Cajun Gumbo Recipe
Exactly how to make cajun gumbo, step-by-step…
Gumbo was a STAPLE in my household growing up, and I always make it as soon as it starts to be cold outside!
BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER… just know that you can customize this to your liking. There are certain things I add (i.e. jalapeno) and things I leave out (i.e. okra) but make this your own! No matter what… the most important thing is the ROUX!
I will add exact ingredients and instructions below! I will also link to products I recommend (I am an Amazon Associate, so if you see any links from there, I might earn from qualifying purchases) for you down below as well! :)
TOOLS YOU NEED:
Large Pot or Dutch Oven (at least 6qt)
Skillet (for cooking sausage and chicken… some people do this in the same pot, but I prefer them separate)
Whisk (the longer the handle, the better, so you don’t risk burning yourself if oil pops up)
Wooden Spoon (the longer the handle, the better, so you don’t risk burning yourself if oil pops up)
INGREDIENTS:
High Temperature Cooking Oil (Canola, Vegetable, or Grapeseed… I know these aren’t considered “healthy” these days, but I wouldn’t use any other kinds! I prefer Canola for this, but use whatever you like. Some people even use butter)
Organic All Purpose Unbleached Flour (1 cup, but might need more to get the right consistency for the roux)
Low Sodium Chicken Broth (6-8 cups… I usually mix Swanson Low Sodium Chicken Broth + Chicken Cubes in Boiling Water)
Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (1 can)
Green Bell Pepper (1 large)
Large Yellow Onion (1 large)
Celery Stalks (at least 5)
Jalapeño Pepper (1, but this is optional)
Green Onion (separate the whites and green… use white to cook with, green to garnish)
Basil
Bay Leaves (3)
Cayenne Pepper
Creole Seasoning (I always use Tony’s Chachere’s)
Garlic Power
Onion Powder
Thyme
Fresh Garlic (6 cloves)
Olive Oil
Cajun Andouille Sausage (14 oz… you can also use any type of sausage you prefer)
Boneless Skinless Chicken (I use 3 large breasts, but if you want it to be more tender then go with thighs)
Click the image above for the link to my favorite glass spice jars!
FINAL INGREDIENTS & GARNISHING:
White Rice (you can also mix white and brown, but I think white rice makes the entire dish better because it soaks up the flavors)
Potato Salad (this is totally optional… when I lived in New Orleans for 7 years I learned that a lot of people love eating their gumbo with potato salad! I just buy some from the store instead of making it myself)
Fresh Parsley
Green Onion
Hot Sauce
Gumbo File
STEP 1
Dice your bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, celery, and parsley.
Dice your green onion, but separate the white and green parts into 2 separate bowls.
STEP 2:
Cut your sausage into coins and set aside.
Coat your chicken in a little olive oil and then season with garlic powder, onion powder, and creole seasoning.
STEP 3
Add your diced onion, green bell pepper, jalapeno, and celery into a bowl and mix together. It’s important to have these chopped up and combined BEFORE you start cooking the roux since you cannot step away from the roux or it’ll burn.
STEP 4
In the skillet, brown the sausage on both sides. This helps remove some of the oils when you add them into the gumbo later! I also love mine a little browned when I’m eating my gumbo, instead of just boiled.
In the same skillet, without removing any remains from the sausage, brown the chicken breasts on both side. You will eventually boil these in the gumbo, so they don’t need to be cooked ALL the way through right now. Set both aside and move onto the roux.
STEP 5
Heat up a large pot over low to medium heat and add 1 cup of canola, vegetable, or grapeseed oil. This is the most important part of gumbo! The roux makes or breaks this dish and this requires patience.
You want to make sure the oil is hot enough, so I typically toss tiny bit of flour into it to see if it’s starting to fizzle out. It should separate like this when it’s ready.
STEP 6
Once heated properly, slowly whisk in flour into the oil. Do NOT stop whisking or walk away from this step.
You might need to add more than 1 cup of flour in order to reach this consistency. I add a little in at a time and make sure it’s like a thick paste. Switch to a wooden spoon once it starts to darken a little.
PATIENCE is this part of the process… slow and steady wins the race (i.e. doesn’t burn the roux so you have to start all over). This was about 30 minutes of nonstop stirring with the wooden spoon! Do NOT step away or stop stirring.
This was about an hour of nonstop, consistent stirring of the roux. I prefer mine to be as dark as possible, but many people don’t have patience and eat it when it looks like peanut butter. Totally up to you!
STEP 7
Once the roux is dark enough for you, add in your celery mixture and stir it in. Cook it for about 7-10 minutes.
Mix in the white part of the green onion + the fresh garlic for the last couple of minutes.
Everything should look translucent and coated in roux at this point!
STEP 8
Mix in your chicken broth to the pot.
Once your 6-8 cups of broth is in, bring to a boil.
Add in your basil, 3 bay leaves, cayenne, creole, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme. (I didn’t measure, but it was probably around 1tbsp of each)
STEP 9
Add in your fire roasted tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add in your chicken breasts.
Then add in your browned sausage.
Now I let it simmer for at least 45 minutes, then take the chicken out, shred it, then add it back into the pot. I then let it simmer for as long as possible! This day I let it sit for 4 hours on simmer.
STEP 10
I definitely recommend serving this with rice! It makes it way better.
I usually top mine with fresh parsley and green onion.
Some people prefer it to be more salty, and some people love Gumbo File! I recommend having these available for them to choose.
Add some potato salad to the table for those who want to eat it with this too!
For some extra spicy gumbo, this hot sauce is really good.
This is one of my favorite meals to serve and is true comfort food! There are many many recipes out there and changes you can make, but if you try mine out then let me know how it goes! :)
