Zatarain's New Orleans Style Gumbo Base, 4.5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)

Good product at a good price. Extremely easy to use by adding meats of your choice; better than most of the Gumbo you get in California restaurants!

I lived in Louisiana for 15 years before moving to New England, so I've had LOTS of gumbo. Making gumbo from scratch can take as long as 3 hours from cooking the meat to making the roux and then putting it all together to simmer. But Zatarain's (pronounced Zat-uh-ran's) is my quick solution.

Just follow the directions on the box and add 3 stalks of chopped celery and 3-4 chopped green onions (DO NOT use white onion, the taste is completely different and you and your guests will be very sorry...trust me). The resulting gumbo tastes like the real thing from New Orleans. I have made both shrimp gumbo and chicken/sausage gumbo, and both come out great with the few additions I've mentioned. Some people also add a few chopped okra, but not me.

HINT (shrimp gumbo): Add cooked shrimp AFTER the gumbo has finished simmering and just before serving. It will taste much fresher.
HINT (chicken gumbo): Use a rotisseire chicken from the deli or cook the chicken during the day in a slow cooker while you're at work. Saves lots of time as well.

I also like the "base" better than the "mix" since it allows you to add as much or as little rice as you like to the soup. Also, the "base" is better if you want to freeze it. I've found that one box usually feeds 4-5 people since they always go back for seconds.

I will never make home-made gumbo again, this is so easy and good. 30 minutes and you have great gumbo.