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instant pot gumbo recipe

Instant Pot Gumbo

Get the roux you want in a shorter amount of time by living dangerously with the “burn” notice on your appliance.

Equipment

  • 1 Instant Pot

Ingredients  

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted in the microwave*
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 onion diced small (you must have at least 1 ½ cups onion; more is fine, less is not)
  • 1 pinch baking soda ( for the advanced method only)
  • 1 green pepper, diced small
  • 2 stalks celery, diced small
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or up to the “Max Fill” line on the interior of your IP (do not overfill)
  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 pound smoked sausage links, such as andouille
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne powder (or more to taste)
  • 1½ teaspoons salt, plus more for seasoning
  • 1½ teaspoons ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
  • Cooked white rice and hot sauce, for serving

Directions 

Beginner’s Instant Pot Roux:

  • Add melted butter and flour to the pot. Set the pot to sauté. Whisk constantly until the roux is a rich, dark brown, but not yet burnt. Add the onion as well as the green pepper, celery, and garlic, and continue with step 5, below.

Advanced Instant Pot Roux:

  • Set Instant Pot to sauté on high. Once it has finished preheating, add the melted butter; when it starts to sizzle, whisk in the flour. Whisking constantly, take the roux to a caramel color, 4–6 minutes.
  • Turn off sauté function. Add onions, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula until they stop sizzling, about 3 minutes. This will both cool the mixture and cook the onions slightly. Do not skip this step.
  • Add a pinch of baking soda, stir, spread the onions in an even layer over the bottom of the Instant Pot, and replace the lid. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on low pressure for 1 minute. If you get the “burn” notice immediately, release the pressure manually, remove the lid, and let the roux cool a little bit more before trying again. Note: you will most likely not get the Instant Pot to achieve full pressure before you get a “Burn” notice. That is fine. That is the goal, even. The Instant Pot is pressurizing before it achieves full pressure, which is all you need.
  • Once you get the “burn” notice, manually release the pressure. Stir the onions. Not dark enough for you? Wait for the onions to stop sizzling—about 3 minutes—and pressurize again. Repeat until the roux is dark to your liking.
  • Add the green pepper and celery and garlic, stirring, until slightly softened, 2–3 minutes.
  • Add the stock, chicken, sausage, and seasonings. Stir. Replace the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow pressure to come down manually for at least 20 minutes** (or all the way), then release the leftover pressure manually.
  •  Serve with white rice and hot sauce.

Notes

*I find melting butter in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting causes it to pop and splatter and make a huge mess. So I recommend microwaving the butter before you begin making the roux.
**If you don’t let it hang out for a little bit before manually releasing the pressure, it will spew gumbo all over your kitchen. I learned this the hard way.