We are big fans of gumbo around here. There is nothing quite like a steaming hot bowl of gumbo on a chilly winter night. Gumbo isn’t difficult to make but it takes a bit of time and attention to make the perfect pot of it. But sometimes time is short and a couple of hours of simmering just isn’t in the cards if I want dinner on the table before 9 p.m. That’s where the Instant Pot comes in.
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Gumbo ~ An Instant Pot Recipe
I decided to try making gumbo in my Instant Pot and I was very pleased with the results. The best part is that once you get it all going you don’t have keep babysitting it, stirring and making sure it isn’t sticking.
The key to a proper pot of gumbo is a good roux (combination of flour and fat). I’ve spent many an hour patiently stirring a roux in my cast iron skillet or stainless steel dutch oven. That’s why I was extremely pleased by how much easier this step was in the Instant Pot. The 7-in-1 version I have includes a sauté setting. This is what I used to make the roux and the even heating was absolutely perfect.
Once I had a peanut butter colored roux, I added the rest of the ingredients, put on the lid, let it come up to pressure and cooked for 20 minutes. After it was done I removed the lid, put it back on the sauté setting and let it simmer with the lid off for a few minutes to thicken it up a bit.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup flour
- Smoked sausage (approximately 12 ounce package) - sliced in fourths lengthwise and then sliced crosswise (We usually just use half a package but you can use the whole thing if you prefer.)
- 1 onion - diced
- 1 bell pepper - diced
- 2-3 stalks celery- diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- black pepper to taste
- 1 quart chicken broth
Instructions
- Make a roux - Combine flour and oil in Instant Pot on sauté setting. Stir and cook until the color of peanut butter, being careful that it doesn't burn.
- Add cut up onions, celery and bell pepper, stirring well.
- Add smoked sausage and stir to combine.
- Add garlic and stir.
- Add seasonings and stir.
- Add chicken broth and stir well to combine.
- Close lid of Instant Pot making sure vent is closed.
- Set on soup setting for 20 minutes.
- When done, open vent to release then remove lid.
- Change setting to sauté and allow to simmer 5-10 minutes if desired to thicken gumbo.
- Serve with steamed rice.
- Serves 3-4.
You can, of course, add other ingredients such as chicken and/or shrimp. You can make a vegetarian version by skipping the sausage and substituting vegetable broth. Experiment by adding additional veggies, if desired. Zucchini or yellow squash would be good additions.
And if you have time, make some homemade potato salad to go with it. Trust me.
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You may also enjoy these recipes:
Easy Jambalaya in the Instant Pot
Cabbage, Potatoes and Sausage ~ An Instant Pot Recipe
Links to my other Instant Pot recipes:
Instant Pot Cookbooks
Justin would love this! I’ll have to make it sometime.
It’s easy and yes, I’m sure he would love it. You can add more meat, too. I was just using what I had on hand. It reheats well, too.
Just used your recipie! Thank you for sharing! It was delish!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! You might also enjoy my easy jambalaya recipe. We’re big fans of Cajun and Creole-type dishes around here.
Thanks for visiting my blog & pointing me to your recipes! This looks great. I’ve never attempted gumbo before but this is going on my menu plan!
I hope you like it! Have a beautiful week.
I made this for dinner tonight! It is really good. I made some rice and put it over that. I would definitely recommend this recipe! I didn’t have Creole seasoning but had Cajun. So, I added a tablespoon of oregano to the Cajun (when I looked up the difference between the two, it said Creole has oregano and to just add 1 tablespoon to the Cajun seasoning).
I’m so glad you liked it!
How much sausage do you use? Thanks
Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe I didn’t specify that. Thank you SO much for asking. You know those U-shaped smoked sausages? They are around 12 ounces. Personally I would probably just use half for our family because we try to limit our meat intake whenever it’s something that doesn’t really need more. But you could certainly use the whole thing.