This Creole-style gumbo is a one-pot wonder loaded with chicken, shrimp, crabmeat, smoked sausage, and Creole spices in a tomato-based stew thickened with a roux, a bit different from Cajun-style gumbo. You will absolutely love the flavor.
Creole Style Gumbo Recipe
I'm a huge gumbo lover and I'm happy to share with you this delicious Creole-style Gumbo that I learned how to make in New Orleans.
Gumbo is the Official State Cuisine of Louisiana. You'll find many variations around the state, with a variety of different ingredients and different seasonings depending on the location and the cook.
The largest differences are typically boiled down to Cajun vs. Creole Style Gumbo. In general, Cajun Gumbo is more rustic with fewer seasonings and focusing on meats like chicken and sausage, though might also include game meats.
Creole Gumbo is generally characterized by the use of more seasonings and fresh herbs, other meats like seafood, as well as tomatoes. You might think of it as city gumbo, or New Orleans gumbo.
This is a Creole style gumbo made with a mix of meats and seafood, thickened with a roux. It's one of my favorites, and I hope you love it, too.
Let's talk about how to make Creole style gumbo, shall we?
Creole Style Gumbo Ingredients
The full ingredients list with measurements and full instructions are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Meats. Use chicken breast or chicken thighs and andouille sausage. You can use other smoked sausage, like Conecuh sausage.
- Seafood. Shrimp and crabmeat. Or use your favorites.
- Peanut Oil or Vegetable Oil. You can also use butter.
- Flour. For the roux.
- Vegetables. Green bell pepper, onion, celery, garlic.
- Tomatoes. I am using crushed tomatoes, though you can use fire roasted or freshly chopped. You can also use tomato sauce (passata).
- Creole Seasonings. Plus salt and black pepper. Try my homemade Creole seasoning recipe. Much better than store bought.
- Cayenne Pepper. For additional heat. Optional.
- Chicken Broth. Or use seafood broth.
- Bay Leaf.
- Thyme.
- Chopped Parsley.
- Filé Powder. Optional. For thickening your gumbo for serving.
How to Make Creole Style Gumbo - the Recipe Method
Heat some oil in a large pot and cook the chicken and andouille a few minutes, just to brown the meats. Set aside.
Make the roux by adding peanut or vegetable oil to the same pot. Stir in the flour to form a slurry, and stir over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the roux browns to the color of peanut butter, about 15 to 20 minutes.
You can go lighter or darker if you’d like. I often enjoy a dark roux the color of chocolate.
See my post on How to Make a Roux for more information and a video tutorial, with a discussion on options.
Add the peppers, onion, celery and garlic, cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the chicken and andouille.
Add the tomatoes, Creole seasoning, cayenne, chicken or seafood stock, bay leaves and fresh thyme. Simmer 1 hour to thicken.
Stir in the shrimp and crab and tuck into the gumbo. Simmer 6-7 minutes, or until the seafood is cooked through.
Boom! Done! Your Creole gumbo is ready to serve. Stir in fresh parsley and serve into bowls with filé powder on the side for thickening, if desired. Garnish with extra parsley. This is great over white rice.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Adjust the thickness of your gumbo with your roux. Use a lighter roux the color of peanut butter or a copper penny for a thicker stew. Use a darker roux the color of dark chocolate or mahogony for a thinner soup-like gumbo. Use a blonde roux for a very thick gumbo.
- Okra is a popular addition to gumbo, and also acts a thickener. If you include gumbo in the dish, consider skipping or using less roux.
Storage & Leftovers
Leftover Creole gumbo will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a sealed container. Reheat it gently in a pot on the stove top to enjoy again.
You can also freeze gumbo for 3 months in freezer containers. It freezes quite well.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my Creole style gumbo recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and if you decided to spice it up!
Cookbook Recommendation
If you enjoy Cajun and Creole cuisine, I recommend the following cookbooks. There are a lot of great recipes.
- Louisiana Real and Rustic, by Emeril Lagasse (affiliate link, my friends!)
- Complete Cajun Cookbook: 100 Home-Cooked Bayou Classics, by Ryan Boudreaux (affiliate link, my friends!)
- Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link's Louisiana, by Donald Link (affiliate link, my friends!)
- Also, check out MY cookbook - The Spicy Food Lovers' Cookbook, by Mike Hultquist (affiliate link, my friends!)
Amazon Affiliate links, my friends! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Creole Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breast or thicken thighs, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound ounces andouille sliced into ¼ inch slices
- 3/4 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 medium bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 medium celery stalk chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 28 ounce crushed tomatoes (2 14-oz cans)
- 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, for extra spicy
- 6 cups chicken stock or use seafood stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 pound crab meat (I used lump crab - use more shrimp or tender white fish as an alternative)
- 4 tablespoons chopped parsley + more for serving
- 1 tablespoon filé powder or to taste optional, for thickening
Instructions
- Heat a pan to medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pan along with the sliced andouille. Cook a couple minutes per side until browned. Set aside until ready to use.
- Add the peanut oil to a large pot and heat to medium heat. Add flour and stir. Cook for 15-20 minutes, constantly stirring, until the roux browns to the color of peanut butter. You can go lighter or darker (chocolate brown) if you’d like.
- Add peppers, onion, celery and garlic. Stir and cook about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken and andouille. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add crushed tomatoes, Creole seasoning, cayenne, and chicken stock. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom.
- Add bay leaves and thyme and cook at medium-low heat for 1 hour to thicken.
- Stir in shrimp and crab and tuck into the gumbo. Simmer 6-7 minutes, or until the seafood is cooked through.
- Stir in fresh parsley and serve into bowls with filé powder on the side for thickening, if desired. Garnish with extra parsley.
Notes
Creagh Warren says
Absolutely delicious, Mike! I, of course, went for extra spicy, adding a scotch bonnet into the mix 🙂 I also went for a seafood mix, with calamari, mussels and prawns, alongside the crabmeat and chicken breast. I couldn't get andouille sausage, so I used Polish podwawelska sausage. For oil, instead of peanut, I used a mix of sesame and avocado oil. I should note that I used your recipe for the Creole seasoning, too.
Served over white rice, with fresh chopped parsley, it was DELICIOUS.
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Creagh!! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing your experience and your ingredient swaps, and glad you enjoyed the homemade Creole seasoning, too! Perfection. Thanks again!
STEVEN GILBERT says
Made this recipe last night as part of the February challenge. I substituted spicy chorizo sausage for the andouille and used Emeril's Essence as my creole seasoning. This will now be my "go to" gumbo recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! Glad you enjoyed it with chorizo! I'll have to try that. Thanks, Steven!
Lee P. says
Made this last night. Overall, fantastic.
* Added a chopped jalapeno with the peppers.
* Omitted the cayenne.
* Used 2 1/2 TBSP of Chachere.
* Used seafood stock.
* Folded in sliced okra with the crab and shrimp.
* Finished with a few more shakes of Chachere, 2 TSP of red pepper flakes and 2 TSP of file powder.
* Served over basmati rice.
Everyone loved it. GREAT flavor, spicy but not overwhelmingly so. The only issue was that I had to skim a good amount of fat out as the gumbo simmered (that could've been the result of chef's error somewhere along the line). 100% will make again.
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent. I love the updates, and I'm VERY happy everyone enjoyed it. THANK YOU for sharing this, Lee! Much obliged.