Ingredients:

1/2 cup of vegetable or canola oil

1/2 cup of flour
1 pound of raw shrimp, lightly seasoned with garlic powder, pepper & salt
2 chicken breasts, diced into small chunks and lightly seasoned with garlic powder, pepper & salt
2 andouille sausages, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 bell peppers (I like to use a mixture of peppers but you can use green if that's what you have), diced
3 stalks celery, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of cajun or creole seasoning
1-2 tablespoons of hot sauce (like Frank's or Tabasco sauce- to your liking)
1 teaspoon of cayenne (optional)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes with the juices, diced
2 teaspoons gumbo filé
Sliced scallions, for plating
Cooked white rice, brown rice or quinoa, for serving

Directions:

First, we make a roux! In a large deep pot under high heat, add in vegetable oil and flour and whisk until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and continuously mix. You do not want to walk away from this as it requires constant stirring and can easily burn. You want your mix your roux until you get a deep peanut butter color.

Once your roux is a peanut butter brown, add in your diced vegetables (onions, peppers, and celery) and cook until softened and cooked through. Once softened, add in garlic and stewed tomatoes (with the juices). Mix and combine.

Next, add in your chicken stock, chicken chunks, andouille sausage, cajun seasoning, cayenne (if using), bay leaves, hot sauce, and salt to taste. Mix and combine. Be very careful not to add too much salt. Sometimes, creole and cajun seasonings are very heavy in salt. If so, wait until your Gumbo is fully cooked before tasting and then adding salt.

Cook and bring gumbo to a simmer. Once simmering, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.

It's now time to add your shrimp! Add in your shrimp and combine. Cover and continue to cook on low for another 10 minutes.

Last, add in your gumbo file and combine.

Remove the bay leaves in the gumbo and serve warm with a scoop of rice and diced scallions.

Notes:

Substitutions:

You can use Tofurky or any other vegan andouille sausage for this recipe in place of the andouille sausage
I prefer to use a white onion for this but you can use a red or Spanish onion in this as well

For a truly Vegan Gumbo you can replace the shrimp, andouille sausage, and chicken stock with the following ingredients: