Quick, easy, and healthy - what more could you ask for?

Photo bySkinny Ms.

Gumbo is one of those dishes that definitely requires a time commitment. This quintessential New Orleans dish typically demands hours and hours of simmering to bring all the flavors together. Or, at least, it used to until we came up with this Instant Pot Chicken Gumbo recipe. Now, all you need is 30 minutes on high pressure and dinner is served! A spicy, thick stew that’s chock-full of lean protein and vegetables. It makes a perfect dinner, and the leftovers are even better for lunch the next day.

This Instant Pot Chicken Gumbo recipe is ultimately satisfying, especially on a cold day. After one bite, you’ll fall in love with this recipe. It’s absolutely bursting with flavor! We love the addition of brown rice, which not only makes the dish more filling, but it also makes it taste better than you’d expect. It might be more traditional to serve gumbo over white rice, but brown rice has more nutrition. Its nutty flavor also compensates for the fact that we’re not using a roux (something we’ll talk about in a minute), really bringing the dish together.

Gumbo, Made Healthy

Gumbo is an easy recipe to turn into a healthy meal because it uses vegetables as its base. The stew begins onions, carrots, and celery, which cook down until they’re melt-in-your-mouth tender. Then, all you need is a protein component. Most recipes use a combination of seafood, poultry, and pork sausage, but we wanted to keep things simple. We used lean chicken breasts as the star of our stew and chose low-fat, nitrite-free turkey sausage to add a smoky flavor to the dish.

What adds calories to the stew is the roux. Traditionally, Southern cooks thicken this hearty stew with a combination of butter and flour, which is cooked down until it is very dark. We found an easy way to lighten things up while keeping this recipe gluten-free by using fiber-rich okra as our thickening agent. Added to the Instant Pot at the same time as the other ingredients, the enzymes in the okra will thicken the gumbo as it cooks. Serve it over that nutty brown rice, and it’s the perfect consistency and texture!

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Have you made gumbo before? What do you think about this healthier Instant Pot version? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Ingredients

• 3 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 8 ounces turkey sausage rope low-fat, nitrate-free, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 yellow onion small, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups okra sliced, fresh or frozen
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup green onion chopped
• 3 cups brown rice cooked

Get all the directions here.