Chicken and shrimp gumbo
100 min · 43 g protein · 440 cals / serving
A dark, toasty roux, the holy trinity of onion, celery and green pepper, smoky sausage, tender chicken and shrimp, and okra to give it body: a big pot of New Orleans gumbo with deep, slow-cooked flavor. The roux uses a fraction of the usual oil and the bowls take a modest scoop of rice, so the gumbo itself is the star.
Ingredients
Roux
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Gumbo
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 4 oz smoked hot turkey sausage, andouille-style, sliced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large green bell pepper bell pepper, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaf
- 6 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 12 oz chicken breast, in 1-inch pieces
- 9 oz chicken thigh, in 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/4 lb sliced frozen okra
- 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tsp hot sauce, or to taste
To serve
- 1/2 cup long-grain rice white rice
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Steps
- Make a dry roux: toast the flour in a large heavy dry skillet over medium heat, stirring and scraping the corners constantly, for 15–20 minutes, until it smells nutty and turns the color of milk chocolate. Lower the heat if it smokes or gets dark flecks; burnt flour has to be thrown out. Tip it into a bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and brown the sausage, stirring, for 3 minutes.
- Add the onion, celery, green pepper and garlic, then the Cajun seasoning and thyme. Cook, stirring, 8 minutes until soft. Sprinkle in the toasted flour and stir 2 minutes so it coats the vegetables in the oil.
- Pour in the broth a ladle at a time, stirring until smooth, then add the tomatoes, Worcestershire, bay leaves and chicken. Bring to a boil, lower to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender, well past 165°F.
- Add the okra and simmer 15 minutes more, until the gumbo has thickened to a light, glossy body.
- Stir in the shrimp and simmer 3–4 minutes, just until pink and opaque, 145°F. Season with hot sauce and salt; fish out the bay leaves.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice. Serve the gumbo in deep bowls over a small scoop of rice, scattered with green onion and parsley.
Good to know
Why a dry roux?
Toasting the flour without fat gives the same nutty, dark depth as a classic oil roux with a fraction of the oil, and it is harder to burn. The oil then browns the sausage and coats the flour so it thickens the broth smoothly. Make a double batch of toasted flour; it keeps for months in a jar.
Will the okra be slimy?
Not after 15 minutes of simmering; it melts into the broth and thickens it, which is its whole job in gumbo. If you prefer none, stir in 1 tsp filé powder off the heat instead.
Does it keep?
Gumbo is better the next day. Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months without the rice; add the shrimp when you reheat if you are cooking ahead.
Per
- Calories
- 69
- Protein
- (40%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (26%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (34%)
- 6 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 240 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2638 kcal goes into the pot and 4449 g of ingredients comes out as about 3850 g of food: 69 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.