Easy Paleo Gumbo Recipe
This Paleo Gumbo recipe is ridiculously easy, filling, and healthy! Packed with a paleo roux plus chicken, sausage, shrimp, vegetables, herbs, and a kick of spice, you’ll be left wanting more. This dish is perfect for cooler temperatures to warm you up! This gluten-free gumbo is Whole30-friendly!
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 505kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 2/3 cup of bacon drippings ghee or neutral tasting oil
- 650 g chicken thighs diced
- 300 g paleo compliant sausage sliced or rolled into meatballs (see below for homemade ingredients and instructions)
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 3 stalks of celery chopped
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 tsp paprika sweet or hot
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground coriander
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 200 g raw shrimp or jumbo prawns peeled and deveined
Paleo Sausage (optional)
- 300 g ground pork or beef or a mix of both
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 3/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Make the paleo roux:
- Add the bacon drippings, ghee, or oil to a large pot or large dutch oven and allow it to melt over medium heat.
- Add the tapioca flour and mix well.
- Simmer on medium-low heat until it begins to turn a golden color, about 10 minutes.
On the stovetop:
- Meanwhile, chop & prepare your veggies.
- If you want to make your own sausage with the recipe on the recipe card, mix those ingredients together and form it into meatballs. If you're using store-bought paleo sausage, slice it into bite-sized pieces.
- Dice the chicken thighs.
- Add the spices to the roux for a couple of minutes until it becomes fragrant.
- Add the onion, celery, green peppers, and garlic for a couple of minutes until they begin to soften.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir well.
- Add the chicken and sausage, and cook on medium-high heat until it is simmering.
- Reduce the meat to medium-low to continue simmering for 40 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Make sure you scrape the bottom when you stir. The tapioca sometimes sticks.
- Add the shrimp and allow it to cook for 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink and no longer translucent.
- Serve as it is or over cauliflower rice.
In a slow cooker:
- Make the roux as above, and add the spices to the roux for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
- Add everything except the shrimp to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4.
- Add the shrimp and allow it to cook for 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink and no longer translucent.
Notes
- Try adding different meats: I used sausage, shrimp, and chicken, but you could add ham and other shellfish.
- Make it vegan: Skip the meat and add more veggies. Gumbo Z’herbes is a gumbo made with slow-cooked greens.
- Skip the instant pot: I tried making this in the instant pot initially and it gave me a burn warning because the tapioca got stuck to the bottom.
- Add extra heat: I like to add a couple of dashes of hot sauce to my bowl after it is served.
- Make keto gumbo: You can easily adapt this to the keto diet by making the roux with 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum instead of tapioca flour. The rest of the ingredients are all keto-friendly anyway!
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 505kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.4g | Protein: 43.4g | Fat: 26.1g | Saturated Fat: 13.1g | Cholesterol: 196mg | Sodium: 1177mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 2.9g