What's the Difference Between Gumbo and Jambalaya?

Gumbo and jambalaya rank among Louisiana's most loved dishes. Both contain the Holy Trinity of Cajun cooking, which consists of bell peppers, celery, and onion. Both traditionally contain some combination of meat and seafood, though you can also find vegetarian versions like gumbo z'herbes. Both contain rice. Similar, right? Well, a few notable differences set these dishes apart. Here's an overview of gumbo vs. jambalaya.

What Is Gumbo?

Depending on the recipe, gumbo resembles a soup or stew in consistency. Roux, a mixture of equal parts fat and flour, thickens gumbo. When cooked until brown or dark brown, roux gives gumbo a rich, roast-y base. Many thicken gumbo with filé, a powder of ground sassafras that adds an earthy, herby flavor to the pot. Okra also thickens gumbo.

We don't know how exactly gumbo came together. Like Creole food itself, gumbo has its roots in African, French, Spanish, and Native American cooking. The word gumbo likely came from a West African word for okra or a Choctaw word for filé. Both roux and the Holy Trinity of vegetables came from French cooking.

Okra, filé, and tomatoes reflect a Creole influence. Living in rural areas, Cajuns didn't have access to these ingredients, but they did catch on to recipes like gumbo that originated in New Orleans.

What Is Jambalaya?

A one-pot dish, jambalaya resembles Spanish paella with its combination of rice, meat or seafood, and vegetables. It's also similar to West African jollof, a one-pot rice dish flavored with tomatoes, onions, and spices. Spanish colonists and West African slaves both shaped jambalaya as we know it. Slaves, in fact, introduced rice irrigation methods to North America.

The name jambalaya likely comes from the Provençal word jambalaia, which means mishmash. Also evidence of Louisiana's French influence, the trinity of celery, bell pepper, and onion made its way into the dish at some point. Unlike gumbo, some jambalayas contain diced ham, another French contribution. Traditional Cajun recipes often call for well-seasoned, smoked tasso ham.

And just like gumbo, red, tomatoey versions of jambalaya belong to Creole cuisine. Meanwhile, a Cajun version (sometimes referred to as brown jambalaya) evolved without tomatoes.

Gumbo vs. Jambalaya

So, gumbo and jambalaya share cultural influences as well as ingredients. But you want to note a couple of major differences.

As you know, gumbo uses roux. Jambalaya does not. Most jambalaya recipes don't call for thickeners like roux or okra, though some people use cornstarch as a thickener if the dish needs it.

Most of all, the role of rice distinguishes gumbo and jambalaya. You serve rice in gumbo, but the rice cooks in a separate pot. You want to serve gumbo with more liquid than rice; in other words, not as gravy.

Jambalaya, on the other hand, is a rice dish. Your average recipe contains about double the amount of liquid to rice, but the liquid cooks down. Jambalaya shouldn't turn out watery or mushy. Recipes with tomato sauce will turn out a little wetter, however, almost as wet as risotto, and that's totally normal.

All in all, precision and correctness are not the goal of Creole and Cajun cooking. You want to cook these dishes properly for best results, but that's not to discourage experimenting with ingredients and even consistency. After all, gumbo and jambalaya wouldn't exist today without the cooks who adapted old, familiar dishes to their new environment.