Chicken & Shrimp Gumbo
Chock-full of shrimp, chicken, sausage, okra and tomatoes, this flavorful stew is a staple in Louisiana. Make it a meal and serve with Real Cornbread (see associated recipe).
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Recipe Summary
Nutrition Profile:
What Is Gumbo?
Gumbo is a stew and the official state dish of Louisiana. While there are some regional variations, the dish typically includes broth, seafood (like shrimp) and/or meat, andouille sausage, a combination of vegetables known as the "holy trinity" (celery, bell peppers and onions) and is thickened either by a toasted roux, fresh okra and/or gumbo filé powder. It is deeply flavorful with its roots combining elements of European, African and Native American cuisines. Gumbo is usually served with rice which helps sop up the rich combination of flavors.
How We Made Chicken & Shrimp Gumbo Healthy
1) Gumbo is often thickened with a roux which is a cooked combination of flour and fat (usually oil in the case of gumbo). The roux in gumbo is cooked until the color is a deep, dark brown which helps deliver a distinctly nutty flavor to the dish. In our version, we toasted flour without the butter and used it to coat the "holy trinity" of vegetables that cook in just one tablespoon of oil. This helps achieve the classic toasted flavor while slashing saturated fat and calories.
2) Andouille sausage adds that signature, smoky flavor to gumbo, but it also adds a good deal of sodium to the dish. We bulk up the protein in our gumbo with a combination of lower-sodium chicken and shrimp with smaller amounts of andouille sausage. You still get the classic, smoky flavor from the sausage while also keeping sodium in check. To lower the sodium even further, check the label and choose shrimp that hasn't been treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) which can raise the sodium levels by 250 mg per 100g of shrimp. To find out more about what shrimp to buy, check out our shrimp buying guide here.
Additional reporting by Hilary Meyer
