Best Easy Gumbo Okra Soup Recipes

OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Saute' onion and peppers in margarine until tender.
• Add remaining ingredients including cooked chicken.
• Cook on low for about 2 hours to blend flavors.
• This can be served over steamed rice.

KARDEA'S OKRA SOUP WITH SHRIMP

Steps:

• For the shrimp broth: Put the shrimp shells, carrots, celery, onions, butter, salt, bay leaf and 10 cups water in a large pot. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes, making sure to skim off and discard any impurities that rise to the top. Strain the liquid, reserving 3 cups of the broth for the okra soup. Reserve the additional broth for another use.
• For the okra soup: Heat a large gumbo pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, garlic, onions, green peppers and 1 tablespoon of the butter and saute until the vegetables soften. Next, add the corn, lima beans and Roma tomatoes and mix together. Add the canned diced tomatoes and reserved 3 cups shrimp broth, stir, cover, bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.
• While the soup is simmering, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet, add the reserved shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp begin to turn pink. Add the okra, ground ginger and lemon juice, stir to mix and then cook until the okra and shrimp are cooked through.
• Once the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, add the shrimp and okra mixture to the soup. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir the soup, then serve over rice (or enjoy it without rice).

GRANNY'S OKRA SOUP

Steps:

• Combine tomatoes, lima beans, okra, potatoes, corn, green beans, carrots, and tomato paste in a large soup pot. Pour chicken stock over mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables begin to soften, about 15 minutes.
• Season ground beef with garlic powder, celery salt, and onion powder. Set aside.
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic when butter stops bubbling; cook and stir for 1 minute. Spread ground beef evenly in the pan. Cook until it has a nice brown sear, stirring minimally to end up with mostly medium-sized chunks, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain skillet and add beef, onions, and garlic to the soup pot.
• Bring soup mixture to a boil; reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until vegetables and beef have cooked down, 1 to 2 hours.

CHICKEN AND OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Place chicken and water in a large kettle. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is tender. , Remove chicken; reserve broth. Set chicken aside until cool enough to handle. Remove chicken from bones; discard bones and cut into meat into cubes; set aside. , In a soup kettle, combine oil or drippings and flour until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 5 minutes more or until mixture is reddish-brown (the color of a penny). Turn the heat to high. Stir in 2 cups reserved broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. , Add the onions, celery, green pepper and garlic; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, okra, bay leaves, basil, salt, pepper and pepper sauce. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add chicken; heat through., Discard bay leaves. Garnish with green onions and parsley. Serve with rice.

SHRIMP AND OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Season the shrimp with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the okra and saute for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato paste, tomato, onion, garlic, celery and green bell pepper and saute for 15 more minutes.
• Add the water and season to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer for 20 more minutes. Finally, add the green onion to the soup and stir thoroughly.

CHICKEN GUMBO SOUP

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil. Add the garlic powder and the hot pepper sauce. Put the carrots and mushrooms into the pot of water. Cook for five minutes.
• Add the okra, wild rice, and chicken cubes. Turn heat to low, and cook for three hours.
• Add the spiral pasta, and cook for ten minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, garnished with green onions.

EASY GUMBO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add garlic, celery, bell peppers, onion, oregano, Creole seasoning, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture and mix well. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in chicken stock, water, rice, okra, sausage, tomatoes, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until sausage is heated through and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in cooked chicken and heat through, about 5 minutes more. Adjust seasonings to taste.

OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, and green bell pepper, and saute until tender. Stir in okra, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, file powder, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stirring constantly, add flour, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until a golden brown roux has formed.
• Spoon the roux into the okra mixture, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened.

GUMBO-STYLE CRAB SOUP WITH OKRA AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a large, heavy pot, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.
• Add the onions and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the celery, bell pepper, garlic, thyme and crushed pepper.
• Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the wine and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to a syrup, about 1 minute.
• Add the tomato juices and bay leaves and boil until reduced by half, about 4 minutes.
• Add the stock, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Add the okra, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring a few times, until browned, about 4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
• Stir the okra and tomatoes into the soup and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes longer; discard the bay leaves.
• Add the crabmeat to the soup and simmer until just heated through.
• Stir in the basil and season with salt, pepper and Tabasco.
• Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and serve.
• Serve with a light, spicy pinot grigio along with some hot homemade bread or biscuits.
• Enjoy!

TRADITIONAL CHICKEN GUMBO WITH OKRA

Steps:

• Prior to heating pot, chop all vegetables.
• To make the roux: Heat a large heavy bottomed stock pot over a medium high flame.
• Once hot, add the oil. Stir in the flour, reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly until the color of the flour/oil mixture is somewhere between the color of coffee with cream and black coffee. Do not allow this to scorch or burn- if this happens start process over.
• Once the roux is cooked to a deep color, add the onions, garlic, celery, peppers, salt and pepper. Allow to cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken broth and 6 cups of the water, stir. If desired, us all broth for the liquid and no water.
• Stir in the Creole Seasoning. NOTE- the homemade Creole Seasoning has no salt. If you use a purchased product, such as Tony Chachere's, there is salt in most products. Please observe and adjust seasoning to accomodate these differences.
• Allow to cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Taste broth and add additional salt as desired. If gumbo appears too thick at any point in the cooking, add more water.
• Add the chicken thighs to the pot. The thighs may be boneless/skinless, or remove the skin from whole thighs. Thigh meat will remain moist.
• Allow the chicken to cook for about 45 minutes. Remove chicken pieces from stock. Place on plate to allow to cool.
• Once you have removed the chicken, add the sliced okra. Allow to cook in the broth for about 30 minutes.
• After the chicken has cooled for about 30 minutes, remove meat from the bones, and dice the cooked meat. Add to the pot.
• Taste and adjust seasonings to taste. To add heat, you may use cayenne pepper. If you wish to season with salt and heat, Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning is a commonly used spice blend.
• Serve over cooked white rice- Uncle Ben's is most authentic.
• Recipe Notes: When storing leftovers, do not stir the rice into the gumbo. Keep rice and gumbo separate until ready to serve. If you add seafood to this gumbo, put it in at the very end of the cooking process- it only takes a few minutes for shrimp, crab, or oysters to cook. If you choose to add aliced andouille sausage or a couple hot links, put it in at the same time you add the okra.

EASY OKRA & BEEF GUMBO

Steps:

• Brown ground meat and onions. Season with cajun seasoning while browning. I like Tony Cacchere's. Add tomatoes and okra. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes, adding corn in the last 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

OKRA GUMBO (FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE OKRA)

Steps:

• To shorten the cooking time of the okra, place it in a microwave safe bowl add two tbsp water, cover with plastic wrap, and cook 15 minutes. Stir, and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until the okra has changed color from bright green to a duller more olive color.
• Meanwhile, cook your chicken as desired, and chop into edible sized pieces. Dice the veggies. If you are using frozen veggies, microwave them a few minutes and drain off the excess liquid.
• Meanwhile, if time permits, slice the sausage and brown in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. (You can cook it in the pot you plan to make the gumbo in and set it aside if preferred.)
• In a large pot (preferably a cast iron dutch oven) brown the onions, bell peppers, and okra over medium high heat. The okra takes forever to cook, and requires constant stirring since it burns easily. It is done when the seeds begin to turn purple/brown - after about 25-30 minutes of cooking. If you didn't microwave it to begin with, you will need to cook it for about an hour. NOTE: I made this about 5 times before I realized that the okra must be cooked until the seeds are at least slightly brown. Otherwise, it will taste good but it won't get the right consistency.
• Add the chicken, sausage, tomatoes, broth/juice/bullion and water. I try to add about 1 1/2 times the amount of water as the amount of stuff already in the pot.
• Bring to a low simmer, simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally and adding water if needed. Add salt, pepper, and Tony's at the end of cooking. Serve over warm rice.
• I don't care for it, but my husband's cajun family serve potato salad as a side dish with their gumbo.