New Orleans Shrimp Sausage Gumbo should really be a food category on its own. It has an intense, complicated flavor that comes from making a patiently toasted roux, cajun spices, shrimp stock and finally okra which makes this thick, rich stew even better. This is a weekend project that's totally worth the time you'll spend on it because a big pot of this will bring the best kind of satisfaction.
We are taking a little detour from MFS's regular recipe style which is fast and easy, to share with you a slightly complicated, time consuming recipe. But but but don't close the window yet because trust me when I say - you WILL want to try this New Orleans sausage shrimp gumbo! It is one of those recipes that should be a weekend project like my chicken biryani or dal makhani and are 100% worth the time and effort you put into them. Plus they last for days so you can enjoy them till you've really had your fill.
On our last trip to the U.S. we had the famous gumbo and I was hooked. The deep, complex flavors of this soul satisfying stew have stayed with me. And I've tried my best to recreate from what I remember. I don't claim that this is the most authentic gumbo but its a recipe that everyone I've made it for so far loves.
Quick Walk Through: New Orleans Shrimp Sausage Gumbo
I'll break this down into steps so that the recipe is easier to follow and attempt.
Equipment
You only need one piece of equipment to successfully make gumbo and that's a dutch oven or any other heavy bottomed pot. And the reason is that these avoid the roux and the gumbo from sticking to the bottom and burning.
Making the Roux for Gumbo
Making the roux for gumbo is probably the most complicated and the most essential step of the recipe if you want to make your gumbo from scratch. I recommend leaving everything else, and concentrating on this one task till it's over.
A roux is a base thats usually created with oil/butter and flour. A roux for bechamel sauce (white sauce) is usually light in color where the flour is cooked in butter for a minute or two. But for a gumbo, equal parts of fat and flour are cooked for anywhere between 20-30 minutes. I prefer the 20 minute roux.
Start by heating oil or butter (I used a combination) and adding flour. Keep stirring the flour fairly regularly so that it doesn't stick to the bottom or start burning - its important to keep moving it around, till it changes color from light to a deep golden brown (like the color of peanut butter). For me, this happened at the 20 minute mark. You can take it farther and cook it for 30 minutes to get a deep milk chocolate color but the gumbo tends to be thinner in that case. Here's how the color will change (these are just screenshots from the video I made to demonstrate this recipe and I recommend you watch the video for detailed instructions).
Mise En Place
Once your roux is ready, quickly gather the rest of your ingredients. I recommend getting mise en place ready in advance. This means dicing the onions, celery, capsicum, chopping the sausages, cleaning the shrimp etc. So that everything is at arm's length when you start the recipe.
The Stock for Gumbo
I think this is as essential as the roux. The stock you choose will help determine some of the flavors in this gumbo. Since this is a shrimp sausage gumbo, I recommend using shrimp stock which is really easy to prepare at home - just boil the head, tail or any part of the shell in water for 40-60 minutes and drain. Your shrimp stock is ready. But if that's effort you don't want to take, use chicken stock for this recipe.
Okra in Gumbo
This is a highly debatable ingredient. Most authentic gumbo recipes will use okra in their recipe because it is native to the region where gumbo originates, and is a natural thickener. Since we are cooking our roux so much (the deeper the color of the roux, the lesser its thickening abilities), the gumbo needs an additional thickener which comes from okra or lady finger (as we refer to it here in India). Some people dislike it because of its slimy texture but okra is only slimy if its not cooked properly. Here's how to cook okra so it is not slimy As it cooks, it completely loses the slime and just becomes vegetable that's soft and almost creamy.
Serving Gumbo
Gumbo is essentially served with rice, but I'm one of those who loves dipping a slice of crusty bread in it. But you are the boss of your gumbo so take your pick - rice, potatoes or bread.
Other Gumbo Variations
There are different variations you can do while making gumbo. Just use the same base, spices and vegetables and experiment with other ingredients you have on hand.
- Chicken Sausage Gumbo
- All Seafood Gumbo
- Sausage Seafood Gumbo
- Crawfish Gumbo
- Turkey Gumbo
This is really one of those recipes that seems complicated the first time. But the second time you try it, you'll be cooking like a boss! And for those leftovers, you will attempt it again and again.
Watch how to make Shrimp Sausage Gumbo Video Recipe
New Orleans Shrimp Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- ยผ cup Canola Oil
- 3 tablespoons Butter
- ยฝ cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 Bayleaf
- 1 cup White Onions finely chopped
- 1 cup Celery finely chopped
- 1 cup Capsicum finely chopped (green bell pepper)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic
- 4 cups Low sodium Shrimp Stock
- ยฝ cup Crushed Tomatoes / tomato puree
- ยฝ cup Homemade Cajun Seasoning see Note 6 below
- 5-6 Andouille Sausages diced diagonally
- 2 cups Okra diced
- 15-20 Shrimp medium
- Salt to taste
- Parsley chopped (for garnishing)
Instructions
- Start by preparing the roux. Heat oil and butter in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot and add flour. Cook the flour while stirring fairly regularly on a medium flame for 20 minutes till it gradually deepens in color to the color of peanut butter. It's important to keep stirring so that the flour doesn't stick to the bottom or burn (watch the video above to see how the flour changes color as it cooks).
- Once the roux has reached the desired color, add the bayleaf, onions, celery and capsicum and stir for two to three minutes till the onions are tender. Add garlic and slowly start adding shrimp stock while stirring continuously till the mixture thickens a little and comes to a boil.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes or tomato puree, cajun seasoning and salt (if using) along with sausages and okra. Mix this well and bring this to a boil. Once the stew starts boiling, reduce the flame and cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes or till the okra is cooked and not slimy anymore.
- Add shrimp to the pot, simmer for 8-10 minutes and turn off the flame. (if using smaller or larger sized shrimp, cooking time will vary slightly). Top with chopped parsley and serve hot. This gumbo keeps for days and leftovers taste even better!
Video
Notes
- Don't burn the roux: If you don't have a heavy bottomed pot, make the roux in a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan and then transfer it to a regular soup pot. The key is to keep the flour from burning or sticking to the bottom.
- Green Bell Peppers: I love the taste and flavor that green bell peppers add. They add a sharpness without being spicy. Avoid using yellow or red bell peppers because they are sweeter in taste.
- Sausages: My favorite sausages to use in gumbo are andouille but if you can't get your hands on them, use any variety of pork sausages you like.
- Shrimp Stock: Shrimp stock makes this gumbo really flavorful. Its best made at home and is really easy to make. Just cook shrimp heads and tails in water and then strain them and reserve the liquid.
- Okra: If you plan to skip the okra, your gumbo will not be as thick. If your okra is over ripened, it will take longer to cook.
- Cajun Seasoning: We use homemade cajun seasoning without the salt so that its easy to adjust salt in the recipe. However, if you are using store bought seasoning, reduce the cajun seasoning to 2 tablespoons, taste and then add more.
Anna Hill says
This is the easiest recipe Iโve tried
It is delicious โฅ๏ธ
Jas says
What do we eat with Gumbo or we eat like this alone
Christina says
Best Gumbo we ever had! Turned out great and even my pickiest eater (my young son) ate it!
Ashley says
Since I'm New Orleans girl, I always want to learned how to cook gumbo. I cooked this recipe for St.Patrick day for 1st time. Even those I was confused how to cook shrimp stock since no video to it or more details, I research and got it right. And, I have to make roux again since I stir slow. I did again with fast speed and concrete it. It came out like peanut butter (not like pic). Roux came out great; even more I add crabmeat lumb to the gumbo. The gumbo was perfect-O (muah) My girls & neighbors loveeeeee it and keep digging in for more.
Now I know ๐
Thank for this recipe!
Richa says
Thanks for leaving a comment Ashley! I'm really happy you enjoyed it
Christina L says
Amazing Gumbo recipe Rachel! Thank you
Ann says
Perfection!!! I didnโt have andouille sausage, so I used bulk Italian sausage, browned and in large chunks, but otherwise followed recipe. Family loved, loved, loved, and wants me to put it in the rotation! I know it will be awesome with the andouille. Thanks!
Ann says
This is delicious! As good as I remember from NOLA,
Richa Gupta says
That's a big compliment, thanks Ann! Glad you liked our gumbo ๐
Jeanie says
Didnโt achieve that dark Rick color you pictured, but tastes great.
Richa Gupta says
Hey, Jeanie! Glad you liked our gumbo recipe!
Luanne says
This was awesome and easy to make.
Richa Gupta says
Thanks Luanne! No wonder it's called soul food, eh?
vana says
very bad it turned out to be the worse food i have made
Richa Gupta says
Oops! Sorry that this gumbo didn't turn out as you expected, Vana.
Sandra says
Gumbo is Okra. If you add it with the liquid or boil it you might as well add green beans or cabbage. Boiled okra adds no substance to the dish. Okra should be sauteed until there is no ropiness.A good gumbo requires a minimum of 3lbs. Of sauteed okra. Andouille is indeed optional. One could not find andouille in groceries outside of acadiana befote 1970. Many smoked sausages have a superior taste.
Corey says
This was my first time cooking gumbo and this recipe turned out amazing.
Used 2 T of store bought Cajun seasoning as per the notes.
I couldn't find andoullie so I used chorizo - still great but next time I'd plan in advance to get andoullie. Added thinly sliced chicken breast.
I also couldn't find shrimp broth locally (small town) so I used chicken broth but threw the shrimp in with shells on, for extra shrimp flavor. I had to pause to shell each shrimp before eating them, but it was worth it.
Used frozen okra rings and they turned out great - not slimy.
After 10 minutes the roux was already quite dark and I got nervous it was about to burn and moved on to the veggies, but I had used a thin bottom pan with excellent heat transfer so maybe it cooked quicker.
Would definitely make this again.
Richa Gupta says
Yes, andouille sausages just take it to the next level. Looks like you nailed it, Corey! Thanks for trying the gumbo and leaving us a comment!
Alyson E says
Excellent! We added chicken thighs and a little less Cajun seasoning
Richa Gupta says
Great job, Alyson! Glad you liked our version of gumbo!
Ashli says
Hands down the best gumbo recipe. Could you share your homemade seasoning recipe?
Richa Gupta says
Thanks Ashli! Homemade seasoning recipe is coming up soon!
Valisa says
This is the perfect gumbo recipe. Delicious and light but also filling. I used a frozen gumbo mix, but other than that I followed the recipe step by step. Perfection!
Richa says
So great to hear you liked the recipe Valisa! Thank you for leaving a comment