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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.
LOVE this recipe! This is my family’s go to for Gumbo. Even my Cajun relatives love it. I add an extra cup of broth bc I like it a little more soupy but nothing else. It perfect!
Made this tonight. I added the rest of the trinity- 2 stalks celery and 2 small carrots, both finely chopped. Absolutely amazing. One of the better quick versions I have tried.
It was delicious! Fabulous recipe!
I skipped the shrimp and added some smoked paprika and cumin for added smokiness.
Loved this recipe! So easy and taste is amazing. My husband is very picky and told me to be sure to keep this recipe.
Great recipe! Delicious.
I rated this recipe so highly because I learned about a roux substitute which saved me so much time and makes the dish gluten free (directions came from another reviewer – use 1/2 the amount of broth and same amount of okra). I didn’t have any peppers so only used celery and also accidentally threw in the okra the first time around, but it turned out fine! I also used frozen raw, deveined, shell/tail ON shrimp because it imparts so much flavor into the broth; it just took an extra 8 minutes to peel afterwards. Because my sausage was fully cooked, I only set the IP for one minute and QR. I didn’t have to go through the extra steps of adding the okra and shrimp afterwards. Thank you for taking the time to create and post this recipe!
Just got my instant pot last week and your gumbo is the 2nd dish I’ve pressure cooked so far. Amazing recipe, easy to follow and the results are delicious. I cooked the roux to chocolate brown, so my gumbo is darker than yours in the photos, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Looking forward to trying some more of your instant pot dishes.
We’re you able to cook the roux with the lid on the Instant Pot like a pressure cooker?
my family loves this gumbo. It’s hands down one of their favorite recipes.
Followed the recipe except adding the Okra….it is fantastic! Even better the second day
Is a hit in our house, everyone loved it an my husband asks for it frequently.
I made this recipe last night. I appreciated all the detailed instructions and pictures. The recipe turned out GREAT! It was easy to make and surprisingly delicious! I will definitely be making this recipe often! My family loved it and I got many compliments. THANK YOU!
My family absolutely loves this gumbo. Pretty easy to make and it’s delicious!! So glad I found it!!
I have made this 3 times so far and it has been a winner each time. I tweaked it a little to accommodate my eating plan (THM). I puréed frozen okra with half the broth in place of the roux as a thickener. I use 1 TBSP of creole seasoning, Zatatain’s, that’s what I had on hand. I only cooked it for 1 min. on high pressure as everything is precooked. If using raw cubed chicken one minute will fully cook it. If using cooked cubed chicken I don’t add it until I add the shrimp.
Some reviewer‘s say this is not Gumbo and that may be true. To me when you add the rice it’s more like Jambalaya. In the end whatever you choose to call it, it tastes good.
I’ve never tried gumbo before but this looks amazing! Can’t wait to make it.
What an incredibly tasty dish!! I love how hearty it is!
HUGE hit with the fam! Totally nailed it with this quick and easy recipe! So good. So, so good.
Oh this was soo good! The only thing I changed was that I used ham for That’s what I had left over from my brunch. I had the shrimp on the side for I have a kid who doesn’t live seafood. (How can’t you like seafood?!).
This is our favorite…have made it several times during the quarantine…we added oysters and crab to everything else…yummy!!
We make this by your recipe all the time …LOVE LOVE it…the BEST and we add oysers and fresh crab since we live on the Gulf Coast of Texas…winner!! Thanks y’all …
Should the diced chicken be cooked prior to pressure cooking?
No, the chicken will cook in the Instant Pot.
Fantastic recipe! Being new to Instantpot I was nervous about the roux so I made that in a separate saute pan and added it with the main ingredients, didn’t stir, and it came out perfect. Could have used a little more heat but was awesome!
I have made this over a half a dozen times and it is delicious every time! I leave out the shrimp and substitute turkey smoked sausage for the andouille. My 15 year old son loves it so much it has become a staple! Thanks!