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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!
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 a gluten-free flour in the 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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Instant Pot Gumbo
Video
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.
Best Fumbo Rwcipe yet! We will be making this again!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the 5-stars!
No amount is given for the okra, or if frozen or fresh, raw or cooked? Why put in after cooking?
This is assuming the okra is fresh and sliced. Adding it at the end makes it so it doesn’t get so mushy. You just want the okra to be fork-tender. If you want to use frozen okra you can add it earlier in the process. You can add it when you add the broth, cooked veggies, etc.. Hope this helps!
Wouldn’t adding frozen okra mush up worse than fresh orka if you add it before you pressure it ?
Possibly– you can add the frozen okra around the same time as the fresh is recommended but you will want to just make sure it cooks through. I have heard of others adding the frozen at the time of the other veggies without complaint so I am assuming it still turns out ok? I have only done it as mentioned in the recipe.
Hi! Could I use frozen shrimp?
Absolutely! You may just want to cook it a minute or two longer is all. Hope this helps!
Omg!!! This is the best homemade gumbo I have ever tasted!!! Thank you sooo much for this delicious recipe! I made it exactly as directions said and it was PERFECT!!!
Wow Sheri, thank you so much for this amazing review! I am so happy to hear you liked this recipe so much 😀 Thanks for the 5-stars!
“Burn” kept coming on. Afte the second time, I transferred everything to stovetop and finished cooking it there. What did I do wrong? All the liquids were there…
Hmm. that is so strange! Was everything stirred up before you started the IP? Maybe some of the food was just settling at the bottom. Hmmm. Did it seem like there was enough liquid?
I got one burn message as well. Opened, stirred (it was a bit stuck on the bottom) and it was fine for me on the second try.
I got it too but I’m thinking it was from the flour and butter. I have stirred and recooking. We shall see.
Let us know how it turns out!
I got the burn notice a couple of times as well. I added a little more chicken broth, stirred and tried again. We’ll see if it works now. I think it may have had something to do with the butter and flour too. There’s more than enough liquid.
Is your IP getting a good seal? I’m not sure why it is burning. If it seems really liquid-y there shouldn’t be a problem. Is the mixture looking really thick?
Anytime you brown meet you’re going to get some stuck on bits on the bottom. You have to deglaze!! Add a little liquid: beer. Wine, broth (depending on your dish) and scrape it with a flat wooden spatula. Leave the loosened bits and liquids in the pot. Never walk away until it pressurizes and the timer starts. Then it can’t burn.
It was a pretty easy recipe to follow, your directions were explained nicely! I added a little tapatio for extra spice and it came out perfect! Thank you for this recipe!
Ooh I love the flavor of Tapatio. Great addition! I will have to try it with Tapatio next time, thanks for sharing!
nooooooooo on the Tapatio! lol If you are gonna spice it up with something after its done, you gotta go with CRYSTAL…authentic Louisiana hot!
I’ve never heard of that hot sauce I’ll have to try it! I put extra Creole seasoning plus the tapatio, I’m not a huge fan of tapatio but was just looking for more spice with what i had in the kitchen!
Where do you mention the shrimp?
The shrimp is added in step 11. Hope his helps!
Is that cooked chicken or raw chicken you add???
It is raw and cubed when you put it in. Hope this helps!
First time making gumbo, and this was amazing! Hubby raves about it! Thanks for the recipe! Saved, and will become a new family fave!
Woohoo! So glad you (and the hubby) liked the gumbo! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let us know!
Overall it was good. I thought prep took over 10 mins. I bought Tony’s more seasoning and would try to make it spicer next time.
Any easy way to make it spicier is just to slap some Sriracha on it. My favorite!
Ten minutes prep and 35 minutes cooking. That has got to be the lamest gumbo I’ve ever seen.
It was pretty surprising how well the flavors came together. Tasted like it had simmered for hours. Prep took WAY more than 10 minutes for me, but I knew it would 🙂
What Lisa said, the color of the roux most definitely affects the flavor. You need an oil with a higher smoke point than butter, canola is ideal.
Came out great. I probably overpaid for the ingredients but it made quite a bit of food. I’ll have leftovers for quite some time. Thanks!!
So glad you liked it! It heats up great, especially when you heat it up on the stovetop. 😀
This was outstNding!! Will definitely make again!!!
So glad you liked it! 😀 Thanks for the 5-stars!
I cooked the roux for 15 mins and is still not dark. .. is that OK?
Yes, that should be ok. It may affect the appearance (it will just be lighter) but it will taste the same! Hope this helps!
a darker roux is a richer flavor. should be a nice deep brown without burning. ( according to the NO school of cooking!) I usually use oil rather than butter.
What Lisa said, the color of the roux most definitely affects the flavor. You need an oil with a higher smoke point than butter, canola is ideal.
Made it tonight. Homerun! My wife wasn’t crazy about gumbo, until I made this. It blew her mind. I cut some French bread in thin slices and coated them in olive oil and garlic powder and baked them for 15 min. at 400 and used as dipping toast for the gumbo sauce in the bowl. It gives you something to savor while you wait for it to cool down.
So glad you liked it Ryan! Thanks for the tip about the French bread and for the 5-stars!
I cooked this last night for my wife in our Instant Pot and it is delicious.
We substituted Sweet Italian sausage to limit the heat factor and didn’t use shrimp.
It was easy to follow the directions and it was outstanding.
We’ll definitely make it again. Thank you
So glad you liked it! Thanks Kelly!
#4….Press what?
Whoops! Missed that typo! Fixed it 😉 Thanks for catching that.
This recipe gave us amazing results. My girls had been asking for gumbo, and this absolutely delivered. This recipe was very easy to follow and smelled perfectly delightful from the start. I’ve never had so many helpers in the kitchen trying to snitch a taste as it cooked.
So glad you liked the gumbo! Thanks for the nice comment!
Excellent and easy recipe to follow. Gumbo was a success on the first try!
So glad this worked out so great for you! Thanks for the 5-stars!
It’s Tony not Johnny on the seasoning
Ah! You are totally right. I was getting my seasonings mixed up! Thanks for catching that. Changing it now 🙂
What nis instant pot that is mentioned in the receipes?
It is a specific brand of pressure cooker. Hope this helps!
When you say melt the butter and then put in the flour how do you get that mixture to a dark brown? I never could get those two ingredients to the color I thought it should have been. TIA
It gets more brown as it cooks. Most of the time mine just gets to a dark golden brown. Like a caramel color. Hope this helps!
I’ve been cooking cajun food for 40 years. I use oil and flour and stir on low until the roux is the color of a burnished penny. I sit one beside the pot so I’m not tempted to cheat. Takes about 25 minutes to get it the dark chocolate flavor I want. It’s well worth the time. Good luck! I’ve got my first Instapot batch cooking now.
Ok. Too bad I had a cup of okra left over , I adjusted and added it after I had started the 20minute cook time