File Gumbo

Name: File Gumbo
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Cajun
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1 yellow onion, chopped; 1 green bell pepper, chopped; 2 celery stalks, chopped; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced; 1.5 lbs boneless chicken thighs, diced; 6 cups chicken broth; 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning; 2 bay leaves; 2 tsp filé powder

A rich, traditional stew cooked with a dark oil roux, savory meats, and aromatic filé powder added right before serving.

100 minMediumServes 6480 cal/serving

CajunDinnerStovetopHigh ProteinDairy-FreeNut-FreeEgg-FreeShellfish-FreeSoy-FreeAlcohol-Free

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
1.5 lbs boneless chicken thighs, diced
6 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
2 bay leaves
2 tsp filé powder

Instructions

1

Heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a heavy pot over medium heat, stir in 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, and cook continuously for 20 minutes until dark brown.
2

Add 1 chopped yellow onion, 1 chopped green bell pepper, and 2 chopped celery stalks to the roux, cook for 5 minutes, then stir in 4 minced garlic cloves for 1 minute.
3

Add 1 lb sliced andouille sausage and 1.5 lbs diced boneless chicken thighs, then pour in 6 cups chicken broth and stir in 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning and 2 bay leaves.
4

Bring to a simmer, lower heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
5

Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and stir in 2 tsp filé powder off the heat before serving.

Questions

Can I make File Gumbo gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does File Gumbo keep?

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three days. Reheat gently on the stovetop.

Can I halve or double File Gumbo?

Yes. As written it serves 6. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is a plain-text cooking reference of 3,876 recipes, free to read and cook from, with no account and no paywall. In the app, this entry scales itself: half, standard, or double batch, every quantity recomputed inside the step that uses it. No ads, no life stories, no photos of somebody else's dinner.

The entries are curated and public-domain sourced, written to a fixed template and checked against it: tested quantities, one closed vocabulary of methods, and precomputed half and double batches on every line. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser, instantly. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually, and the first 30 days are free.