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Instant Pot Gumbo is so easy to make! Loaded with andouille sausage, chicken, and shrimp, this gumbo is BURSTING with Creole and Cajun flavors!
Instant Pot Gumbo
Instant Pot Gumbo is the perfect meal for a cold day. Thick and hearty with a kick of Creole spice that warms your insides. This southern comfort food originates in New Orleans, Louisiana. Like jambalaya, it can be made so many different ways. Most gumbo dishes start with a basic roux, peppers, onions, and celery. You can add a protein such as sausage, pork, chicken, or shrimp as well. I’ve tried several different varieties of gumbo over the years, but my favorite includes chicken, sausage, and shrimp. I simply can’t pick a favorite meat to put in; I love them all!
True gumbo is usually thickened with okra and/or gumbo filé powder in addition to the roux. It really depends on your taste. Try a big bowl and see for yourself. You will love this recipe!
Ingredients in Instant Pot Gumbo
- Proteins: Andouille sausage, chicken, and shrimp.
- Vegetables: Red pepper, green pepper, onion, celery, diced tomatoes, okra.
- Broth: Chicken broth, olive oil, butter, flour.
- Seasonings: Creole seasoning, garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
- Serve with cooked rice.
Additions and Substitutions for Instant Pot Gumbo
Instant Pot Gumbo can be changed up a million different ways, depending on your tastes and preferences. Follow the recipe as directed below for a spicy flavor and all the meats! But you can experiment with spices and other ingredients to make it exactly how you and your family like it.
- Feel free to omit one or more of the meats. Sausage only, just chicken and shrimp, etc. or go all out and add any seafood such as crab meat, fish, lobster, whatever you like!
- Some may argue that tomatoes do not belong in gumbo, when others love the added flavor of tomatoes. I really think there is no wrong way. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of okra, so it is something I usually leave out. Make it according to your tastes, be creative, and you won’t be disappointed.
- In addition to the natural flavors of the ingredients, you can play with the seasonings by adding black pepper, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, thyme, paprika, liquid smoke, and more garlic.
- You can make this recipe in a pressure cooker too. If your cooker doesn’t have a sauté function, just sauté your veggies and sausage in a separate pan, then add to the pressure cooker and follow the directions as listed below.
How To Get A Dark Roux
You can make this gumbo recipe with a simple roux (we made this recipe with a simple, light roux) or if you prefer your gumbo to have that rich, dark color, you can make a “dark roux”. Keep in mind, that by making a “dark roux” you are adding another 35-40 minutes to your cook time. To make a dark roux, simply cook your roux longer until it gets to be a deep, golden brown color and this takes time. Keep a close eye on it and stir it constantly because you want it to be dark, but not burnt. Follow the rest of the recipe as indicated below.
Avoid The Instant Pot “Burn” Notice
Because you are making the roux first instead of adding a thickener at the end, you may be more likely to get the dreaded “burn” warning on your Instant Pot. If you notice your gumbo is really thick (like gravy) after adding all the rest of the ingredients, you may want to add up to 1 cup more broth. Don’t worry, if you think it is going to be too thin, you can always thicken it again before serving by adding 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to ¼ cup cold water and stirring it into your gumbo after releasing pressure.
Gluten Free Gumbo
To make this gumbo gluten-free, the most obvious choice would be to use gluten-free flour in place of regular all-purpose flour in the roux. We use Namaste flour from Costco, or a homemade flour blend when substituting flour. If you want to avoid making a roux, you can always use filé powder and/or okra to thicken instead. The Tony Chachere’s seasoning is gluten-free so you should be good using that as your Creole seasoning in this recipe.
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How to Make Gumbo in the Instant Pot
Instant Pot Gumbo
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 13.5 ounces Andouille sausage cut into rounds
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound chicken cubed
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (or to taste, we used Tony Chachere’s)
- 10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles (aka Rotel tomatoes)
- 14 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1 cup okra sliced
- 1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined
- 4 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to "Sauté" function and add olive oil. Add peppers, onion, celery, garlic, and sausage. Sauté for 3-5 minutes or until vegetables become soft. Remove all vegetables and sausage. Set aside.
- Immediately add butter to instant pot and stir, scraping up any cooked bits from the bottom of the pot. When butter is melted, add flour.
- Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly forming a light roux. If you want to make a "dark roux", cook for 30-40 minutes until the roux becomes a dark, golden brown color. Turn cooker off.
- Add chicken broth, cooked vegetables and sausage, chicken, Creole seasoning, diced tomatoes with chiles, fire roasted tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Close and lock the lid of the Instant Pot. Turn the steam release handle to “Sealing” position (see notes above about avoiding the "burn" notice).
- Press "Manual" and select “High Pressure." Set time to 20 minutes. When time is up, turn cooker off. Quick release by turning valve to "venting". When pressure is fully released, remove lid and stir in okra. Press "Sauté", and cook uncovered for 5 minutes.
- Add shrimp and cook an additional 5 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through.
- Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve with rice.
As far as flavor I would rate it a five but they’re instant pot recipe says that it was like a 10 minute prep time that’s a load of crud. How long do you think it takes to chop up all those vegetables no and and it’s not worth the time I mean it is worth the time but I wouldn’t make it in the instant pot I would do it on the stove and on a Sunday starting at 7:00 in the morning because it takes a long time
You need a little okra in the mix! Cut it back to about a quarter of a cup and slice FRESH Small okra pods (about 3 inches) -NOT canned if you’re not fond of it.
If you like okra, the fresh young pods are great!
Thank you for the suggestion, Marynette! We will give this a try!
Can you leave this on warm after it cooks or will the vegetables get mushy? I’m having people over and would love to cook ahead of time!
That should be fine except the okra! I would add the okra in and cook it about 5 minutes before serving.
Nola born. Not used to gumbo in an instant pot. Darken the roux (it should not look like the picture) and drop the tomatoes or it’s not like Maw Maw Thibodeaux’s. Used bacon grease instead of olive oil because who cares about cholesterol. Veg takes more than five minutes, used an 8 qt. Not a bad foundation to a good gumbo.
Love the tips! Thank you!!
Delicious. Have made it every other week the past 2 months as family have asked for it. My instant pot had “burn” signal the first time. Since, I’ve made the roux part on stove top, and has been fine since. I also didn’t use okra. Highly recommend this recipe.
Made this last night! Cut the Cajun seasoning in half and used frozen okra. Turned out great. Will make a t again!
Great recipe. I’ve made it many times. Just one thing… there’s no way in heck that those vegetables are going to be soft in 3-5 minutes. I’m 20 minutes in and the celery is nowhere near “soft.”
But it’s worth waiting for.
Thank you for the review and rating! We will check the timing for the vegetables in the recipe.
This recipe was okay, followed almost entirely, but omitted the okra. Also, because my shrimp was frozen, added it with the chicken and pressure cooked it. Twenty minutes was way too long, the chicken and shrimp was mushy and flavorless. Some things I would change, I would sauté the vegetables, the sausage, the chicken, and the shrimp altogether with the creole seasoning. I do my jambalaya this way and the flavor is phenomenal. This would omit having to pressure cook, so next time I’ll do it on the stove.
I agree with you I’m not going to use the instant pot next time and the recipe I have since 10 minute prep time I started at 3:00 this afternoon and it is now almost 9:00 at night and I finally got it finished and I had to pour it into another pot