Gumbo: The Original Recipe Of The New Orleans-Style Dish

Make traditional New Orleans-style gumbo with shredded rotisserie chicken, tender shrimp and savory andouille sausage for a complete and comforting dinner.

What is Gumbo?

Gumbo is a flavor-packed dish that often includes proteins like chicken, shrimp and sausage. It’s made with a dark roux made from flour and oil cooked until caramelized and delicious. The other ingredients include flavorful chicken stock, colorful vegetables and seasonings. You can add other seafood to make an even more decadent and diverse dish.

How to Make Gumbo

The first step in homemade gumbo is making a roux, which is a cooked mixture of flour and fat. In this case, you'll cook flour and oil in a large saucepan or soup pot, stirring constantly.

Meanwhile, cook sliced andouille sausages in a separate skillet. The sausages should be browned on both sides.

Now cook the shrimps, they should be cooked in a separate skillet just like you did with the sausage.

Pour the contents of your skillet into the pot with the roux. Add more chicken broth to the pot, along with chopped celery, bell pepper, yellow onion, green onion, and fresh parsley.

Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. You want the vegetables to become tender. Add in cajun seasoning, tasting until the flavor is to your liking. Next, stir in sliced cooked chicken, the cooked sausage, and cooked shrimp.

Now your gumbo is ready to serve, enjoy!

Where is Gumbo From?

Traditional gumbo comes from New Orleans. It’s a celebration of the seafood and produce native to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. It’s a Cajun dish that features the traditional “holy trinity” flavor base of onions, bell peppers and celery.

Gumbo vs. Jambalaya

Gumbo is sometimes confused with jambalaya, another traditional dish from New Orleans. However, the two meals are pretty different. While jambalaya is mostly made from rice cooked in a flavorful tomato and spice-based broth, gumbo is a meat or seafood dish (in this case, both meat and seafood) that’s often served over rice, but doesn’t have to include rice at all.

Both gumbo and jambalaya often contain chicken, shrimp and sausage, however the other flavors are pretty different.

How To Store Gumbo

You can freeze or keep this gumbo fresh to enjoy for a few days. In an airtight container in the fridge, the gumbo will last for 3 to 4 days. This is a great make-ahead recipe for meal prep. You can make a big batch on Sunday and enjoy gumbo for lunch for several days during the week.

To freeze gumbo, let it cool fully to room temperature before transferring to an airtight freezer-safe container. In the freezer, the dish will last for up to three months. When you’re ready to eat your frozen gumbo, let the container thaw overnight in the fridge before transferring it to a pot to reheat on the stove. You can also speed up the defrosting by running the container under hot water until the gumbo releases from the container.

Serving Gumbo

Gumbo pairs well with your favorite grains. You can make flavorful rice spiced with more cajun seasoning or fresh herbs. Other grains, like polenta, farro, quinoa and even pasta all make delicious bases to serve with homemade gumbo. Of course, gumbo is a well-rounded meal on its own.

Recipe instructions

Recipe Notes

For the chicken and shrimp, you’ll need pre-cooked proteins. You can find pre-cooked fresh and frozen shrimp at most grocery stores. If you buy frozen shrimp, let them defrost in their bag on the counter or in the sink before adding them to the gumbo. If you forget to defrost, however, you can easily add frozen shrimp and just cook them a few minutes longer to heat through.

Rotisserie chicken makes the best chicken for gumbo. It’s tender and already flavorful, plus so confident. You can also make your own pre-cooked chicken by roasting chicken thighs in the oven until tender. Then shred the cooked chicken before stirring it into your gumbo.

It’s best to use high-quality chicken broth for this recipe. You can easily make your own with the bones from a rotisserie chicken or by asking for chicken bones at your local butcher. If you’re shopping for store-bought chicken broth, look for low-sodium broth that doesn’t contain too many unpronounceable ingredients. The broth makes up an important part of this recipe, so be sure you like the flavor.