Being from Louisiana, going low carb was difficult. So many recipes start with, ahem, ROUX! I've found a wonderful, tasty solution with 0 net carbs. That's right, 0 net carbs. I've been using it for about 6 months and it hasn't failed me. Even my non-low carb friends didn't notice a difference in my gumbo or sausage and gravy recipes.
What is the secret ingredient? Xanthan gum! Xanthan gum has 7g of carbohydrates per serving and 7g of fiber per serving for a 0 net carb total. The biggest trick to using Xanthan gum as opposed to flour is to remember that you use FAR less Xanthan gum than you would flour. I use one tablespoon of Xanthan gum for recipes calling for 1/2cup - 1 cup of flour. So, for gumbo, I heat 3/4 cup oil and then add one tablespoon of Xanthan gum. I brown it to the desired color and make my gumbo as I would with regular, flour based roux. I also use this ratio for my sausage and gravy recipe.
For recipes using a butter roux (etoufee, etc) use one to two teaspoons per stick of butter, depending on the amount of liquid you will be adding. The first roux I made with Xanthan gum, I substituted the same amount of Xanthan gum for the flour in the recipe, and I couldn't add enough liquid! The Xathan gum roux just soaked it up. I had so much roux after that, that I cooked with it for a week and ended up throwing away what was left. Melt your butter, add the teaspoon of xanthan gum and darken to desired color. I usually go with a peanut butter color for my etoufee.
Last tip: Xanthan gum darkens faster than flour, so be sure to stir constantly! It does seem to burn a bit faster, too, so have your other ingredients ready to add or space on the stove to push it aside.
Happy Cajun Cooking!
19 Delicious Words:
What a fabulous tip, Pattie! I'm trying to tweak my bacon mac & cheese recipe to be low carb, but the roux was holding me back. Thanks so much!
Thank you for the faux roux recipe! I'm trying to adapt a cauliflower ham casserole recipe to low carb and I was not impressed with the carbquik roux. Will try this for tomorrow's dinner.
I tried this a while back on my daughter and she knew no different. I just polished off another pot of gumbo today. Thank you for sharing this substitution. I honestly didn't think I would have gumbo again, unless I strayed.
Tried this and it made a horrible oily congealed mess. What did I do wrong?
This was a colossal mess! Same as deTerrence a huge horribly congealed mess
Can I use Xanthan Gum to make French Onion Soup? Once I've cooked the onions, can I add a bit then? Thanks so much. Just found your blog and LOVE it!
I just made my favorite gumbo recipe using xanthan gum instead of flour. It came out great! Thank you for the tip! I was very careful with the xanthan. I started with 1/2 cup oil and added a tsp. of x. and then more by 1/2 tsp. until desired color/ thickness. Color was not quite as dark but flavor was there. Will make again!
How is the flavor... Do you still get a slightly "nutty" taste?
What kind of oil did you use for this?
Wow!! This recipe literally saved me!! So good and my mom (who grew up in New Orleans) was impressed. For me I did add a bit too much xantham - I started with 1 tbsp to 3/4 cup oil and added a 2nd plus gumbo file so it ended up being SUPER thick at the end (like a very thick gravy). I don't mind but mom wanted it thinner. I was expecting it to combine but the xantham gum sort of settled at the bottom of the oil. I whisked it alternating from med-high to low to get it brown (I gave up after it got just last caramel because it was like 11pm but was going for milk chocolate). Less is more as stated and don't be concerned if it doesn't combine - just keep whisking the separated xantham at the bottom. Definitely a keeper!!
I tested last night and found it to be slightly nutty but will need to try it again as I was up late and half out of it.
Am I missing something? My oil is not thickening at all.
I cannot thank you enough for this!!! I like thick soups and my favorite broccoli/cheddar soup recipe (among others) calls for, you guessed it, a ROUX that I normally make with flour. I use xanthan gum to thicken (and figured out real quick a little goes a long way!) but had not tried a roux with it! I am making that soup tomorrow and cannot wait! XOXO
I am in the middle of making chicken sauce piquant and used 3/4 cup olive oil to 2 tbsp. of xanthan gum for my roux substitute. I didn't notice my roux darkening, so I finally just added my onions, let me them fry down, and then poured in tomato sauce and beef broth. It immediately started to thicken nicely, but did take quite a bit of whisking to incorporate all the oil. Once I stirred in the seasonings, it's not much different than how it normally tastes at this stage. I've added my raw chicken breasts and sauce piquant is simmering on the stove now, so I'll retaste and adjust salt once the chicken has cooked through. Based on the look and smell right now, it's going to be just as good as when I make sauce piquant with flour.
I'm just starting the keto diet and was afraid I wasn't going to be able to find a substitute for flour. Thank you so much! Now I can make crawfish etouffee over cauliflower rice.
I had same problem too and i found that if u constantly whist and lightly sprinkle in the xantham gum it dissolves perfectly and i also noticed my finished roux would be much thicker once it starts to cool down so less is best lol found that out the hard way when sausage gravy turned gummy~
i dont make a toux , use slurry lows cal and chol
wow, this was amazing. I am a skeptic when it comes to converting regular recipes to keto, but this makes me a believer. I used this roux to make turkey a la king and it was fabulous! Thanks for this great recipe/idea!
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