Name: Quick Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 tablespoon butter; 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs; 2 carrots; 2 celery stalks; 1 small yellow sweet onion; 3 garlic cloves; 2 tablespoons flour; 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning blend; 2 1/2 cups chicken broth; 1/2 pound uncooked shrimp; 1/2 cup whole grain instant brown rice

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Delicious and simple to make dinners are the best! This Quick Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo comes together in about 30 minutes and is so tasty!

Any version of this recipe is pretty much my favorite thing to eat, no matter the time of year. Gumbo is such a versatile and customizable meal and I’ve made it on the grill, in the slow cooker and also this version, Quick Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo, in my dutch oven. While every version I’ve made has been so delicious, one of the things I like most about this one is how quick and simple it is to make! It comes together in under 30 minutes with the help of a few easy tricks making it a great weeknight meal or even for making up a batch for lunches for the week!

One of the things I love about soups, and gumbo specifically, is being able to pack it full of veggies as the base. Carrots, celery and onion are the standards and you can also add bell peppers too! And of course, I always throw in a few cloves of garlic, but that goes for pretty much any dish I make.

My one trick for getting the perfect chopped veggies for soup when you don’t want it chunky and you want it to cook fast? Using one of these Ninja Choppers. It makes it quick and easy to get my veggies finely chopped and then I can just toss them right in the pan. Just be careful and only chop them a few seconds, as they could end up mush!

Second trick to make this easy Quick Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo? Seasoning blends. That’s right. No need to combine 20 different spices here. Just grab some cajun seasoning like this one and that’s seriously all you need.

By layering everything up in the pot, it keeps it quick, easy and leaves you with only the one pan to clean up. Start by browning the chicken a bit, add the veggies, make the simple roux and toast up the seasoning at the same time, add the broth, then finally layer in the shrimp and let simmer! While all of that is happening, I make a batch of quick cook brown rice and 30 minutes from start to finish I have a dinner I know my family will eat (and my little one has no idea it’s chock full of veggies!). These are the kinds of dinners that make me feel pretty good about life!