Paula Deen Gumbo is a classic made from a dark roux, chicken, sausage, shrimp, and the Creole holy trinity- onions, bell pepper, and celery. Paula Deen's recipe is the best and is our tried and true favorite. It's served over rice and is full of flavor, hearty, and will warm you up on a cold winter day.
Why This Recipe is the Best
This gumbo captures the rich, comforting flavors of the South with a deep, flavorful roux, tender meats, and the classic Creole trio of onions, bell peppers, and celery. It's hearty, full of depth, and the perfect dish to warm up with any time of year.
This delicious recipe pairs well with our homemade cornbread recipe, dinner roll recipe, or flaky and fluffy biscuit recipe.
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Key Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients needed for this recipe. Follow our tips on each ingredient for best results.
- Shrimp - shrimp is a staple for gumbo and a must in any gumbo recipe. For this recipe, I like to use small shrimp that are cooked and deveined.
- Sausage - This is delicious with a good andouille or kielbasa sausage, or I have even used some precooked chicken apple sausages in a pinch.
- Chicken - Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are what I prefer to use in this recipe. Other cuts of chicken can be used if desired.
- Worcestershire sauce -the Worcestershire sauce adds a great umami flavor and is a little salty. It ties everything together and is an essential part of gumbo.
- Celery - Part of the Creole holy trinity and a very important part of this recipe. The celery adds a nice texture and subtle flavor throughout.
- Yellow onion - another component of the Creole holy trinity is onions. Onions add so much flavor to any dish, and a classic yellow onion is perfect in this recipe.
- Green bell pepper - the third and final part of the Creole holy trinity, the green bell pepper has a great flavor and texture that is essential for gumbo.
How to Make Gumbo
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium/medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper, then cook in the oil until browned on both sides, then remove.
- Melt the butter, whisk in the flour, and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until you have a dark, rich roux. Reduce the heat, add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and celery, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium/medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper, then cook in the oil until browned on both sides, then remove.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper, then cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the roux is dark, thick, and richly flavored.
- Add the beef Better than Bouillon and water. Whisk until well combined. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, then add the chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and okra and simmer for 1 hour more.
- Add the shrimp, green onions, and chopped fresh parsley and serve over rice!
Hint: Make sure to take your time with the dark roux. That's where the wonderful flavor comes from.
Common Mistakes
Developing the dark roux makes the biggest difference in flavor and texture and is the number one thing you can do to make this dish amazing.
Get creative! While gumbo has a few key foundational ingredients like dark roux, the Creole holy trinity, and chicken, sausage, and shrimp, there is a lot of flexibility as well! We love adding vegetables and even using other meats on occasion. As long as you keep the core ingredients, the rest are flexible. This won't create a technically traditional dish, but it's nice to mix things up.
Top tip
Make sure the gumbo is actually simmering for its 45 and 60-minute time slots. If it isn't hot enough, the meat could go bad and spoil during these long stretches of time.
Recipe
Paula Deen Gumbo
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable/ olive/ avocado oil
- 3 chicken breasts large
- 1 pound smoked sausage cut into ¼" rounds
- 5 Tablespoons butter
- ½ cup flour
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup worcestershire sauce
- ¼ of a large bunch of parsley stems and leaves, chopped plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 teaspoons beef Better Than Bouillon
- 4 cups hot water
- 14 oz can stewed tomatoes with juice
- 2 cups frozen sliced okra
- 4 green onions sliced white and green parts
- ½ pound shrimp small cooked deveined
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven pot over medium/ medium high heat. Season the chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper then cook in the oil until browned on both sides then remove. Cook the sausage until browned then remove.
- Add the butter over medium heat then sprinkle the flour over the oil/butter and whisk together. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. It should be a nice dark roux and thicken up. Giving it the time it needs is important for getting the best flavor. See pictures above for guidance.
- Turn the heat down to low then add the garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. It's important to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
- Add the worcestershire sauce, parsley and salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Add the beef Better Than Bouillon and water. Whisk until well combined. Cut chicken into bite size pieces then add the chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and okra and simmer for 1 more hour.
- Add the shrimp, green onions and chopped fresh parsley and serve over rice!
Notes
Nutrition
Be sure to check our other fun Paula Deen recipes like Paula Deen's Sweet Potato Casserole or Deviled Eggs.
Substitutions and Variations
We love switching things up when we're in the kitchen. Try any of these variations for something a little different.
- Okra - instead of okra, you can use file as a thickener. Add it at the very end, sprinkling it on top about 3 minutes before adding the shrimp, green onions, and parsley.
- Sausage- this also tastes great with chicken sausage, or even Polish sausages in a pinch.
- Gluten Free- for gluten-free use, corn starch instead of flour. Use ¼ cup.
- Gumbo Soup - Leave out the okra. The okra acts as a thickener. Without the okra, it will be a great soup-like texture.
- Vegetable- I added 1 zucchini, 1 summer squash, and 1 red bell pepper to add some more vitamins and nutrients, and it was delicious!
- Creole- Add some Creole seasoning for a fun kick of flavor.
Why Is A Dark Roux So Important in Gumbo?
A dark roux adds a richness to the flavor that cannot be obtained otherwise. Any true gumbo is made with a dark roux. We tested this recipe over and over to get the best dark roux possible for this dish.
Storing Gumbo
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until hot.
Store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Reheat on the stovetop until hot.
FAQ
Cook the chicken and sausage. Make a dark roux. This will develop the flavor and texture, and is the base of any good gumbo. Add the Creole Holy Trinity (onions, green bell pepper, and celery) and parsley. Add the beef broth, chicken, and sausage. Simmer 45 minutes. Add stewed tomatoes and okra and simmer for another hour. Stir in the shrimp and parsley and serve!
Making a dark roux is essential for good gumbo. Over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook while stirring for 10-15 minutes until dark in color. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and celery, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook for 10 more minutes, still stirring to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Your dark roux is now done!
Gumbo File, derived from dried sassafras leaves, is a key ingredient in gumbo, adding a unique aroma and thickening properties. Explore authentic Louisiana flavors by incorporating gumbo file into your recipes for delightful and aromatic creations.
A good gumbo takes about 3-4 hours to make, from start to finish. You have to cook meats, make a dark roux, and allow plenty of time for simmering and cooking.
The Creole Holy Trinity, onions, celery, and green bell pepper, along with tomatoes and okra, go in a traditional gumbo. I like to add red bell pepper, summer squash, and zucchini for a pop of more veggies.
Add shrimp at the very end! If using uncooked shrimp, add about 5 minutes before serving, while still simmering. Cook until shrimp is fully cooked, then serve immediately!
Jacob says
Yum we loved this gumbo. Paula Deen is a cooking genius. We made it with the extra veggies and it was very good. That dark roux made the flavor so amazing!
Dana says
The flavors in this gumbo are outstanding. Paula Deen is truly a genius with some things. Thank you for your clear and easy to follow directions. And kudos to using Better Than Bouillon. I always know a recipe is going to slap when it calls for that stuff—it's so so good!!
Katherine says
I love the depth to this gumbo! This is layer after layer of flavor! Yum!
Nicole says
This was so so good. Thanks for adding the vegetable variation! Such a great idea to add extra veggies. My whole family gobbled this up, will make again!
JC says
They say that Paula Deen's gumbo is the very best. And I think they're right. We really liked the addition of extra vegetables too!
Don says
Going to do this.
Nicole says
Yay! Let us know how it turns out!
Andrea DM says
I added some red chili pepper paste to give it some heat. I thought the amount of worchestershire sauce that the recipe had was too much and will leave it out next time.
Beth says
We really loved this gumbo. The dark roux made it incredible. It has all the classic flavors that we love, and it's so easy to make.
Tina says
What can you use instead of okra? That part makes no sense.
Nicole says
Hi Tina, so I like to just leave it out, I don't replace it with anything. Thanks!