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A bowl of gumbo over rice

★ From the Roux to the Rice ★

Gumbo Recipes

Three classic pots to cook at home. Take your time on the roux — that's where the soul lives.

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🥄 First, The Roux

Every gumbo here starts with a roux — equal parts fat and flour, stirred constantly over medium heat until it deepens from blond to peanut-butter to dark chocolate. A Cajun roux goes nearly black; a Creole roux often stops lighter. Never walk away — burnt roux means starting over. This is the patience that makes gumbo, gumbo.

Chicken and andouille gumbo
Cajun · Main

Chicken & Andouille Gumbo

⏱ 2 hrs🍽 Serves 8🌶 Medium heat

The bedrock of Cajun cooking — a dark roux, smoky andouille, tender chicken, and the holy trinity, ladled over rice.

Dairy-FreeHearty

Ingredients

  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
  • 2 lbs chicken thighs
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves, Cajun seasoning
  • Cooked white rice, to serve

Method

  1. Make a dark roux: whisk oil and flour over medium heat, stirring constantly 25–40 min until deep chocolate brown.
  2. Add the holy trinity (onion, pepper, celery) and cook 8 min until soft. Add garlic.
  3. Slowly whisk in warm stock until smooth. Add bay leaves and seasoning.
  4. Add chicken and andouille; simmer gently 60–90 min, skimming fat.
  5. Shred the chicken back into the pot. Adjust seasoning.
  6. Serve over rice with a scatter of green onions. Filé at the table.
Seafood gumbo with shrimp and crab
Creole · Main

Seafood Gumbo

⏱ 1.5 hrs🍽 Serves 6🌶 Mild–Medium

A New Orleans classic — Gulf shrimp, crab, and oysters in a lighter, tomato-touched Creole base, finished with filé.

PescatarianDairy-Free

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup oil + ¾ cup flour (roux)
  • 2 onions, 1 bell pepper, 2 celery stalks
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 lb okra, sliced
  • 6 cups seafood stock
  • 1 lb shrimp, peeled
  • ½ lb lump crab meat
  • 1 pint shucked oysters
  • Filé powder, Creole seasoning
  • Cooked white rice, to serve

Method

  1. Cook a medium-dark roux to peanut-butter color.
  2. Add the trinity and garlic; soften 8 min. Stir in okra and tomatoes.
  3. Whisk in seafood stock; simmer 40 min until okra is tender.
  4. Season well, then add shrimp and crab; cook 5 min.
  5. Add oysters last; cook just until edges curl, 2 min.
  6. Off heat, stir in filé (never boil after). Serve over rice.
Gumbo z'herbes made with greens
Traditional · Vegetarian-Friendly

Gumbo Z'herbes

⏱ 1.5 hrs🍽 Serves 6🌶 Mild

The "green gumbo" of Holy Thursday tradition. Legend says you make a new friend for each green in the pot — so use plenty.

Vegetarian OptionGreens-Forward

Ingredients

  • ½ cup oil + ½ cup flour (roux)
  • 7 greens: collard, mustard, turnip, kale, spinach, watercress, parsley
  • 2 onions, 1 bell pepper, 2 celery stalks
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • Thyme, bay leaf, Creole seasoning
  • Optional: smoked sausage or ham
  • Cooked white rice, to serve

Method

  1. Wash and roughly chop all greens. Boil 20 min, reserving the cooking liquid; chop fine.
  2. Make a blond-to-medium roux. Add the trinity and garlic; soften.
  3. Add greens, their liquid, and stock. Season.
  4. Simmer 45 min until silky and deep green. Add meat now if using.
  5. Adjust seasoning; it should taste bright and earthy.
  6. Serve over rice — and count your new friends.

Hungry for the Story?

Learn how three cultures simmered down into one iconic dish.

Read the History →
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Get in Touch

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