This was a really good, easy recipe.

I am giving this a "5 star" rating because, with a few tweaks, it was absolutely delicious! This recipe gives you a good base to work with...I used tips from several reviews and tried some of my own and it turned out awesome. I used 3 cups chicken stock and 3 cups water [instead of the 12 cups water called for], increased the tomato paste to 3 tablespoons, added basil & oregano to taste and 1 tablespoon Zatarrain's Creole seasoning. I used frozen, pre-cooked shrimp...thawed it, seasoned it with a little Zatarrains, and put it in the last minute of cooking. Ladled it over white rice. My husband ate 3 helpings and asked me would I make it the next time his family eats with us!

Try adding a little Zatarans grab boil to this and taste the bayou !!! Use the liquid or powder. Very good !

This was my very first time making Gumbo and I was sooo pleased with the outcome! I too made a few changed I cut the amount of water is half, added some fresh basil and thyme, and I chopped up one of the hilshire farms pork sausages and added it to it. The was a big hit!

This is a very good recipe. I like things a little hotter than most and should have added some Tabasco. Other than that I just served it over rice and my wife and I really enjoyed it!

This is a super recipe.We like a lot of seasoning so I always end up tweaking things, and so of course, I did. I used frozen and thawed shrimp, but thawed them with a bit of garlic, onion and cayenne powder on them.(added the shrimp during the last minute of cooking) Also used about 2 tsp Old Bay, a pinch of thyme and about 2 tsp file powder for thickness. Turned out beautifully and will definitely make this again. Thanks for such a great recipe. Interestingly enough, this is a recipe that adapts well to British stuff..me being an ex pat.. and other than the Old Bay I brought back from Baltimore..it was all local stuff I used. A veritable taste of home!

Excellent recipe...with some changes. As was advised by others on this page, I cut the water down, to 8 cups. I also seasoned it a lot more...a bunch of old bay, cayanne, oregano and some cajun seasoning I found in the cupboard. I used frozen okra since fresh okra is hard to find in Massachusetts, but it came together very well. It looked, smelled and tasted delicious.

The thing I liked abouth the recipe is that it is simple to follow. I didn't add all of the okra, but followed the rest of the recipe with slight exceptions. I added the water as per the recipe, but I also added chicken stock, about two cups. I also added a bit of other seafood (crab, squid, shrimp) and towards the end I added File powder that I purchase from a local grocery store. Over all a good recipe with slight adjustments it will be great.

To much water, I thought 12 cups of water was to much but I went ahead and did it anyway. Big mistake, I went grocery shopping for this recipe, it almost cost me, thank goodness I was able to remove the water, I probably took out about 6 cups of the water. I was in the kitchen working it, until I got it to my liking. The good thing about this recipe was the list of ingrediants, but after I drained the water out, I lost trake of how much of the ingrediants I used. I had to use a little more of this and a little more of that. But the ending result was good, I've had gumbo before so I knew how it should taste. so when it was all said and done, my husband and I enjoyed it.

This was really good. Thanks!

Used 3 Cups water, 3 cups clam juice, 3 tbsp Old Bay, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, added 1/2 lb scallops and this was fantastic. When I make it again, will probably cook the okra a little less. Expensive to make, and absolutely worth it!!

I really didn't like this. It calls for way too much water, and I think that a broth would be a much better addition than the water. There is no way (in my humble opinion) that you could cook the shrimp for 20 minutes and not have extremely rubbery shrimp. Unfortunately, I will not be making this again.

Wasn't quite sure how to rate this recipe since it does need some doctoring, but the taste is delicious when all is said and done. I only used 6 cups of water (not 12!) to get right consistency. Also, used 3 tbsp tomato paste, 2-3 tbsp Old Bay, 1 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp each of oregano and thyme. And I still threw in a bit more (1/2 tsp?)cayenne to give it some kick. Boy was it good! Family gobbled it up with some french bread. Everyone is asking for the leftovers, but they are all gone! Will definitely be making this again.

An excellent concoction of authentic flavors. I make it often, But a wee bit hotter.

YUMMY!!!can't wait to have it again!

I had to add tons more spices (mainly a cajun spice mix and more cayenne pepper). I also added more tomato paste. It turned out great, everyone loved it.