Louisiana Chicken Gumbo (Gluten-Free)

Last Updated on February 11, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor

Louisiana Chicken Gumbo has been a long-time family favorite. It’s full of nourishing ingredients and is super comforting!

All gumbos have a roux as the base. This is combination of oil (usually vegetable or canola) and flour and it’s cooked on the stove until it starts to darken and deepen in flavor. To clean the ingredients up, I’m using ghee and arrowroot flour as the base.

You cook these two ingredients until they turn golden brown and then start adding the vegetables.

Next you layer in garlic, onions, celery, bell pepper and okra. Okra is what gives it just the right texture for real-deal gumbo.

When the vegetables are all cooked and look kinda like melted Nestle’s crunch bars (as my Mom says), then it’s time to add the tomato paste, tomatoes, sea salt, cayenne, thyme, oregano and black pepper.

Next you’ll stir add the wine, water, bay leaf and whole chicken. It’s so pretty and colorful at this point!

After the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the pot and when it’s cool enough, pull the meat off the bone and shred it.

I like to serve it over soaked and cooked brown or white rice. But, if you need to avoid grains right now, you could serve it over cauliflower rice or serve as is.

I love my gumbo topped with file powder. File is dried and ground sassafras leaves. It has such a distinct flavor and tastes perfect on top of gumbo!

This is a variation of my Grandma’s recipe that I grew up on and it brings back great memories for me, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Louisiana Chicken Gumbo

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• Author: Carrie Korem, FNTP
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 120 minutes
• Total Time: 140 minutes
• Yield: Serves 6
• Category: Dinner, Main Dish
• Method: Slow Cooking
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units USM

• 1/2 cup unsalted ghee (or avocado oil if you're dairy-free and can't do ghee)
• 1/4 cup arrowroot flour
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 16 ounces okra, cut into 1/2” coins (can be fresh or frozen and thawed)
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse grey Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (3-4lb.) whole chicken, cut into breasts, thighs, and wings
• 8 cups water
• 1/2 cup white wine (you can substitute with bone broth or meat stock)
• 2 bay leaves
• Soaked and cooked rice (recipe)
• File powder for sprinkling

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Instructions

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large stockpot until foaming subsides. Slowly add the arrowroot, whisking constantly until it cooks through, and is turning golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the okra and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables look like melted Nestle’s crunch bars (as my Mom would say), about 15 minutes. 

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sea salt, cayenne, thyme, oregano and black pepper and stir for about 45 seconds until fragrant. Then add the water, chicken, wine and bay leaves. Stir to combine, turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer for about 1 hour, and until chicken is cooked through. 

Remove the chicken pieces from the pot and when they are cool enough, pull the meat off the bone, discard the skin, shred and add the shredded chicken back into the pot. Remove the bay leaves. Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper. 

Serve gumbo over rice and sprinkle with file.