How to Make Gumbo - a Guide

Learn how to make gumbo, with recipes and notes for making different types of gumbo, from Cajun style to Creole style, with many tips and techniques.

There is a reason gumbo, the quintessential soup-stew, is the Official State Cuisine of Louisiana. Rich in both history and flavor, it represents the cultural mix of the area.

Before its purchase in 1803 by the United States, Louisiana was populated by a myriad of diverse cultures, including French, Spanish, African, Irish, American Indian, Italian, Southern and more.

Together, each of those cultures influenced the cuisine, resulting in some of the most iconic dishes in not only the south, but in America.

Case in point: GUMBO. Gumbo reflects the wisdom of each culture’s approach to cooking, garnering it the distinctive honor as the Official State Cuisine of Louisiana.

When making a traditional gumbo, the most important step to master is the making of the roux. It is not a difficult process, but it does require time and attention.

Simply a mixture of flour and fat, such as butter or oil, it needs to be constantly swirled over a gentle heat for 20 to 45 minutes or even longer until it browns to the color of choice, from the warming shade of peanut butter to the rich dark brown of chocolate.

Each will yield different results and flavors. Okra is not as popular as it once was, though filé powder (ground sassafras leaves) is still a widely used ingredient to finish.

Let’s talk more about gumbo, shall we? Here are some common questions.

Flat out, Gumbo is AWESOME. HUGE on flavor.

From there, the recipe interpretation is open to the cook, and gumbo ingredients can vary.

In Louisiana, you have influences from southern cooking, French, African, Spanish, Irish, Italian, even American Indian. That is what makes Cajun and Creole cooking so fantastic.

Let's talk about how to make gumbo.

I've included links to many recipes below as well as a video detailing how you can make a typical gumbo, but here are the general steps with a bit of additional insight.

I also have included some additional discussion points below to help make sure your gumbo comes out as awesome at it can be.

See below for more information about how to make a great roux.

Next, stir in peppers, onion, celery and garlic. Give a good stir, then add the okra (if using), Cajun or Creole seasonings, stock and bay leaves. The bay leaves bring in a lot of additional flavor. Try my Homemade Cajun Seasoning blend.

Lower the heat and let the whole pot simmer for at least one hour. 1.5-2 hours is fine to develop more flavor, though you may need to add in a bit more liquid.

When it's just about ready, add your seafood and let it simmer, 5-10 minutes or so, until it is cooked through.

When you're ready to serve the gumbo, swirl in some fresh chopped parsley and let it cook in about 5 minutes or so. Turn off the heat. Stir in the filé powder to thicken up your gumbo even more, if you're using it.

Finally, serve it up in a bowl as-is or over rice, whichever you prefer!

The Many Different Types of Gumbo

The gumbo recipe detailed above is a typical gumbo that I make in my own kitchen, although you will find variations from region to region.

Some regions prefer meat and sausage in their gumbo, thickened with filé powder. Along the coast they prefer seafood gumbo thickened with okra.

No protein is off limits. I’ve seen recipes for gumbo with duck meat, alligator, squirrel, deer, rabbit, turkey and more.

One tradition is to include a spoonful of potato salad in your gumbo before serving. I’ve encountered recipes with the addition of hard-boiled eggs.

There is a very good vegetarian gumbo called gumbo z’herbes made with greens, often served during Catholic Lent.

Regardless of how you make your gumbo, it is difficult to say if there is any particular “right way” to make gumbo. If you visit Louisiana, you’ll encounter people arguing one way or another, but from chefs I met personally in Louisiana, the best way to make gumbo is “however your mama taught you.”

As a bit of background, the word “Cajun” is slang for “Acadian”, referring to the French settlers who populated the region. “Creole” originally referred to those born into the colonies, primarily French or Spanish.

The Acadians were incredibly resourceful people, making heavy use of the land and all it has to offer, including every part of the animal. Hence, their original cuisine was generally simpler and used fewer ingredients.

Creole cuisine is more of a blend of the many different cultures that descended upon the region, and typically uses more readily available ingredients.

Many years ago it may have been accurate to distinguish Cajun cooking from Creole cooking by the region. Creole was once considered the wealthier cuisine of the city, with more European influence, using more expensive ingredients.

Cajun cooking, on the other hand, was considered the cooking of the country people, preparing simpler food.

It isn’t quite the case any longer. Today, the lines between Cajun and Creole cooking have blurred, with the words often being used interchangeably. You’ll hear dishes described as Cajun-Creole.

It is worth noting that Cajun and Creole cooking techniques have evolved from hundreds of years of cooking and tradition with many different influences, and it is still evolving today as ingredients are introduced and other techniques learned and applied.

Still, “Creole” more frequently refers to the cuisines of the city, most notably New Orleans, where the addition of tomato is much more common as well as an abundance of other ingredients. “Cajun” generally refers to country cooking, using whatever is on hand.

As a matter of perspective, as an outsider, you will certainly notice many similarities in the cuisines, but if you live in the region, there is still a distinction between them culturally.

While visiting New Orleans, I found many gumbo recipes that do not use okra, so as an ingredient, okra is not required and is open to the preference of each cook. You'll still run into people, though, who insist gumbo is not gumbo without okra.

I do have a great okra gumbo recipe, however, that focuses on the thickening power and flavor of okra, which I think you might enjoy.

Learn more about the Cajun Holy Trinity Here.

You can smell it when the roux burns. It's acrid, unpleasant, a bit like burnt popcorn. If that happens, forget it. Toss it and start over. It will ruin the flavor of the gumbo. So be careful, and don't bring up the heat too high. Keep it low and slow.

What you're looking for is the color of the roux. It starts out the color of flour, very light, batter-ish, but as it heats while you're stirring, it will begin to brown, going from a light brown to the color of peanut butter or copper, and eventually to a rich chocolate brown. This can take anywhere from 20-45 minutes, depending on your desired color.

Personally, I take 20-30 minutes for my roux.

You can stop when you achieve a copper or peanut butter color. The roux is great then, coaxed of outstanding flavor. You'll have a thicker gumbo with this color of roux.

If you continue to a darker chocolate color, you'll have a thinner gumbo with a slightly deeper flavor, so feel free to experiment to discover which shade of roux produces the best gumbo for your taste buds.

Some cooks continue to develop their roux until it is very dark chocolate brown, almost black in color. Again, the choice is yours.

Learn more about How to Make a Roux.

Once your roux has reached your preferred color, remove it and use it as you would in any gumbo or similar recipe, such as a fricassee or etoufée.

If you make a larger batch, you can freeze your roux in containers and use later.

I hope you enjoy it! People ask me for this recipe all the time, so here you go. It's finally on the web site. Let me know how it turns out for you!

I wrote about my recent trip to New Orleans, including restaurant recommendations. Check it out here: New Orleans foodie experience. So awesome!

Check out one of my favorite easy gumbo recipes in the recipe card below. It all starts with a good roux.