New Orleans Style Gumbo

New Orleans Style Gumbo. Tasty Seafood Stew for 5 People
This yummy gumbo mixes chicken, sausage, and seafood in a thick, spicy soup. Made easy in a slow cooker with a special nutty flour mix. Ready in 4 hours and 30 minutes—perfect family meal!

Serving: 5
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For Dry Roux

• 1 cup plain flour

• 2 cups chicken stock

For Gumbo

• 1 cup water plus 3 cups chicken stock

• 1 kg chicken thigh meat without skin

• 1 cup (250g) chorizo sausage, sliced into rounds (pick mild or spicy; any smoky sausage works)

• 1 cup (250g) crab legs or meat (skip it or swap for extra shrimp if you want)

• 2 cups (500g) peeled raw shrimp (medium size is nice, but any works)

• 2 big celery sticks, chopped big

• 3 green onion stems, chopped big

• 1 medium or big white onion, chopped big

• 1 medium or big green bell pepper, chopped big

• 3 tsp chopped garlic (or 3 fresh cloves, chopped)

• 1 tsp Cajun spice mix (add more or some cayenne for extra kick if you like)

• 1 tsp thyme

• 1 tbsp parsley

• 2 bay leaves

• 3 tbsp arrowroot powder

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp white vinegar

New Orleans Style Gumbo: Directions

Make the Dry Roux

1. Heat oven to 200°C (400°F).

2. Put 1 cup flour in an oven-safe pan. Stir it so it’s smooth and flat.

3. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Stir now and then. Watch it close!

4. It’s done when it’s light brown like chocolate. If it burns, toss it and try again.

5. Scoop into a bowl to cool. Mix in 2 cups chicken stock. Stir smooth and set aside.

Cook the Gumbo

1. Put chicken pieces at the bottom of your slow cooker.

2. Spread sausage slices over the chicken.

3. Toss in bay leaves, chopped onion, bell pepper, 1/3 of the green onions, and celery.

4. Add your ready roux mix.

5. Stir 3 cups chicken stock, water, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, and vinegar together. Pour into cooker.

6. Cook on high for 3 hours.

7. Check chicken—it should pull apart easy. Cook more if needed.

8. Take out chicken and bay leaves. Chop or shred chicken and put back in.

9. Mix arrowroot with a bit of water into a thin paste. Stir it in.

10. Add crab, shrimp, and rest of green onions. Cook 20 minutes till shrimp is pink and soup is thick but not too much.

11. Serve on top of boiled rice. Add potato salad if you like.

Tips

This comes from a real New Orleans gumbo I made. It’s super tasty!
Families change it up, so get creative. Prep takes time, but cooking is simple.
Make it spicy or not—my family loves this mild kick.

Key things to watch:

1. Roux must bake right for that yummy nutty taste.

2. At 3 hours, chicken should just shred—20 more minutes after.

3. Stop when shrimp is cooked.

4. If too thin at end, add more arrowroot mix. (Cornstarch works too, but arrowroot is best.)