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I love gumbo. I love the history of it, the flavor, the ingredients. Everything about it. And I love the time it takes to make it right. The time it takes to make a roux, to develop all those flavors, is time well spent. So I went into this slow cooker gumbo kinda suspicious. Kinda pessimistic. And you know what? It was delicious. Even the broth, the part I love the most about a good gumbo, was fantastic. This was the perfect bowl of gumbo greatness, made in a slow cooker!
The Perfect Idea
I got the original recipe for slow cooker gumbo from a great cookbook, the Southern Slow Cooker Bible. If you have a slow cooker, you need this cookbook. It’s not your ‘usual’ collection of crockpot ideas. It’s new and different. Like this gumbo. Heck, for my money the cookbook was worth it just for this recipe. Easily. Hands down.
I plan on making this dish again soon. I might change a few things just to keep it different. Like maybe I’ll use smoked sausage instead of andouille. Maybe I’ll chop the meat instead of slice it. Maybe I’ll add the rice to the slow cooker and let it ‘get happy’ in all of the brothy greatness. But I won’t mess with the basic approach. It’s rock-solid deliciousness!
I recommend using fire roasted tomatoes if you can find them. Any more, they’re my favorite in any dish that calls for canned tomatoes. The roasting adds so much flavor. And a little color, too.
Don’t Forget The Soppin’
Make sure you serve your gumbo with some toasted bread slices on the side. A nice baguette will do. Crunchy on the outside. Soft on the inside. Perfect for dunkin’ down into that sauce. Let it sit there a second or two to sop a little up. Yummy stuff!
Also try my slow cooker Sloppy Joes!
Slow Cooker Gumbo
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 pounds andouille pre-cooked (smoked) or fresh
- 1 large sweet onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large green bell pepper chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes undrained (I prefer fire-roasted)
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 ½ teaspoons Creole seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 6 green onions green parts, sliced
- rice hot, cooked, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 F.
- Spread the flour out evenly in a small cast iron pan.
- Bake 12-18 minutes, stirring at least once, until slightly brown.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage. If you are using fresh sausage, cook until until the sausage reaches 165 F. For pre-cooked sausage you want to just get a slight char on the sausage for texture and flavor.
- Remove the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool slightly before slicing.
- Lightly spray your slow cooker with non-stick spray.
- Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, canned tomato (along with the liquid), Creole seasoning, black pepper and cayenne. Stir.
- Add the sausage slices.
- In a large bowl, add the chicken stock.
- While whisking, add in the flour. Continue whisking until the flour has dissolved.
- Add the mixture to your slow cooker and stir.
- Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours.
- The last 10 minutes of cooking add in the green onion tops. Stir and cook another 10 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve over hot cooked rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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