Roux is the secret weapon of every Cajun cook. But some folks think that roux is only used in gumbo—just one of the tasty recipes you can make with it. In fact, with Rox’s Roux, there are dozens of great Cajun classics that are easy.
My wife Roxanne shares our Top 5 favorite roux-based recipes from Acadiana Table. (All photos credit: George Graham)
Since I wrote a story about my wife Roxanne’s roux-making skills, folks have asked if they can buy it. Well, now you can; just follow this link to Rox’s Roux, and find out how you can buy a jar. And once you have a jar (or two) of deep, dark, rich Rox’s Roux, you are just a black pot away from making some great Cajun classics. Learn how easy it is with these five recipes:
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#1 – Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
This is Roxanne’s favorite! Of all the gumbos, chicken and andouille gumbo defines rural Cajun food culture. Deep, dark roux-based flavor is punched with smoky pork andouille sausage, and it’s spiked with just enough heat to make you grab for another beer and beg for another bowl.
Chicken and Andouille gumbo: a Cajun black pot favorite.
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
- 2 chicken breasts, bone-in and skin-on
- 2 cups diced yellow onions
- 2 cups diced green bell pepper
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 cups chopped smoked andouille sausage, sliced into bite-size pieces
- 12 cups chicken stock, plus water if needed
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning blend
- 1½ cups dark roux
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Dash of hot sauce
- 8 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice, for serving
- 1 cup diced green onion tops
- Filé powder, for serving
- In a large cast-iron pot over medium-high heat, add the oil. Once sizzling hot, add the chicken pieces skin-side down. Brown the chicken on one side and turn to brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a platter and keep warm.
- To the pot, add the onions, bell peppers, and celery. Sauté until the onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and parsley, and sauté until combined. Add the sausage and sauté just until it begins to brown. Add 1 cup of stock to the mixture and scrape the bottom of the skillet to loosen the brown bits of flavor. Add the chicken back to the pot.
- Add enough additional chicken stock to the gumbo pot to cover all the chicken and vegetable mixture. Season with Cajun seasoning and stir to combine. Add 1½ cups of roux and stir to combine. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and let cook for 1 hour.
- Uncover and remove the chicken pieces. Skim the surface of any excess oil. Taste the gumbo and if you prefer your gumbo thinner, add more stock. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes longer.
- Uncover the pot and once again skim the surface of any excess oil.
- At this point, you can leave the chicken on the bone or remove the bones and skin from each of the pieces. Just prior to serving, add the chicken back to the pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes more.
- Uncover the pot and skim the surface of any excess oil. Sample the finished gumbo and season with hot sauce to taste.
- Ladle the gumbo into large bowls over a mound of rice and garnish with diced green onion tops. Add a bit of filé powder if you like.
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#2 – Catfish Courtbouillon
This recipe is a spicy, stew-like dish that creates an addictive sauce so be sure to serve with plenty of French bread for sopping. Rather than the red gravy Creole version, in this Cajun courtbouillon I use a light hand on the tomatoes favoring the addition of dark Cajun roux. I do add an extra dose of hot and spicy to this dish and once you try it you will understand. This is old-school Acadiana and a tribute to the traditions that have been preserved and passed along to new generations of Cajun and Creole cooks. And now to you.
Catfish swimming in a dark Cajun roux-based gravy.
- 4 strips smoked bacon, chopped
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 medium fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 2 cups canned diced tomatoes, drained
- 4 cups seafood stock
- 2 tablespoons dark roux
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 pounds catfish fillets, cut into large pieces
- 4 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice
- 1 cup diced green onion tops, for garnish
- In a black iron pot with a heavy lid over medium-high heat, add the bacon pieces and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon and reserve.
- In the same pot, add the onions, bell peppers, and celery to the bacon grease and sauté until browned. Reduce the heat and add the garlic, parsley, thyme, jalapeno, and tomatoes. Stir to incorporate and add the stock and roux. Stir the mixture and add the bay leaf and bacon pieces along with the seasoning and hot sauce. Cover and let cook at a simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover the pot and taste the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste along with any additional hot sauce until it achieves your desired heat level. 15 minutes before serving, submerge the catfish fillets into the sauce and cover. Cook at a simmer until the catfish is tender, about 10 minutes. Cover, turn off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- For plating, mound a large portion of rice in the center of a plate or shallow bowl and spoon the courtbouillon sauce around along with pieces of the catfish. Sprinkle with green onion tops and serve with hot French bread and more hot sauce on the side.
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#3 – Louisiana Seafood Gumbo
This dish defines the coastal Louisiana food culture. The key to this gumbo is not to overcook the seafood. Before adding the seafood, you can stage the base gumbo and hold it there indefinitely. Actually, it gets even better the longer it sits. Using fresh seafood is optimum, and the mingling of flavors with the dark roux base is magical.
Rich seafood stock with a thickener of dark roux provides the perfect backdrop for fresh Louisiana seafood.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 large yellow onions, peeled and diced
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 12 cups shrimp stock
- 1 cup dark roux
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 gumbo crabs, cracked and quartered
- 3 pounds large raw Gulf shrimp, peeled
- 1 pint raw oysters, with juice
- 1 pound white lump crabmeat
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cajun seasoning blend
- Dash of hot sauce
- Gumbo file’
- 6 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice
- 1 cup diced green onion tops
- In a cast-iron pot with lid over medium-high heat, add the oil along with the onions, celery, and bell pepper. Continue stirring until the vegetables turn translucent and then add the garlic. Combine all the vegetables and then add the stock and roux along with the bay leaves and the gumbo crabs. Bring the liquid to a slow boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and let it cook for 1 hour. Check it and give it a stir every 15 minutes and be sure to skim off any fat or foam from the surface.
- When you are ready to serve it, add the shrimp, oysters (with their juice), and crabmeat and cook until the largest shrimp are done, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper along with a light hand on the Cajun seasoning. Don’t over season seafood gumbo. Your guests can always add their own hot sauce and gumbo file’ at the table.
- Ladle the gumbo around a mound of rice and garnish with a sprinkle of diced green onion tops. Ice-cold beer and hot French bread are a given.
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#4 – Shrimp and Okra Gumbo
In this gumbo, a dark Cajun roux combines with the rich Creole flavors of tomato paste and fresh okra tying the cultures together. Along with roux, okra is a natural thickener in this gumbo, and with a long cooking time the mucilage (slime) will be minimal.
This Creole gumbo combines a bit of tomato with dark roux in a flavorful combination.
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2 cups diced yellow onions
- 2 cups diced green bell pepper
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 cup chopped tasso or smoked ham
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 12 cups shrimp stock or seafood stock, plus water if needed
- 1 cup dried shrimp
- 2 cups sliced okra
- 1 ½ cups dark roux
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 pounds fresh large Louisiana shrimp
- Dash of hot sauce
- 8 cups cooked Louisiana long grain white rice, for serving
- 1 cup diced green onion tops
- Filé powder
- In a large cast-iron pot over medium heat, add ¼ cup of canola oil. Once sizzling hot, add the onions, bell peppers, and celery. Sauté until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic, parsley, and tasso, and sauté until combined. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.
- Add the shrimp stock along with the dried shrimp. Add the sliced okra. Bring to a boil and add the roux. Lower the heat to a simmer and season with cayenne pepper. Cover the pot and let cook for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, lift the lid and skim the surface of any excess oil. Taste the gumbo. If you prefer your gumbo thinner, add more stock or water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the shrimp, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes more. Turn off the heat.
- Uncover the pot and skim the surface of any excess oil. Sample the finished gumbo and season with hot sauce to taste.
- Ladle the gumbo into large bowls over a mound of rice and garnish with diced green onion tops. Have filé powder and hot sauce on the table for adding. Serve with hot French bread.
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#5 – Gumbo Z’herbes
Over the years, gumbo z’herbes has become a tasty addition to every good Louisiana cook’s gumbo repertoire since it is a smart way to turn inexpensive root vegetable greens into a delicious dish. These days, it is just as common to see a long-simmering pot of z’herbes in the fall made with smoked andouille, salt pork, and tasso for a heartier fare. Be sure to source fresh (not frozen) vegetables for this recipe.
A variety of greens take center stage in this rich gumbo.
- 1 bunch fresh spinach leaves
- 1 bunch fresh kale
- 1 bunch fresh Swiss chard
- 1 bunch fresh collard greens
- 1 bunch fresh mustard greens
- 2 cups fresh green leaf lettuce
- 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 4 tablespoons dark roux
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cajun seasoning blend
- 6 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice
- 1 cup diced green onion tops
- Filé powder
- Wash dirt from the greens and trim the leafy greens from any hard stems. Chop greens into large pieces and place in a large, cast-iron pot with a heavy lid. Add all the other vegetables and herbs and cover with vegetable stock. When the pot begins to boil, add the roux, lower the heat to simmer and cover. Stir occasionally and cook for about 1 hour until the greens wilt and the flavors meld together.
- Add salt, black pepper and Cajun seasoning to taste and serve over cooked white rice with a sprinkling of diced green onions and a light dusting of filé powder.
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Buy more Rox’s Roux and make these and many more recipes.
The Acadiana Table cookbook and Rox’s Roux: two things you need to cook authentic Cajun food.