One of my family’s favorite soups of ALL TIME, is Chicken Sausage Gumbo! Because both my husband and I grew up near the coast of Texas, Gumbo has always been on the menu. I learned how to make it from my mama, then adapted my own style of gumbo. But then we gave up processed flours and changed our style of eating to be more healthy as I have follow the Trim Healthy Mama (aff link) book (which I LOVE). My husband requested I FIND a way to make gumbo healthier. That’s been my quest but I could not figure out how to incorporate the flour with using processed. THEN I FOUND SPROUTED WHEAT FLOUR!!!!! Whoop! I KNEW I had to give gumbo a shot! The thing that makes gumbo is the roux! You cannot just have the soup with out the roux… not the same thing. Roux is easy to make! Don’t let it scare you. It’s basically mixing flour and oil together while cooking it until it is almost burnt, a dark brown in color.
Before we begin I want to talk a little about the Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour. This is kind of a special ingredient and might not be readily available. I found mine at our local Health Foods Store. I didn’t think it was that expensive but some might. Also, if you are gluten free, I have read a couple sites that say people with gluten allergies can actually consume the Sprouted Flours without any problems, but research it for yourself first. Here is one link addressing this issue… http://essentialeating.com/blogs/sprouted-flour/5713662-does-sprouted-flour-contain-gluten Sprouted Flour is so much easier for everyone to digest. Another link of why it’s better for you… http://www.organicsproutedflour.net/whysproutedflour.html
In a big soup pot mix your oil and flour (again I used Organic Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour) on medium to medium high heat. You don’t wan to burn it too quickly so make sure that you are constantly stirring it. Really the making of the roux is the hardest part of the whole gumbo but once you get it down… it’s a cinch.
Continue to cook and stir…
I don’t have a time for how long to cook the roux, it’s more of the look of the roux. Even if you think you have burnt it, it’s probably ok. You want it a really rich dark brown. This is what it looks like when it’s done.
I suggest you chop up your vegetables before you start the roux unless you have a helper. Your focus needs to be on stirring the roux or you will burn it for real! 🙂
Next, add the veggies to your roux and mix well. This first initial mix of roux, onion, and garlic is one of my most favorite smells in the whole world! AMAZING!!!
Let this cook until the vegetables are getting cooked to tender (maybe 10 minutes). Add your Cajun spices and salt.
Add in your chicken broth.
Add chopped sausage (I used Trader Joe’s all natural, no nitrates or msg chicken sausage that is already cooked). Then add your okra (I use frozen okra).
Allow this to boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add file’ powder.
Add in cooked chopped chicken breast.
Allow all this simmer for an hour. You can add more file’ if you need to or more spice.
If you follow Trim Healthy Mama, this is an S soup. Even with the Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour it only comes out to about less than 5 carbs a bowl. Enjoy!
Chicken Sausage Gumbo
- Cook Time: 120
- Total Time: 2 hours
Description
A Healthier Version of Gumbo that does NOT lose it’s taste or flavor!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup of Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/2 cup of Red Palm Oil (you can use Extra Virgin Olive Oil but the Red Palm is AMAZING)
- 3 to 4 cooked chicken breasts- chopped
- 4 links of good cooked Andouille sausage (I used Trader Joe’s chicken sausage)- chopped
- 16 oz bag of frozen okra (I’ve added more)
- 2 bell peppers- chopped
- 1 large onion- chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic- chopped
- 8 cups of fat free chicken broth
- Cajun seasoning to taste (I add about 2 to 3 tbsp.)
- Salt to taste
- 2 to 3 tsp of File’ powder
Instructions
- Boil chicken breasts if you do not have any cooked chicken available. Chop, set aside.
- Chop all the vegetables. Set aside.
- Heat a big soup pot on medium high heat. Add in your red palm oil and flour. Mix together.
- Continue to stir while the flour cooks. You want to cook the flour until it is a rich dark brown.
- Add the chopped vegetables all at once and stir.
- Cook until the vegetables are slightly tender. About 10 minutes.
- Add in the spices. Mix.
- Add the chicken broth.
- Next add in the sausage and the okra. Allow this to boil, then turn down to a simmer.
- Add the File’ powder.
- Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Add the chicken. Allow to continue to simmer until all the flavors have blended well.
Notes
- Using Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour will keep this Trim Healthy Mama friendly. And because this serves so many, you should have less than 5 carbs per bowl.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10
is there a gluten free version of this?
Stacy, not yet but I really want to try and work on a gluten free recipe for this. I read that sprouted whole wheat does not effect the body as regular whole wheat.. but still, if I get a good recipe for gluten free I will be sure and post that!! Sorry I couldn’t be of more help here!
Stacy,
Add file’ powder-what is this ?
thanks
It’s an herb that goes into gumbo. Here is a little info on it. But I’ve made it before without it~ ;)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil%C3%A9_powder
File’ is dried and ground sassafras leaves. But it takes a lot of leaves to make a small amount of powder. They dry quickly, though.
Would the THM Baking Blend work in place of the flour?
no.. i’m sorry… 🙁
I was born & raised in South Louisiana! One of my favorite gumbo tips from my momma is to cook the roux slowly, stirring constantly until it’s the color of a copper penny! When I first made gumbo’s by myself, I would place a penny on the stove next to my pot for color comparison!! It’s never failed me!!! I’ve been married for 30 years and made plenty of gumbos!!
Yep exactly!!!
Where do you buy file powder?
You usually can find it at any grocery store… it’s a spice so it would be more with the Cajun spices. 🙂
I love this recipe! I ended up using GF flour and making a huge batch so I could can some…..forgot about that until this week! Praise Yah for yummy premade food that is healthy and yummy! I really love the THM way of eating! Thank you for all your yummy recipes! 🙂
Thank you so much for the yummy recipes! I made this but GF and canned it for future use. …came in handy this week! Love the THM way of eating! Thank you for your time and effort in making all these yummy foods and sharing your recipes! 🙂
The author said the Baking Blend wouldn’t work, so I’m curious what kind of GF flour you used that worked well as a substitute. I’m also interested in your canning routine! How long did you leave them in your pressure canner and at what pressure?
Hmmm… I’m not sure what canning routine you are talking about. 🙂 As far as the gumbo, I used Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour.
I don’t care for okra, are there any other veggies I use as a replacement? I can’t wait to make this! I love Cajun foods!
Hmmm… okra is a big part of it but you could leave it out and maybe replace with zucchini. 🙂
Is the sprouted whole wheat subbed 1:1 in recipes that call for whole wheat flour?
Yes mama! That should work!
AWESOME! Cajun food lover here. I had wondered how to make gumbo THM friendly. Sprouted wheat flour! I have some. THANK YOU so much for sharing!
You are so welcome!!
I have never left a comment on a recipe but I had to let you know how wonderful your THM Gumbo recipe is. My family loves gumbo! I needed a THM version of my original recipe. Yours hit it out of the ballpark! I made it exactly as you had it written — no modifications. Thumbs up from everyone! Thank you.
Yay I am so happy to hear this!!!
I have made roux in the oven. No oil, just flour in a cast iron skillet. Stir every ten minutes then when it starts to brown, stir more often. Store in a jar in the pantry. It doesn’t have the same “mouth feel” as the roux with oil, but if you don’t like the ” greasy” top of gumbo, it works well. I like it both ways.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I was wondering about the carb content of gumbo.
Wow that’s a great option! Thanks for sharing that!!
Whoops. I got ahead of myself and added the diced okra with the other cut veggies to the roux…will it still be ok???
That should be fine!
If I used turkey sausage, would it make this an E? Mainly asking because I love rice in my gumbo. 🙂
I think it would still be an S… but worth the crossover by adding the rice!!
What is sprouted wheat? And is this ok for a keto way of eating?
I think keto stays away from all grain. So no.