New Orleans Gumbo with Shrimp and Sausage

My take on a hearty New Orleans Gumbo with shrimp and sausage! I’m making the roux from scratch so it’s extra flavorful! This recipe is perfect to make on the weekend and enjoy all week long as the flavor gets BETTER with time!

A biiiig ol’ pot of steaming hot New Orleans style GUMBO right here.

Talk about this being the highlight of the week! A big pot of gumbo with shrimp, sausage, and if you’re feeling extra generous, some chicken! I love making these kinds of meals on a Sunday. It’s hearty and cozy and the leftovers are enjoyed for a quick lunch all week long. Just think – a warm bowl of rice topped with a slow-simmered, tomato-based stew loaded with aromatics like onions, peppers, and celery. It’s spicy, hearty, and completely made-from-scratch. Okay, it’s basically amazing. I don’t know about you, but I LIVE for food like this.

This is for my food lovers out there that don’t mind taking a few extra minutes to make GOOD FOOD. It’s perfect to curl up with on the couch. If you’re in Texas, have the air conditioner on full blast while you pretend isn’t just shy of reading 1000 degrees. And if it happens to be cool when you’re making this, I promise you it will warm you to your bones!

Let me just say it now, THIS is a LOOOOOONG post. If you are a gumbo expert and just want a recipe, feel free to scroll to the bottom. I’m sharing all the things I’ve learned from when I was a noob.

While this was still in the recipe testing phase, I read pretty much everything on the topic. Not to mention the countless videos I sat through to make sure I learned how to make a proper roux. And though I’m not claiming I’m an expert in gumbo making or that my recipe is an authentic ‘Creole’ or ‘Cajun’ recipe, I will say I’ve picked up quite a few things along the way that can help make your pot more delicious.

The secret to making the perfect roux

1. A high heat oil. You can use corn, avocado, canola, or vegetable. I don’t suggest using olive, coconut, or any other oil that has a low smoke point. You need something that can really withstand the heat and the longer cooking time.
2. All-purpose flour. I’ve only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour so sadly, I can’t say if any other type will work.
3. Continuously stirring: I know, I’m asking a lot here! Okay, so yes, this needs a total of 15-20 minutes of constant stirring and constant attention. And yes, I’m asking you to drop everything. No multitasking in general but a big pot of gumbo is in your future and I promise you, you will love me a little more when you don’t have a burnt, smelly pot of caked-on flour to clean because like a champ, you listened and babied your roux.

Know the stages of a roux:

1. The blond roux: This is the most basic type of roux that we make. It’s what you make when preparing a béchamel sauce and it’s also what we use to make my shrimp enchiladas with poblano cream sauce. The roux is nice and light and usually requires just a quick 30 seconds -1 minute of browning the flour.
2. 5-minute roux: This reminds me of the color of tahini paste. It’ll be a little deeper than the blond roux but we need to keep going. Keep in mind, as we cook the roux, it is losing its thickening power. This means that the darker the roux, the less it will thicken your gumbo.
3. 10-minute roux: Almond butter-ish. It’s lighter than peanut butter but on its way there. You’ll notice that it smells a little like popcorn or similar to when you brown butter. A nice nutty smell.
4. 15-22 minute roux: The color of homemade peanut butter. It’s dark and nutty and its a medium brown tone. I stopped my roux here (at 21 minutes exactly) because I still wanted a little thickness to the gumbo and a deep-dark roux is an acquired taste. If you’re new to gumbo making, i’d suggest leaving it at this stage! It will thicken the dish just enough and the flavor will be well pronounced without overpowering.
5. 25+ minute roux: Dark brown roux is the color of peanut butter. You can take the roux a little further to what is considered a black roux (about 32-40 minutes), which is about the color of dark chocolate. But keep in mind that this will change the overall taste of dish and will leave it thin (a soup like consistency) and a black roux just isn’t for everyone!

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Basic ingredients in gumbo

• Oil: Is one of the two ingredients needed to make the roux.
• All-purpose flour: Is the other ingredient need to prepare the roux. It’s the first step of making gumbo.
• The holy trinity: This is a combination of yellow onions, celery, and bell peppers. Keep in mind that I used a colorful array of peppers, however, just green bell peppers would also work for this recipe
• Garlic: you can use as much or as little as you like, I use 6 cloves for that perfect flavor!
• Bay Leaves: add a depth of flavor
• Sausage: Andouille sausage is most commonly used when making gumbo. I 
• Seasonings: You’ll need cajun or creole seasoning, Louisiana hot sauce, and cayenne pepper to add some heat.
• Tomatoes: stewed tomatoes are optional. I know people are passionate about whether there are tomatoes in gumbo, or not. I’ve made this recipe about 100 times and have tested it both way – use or don’t!
• Chicken broth: we’ll need a quart. Homemade chicken stock is best because it allows you to control the sodium in the recipe. But you can also use a carton of store-bought or dissolve a few cubes of bouillon in water and use that.
• Shrimp: I like to use shrimp in my homemade gumbo but I have seen all sorts of other additions like oysters  and crab legs in a seafood gumbo.
• Filé Powder: or gumbo filé as it’s sometimes called is a spicy herb made from dried and ground sassafras leaves.
• Ingrdients for serving: I like to have some chopped scallions and fluffy white rice to serve. Gumbo can also be served in a bowl like a soup.

Gumbo with Shrimp and Sausage

4.91 from 372 votes

My take on a hearty New Orleans Gumbo with shrimp and sausage! I’m making the roux from scratch so it’s extra flavorful! This recipe is perfect to make on the weekend and enjoy all week long as the flavor gets BETTER with time! I highly suggest reading the post once all the way through before starting the recipe. I provide lots of tips to get the perfect roux color which will help make this process much easier.

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Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Author: Marzia

Equipment

• Dutch Oven

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Ingredients 

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For the Roux:

• ▢ ½ cup high heat oil such as avocado, canola, corn, or vegetable
• ▢ ½ cup all purpose flour

For the Gumbo:

• ▢ 1 medium onion diced
• ▢ 2 bell peppers any color, diced
• ▢ 3 stalks celery diced
• ▢ 6 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 3 bay leaves
• ▢ 8 ounces andouille sausage sliced (I used Tofurky)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tabasco sauce more or less to taste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cayenne omit to make it mild
• ▢ 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes optional
• ▢ 1½ pounds raw shrimp
• ▢ 2 teaspoons gumbo filé
• ▢ sliced scallions + white rice or quinoa for serving

Instructions 

• ROUX: Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or a heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour until combined and smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and continuously stir for 15-22 minutes or until the roux darkens to just past a deep peanut butter color. Take your time here and don't be tempted to crank up the heat. You do not want to let the roux burn! (if you smell it burning, you will need to throw is out, clean the pot, and start over, unfortunately there's just no saving burnt roux!)
• SAUTE: Once the roux reaches that deep rich brown color, stir in the onions, bell peppers, and celery and continue to cook, stirring as needed so the vegetables don't stick. About 8-10 minutes or until the veggies soften. Add the garlic, andouille sausage (if using tofurky, do not add yet, you'll need to brown it in a skillet first then add it with the shrimp at the end), and bay leaves. Continue to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until the garlic is nice and fragrant.
• SEASON: Add the cajun seasoning, tabasco sauce, and cayenne along with the chicken broth and stewed tomatoes (if using) and bring to a high simmer before lowering the heat to medium-low, covering and simmering for 15-20 minutes.
• ADD PROTEIN: Add the shrimp and sausage (if using) to the gumbo, give it a stir and allow to continue to simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the shrimp is opaque and the veggies have softened. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Add the gumbo filé and stir. Remove bay leaves before serving.
• TO SERVE: Serve warm with white rice or quinoa with sliced scallions on top.

Notes

• Peppers: You don’t have to use all the colors for the bell peppers. I just really enjoy the taste and color they add.
• Tomatoes: After making this recipe several times, I find the tomatoes are optional. 1 (14.5-ounce can) diced tomatoes can be used in place of the stewed tomatoes as they can be hard to find sometimes. You might need an extra splash of broth if you decide to omit the tomatoes from the recipe.
• Gumbo File: available in the ethnic food aisle near where they keep the cajun seasonings. It’s basically ground leaves from the sassafras tree.
• Adding Okra: I know some people find it isn’t gumbo if there’s no okra. That said, it just comes down to preference. If you’d like to add some, you can slice 4 ounces of okra into small pieces. Fry them in a tablespoon of oil to keep them from being slimy in the gumbo. Then add then in with the shrimp in step 4.
• Swapping the protein: I’ve played with this recipe a ton, swapping bite-sized pieces of chicken thighs for the sausage and it all works. If you do decide to use chicken, thighs work best and would go during step #2.

Nutrition

Calories: 477kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 31g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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