Savory Shrimp Gumbo

We enjoyed this recipe very much, but with a couple of additions: Joe's cajun seasoning and Louisiana hot sauce. I used frozen Okra and deveined shrimp to keep it simple and fast. And I added an extra tablespoon of oil to the roux - makes it fail proof! Hearty and tasty! Enjoy!

Because of some of the comments, I added about a teaspoon of straight chili powder, and extra garlic. Sooooo good! I had company, and it was a big success. The added chili was just enough to make you start sniffing a bit at the end - not enough to cause even the two 8 year olds eating it any difficulties, and they polished it off. I'll be making this again, for sure.

This recipe was very bland and the shrimp was tough after cooking it so long, it was long in preparing. Add some cajun spices to it (louisianna hot sauce is wonderful)and use pre-deveined shrimp and frozen, chopped okra and that would cut the prep time down a lot.

I found this recipe to be VERY bland and watery, and if you add the shrimp at the beginning it makes it very "TUFF" and I cant see it being from Louisiana with it having zero flavor. And to peel 2lbs of shrimp and chop all the other ingredients takes ALOT longer than 5 minutes. NOT RECOMENDED

This is a pretty standard gumbo recipe, but always, always, wait until 5 to 10 minutes before serving to add the shrimp. Otherwise, as others complained, they'll be tough as shoe leather. I include a cup of chopped celery with the onion and bell pepper to be authentic. I always season with Tony Chachere's and some hot sauce (I love Cholula) and add sliced smoked sausage (which you can add early).

For everyone not from the south.. Friendly tip!*** I recommend to buy the shrimp with heads on them. You save the heads and boil them in a couple cups of water. It adds another layer of flavor to the gumbo!

I thought this was a pretty good recipe once you add some flavor to it. I added some Tony Chachere's creole seasoning and cayenne pepper to taste and instead of red peppers I added green bell peppers. I also added some snow crab legs and you can't add the shrimp or crab legs until the last ten minutes or so or they will be tuff. It turned out pretty good once I added this to the recipe.

The prep time is actually much longer. Cutting up 3 cups of okra and shelling and deveining 2 pounds of shrimp take a lot longer than 5 minutes. It is also a bit bland.

I did change a couple of things on it though. I added Tony's seasoning along with the salt and pepper to taste. I also limited the amount of garlic used. Other than that everyone loved it!

overall easy,not bad for time to cook.very enjoyable. thanx

This is a very good "base" recipe, but you have to add a lot of spices to make this edible. Also would be better if you added chicken and sausage.

Not good as posted. I suggest adding cayenne pepper and salt to your liking and don't add the shrimp till the last 5 minutes of cooking. The key is to taste, taste, taste while your stock is boiling so you can add seasoning till it is right for your taste buds. Add more roux if you want it thicker and kitchen bouquet will make it look better on the plate. The recipe has the basic ingredients but you have to modify it to your liking and never put the shrimp in till the stock is done or you'll be chewing rubber.

Wow!!! This was delicious!

This was the most boring gumbo I've ever made. I tried adding extra spices, but that didn't help much. It was edible but why bother, and a waste of expensive shrimp.

This was quick and very delicious! It was good enough for the New Orleanians in my family.

This was the most bland gumbo I've ever made. I even added spicy sausage to this and it didn't help.

We were really disappointed in this recipe.

Mine came out a bit watery--I substituted a quarter of the water with clam juice to add to the flavor, and next time, I might not add so much water to increase the thickness. Great recipe!

I followed the recipe with the addition of Creole seasoning, chicken & beef bouillon & celery. The pan with the shrimp & roux I added last. Also, I cooked the shrimp shells with Old Bay & 4 cups water for the broth.

I found this recipe to be great base for making my own gumbo. I don't follow many recipes exactly, but I do need the basics and this gave me those basics perfectly. I put my own twist on most everything. Before adding this review I added my photo (there wasn't one before that) which you can clearly see I added corn. It did make it great. I also added fresh spicy paprika peppers which gave it a nice bite. I am planning on making it again tonight and came back to refresh my memory!

Left out bay leave and will definitely make again. Got rave reviews from friends.

My son loved it. It was so easy to make and really really good. I will be making this over and over again.

This recipe looks exactly like the shrimp gumbo my mom made long years ago and with four kids at the table she wouldn't have added many spices, but I know we loved it and I know she must have waited to add the shrimp because it was never tough.

Changed portion size to 15 from eight and added crab meat also. It was amazing!

As others have said, it's a bland recipe. I added shrimp and crab boil as well as a cajun blend of spices plus through in a few other spices I like to use. it ended.up being yummy. I used cut okra which was frozen as well as peeled and deveined frizen shrimp so I cheated on the prep time! I recommend putting in the shrimp about 10 minutes before it's ready for serving. After reading others saying it was too thin, I also added corn starch to thicken it a bit. I will make again and probably continue to alter it as I see fit. I rated this based on the original recipe.

I added some seasonings too it, but overall I thought it was a good recipe

Well...Absolutely NO flavor. I did add some Gumbo File' but it did not happen. I then added Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. I cooked it for almost an hour to get the fresh okra soft. It's OK, but probably will look for another recipe for next time.

I added 3/4 cup chopped, cooked smoked sausage, 1/2 tsp. Chili powder, used cooked shrimp and just added to last ten minutes instead of in the beginning along with 1 cup mini penne pasta.

It was very good , it didn't take that long. I added homemade Cajun sesoning .

It was ok. But lots of changes need to be made. The recipe called for 2 quarts of water. If you like gumbo very watery, fine. But I like it thicker, so I didn’t like the consistency. I added a tbsp of Cajun seasoning and 1/2 tsp chili powder. As another review says, the shrimp is over cooked. I also added chicken with the shrimp, and it was over cooked. I would suggest adding the protein in with about 5 minutes to go in the simmering time.