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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Recipe
Authentic New Orleans Style Gumbo
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Roux:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour , heaping
- 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 *
- 6-8 cups 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 , 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 meat. Add chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
- 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
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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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This recipe was the bomb, my family loved it. They literally said this was the best thing I’ve ever made them. It was also so easy & quick to make as well. It didn’t have a bunch of ingredients. It was literally perfect. 1000/10 highly recommended.
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.
Delicious recipe! Made with homemade chicken stock from this site and it gave so much flavor. Recieved lots of praise from the family, even my picky 10 yo cleaned his bowl.
Thrilled it was a win! Thanks Shawn!
I just want to say that there are 2 types of gumbo– creole and Cajun. One uses a roux and the other uses okra as a thickener. Either one is considered true Louisiana gumbo.
There was an awful lot of oil in this roux, I felt like I had to eat a very small portion to minimize the high fat content of this recipe. Spices needed a lot of doctoring, some sugar, red pepper, lemon juice, Tabasco, and there was a funny aftertaste from the roux (which took more than an hour to look like chocolate). I think butter might have been a better choice for making the roux.
This is my 2nd time making this! It’s absolutely AWESOME! Everyone raves about when I serve it! Thank you for sgpharing!
I’m so glad to hear it. Thanks Debi!
I’m not a fan of vegetable or canola oils, can you use olive or avocado oil? Or any other suggestions?
Yes, avocado oil should still work fine for this recipe. Enjoy!!
I don’t know why this recipe gets so much hate in the comments… It is amazing! Notably, I have not had authentic gumbo much, but this tastes exactly how it should: like gumbo. Add what you like, skip what you don’t, not that big of a deal. I didn’t add celery because I do not like celery, still tasted amazing! Thanks for the recipe.
You can’t add the okra at the same time as the other veggies or it will either disappear or become super mushy. Add it at the end as it serves to thicken the whole mixture and offers a more distinct okra flavor along with adding file’ to the individual servings. The recipe is fine except for this. Also many add potatoes salad when serving and even hard boiled eggs while cooking.
I’ve made this four times now and every time it’s been a big hit. Thanks for this recipe!! The name gumbo literally means okra. If you don’t like okra, pick it out later but be sure to include it when cooking for the unique flavor it adds. I made it without okra yesterday and, frankly, it didn’t taste like gumbo at all so I added it after the fact. The okra made all the difference.
Be very careful not to burn the roux. It will turn dark very quickly once it’s been cooking for 15 minutes or so. Every stove is different so go by the color, not a timer. Don’t worry too much about the consistency as long as it’s not “runny”. It will continue to thicken even after adding the broth and vegetables.
Some people say that the holy trinity of creole is celery, bell pepper and onions. I’d argue that it’s OKRA, bell pepper and onions. I don’t use celery and, again, gumbo literally means “okra”.
Serve with freshly made white rice. I ordered gumbo at a cajun restaurant a few days ago and they served it with Spanish rice – yuk!
you add everything to the pot you made a roux in, not pour the roux into another pot silly. more seasoning. add okra. gumbo literally means okra…
I fixed this for my family last Christmas. It was a MASSIVE success. Doing it again this year by popular demand. I made way too much last year. Very filling, VERY DELICIOUS. First time I’d ever made roux. Just followed the recipe to a “T”.