Seafood Gumbo Recipe

This Seafood Gumbo recipe is filled with plump shrimp, juicy oysters, and crabmeat in a super spiced up broth that begins with a deep flavorful roux! The ancestors definitely knew what they were doing with this one.

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The Lowdown of This Seafood Gumbo

Ain’t nothing like a good ole gumbo to get your life right boos. Every New Year’s Day, my Auntie Rose makes a bomb gumbo that I cannot wait to grab a bowl of. It is our family tradition.

The flavors meld together so well, and I love all the different textures. This New Orleans seafood gumbo recipe comes from Toni Tipton Martin, an amazing friend of mine. Toni’s cookbook Jubilee is a collection of recipes written to celebrate the rich history of African-American cooking. It’s a must have for your kitchen.

What Is Gumbo?

Folks love to mix up jambalaya with gumbo but it is its own unique dish. It’s usually served in a bowl like soup over rice. It has a rich broth that starts with a deeply developed roux.

Ingredients you’ll need to make this Louisiana Seafood Gumbo Recipe

• Roux: It’s made with equal parts of oil and all-purpose flour. I prefer using a neutral oil so it won’t change up the flavor of my gumbo. I don’t recommend using butter to sub out the oil since it doesn’t have a very high smoke point. Burnt roux tastes pretty terrible y’all.
• Holy Trinity: This is a combo of onion, green bell pepper, and celery that’s the start of almost all cajun and creole cooking.
• Green onions: These add a more mellow onion flavor.
• Scotch Bonnet pepper: This gives your gumbo recipe some heat. Just adjust the amount based on your preference.
• Spices: Dried thyme, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper add flavor to the broth.
• Stock: Use what you like here. You can use chicken stock, fish stock, or a combo of both.
• Okra: Fresh or frozen both work great here.
• Shrimp: Buy peeled and deveined to save some time even though my mama always goes over her shrimp again just in case. 
• Oysters: Make sure you buy these already shucked in the seafood section.
• Crabmeat: Use claw meat and make sure you choose one that’s already picked over so you don’t have to do it.
• Cooked rice: You gotta serve your gumbo with this for sure!

How To Make Seafood Gumbo

Step 1: Start Building Flavors

1

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, gradually whisk in the flour. Reduce to low and cook, stirring continuously until its medium brown and smooth (about 20-30 minutes).

2

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the onion, green onions, bell pepper, and celery. Stir until the vegetables are wilted but not browned. 

3

Add the garlic, chile pepper, thyme, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Turn the heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes.

PRO TIP: Use a heavy-bottomed pan and whisk constantly as you add in your flour. Watch your roux very carefully because it burns quickly. It should look like a nice rich brown color with no burnt black specks in it. If you see any specks, you gotta start over boo.

Step 2: Create the broth and simmer

4

Whisk in the warm stock in batches to prevent splattering. Add the bay leaf, and bring the gumbo to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. 

5

Add the okra, shrimp, oysters, and crab to the pot and simmer until just cooked.

6

Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 1 hour for the flavors to mingle.  Return the pot to the stove and heat just until the soup is hot again. Serve it up with hot cooked rice and garnish with parsley.

Seafood Gumbo Recipe

This generations old Seafood Gumbo Recipe is full of tender shrimp, oysters and crabmeat in a spiced broth that began with a deep roux.

4.34 from 42 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Course: Main Course, Soup

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ ½ cup all purpose flour or 3/4 cup, if you like a thicker gumbo
• ▢ 1 cup chopped onion
• ▢ 1 cup chopped green onions about 8
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped celery
• ▢ 1 tbsp minced garlic 3 to 4 cloves
• ▢ ½ tsp minced Scotch Bonnet pepper or to taste
• ▢ 1 tsp dried thyme
• ▢ 2 tsp salt or to taste
• ▢ ½ tsp black pepper
• ▢ ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ▢ 2 ½ quarts chicken stock or fish stock or combo of both
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 lb fresh or frozen okra sliced 1/4 inch thick
• ▢ 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
• ▢ 1 pint shucked oysters
• ▢ 1 lb claw crabmeat picked over
• ▢ Hot cooked rice for serving
• ▢ ¼ cup minced fresh parsley

Instructions

• In a large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat the oil over medium high heat until hot, almost smoking. Gradually whisk in the flour, being careful not to splash the mixture so you don't get burned. Reduce the heat to low and cook and stir the roux continuously until medium brown and smoth, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium high. Add the onion, green onions, bell pepper, celery and stir until the vegetables are wilted but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, chile pepper, thyme, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Reduce the heat to low and cook to allow the flavors to marry, about 20 minutes.
• Whisk in the warm stock in batches to prevent splattering. Add the bay leaf, then bring back to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and add salt as desired. Add the okra, shrimp, oysters, and crab and simmer until just cooked, another few minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let stand for 1 hour for the flavors to mingle. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
• Return the pot to medium low heat just until the soup is hot again. Spoon into serving bowls, add hot rice as desired, and sprinkle with parsley.

Notes

The quality and freshness of the seafood that you use are large factors in the outcome of your gumbo. It doesn’t have to be high-end shellfish but be sure that your choices are ones that won’t make the next morning to be rougher than it has to be. 

Making the roux requires extreme patience.  For a seafood gumbo, you will need to get to a medium brown roux.

Slow cooking allows all the flavors of each and every one of the ingredients to come together. And think of it this way, low and slow means little to no chance of burning. 

Watch the dish closely as it cooks so you avoid burning it.

Add additional flour to this gumbo if you prefer a thicker gumbo.

How to store and reheat Seafood Gumbo?

Like with many stews and braises, Louisiana seafood gumbo can actually taste better on the second day! That extra day really lets all those flavors build and develop even more.

You can add leftovers to an airtight container. You can reheat over low heat on a stovetop, stirring it often until it’s heated through.

How long will gumbo last in the fridge?

It should last for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze gumbo?

Yep boos, you can. You can freeze up to 8 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. When you want to reheat, just thaw in the fridge overnight.

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 1548mg | Potassium: 593mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 622IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 3mg

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How To Serve Seafood Gumbo

• Classic Style: Just like etouffee or even red beans, it is best served over rice.
• Sop it Up: I personally love to mix it up and serve it as a stew with some southern cornbread or cornbread muffins on the side. The cornbread is perfect to sop up those delish juices. 
• New Year’s Vibes: For New Year’s, pair with Southern classics like hog maws and chittlins.

Menu Plan: Mardi Gras

Dirty rice is the ultimate rice to serve your seafood gumbo over. So flavorful and delish!

A New Orleans hurricane is the best drink to pair with this menu.

Bananas foster is one of my fave NOLA desserts. Serve them over the beignets.

New Orleans beignets with bananas foster are unreal.

Recipe Variations and Additions

• Get Meaty: If you want to create a meat and seafood gumbo, feel free to throw in some andouille sausage as well. 
• Go Luxurious: Add some lobster meat to it for some plump ritzy flavors.
• Stir in Greens: Add in some leftover collard greens or mustard greens towards the end of cooking.
• Add Curry: Give a Caribbean twist with some curry powder and coconut milk added to the mix.

How to store and reheat Seafood Gumbo?

Like with many stews and braises, Louisiana seafood gumbo can actually taste better on the second day! That extra day really lets all those flavors build and develop even more.

You can add leftovers to an airtight container. You can reheat over low heat on a stovetop, stirring it often until it’s heated through.

How long will gumbo last in the fridge?

It should last for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze gumbo?

Yep boos, you can. You can freeze up to 8 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. When you want to reheat, just thaw in the fridge overnight.

Expert Tips

• Go with quality: The freshness of the seafood will completely change the quality of your gumbo. It can make all the difference. 
• Making the roux takes patience.  You gotta take your time to get to that medium brown color. If it burns at all, it ruins everything. Toss it out and try again.
• Add more flour to this gumbo if you prefer a thicker gumbo. It will make it more like a stew than a soup. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More Seafood Recipes

• Shrimp Po’ Boy
• Crab Cake Recipe
• Frogmore Stew
• Fried Catfish
• Oyster Stew
• Catfish Stew
• Cajun Clam Chowder

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This post was originally published December 2019. It has been republished with new images and content.

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