This Delicious Instant Pot Gumbo is a quintessential New Orleans dish that is hearty, satisfying, flavorful and perfect for a crowd. Made with chicken, sausage and shrimp, it’s a comforting dish that tastes wonderful when served over rice.
** New Readers: Please read an important message about this recipe right before the recipe card! **
Gumbo (along with jambalaya , étoufée, red beans and rice, and shrimp creole) is a popular dish that is an essential part of New Orleans and Louisiana culture and cuisine.
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Tips and Substitutions
One of the most important steps when cooking this Instant Pot gumbo is making a good roux. And this takes a little patience, about 10 to 15 minutes of stirring. If you don’t have the time to spend making this roux for Instant Pot Gumbo, I would suggest that you wait to make it when you’re able to give the dish the attention it needs.
Roux for this gumbo is made by cooking equal parts oil and flour. When you make the roux it’s best to get it to the color of peanut butter or even slightly darker. The end result is a rich, aromatic mixture with a nutty flavor. It’s also very important that as the roux gets darker, you stir it constantly and don’t let it burn. A burnt roux will ruin your gumbo!
If it’s your first time making the dish, I would make the roux on the stovetop. It’s quicker and you have much more control over the heat than in the Instant Pot. I offer the Instant Pot option for my readers who don’t use a stove.
The spices in the dish include black, white and cayenne pepper. I sometimes substitute cayenne pepper with a Cajun or Creole seasoning seasoning, in which case I reduce the quantity of salt.
This Instant Pot gumbo recipe also calls for Andouille sausage, which is a spicy smoked sausage. You can substitute regular smoked sausage if you can’t find andouille sausage.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Gumbo.
Instant Pot Gumbo Ingredients
Instant Pot Gumbo Step by Step Instructions
- Press ‘Saute’.
- When inner pot is hot, add 2 tbsp olive oil.
- Add chicken and sausage and saute until lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Press ‘Cancel’.
- Using a slotted spoon transfer contents of inner pot to a plate and set aside.
- Add remaining olive oil and all-purpose flour to inner pot, to make a roux.
- Press ‘Saute’ button.
- Cook roux until it becomes the color and thickness of peanut butter, stirring frequently, for about 10 to 15 minutes. *
* You can go darker than peanut butter. The darker the roux, the more intense the flavor of the gumbo, but be very careful not to burn, so stir constantly.
- Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic.
- Saute until vegetables are slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in broth, tomatoes, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, salt, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, bay leaf, frozen okra, and reserved chicken and sausage.
- Using a wooden spatula, scrape the bottom of the inner pot to make sure there are no burnt bits stuck to the bottom.
- Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Press ‘Manual’ or ‘Pressure Cook’ and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘4’ (4 minutes)
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 4 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’.
- Do a Quick Release: move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position. Remove the towel after turning the knob.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
- Stir in Cajun or Creole spice-rubbed shrimp.
- Close Instant Pot immediately and let the shrimp cook in the residual heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir gently and sprinkle with green onions and parsley.
- Serve over Instant Pot Jasmine Rice or a rice of your choice.
March 2018: If you’ve made this recipe before, carry on! If you’re new to this recipe, please note that some new Instant Pot owners are getting the dreaded ‘burn’ message. Here are some things you can do to try and avoid a burn notice:
Deglaze really well
After sauteing onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic, turn off the Instant Pot and let it cool down for a minute or two
Add broth first
Add tomatoes last (after the meats) and don’t stir, just submerge in the liquid by pushing down with a spatula
Depending on your Instant Pot, you may need to add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of water
Optional: cook roux on the stovetop
[Read: Everything you need to know about Instant Pot burn message]
Delicious New Orleans Instant Pot Gumbo
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 lb andouille sausage or smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup onions diced
- 1 cup green bell peppers diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 Tbsp garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 14.5 oz. (1 can) diced tomatoes or 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 small bay leaves or 1 large
- 2 cups frozen okra
- 2 Tbsp green onions green parts only, sliced thinly
- Chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Rub shrimp with 1 tsp of Cajun or Creole seasoning and set aside.
- Press 'Saute' and when Instant Pot has heated, add 2 Tbsp olive oil to inner pot of Instant Pot.
- Add andouille sausage and chicken, and cook until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Press 'Cancel' and transfer chicken and sausage to a plate using a slotted spoon and set aside.
- To make the roux, press 'Saute' and add remaining olive oil and all-purpose flour to inner pot.
- Cook oil and flour until the mixture resembles a dark peanut butter, stirring frequently, and being careful not to burn. This can take about 10 to 15 minutes. *
- Add onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Stir until vegetables are slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in broth, tomatoes, white, black and cayenne peppers, thyme, salt, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, bay leaves, and frozen okra.
- Stir in reserved chicken and sausage.
- Using a wooden spatula, scrape the bottom of the inner pot to make sure there are no burnt bits stuck to the bottom.
- Close Instant Pot and cook on 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cook' mode for 4 minutes.
- Do a quick release of pressure and open the Instant Pot.
- Immediately stir in the shrimp and close the Instant Pot for 10 minutes. The shrimp will cook in the residual heat.
- Open the Instant Pot and sprinkle the gumbo with parsley and green onions.
- Stir and serve gumbo over Instant Pot Jasmine Rice or a rice of your choice.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, diced chicken, etc.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5-star rating in the comment section below and share it on social media, particularly on FACEBOOK. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
You might also like to try:
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| Instant Pot Jambalaya | Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits | Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice |
Adole Muruako
This is my second time making it and is one of the best gumbos I’ve made. I’ve been making gumbo for over 10 years. Kudos and thank you for the recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Adole, thank you for the kind words! That’s so great to hear 🙂
Leanne
Came out AMAZING!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for your comment, Leanne – I’m really glad you liked it.
Tonita Boatner
I am born and raised in New Orleans and I’ve been making Gumbo regular/low sodium/fat for years. I will give this a try and see if I like it. I’m looking forward to it because of all the great reviews.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Tonita, hope you like it. Feel free to omit tomatoes if you’re one of those people who doesn’t care for tomatoes in gumbo 🙂 Roux is faster done on the stovetop, but works in the Instant Pot too.
Ann
First time that I ever made this. I visited New Orleans for the first time in April 2019. I loved Gumbo! I finally tried it! We LOVED it !!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you, Ann. I love New Orleans too!
Tony
Directions were easy and the finished product was out of this world!
Perfect seasoning. Cannot say enough good things about this recipe.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Aww, thanks so much, Tony! Do try my other Cajun recipes – I think you’ll like them a lot. The red beans and rice is real comfort food and very tasty!
Matt Garofolo
Doubled the recipe. Used Chorizo sausage, chicken and shrimp. The whole family LOVED it. Thank you so much. It will make the regular rotation. Matt
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Matt. I’m sure the chorizo had a nice kick to it – good idea for a substitution.
Erin L Todd
I’ve made this so many times, it is wonderful!
stephanie wesala
I haven’t tried the recipe yet however I had to comment – I WISH I had read one of your recipes when I first started using my InstantPot. You give the best directions for those uncomfortable with using one for the first few times!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Stephanie! Let me know how you like the recipe when you try it!