Cajun Chicken Gumbo
Now you can have restaurant-quality Cajun Chicken Gumbo in an hour with this quick and easy side-step! Delicious, authentic, uncompromising flavor-a recipe you’ll make over and over again!
This is my go-to gumbo recipe I’ve been using for years and it’s always a staple menu item at our house during the cold Winter months. I also make Louisiana Seafood Gumbo frequently.
This recipe uses a pre-made jarred roux straight out of Louisiana… Now before you freak out, let me tell you, I’m a genuine Gumbo snob, and I wouldn’t recommend using a pre-made roux if I weren’t 100% pleased with the results. Your Gumbo will taste like you’ve been cooking all day!
What makes this recipe Cajun and not Creole? Typically, Creole dishes have tomatoes and Cajun dishes do not.
Ingredients
Kary’s or Bootsie’s roux, chicken (white, dark or a combination), onion, celery and green bell pepper (The Holy Trinity), chicken broth, okra, Cajun or Creole seasoning, cayenne pepper (optional), salt, pepper, gumbo file (optional), long grain white rice.
Here’s how to make it
- Bake the chicken (place it in a lightly oiled baking dish; cover with foil; done at 165ºF; remove skin, shred chicken, discard bones)
- While the chicken is baking cook the roux. In a large stockpot, add half of the chicken broth, The Holy Trinity: onion, bell pepper, celery, half a cup of roux (if using homemade roux, make the roux first, then add Holy Trinity); cook until vegetables are tender.
- Add broth and cooked shredded chicken
- Add remaining chicken broth, shredded chicken and cayenne pepper
- Add okra and allow to simmer, covered for at least 20 minutes. Serve with white rice and garnish with green onion and/or filé powder.
Recipe Tips
- Saute the onion, bell pepper and celery in the roux with a little chicken broth
- Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot; you want all that good cooked roux in your dish
- Add okra last; turn the heat to medium low, add okra, cover and allow to cook for about 20 minutes
- Use filé as a garnish; never put filé in the gumbo while it’s cooking
What Is Gumbo?
Gumbo is a thick and savory French soup with a consistency more like a stew than a soup. The base is a dark roux and ingredients include: a stock or broth, seafood, sausage or chicken, okra and celery, onions and green bell peppers.
The thick Louisiana soup is cooked until thickened to the right consistency and served over white rice and typically finished with a sprinkling of Gumbo Filé.
What is The Holy Trinity?
The Holy Trinity and Mirepoix (pronounced “meer’-pwah”) both refer to diced, sauteed vegetables which serve as the flavor base of a dish.
While both are derived from French cooking methods, the terms “Holy Trinity” and “Mirepoix” are often incorrectly used interchangeably, which causes confusion, as they are different from one another and produce very different flavor profiles.
In classic French cooking, mirepoix consists of onion, celery and carrots. The Holy Trinity consists of onion, celery and green bell peppers and is often found in Cajun and Creole dishes.
Roux, pronounced “roo,” is another French cooking term! It refers to equal parts of fat and flour that, when cooked, gel together to form a thick base for sauces, stews,soups and gumbo.
What is filé?
Filé powder is ground sassafrass leaves and is used for a hint of added flavor, as well as a garnish for thickening. It tastes kind of like thyme…very earthy. You’ll find it on the spice/seasoning aisle at the grocery store or sometimes, it’s in the International section.
Reheating leftovers
Gumbo, like many other dishes, is actually better the second day! After refrigeration, the gumbo thickens, so you might add a little more broth or water to thin it.
Reheat gumbo on the stove top or in the microwave (covered)–it splatters in the micro!
Chicken gumbo is a delicious and hearty one-bowl dinner perfect on a chilly night!
Related recipes
- Louisiana Seafood Gumbo
- Natchitoches Meat Pie
- French Onion Soup
- Louisiana Shrimp Étouffée
- Mardi Gras Recipes
- No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
- How to Fix Over Salted Soups and Stews
♥ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and rating! I love to hear from you!
Cajun Chicken Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken (white, dark or mixed) , bone-in, with skin
- 1 cup yellow onion , medium onion
- 1 cup green bell pepper , medium to large bell pepper
- 1 cup celery , chopped (about 3-4 stalks)
- ½ cup Kary's Roux (about half a jar); or Bootsie's roux
- 6 cups chicken stock , divided
- 12 oz. okra , frozen, cut
- ½ – 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4-6 cups prepared white rice
- salt and pepper to taste
- Cajun or Creole seasoning to taste
- green onions chopped (for garnish)
- 1 teaspoon ground gumbo file , garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Place chicken in baking dish; lightly salt and pepper; cover with foil and bake until internal temperature reaches 165ºF. (While the chicken is baking, cut the vegetables and start the roux.)2 pounds chicken (white, dark or mixed)
- Remove skin and bone from chicken (if applicable); shred meat; set aside (if you have any leftover broth from the baked chicken, add it to the gumbo later)
- Pour out any excess oil from the jar of roux. In a large stockpot, on low heat, add half of the chicken stock and the roux, the Holy Trinity (onion, celery & bell peppers), and garlic powder. Cook uncovered on medium low heat until the vegetables are tender (about 6-10 minutes)1 cup yellow onion, 1 cup green bell pepper, 1 cup celery, ½ cup Kary's Roux, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Add shredded chicken and cayenne pepper(optional) to stockpot; (add cayenne pepper in ½ teaspoon increments until you get it as hot as you like)2 pounds chicken (white, dark or mixed), ½ – 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper to taste
- Allow gumbo to cook uncovered, on medium heat for 5 minutes: add okra; cook covered for 20 minutes covered, or until the okra is tender; salt and pepper to taste12 oz. okra, salt and pepper to taste
- Check consistency of gumbo; if it is too thick, add more chicken broth (See Recipe Notes: Gumbo Too Thin?). If it's too thin, add more roux.
- Taste for seasonings: add more garlic powder, Cajun or Creole or more cayenneCajun or Creole seasoning to taste, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Plate rice, pour gumbo over rice, sprinkle a little gumbo file powder over dish; garnish with green onionsgreen onions, 1 teaspoon ground gumbo file, 4-6 cups prepared white rice
- Serve with warm French bread
Notes
- Roux: pre made roux is a big timesaver! It comes in a 16 oz. jar. The oil and cooked roux naturally separate in the jar. Pour out the excess oil in the jar. You’ll use about 1/2 of the jar of the roux. The roux is hard to get out of the jar. I use a knife and slice a big X into the roux, then scoop it out with a spoon. Also, use a wooden spoon to break apart the roux once you’ve added it to the pan. It will begin to liquify as it heats, but I use the spoon to make sure there are no clumps of roux in the gumbo.
- Chicken: If you have any broth leftover from the chicken, you can add it to the gumbo for extra flavor
- Gumbo Too Thin? If your gumbo turns out too thin, either add more roux, or make a water/flour slurry (3 tablespoons flour in 1 cup of warm water); add the slurry to the gumbo to thicken it.
- Gumbo Too Thick? Add more chicken broth or water (you may have to adjust the seasonings after adding more liquid.
- Keep in mind, it will thicken upon refrigeration so….
- Freeze up to 3 months in freezer-safe container
- Seasonings: I add 1/2 a tablespoon of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning to my Gumbo, but I like it a little spicy. If you like it spicy, too, start with 1/2 tablespoon of the seasoning; let the gumbo simmer a few minutes, taste and add more if you want!
