickens the gumbo perfectly. I’m making this now for the 2nd time in a month and it came together just as well. Delish!!
Great recipe but I made one change. I took raw shrimp (peeled deveined tail off) and slowly sauteed in garlic butter, oregano, basil and Cajun seasoning until fully cooked ( basically Cajun style shrimp scampi) and set it aside in that mixture to soak it all up and added it when it called for the meat. Mixture and all. Takes this recipe to another level.
All in all, the was a great gumbo recipe. I stumbled upon this recipe while researching for a paper. As a person born and raised in Louisiana, I just wanted the Author to know that this meal is technically Cajun cuisine and not American.
I have made this recipe many times and it is a labor of love – especially to make the roux. I followed the recipe for the most part – but did tweak a few things to season how I like it in which I did add some additional spices at the end. Overall – this recipe is hearty, stick to your ribs good and better the next day. Will make this again and again. Thank you!
I made this today, I really liked it. My husband said it tasted too much like flour or bread and he didn’t like that about it. So I think since i haven’t made gumbo with a roux before I wasn’t aware of the stages roux goes through. But mine tuned smooth at the like 35 min mark or so, so I added more flour thinking it needed to be that thick cookie dough texture. Then I didn’t cook that a long time. Do you think this could be the reason for the flour taste?Other than that it was great. I love the rotisserie chicken, the shrimp, and the andouie sausage was full of flavor. Mine was also super thick, which my husband wasn’t fond of. So I definitely needed to add that extra broth. I used no salt broth and with all the salt in the sausage, seasoning, and chicken, it was a good choice. I appreciate the recipe. I might go less on the parsley next time too. Thank you.
I’m from Louisiana and make gumbo and jambalaya all the time, but especially around the holidays. You nailed exactly what went wrong. If it tasted like flour, then the flour wasn’t cooked enough. Adding more flour at the end of the roux doesn’t work because the flour doesn’t cook long enough. A roux takes a long time on relatively high heat to “fry” to the dark, rich color and flavor. And the simmer temp of a gumbo just won’t finish the job. Keep in mind that authentic Cajun gumbos are not really that thick like what is found in many restaurants in New Orleans. You don’t want (and I personally don’t like) a thick and pasty gumbo (though a thick roux added to the stock will produce that desired silkiness). Finally, I do use rotisserie chicken for a quicker “weekday” gumbo. However, I like to make large batches of my own chicken stock and freeze in quart containers.
Amongst the worst recipes I’ve ever cooked. I’ve made roux many times but this recipe doesn’t really say what to with it and leaves it sitting to long and none of the vegetables get cooked right. Tasted burnt and undercooked at the same time. Awful flavor as a result. Wishing I wouldn’t have wasted all the ingredients. Bummed
Delicious but was a bit of work since I had to give the roux so much attention. I used slightly less celery(5 stalks) and a bit more cajun seasoning since I like it spicy alongside extra sausage because sausage is delicious and it turned out beautifully. next time i might pre cook the celery slightly to make it a bit softer.
Great recipe and worth the effort! I used 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning and it was too spicy for some so I made another batch without so I could mix them before freezing. Made the chicken stock as well and I’m sure it helped the flavor.
Everyone enjoyed it! Turned out better than I thought it would. Took me longer than I thought to do the roux but now I know what to do next time. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
With apologies to the author… I don’t know if this is the worst thing I have ever eaten, but it is definitely the worst thing I have ever cooked. Yes, I made the roux properly with a great consistency, and a rich, chocolatey color. There is zero flavor besides the roux. I just added a ton of salt trying to activate some type of a flavor. Very disappointed after two hours of prep / cooking only to send this meal appropriately to the garbage.
Hi Michael, I’m sorry you weren’t happy with the end results. I wonder if you followed the last instructions step to “taste it and add more seasonings to your liking–salt, pepper, chicken bullion paste, garlic, more cajun seasoning–until you reach the perfect flavor”?
Great recipe but I made one change. I took raw shrimp (peeled deveined tail off) and slowly sauteed in garlic butter, oregano, basil and Cajun seasoning until fully cooked ( basically Cajun style shrimp scampi) and set it aside in that mixture to soak it all up and added it when it called for the meat. Mixture and all. Takes this recipe to another level.