Passed down through generations, this authentic Cajun Gumbo recipe is the real deal! Made with a smoky, flavorful dark roux and your choice of proteins, this Louisiana delicacy is perfect served over rice.
Recipe Rundown: What You Should Know
- Authentic Taste: Made with a dark roux and the traditional “Holy Trinity”.
- Feeds A Crowd: Served with rice, it’s a complete meal that fills you up.
- Make In Advance: Flavors deepen over time, so it’s even better the next day!
- Customizable: Swap the proteins, vegetables, and choose your spice level.
- Freezes Great: Just as good reheated for a quick dinner anytime.
- Takes Time: You can’t rush gumbo, but it’s always worth the effort!
What Is Gumbo?
Gumbo is a hearty Louisiana stew made with a dark roux, the Cajun “holy trinity” of onion, green bell pepper, and celery, and a mix of proteins like chicken, sausage, and shrimp. Gumbo has a rich, smoky, and savory flavor with layers of spice and earthiness. Often thickened with okra or filé powder, it’s traditionally served over rice and blends Cajun, Creole, and African influences into one bold and comforting dish.
“We used shrimp, chicken, andouille sausage and oysters in our gumbo and it was truly divine! I was distracted and burned my roux on the first try and had to start over, so watch closely. We will definitely be making another batch of this gumbo again soon!” — Maria, abuela of six that loves from-scratch recipes.
Key Ingredient Notes
Below you will find helpful notes and substitutions for a few key ingredients. Visit the printable recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
- Flour and Oil: These two come together to create a roux, which is the base of any good gumbo imparting an almost nutty and smoky flavor. Measure both with care — you can’t have too much or too little of either ingredient or the roux will be off.
- Holy Trinity: A traditional Cajun trio of vegetables: diced onion, celery, and green bell pepper. My granny always dices the celery leaves and includes those for extra flavor.
- Garlic: You can certainly measure the garlic with your heart when making gumbo!
- Stock: You can use seafood stock, vegetable broth, chicken stock, beef stock, or even plain water. Seafood or chicken stock are what I prefer to use.
- Okra: Grab it frozen and already sliced to save time. My granny always sautés the okra in a separate skillet before adding it to the pot of gumbo. This reduces its slimy texture, enhances its flavor, and helps to thicken the gumbo without making it gummy.
- Diced Tomatoes: While optional, we always add a can of diced tomatoes. They add a savory flavor and the acidity also helps to cut back on the sliminess associated with okra. Use the whole can — don’t drain it, the juices add flavor.
- Cajun Seasoning: Slap Ya Mama is my personal favorite store bought version.
Protein Options
- Shrimp: Deveined with the heads and tails removed. Frozen shrimp works perfectly fine, just make sure it’s thawed first.
- Oysters: Fresh oysters are preferred, but you can use canned (making sure to drain them well) in a pinch.
- Crab: We prefer to use lump crab meat, but any crab meat will do. Just make sure to feel the meat with your fingers before adding it, picking out any bones or shell.
- Alligator: Cubed into bite size pieces and sautéed in a skillet with a little oil for a few minutes before adding to the pot. You don’t need to cook it all the way through, but give it a good sear.
- Chicken: Treat chicken the same way you would alligator.
- Sausage: Andouille is my go-to! However, you can use any smoked sausage you like best. I like to sear it in a skillet before adding it to the gumbo for better flavor.
What Is Gumbo Filé?
Gumbo filé is a powder made from dried sassafras leaves. It’s used in Cajun and Creole cooking to thicken gumbo and add a mild, earthy flavor. It’s especially useful when okra isn’t used in the recipe. My granny never used filé as we always include okra. If you would like to use gumbo filé in this recipe, start with ¼ to ½ teaspoon per bowl or about 1 teaspoon for a whole pot, then adjust to taste. Add it at the end of cooking or just before serving, as it can become stringy or bitter if over-cooked.
How to Make Roux For Gumbo
The key to any good gumbo is really quite simple — don’t burn the roux. You want the roux to be dark brown, but if it burns, toss it out and start over again. You cannot save a burnt roux as it will make the entire batch of gumbo bitter! A darker roux will give the gumbo a richer, more complex flavor.
To make a roux, you will combine equal parts of fat (oil) and flour in a heavy bottomed pot over medium to medium-low heat. Cook the oil and flour mixture, whisking constantly, until it becomes a dark brick brown color, similar to melted chocolate.
Patience is key — don’t rush or turn up the heat — a good dark roux will take up to 20 to 30 minutes to achieve. And remember, if you see black specks or it starts to smell burnt, toss it and start over.
How To Make Cajun Gumbo
Making gumbo is a labor of love that pays off in every spoonful. Once you have the roux, the rest of the steps are fairly simple! Below is a quick recipe overview — scroll down to the printable recipe card for full instructions.
Gumbo flavors meld and deepen the longer it cooks. Allow at least 1 hour for the flavors to develop fully, but 2 hours is even better. Add sausage, chicken, and/or gator, to the gumbo in the last 20 minutes of simmer time.
Once cooked, turn off the heat and add the shrimp, crab, and/or oysters. Place the lid back on the pot and let it sit for about 10 minutes or until the seafood is cooked.
While some people add their seafood earlier in the process, my granny always insists we do it this way. Seafood cooks very quickly and can become rubbery if cooked for too long.
Once the seafood is cooked through, taste and adjust the seasonings as needed, then serve!
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What To Serve With Gumbo
Gumbo is traditionally served over white rice, which helps soak up the rich, flavorful broth. We also love pairing it with a side of cornbread or a piece of crusty French bread for dipping. Many of our family members like their gumbo with a side of oyster crackers or saltine crackers as well.
For garnishes, we always set out a bottle of hot sauce and add sliced green onions on top. If you like the flavor of filé powder, you can also sprinkle it on top right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gumbo is a stew served over rice with a rich, roux-based broth. Jambalaya is a rice dish where the rice cooks with the meat and veggies, more like a Cajun-style paella.
It has a bit of heat from Cajun seasoning and optional andouille sausage, but is not overly spicy if made as written. You can easily adjust the spice level by using more or less cayenne and adding hot sauce to taste.
Traditional gumbo is served over plain white rice, but jasmine or long-grain rice works well too.
If your gumbo turns out thicker than you like, simply thin it by stirring in small amounts of broth or water until it reaches your desired consistency.
While you can leave it out (my Granny is shuddering right now at the thought), okra is a very traditional addition to gumbo. It helps to thicken the gumbo and also adds flavor and texture. However, you can supplement it with about 1 teaspoon gumbo file powder, an additional can of tomatoes, or extra onion, bell pepper, and celery.
Yes! Gumbo actually tastes better the next day as the flavors have more time to develop. Just store it in the fridge and reheat gently.
Authentic Cajun Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients
For the Roux
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
For the Gumbo
- 1 large white or yellow onion, diced
- 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 ½ cups diced celery, include the celery leaves for more flavor
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 to 10 cups low-sodium seafood or chicken broth, or water
- 16 oz frozen sliced okra
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, or fire roasted diced tomatoes, do not drain, optional but they help cut any slime from the okra
- 3 tablespoons garlic powder
- 3 to 5 tablespoons cajun seasoning, can also add cayenne pepper for more heat
- Tabasco sauce, to taste
Protein Options
- 2 to 3 lbs andouille or smoked sausage, chicken, or alligator, chopped into bite size pieces and seared in a hot skillet with oil
- 3 lbs raw shrimp, deveined, heads and tails removed
- 1 lb lump crab meat, drained
- 8 oz oysters, rinsed and drained
For Serving
- white rice
- green onions, sliced
- Tabasco sauce
- crackers, such as oyster crackers or saltine crackers
- Filé powder, optional, read notes below for more info
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Instructions
- In a large heavy bottomed pot, I use a 7-qt dutch oven, over medium-high heat, add the flour and oil. Cook the roux, continuously stirring with a whisk, until it reaches a dark reddish brown color, about 20 minutes. You cannot walk away or stop stirring, otherwise the roux will burn and you will have to toss it out and start all over again.
- After you have gotten your roux to the desired color, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until wilted about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Turn the heat down to low and slowly add broth to the roux, 2 cups at a time. Bring gumbo to a very low simmer, but not a boil. You can decide how much broth you would like to add, but I recommend starting with 8 cups broth. A traditional gumbo should be a little less thick than a bisque style soup. Remember the gumbo still has a while to cook, so you can always add more broth to thin it out later in the process!
- Now, in a separate pan, sauté the okra with oil until it is soft, about 12 minutes. Add the okra to the gumbo. If you are worried about "okra slime" you can place the sautéed okra on a serving plate lined with napkins. Place more napkins on top and lightly press with your hand to remove majority of the oil.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, and about 3 tablespoons Tabasco (adding more later to taste). Bring the gumbo back up to a low simmer (bubbling, but not boiling).
- Place the lid on the pot and simmer for an hour (or up to 2 hours), over low heat, stirring occasionally. During the last 20 minutes of your simmer time, add the sausage, alligator, or chicken if using. The longer you let your gumbo simmer, the richer and deeper in flavor it becomes. Remember you can add more broth if your gumbo becomes too thick.
- Add the shrimp, crab meat, and oysters and place the lid back on the pot. Turn off the heat and let the gumbo sit until the seafood is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Taste your gumbo and adjust seasonings, as needed, adding extra broth if your gumbo is a little too thick. Serve gumbo over white rice, as desired, with sliced green onions on top. If your gumbo is salty enough and only needs more heat, add more hot sauce or cayenne pepper. Cajun seasoning has a lot of salt in it, so be careful!
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More Cajun Inspired Recipes To Try
This gumbo recipe is a family recipe, passed down from my Granny who served it every Christmas Eve. While she’s shared many other Cajun recipes, like her red beans and rice, easy baked oysters, and dirty rice, this gumbo is a family favorite! Here are a few more dishes you may enjoy:
- This Cajun chicken alfredo combines tender chicken, bold spices, and my homemade Alfredo sauce recipe for a comforting meal.
- Ready in 30 minutes, this creamy, spicy Cajun jambalaya pasta its loaded with shrimp, chicken, and andouille sausage.
- Let your crockpot do the heavy lifting with this bold and hearty slow cooker cajun chicken and sausage dinner.
- Bursting with bold flavors and a velvety cream sauce, you won’t be able to resist this creamy Cajun chicken pasta recipe! Feeling shrimp instead? Try this Cajun shrimp pasta!
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I’ve made quite a few gumbo recipes and this was by far my favorite. I did add just a pinch of file powder when serving, but otherwise followed the recipe as is! Used oysters, shrimp, sausage and chicken.
Really good! Added some slap ya mama for extra zing!
Just like my mom’s!!! This recipe took me back to my childhood and my family can’t wait to have it again!