Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

Ditto to the reduced water. I also used the following spices: 2 parts salt 1½ parts paprika 1 part cayenne pepper 1 part white pepper 1 part black pepper 1 part granulated onion 1 part granulated garlic 1 part crushed dried basil leaves ½ part crushed dried oregano leaves ½ part crushed dried thyme leaves ½ part crushed dried parsley leaves This type of seasoning base is used in many New Orleans restaurants, from Emeril's to Commander's Palace to K-Paul's. It's not a universal seasoning, but it's a base upon which to build the seasoning of a dish, and is very versatile. It can also be used to give a little zing to your everyday cooking. The amounts in this recipe are given by volume. So a "part" can be a cup or a teaspoon depending on how much seasoning you desire to make.

Wasn't quite sure how to rate this recipe since it does need some doctoring, but the taste is delicious when all is said and done. I only used 6 cups of water (not 12!) to get right consistency. Also, used 3 tbsp tomato paste, 2-3 tbsp Old Bay, 1 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp each of oregano and thyme. And I still threw in a bit more (1/2 tsp?)cayenne to give it some kick. Boy was it good! Family gobbled it up with some french bread. Everyone is asking for the leftovers, but they are all gone! Will definitely be making this again.

I am constantly giving this recepie out. I changed a few things though. I only use half the water so it's more stew than soup. Also I use a premixed creole seasoning to season the shrimp a little bit then I add 1 Tbs to the pot. Yum!

I incorporated many of the suggestions and it came out great. 1st (from a review that no longer is here?), if you use frozen okra, boil the okra a minute or two, then cook 50% longer than indicated in the recipe. I might microwave instead of boil it next time, though. 2nd, cut the water significantly. I used 8 cups. 3rd, I added a lot (?1/8 cup?) of Old Bay seasoning, some paprika and ~ 2T Emeril's seasoning (not much) for more taste. 4th, to reduce cost, I substituted 1# chicken breast (boneless/ skinless) for 1 of the #'s of shrimp. I seasoned the chicken with Old Bay and black pepper, set it aside and then quickly browned it in a non-stick pan before adding it at the same time as the shrimp. Served it to friends, and they loved it! Also, not sure about the serving size-calories in the nutrition info. This made a lot more than 6 servings, and I was going by 2 cups/person. I calculated it out at about 215 cal & 5g fat/ 2 cup serving.

I'm on a budget and told myself I would only make this recipe with food I already had in the kitchen. So...I substituted a bag of Trader Joe's frozen pre-cooked shrimp (about $3) for the 2 lbs of fresh; I used a red pepper from my garden in lieu of the green; and I added two chopped-up pregrilled chicken breasts. I also reduced the water to 8 cups as suggested by previous reviewers. I sauteed the okra for half an hour, dumped the rest of the ingredients in the pot and set it to simmer...and then ran out to do errands for an hour and a half. I came back, spiced/salted the gumbo, and dished it out. The recipe turned out well; surely it would be best with the freshest raw ingredients, but given my restrictions, the soup turned out far better than canned gumbo and cheaper than the more purist version. Highly recommended.

Finally, something from this website that's really, really good. I used half the water as one person advised and used lots of cajun spices instead of just cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Excellent and spicy!!!

Used 3 Cups water, 3 cups clam juice, 3 tbsp Old Bay, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, added 1/2 lb scallops and this was fantastic. When I make it again, will probably cook the okra a little less. Expensive to make, and absolutely worth it!!

Great recipe! I lived in New Orleans as a kid and have been looking for a great cajun gumbo recipe to match my memories of this delicious dish. I did reduce the water to only 8 cups and added Old Bay Seasoning for that cajun kick!

I have been looking for this magnificent recipe for 20 years. This is truly cajun cookin' people. Make it spicy! Also try using recipe for Seafood Gumbo Stock instead of water. http://soup.allrecipes.com/AZ/SeafoodGumboStock.asp

The base recipe was ok - but in needed a lot of extra spices to make it flavorful. I did try this first before rating it - so that's what the 3 star is base on. After some adjustments I would absolutley give this a 5 star. 1. Cooking the okra for 30 mins is way too long - by the time the dish is finished the okra is mush. 2. I added - 2 1/2 tbls Old Bay, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper 3. Reduced the water to 6 cups 4. 2 tbls tomato paste 5. Next time I will add more tomatoes With the added spices and reduced water this was a AMAZING! I served over rice. This was enough for me and my husband to have for dinner and both take left overs for lunch the next day.

Really good and a big success. Followed additional tip given by SPEYERER.

I made this true to recipe and have to agree with other reviewers that it is too watered down and needs more spice. So...I added much more tomato paste, more celery and the following list of spices: Tony's Creole seasoning, Old Bay, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and a bay leaf. I think the bay leaf is crucial for any Louisiana type dish! Once this simmered for a while, the flavors were so amazing! I served this over rice and also added sausage to bulk up the protein a bit. I love that this recipe uses fresh okra, one of my favorite vegetables! I will certainly make this again, but I will reduce the water (or use chicken broth) and will add a can of tomatoes rather than just the paste and one fresh tomato since I really prefer a tomato based sauce in spicy meals such as this. Serve over rice and maybe even add a slice of cornbread. Yum!!

My god was this dish good...My family especially my children love it and they could be such a hard sell. I used frozen okra because believe it or not here in NC fresh ones were hard to find. I bought them whole and allowed them to defrost about 15 min before cutting in pieces. I also used 3 tbsp of tomato paste, and I only used 8 cups of water. I added old bay, cajun seasoning, garlic powder,black pepper, ground oregano, ground thyme. I cooked brown rice as well to go with it which was super yummy..I would make this dish over and over again. Thank you for such awesome meal to put together.

So good! Especially with Cajun Creole seasoning! I will be making this again, thanks for sharing!

Very hearty Gumbo! Followed many of the advices offered by others esp. SPEYERER's (tripled the recommended ratios). Used 7 cups of water, frozen okra, and Bay seasoning as recommended; made a big difference in flavor for the better. Also used seafood mix, red potatoes, and a can of dark red beans. Seasoned and sauteed the shrimp. Topped off the gumbo with a scope of brown rice and parsley with green onions. Delish according to everyone who tried it :D

An excellent concoction of authentic flavors. I make it often, But a wee bit hotter.

I give this 5 stars because my fave recipes are the one s that lend themselves to customization. Here are my mods: Instead of tomato I used one can of tomatoes w/peppers/onion/celery. I used about 4 tblsp. tomato paste. 7 cups of water, to which i added better than bullion chicken (according to direx) I also used red pepper instead of green, and I used tons of celery leaves. OH and some shakes of Texas Pete hot sauce. And bay leaves. Let sit overnight in frig, added shrimp to boiling gumbo for 10 minutes. DATS GOOOOOOD!

I am giving this a "5 star" rating because, with a few tweaks, it was absolutely delicious! This recipe gives you a good base to work with...I used tips from several reviews and tried some of my own and it turned out awesome. I used 3 cups chicken stock and 3 cups water [instead of the 12 cups water called for], increased the tomato paste to 3 tablespoons, added basil & oregano to taste and 1 tablespoon Zatarrain's Creole seasoning. I used frozen, pre-cooked shrimp...thawed it, seasoned it with a little Zatarrains, and put it in the last minute of cooking. Ladled it over white rice. My husband ate 3 helpings and asked me would I make it the next time his family eats with us!

This is a good if you add some spices (the mixture listed earlier is great). The water must be cut down. I quit at 8 cups. I also added a brown roux to thicken. Without it, it is way too weak. Without the extra spices, it has little flavor. Also, add a bay leaf and some Tabasco.

I don't know why this recipe has such a high rating. It is WATERED DOWN and BLAND. If you decide to make this anyway, please do not put no where near 12 cups of water in it. I put 10 cups in only because my pot could not handle 12. In the back of my mind I kept thinking that this is waaay too much water, but I tried my best to follow the directions (although it just did not seem right). Furthermore, there was no salt or any kind of spice that contained salt to boost the flavor (I'm not a big fan of salt, but I do know that it does help in adding flavor). To try to save this big pot of mess, I tried to cook it a little longer to cook down the water-but that made it worse. I cooked some rice to add in it to add more texture, because by then my okra and everything else was a big mushy mess. I also added some "slap ya momma" to add flavor. After adding "Slap ya Momma" it was edible. The next day it was better, but this recipe is not worth making again; therefore, I am continuing my quest to find the easy and delicious seafood gumbo.

This is a 3 rating at best... I'm sorry. I usually don't rate any recipe this poorly but it is in major need of doctoring. One TBS of tomatoe paste for 12 cups of water? I doubled the recipe and used an entire LARGE can of tomatoe paste for 7 cups of water. Traditional gumbo has more tomatoe than that. It's best to use a cajun seasoning, like Tony Chaceres, rather than just cayanne. Other than that, everything marries greatly together.

I'm glad I read the comments section! I used the whole can of tomato paste (the small 88 cent can) and only used about 1.5 cups of water and a can of chicken broth. The extra 20 minutes of simmering after adding the shrimp back in is unnecessary with the reduced water. Oh and I added a ton of garlic salt since I didn't have the bay leaf, oregano etc that everyone else was suggesting. Still, it's a good basic recipe for someone who's never attempted gumbo before (me!)

To much water, I thought 12 cups of water was to much but I went ahead and did it anyway. Big mistake, I went grocery shopping for this recipe, it almost cost me, thank goodness I was able to remove the water, I probably took out about 6 cups of the water. I was in the kitchen working it, until I got it to my liking. The good thing about this recipe was the list of ingrediants, but after I drained the water out, I lost trake of how much of the ingrediants I used. I had to use a little more of this and a little more of that. But the ending result was good, I've had gumbo before so I knew how it should taste. so when it was all said and done, my husband and I enjoyed it.

Loved it

Great recipe! I made a couple alterations, though. First, I scaled back on Okra (I'm kind of unfamiliar with it, being I'm from the north and all... plus I can only find it frozen, and it's relatively expensive). To make up for it, I used a mixture of green beans, wax beans, and baby carrots. I added in lots more garlic, because that's how I like it. I omitted the celery and tomato paste, which I didn't have on hand. I also used about half vegetable broth, half water--and not nearly 12 cups' worth. Added paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and basil with the water and broth. Served it over rice, and it was très délicieux!

Sorry to review this as modified, but it was pretty yummy this way. Time consuming, but good. ILO water, I made "Seafood Gumbo Stock" from Sara on this website. I think that added to the depth of flavor, but I can't attest to whether or not it's worth it. Does make good use of the shrimp shells, though. I also made a roux with 1/4c flour and 1/4c butter, cooked to a chocolate brown (I hear this is how gumbo is done traditionally). I added the roux after the stock to thicken things up (didn't measure how much stock I actully used). I used frozen okra, boiled for a few minutes to take the edge off, and cooked it the regular amount of time per the recipe. Also, didn't have tomato paste; substituted 1 can of regular Rotel for the tomato paste and tomato. For the seasoning, I made 1/4 batch of "Creole Seasoning Blend" from Joslyn on this site - sprinkled a few tablespoons over the shrimp several hours before, added the rest to the pot after the roux. Perfect spiciness for us (not OMG HOT, but had a kick and a very nice flavor). Added 1 bunch of parboiled and chopped swiss chard (part of the lucky New Year's theme I was going for), and accidentally omitted the green onions. Served over brown rice. A lot of work, but yummy. Would definitely make again. ~~~~Just made this again. 12 cups stock is way too much 6-8 cups is better. If you realize this too late, scoop out the solids to avoid overcooking them and boil down the liquid. It makes a huge difference.

This is a bad recipe. I followed this recipe and spent over 2 hours to make a watered down, bland dish that barely even looks like gumbo. I even added smoked sausage to the recipe and it was still bland. Not good at all.

I made some adjustments to this recipe and it was great. I added a tsp of Mrs. Dash and instead of water, I used chicken broth. I also used crab meat. It was great.

This recipe can have fabulous results, but I only gave 4 stars because it needs some modification to be great. We used double the tomato but less than half the water. Tons more seasoning, like garlic salt, thyme, bay leaves, old bay seasoning. Very good with some crab chunks thrown in the mix. I also recommend doubling the veggies so it's really chunky.

In the end it turned out good but I had to add a LOT of spices to make it tasty for me.

Good recipie except it calls for simmering medium shrimp for twenty minutes. That turns them into pieces of rubber. Cook them only long enough to turn opaque all the way through then serve. Good rule bring to simmer add shrimp when it comes back to a simmer they are cooked.

i enjoyed this easy recipe but don't use water, when possible buy head on shrimp and put the heads and shells in about 8 cups of water, cook on a slow bubble for about 45 minutes or until you have six cups, drain it and then you have shrimp broth, it adds a lot of flavor to this dish. don't get crazy over this, it needs ABOUT 6 cups. if it's off a little it ain't nutthin to worry about.

I don't think you can go wrong with this recipe! We didn't have green onions, celery or enough green bell pepper so we substituted a single hot pepper (Hot Portugal, a relatively mild hot pepper), some chopped cilantro, and one finely chopped carrot. We also didn't have tomato paste so we added a splash of ketchup. The result was a fantastic, slightly spicy, delicious soup that was perfect topped with white rice.

Pretty good gumbo. We had enough left over for 3 dinners and a couple of lunches!!

I halved the shrimp and okra and this one was still sensational. I used the seasoning mix suggested by SPEYERER which made this taste unbelievable! Will definitely be making this one a regular!

Try adding a little Zatarans grab boil to this and taste the bayou !!! Use the liquid or powder. Very good !

I made this for my fiance' who loves okra. I made it exactly with the exception of using pre-cooked, tail-removed frozen shrimp from Costco. It turned out just as well and was better the next day after the flavors have melded together and the soup was given time to thicken up.

no flavor in this gumbo. Had to heavily season and only add half of the water.

5 Stars with alterations, I followed the suggestions of other reviews: reduced water by half but 3 cups water and 3 cups vegetable broth, seasoned shrimp with old bay, but used only 1 pound and 8 ounces of lump crab meat, used only 1 pound okra, and seasoned stew with Zatarin's creole seasoning and old bay, also a bay leaf. It was very tasty!

SOOOOOOO good!!!!

Very good recipe! I cut the water in half like many others suggested and added Old Bay cuz hubby loves it. He certainly approved of this recipe...even my okra hating 9 year old ate 3 helpings! Thanks for the recipe!

This was great. I personally am not an okra fan, but my husband is and was begging for some gumbo. I decided to make this recipe and was pleasantly surprised. I followed the recipe, except I used zucchini instead of celery, since it was all I had. I also used about 3 cups of water and 3 cups of chicken broth (6 cups total, not 12!) I served with a little brown rice and butter biscuits! A+ !!

Makes a bit more than the suggested serving size, great meal.

I really didn't like this. It calls for way too much water, and I think that a broth would be a much better addition than the water. There is no way (in my humble opinion) that you could cook the shrimp for 20 minutes and not have extremely rubbery shrimp. Unfortunately, I will not be making this again.

I don't know if I did something wrong or not, but my family found this to be very bland. We added some Creole seasoning, and that helped, but I won't make it again.

Really good gumbo!

Excellent recipe...with some changes. As was advised by others on this page, I cut the water down, to 8 cups. I also seasoned it a lot more...a bunch of old bay, cayanne, oregano and some cajun seasoning I found in the cupboard. I used frozen okra since fresh okra is hard to find in Massachusetts, but it came together very well. It looked, smelled and tasted delicious.

So good, so easy, so hearty....

This is a great starter recipe to tweak if you are looking for a tomato-okra based gumbo. After putting it together as directed, I found it missed something; so I began adding until I got something I liked. First, I used much less water (2 cups) and next time I'll use chicken broth. Second, I added andouille sausage to kick up the seasoning. Finally, I added a chicken breast, cubed, and simmered all until the chicken was done. Served over rice and found a taste that is growing on me every time I eat it.

This was a lot of work for very little flavor. I also cut the water down to 6 cups and added bay leaves & Old Bay. Won't make again. Sorry!

I had to add so much more spices and other spices to make this recipe really good. Otherwise, it would have been really bland. I used 3 Tbs. tomato paste and took another reviewer's suggestion and added dried oregano, parsley and basil. I also used Paul Prudhomme's Gumbo seasoning and creole seasonng. Next time I would use 1/3 chicken broth and the rest water. 12 cups of liquid is way too much. I used 8 and next time I will use 6. However, once I doctored my resipe, it was REALLY good. My whole family loved it!

This was really good. I changed the recipe a bit, but I'm still rating it five stars because it was so awesome. I eyeballed almost all the ingredients and amounts. Used three cups of water. Only cooked shrimp 'til they were cooked -- this will only take literally a couple minutes if you've got a good simmer going before you add them -- just make sure they're opaque. I added some Cajun-spiced sausage -- yum. Added some "random" spices. Also didn't put green onions in because I didn't want to buy them and have a bunch leftover that I wouldn't use in something else. Delicious!

This was the keeper of the summer!!Also made it easy to add okra to other recipies without the slimmy texture (cook the okra first then add other veggies).

This was a really good, easy recipe.

Cut the cooking times in half, if you want any texture. Mine, with good flavor but only 8 cups of water, was still mush and I wanted pieces of okra and such, not a soup. Family enjoyed it, but I was sitll dissatisfied. Further, I had added creole seasoning and Old Bay, and some scallops. Hint: frozen cut okra is much more economical at this time of year (January) than fresh!! Tastes the same, after cooking down. Pretty good, but I'll keep looking and experimenting.

I used Old Bay seasoning instead of the salt, pepper & cayenne, and added basil, oregano, parsley & thyme. With the extra spices, this gumbo is scrumptious.

Excellent if you add all the extra spices everyone else is recommending and use half the water. I put a whole tablespoon of cayenne right into the soup and MAN was it spicy!

The thing I liked abouth the recipe is that it is simple to follow. I didn't add all of the okra, but followed the rest of the recipe with slight exceptions. I added the water as per the recipe, but I also added chicken stock, about two cups. I also added a bit of other seafood (crab, squid, shrimp) and towards the end I added File powder that I purchase from a local grocery store. Over all a good recipe with slight adjustments it will be great.

I followed this recipe to a T. Make sure to use plenty of salt/pepper and don't be too afraid of a little extra cayenne. My wife likes food on the bland side and even she said it didn't have a ton of flavor. I added quite a bit more salt/pepper (not sure how much exaclty) and then some season salt & garlic salt as well. After that, it was pretty good. I guess it's better to error on the side of caution with spices/seasons though... you can always add more but can't take away. It was, however, pretty soupy. I expected it to be a lot thicker than it turned out to be. I'd give 3.5 stars, but since that's not an option I rounded up. I'll make this again but maybe try something a little different.

This is a great gumbo,but instead of serving over rice, I add one bottle of Heinz shrimp sause,3 extra cups water and one cup pearled barley. The barley thickens on it's own and gives good fiber I rate this a five star 5 stars

I had to add tons more spices (mainly a cajun spice mix and more cayenne pepper). I also added more tomato paste. It turned out great, everyone loved it.

this is shrimp and okra soup. it can't be a "gumbo" unless you start with a roux. great soup recipe though!

This was OK; my son stated it best: "It doesn't taste like anything." Considering all the work and expense I went to, I was disappointed. And yes, I followed others' suggestions, used stock instead of water (and only half that suggested), adding basil, thyme, Old Bay, etc. Added crab (at another reviewers' suggestion). The photo posted is pretty, but that's the best thing about this dish.

Not a fan of the slime from the okra

Soooo good. I seasoned the shrimp with Cajun seasoning and added lots to the pot as well. Came out great. Also only used 5 cups of water

This was okay. I found it a bit one dimensional in flavor though. A bit boring. I would add a lot more different spices.

Added Cajun spices. Used 2/3rds vegetable broth instead of water & only 1/2 of the liquids suggested & still plenty soup-like. Imagine it would have been way too watered down otherwise. Super tasty!

Great Gumbo taste without the roux - and the work that roux involves! Plus that meant that it turned out to have less sodium and calories :) Everyone enjoyed it.

I give it 3 stars because this recipe is a skeleton. Made as is it was way too bland. After reading reviews, cutting water, adding much more tomato paste and some spices it tasted better but still not amazing. I expected more.

This recipe was great but I made a few modifications. I added a red bell pepper, 1 pound of and sausage, awhole can of tomato paste, and finished it with a great dark Roux. It was thick and great

Awesome recipe! I made this modification: A roux with 1/4 cup canola and 1/4 cup flour, cooked a little past the peanut-butter stage Substituted 1 lb of the shrimp with Andouille sausage Seasoned with Tabasco to taste Didn't have tomato paste, so I subbed a can of Chili-ready Diced Tomatoes and poured it in with the Okra. The family raved over this, and even the ones who don't usually like seafood ate it up, shrimp and all. Absolutely delicious!

It's so perfect. No need to alter the recipe at all!

YUMMY!!!can't wait to have it again!

Excellent***** got a thumbs up from the whole family

We really liked this one. I did substitute one pound of shrimp for one poucnd chicken andouille because it was what we had on hand. I also used 7 cups water and added oregano,parlsey, Cajun seasoning, and salt to taste. Also it had more flavor the second day!

I took the term "season to taste" pretty liberally, because as written, this would have been really bland. I added salt, pepper, cayenne, and a few fistfuls of creole seasoning just to give it some flavor. I wouldn't call it gumbo - it was more like a tasty vegetable soup with shrimp. We liked it, but it wasn't what I was hoping for.

This was quite tasty but I made a lot of adjustments, hence 4 stars instead of 5. I used 1lb of chicken breast and 1lb of shrimp. I sauteed the chicken in the pot first, steamed the okra (frozen, not fresh) in the microwave to cut down on the time factor, added a lot more spices, only 4 cups of water, added the thawed shrimp in and just heated it through, not even 10 minutes. Served over rice and it was quite tasty. It got a "Wow!" from my BF.

I am from Louisiana and this very good. Read the improvements others added (less water, increased seasoning) and maybe consider shrimp stock made from the shrimp shells. Simple and straightforward, this one can be dressed up or down for a good meal.

This is a super recipe.We like a lot of seasoning so I always end up tweaking things, and so of course, I did. I used frozen and thawed shrimp, but thawed them with a bit of garlic, onion and cayenne powder on them.(added the shrimp during the last minute of cooking) Also used about 2 tsp Old Bay, a pinch of thyme and about 2 tsp file powder for thickness. Turned out beautifully and will definitely make this again. Thanks for such a great recipe. Interestingly enough, this is a recipe that adapts well to British stuff..me being an ex pat.. and other than the Old Bay I brought back from Baltimore..it was all local stuff I used. A veritable taste of home!

We loved this. Very very good. I added creole seasoning in place of the s&p and cayenne and it gave it an authentic gumbo taste. Thanks for sharing.

I loveeeee this recipe thank you

Ok...for those who want to know what I did different...which I mostly did do the whole thing different...here it goes. And it was delicious. Ingredients: 2 lb shrimp peeled and deveined (well mostly) 2 lb okra...or what looks like a "mess of okra" 2 cans chopped fire roasted tomatoes 1 big sweet yellow onion chopped 4-5 garlic cloves chopped 1 bell pepper chopped 6 stalks of celery chopped 1 lb bacon chopped shrimp stock chicken broth 1/2 c green onion...or thereabouts First do the shrimp. The recipe says prep time for the whole thing is about 15 minutes. They lie. After I peeled the shrimp I seasoned them with some Tony Chachere's and the juice of one lemon and set aside. I took the shimp shells and legs and whatever was left and put on with some water to boil. I cooked this while I chopped up everything else. It boiled over twice, so watch it. Boil the shells until the water smells shrimpy and is kinda murky and then let it sit. Meanwhile, you've been chopping and changing positions constantly because your back hurts. You have been thinking that maybe one of those ugly mats with the padding has some merit, after all. Once all the chopping is done, unless you are somebody who likes to drag that sort of thing out, cook your bacon. After all the bacon is done, save the grease in the bottom of the pan and add some olive oil...a good bit to make sure you have enough to saute the okra. Pour the okra in and stir it up good. Don't let the heat get too high,

GREAT

Tastes like my grandma used to make! Very good recipe, but it did require some adjustments. Similar to other reviewers I used less water, add cubed hot sausage links, cubed chicken and a variety of spices to add a bit more flavor. I added onion powder, garlic powder, old bay seasoning, cajun spice powder, 1 jalapeno pepper chopped, cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, paprika and a bay leaf. YUMMY!!!! I am from New Orleans and never tried to make gumbo on my own before because of the amount of work involved and because my mom and aunts always make it for me...so this was my first try at gumbo and it was delish!!

I cut the water by half and added the herbs/seasonings that were spoken about by others. Overall, very good.

Came home very tiring day looked in the kitchen and decided I had the ingredients to make my fiance this gumbo although not many shrimp were harmed in the making of this shrimp. Used a variety of spices including black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, fresh garlic, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, paprika and served with a side of cornbread and rice. A def. keeper and will make again.

I love this as a base recipe! I accidentally only used 1 pound of shrimp but I also used lump crab. I prefer spicy food, so I was generous with the cayenne. For my taste it was still a bit mild so I added some old bay and that was just right for me. I also made this on a work night, so I did the vegies the night before then finished cooking it the next night. I am tickled this recipe was posted. Thanks Tara!

This is a very good recipe. I like things a little hotter than most and should have added some Tabasco. Other than that I just served it over rice and my wife and I really enjoyed it!

I thought this recipe was great. I think it would have been great even without my alterations. I only used about 14 ounces of shrimp b/c that's how much I had, but I added about 1 pound of sliced turkey sausage. I used 10 cups of water (more than others) because I like it soupy. I also used some Old Bay seasoning to spice it up to my tastes.

This was really good. Thanks!

This was my very first time making Gumbo and I was sooo pleased with the outcome! I too made a few changed I cut the amount of water is half, added some fresh basil and thyme, and I chopped up one of the hilshire farms pork sausages and added it to it. The was a big hit!

Excellent. The kids love it and they hate vegetables.

Not good

I didn't put the celery or the green bell peppers I added some sausage( Earl Cambell) this was good but i put too much cayenne pepper and it was to hot. I also added corn, and we ate it over rice. yummy

Great base recipe. Added more garlic, andouille sausage, and a good amount of Zaterains seasoning.

SOOOO GOOD

i added the shrimp i used spot prawns we got our seves where we live, i also added some fresh crab meat at the very end so it adds to the whole seafood feel. i put a northwest feel with the local crab. its soft so i added it the last five min. it was spot on great

Like everyone else, I tweeked it to my taste. I'd never made this before and I can't believe what I was missing. Thank you Tara. Fabulous recipe.

Deicious