This Cajun Crawfish Etouffee recipe is a classic Louisiana dish and was so much easier than I thought it would be when James (my husband) told me about it. He's a born and bred, Down The Bayou, South Louisiana native and is a master at cooking Cajun food.
In the south, particularly Louisiana, crawfish is a big deal. Especially at the end of the year and into the new year. Crawfish season starts in January and ends June/July.
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The best time to eat fresh crawfish is around April, which is great for the Lent period. Almost every backyard in Louisiana is boiling crawfish on a Friday night during Lent! See my awesome Crawfish Boil Recipe here.
Crawfish also goes hand in hand with Mardi Gras, you'll see a lot of tents along the route that are having a big ol' cook-out boiling the crawfish. Some of these tents go straight to cooking an etouffee though.
Using up those leftover crawfish tails is perfectly done in a crawfish étouffée (it's a French word). Although, you can use frozen and so it's not limited to that time of year... also, if you are like me, sometimes I just freeze those leftovers in batches. That way I can take my time on deciding what I'm going to make.
🧅 Ingredients
- Cooked Crawfish Tails - for best results use your crawfish leftover from your boil - however, if you are using frozen that's fine too. You will probably need more seasoning if you're using the frozen kind.
- Butter - everything tastes better with butter!
- Yellow Onion - The holy trinity of Cajun cooking.
- Celery - see above.
- Green Bell Pepper - green pepper, see above.
- Bay Leaf - Giving another dimension.
- Crawfish or seafood Stock - I like to make a crawfish stock using my leftover crawfish peelings, in case you are not in a position to do this feel free to use seafood stock. At a pinch, maybe some chicken broth.
- Green Onions
- Fresh Parsley
- All Purpose Flour - we need this to thicken up this stew.
- Sea Salt - to help make them flavors pop.
- Cayenne pepper - For a little heat and adds flavor. I like mine a medium heat. This can be added per personal preference.
See recipe card for quantities.
🥣 Instructions
I like to throw all my crawfish shells (or some of them anyway, enough to fit) into a large stock pot. I fill with water all the way to about 3" past the top of the shells then add some of the onions and garlic that is leftover from the boil. I cook this for a few hours then strain everything. This will give you some delicious homemade crawfish stock to cook your etouffee with.
If you are not able to do this, or are short on time feel free to use seafood stock in it's place.
- Step 1: Melt the butter over a medium-high heat, in a large cast iron pot or a Dutch Oven.
- Step 2: Add the holy trinity (onions, green bell pepper, celery) and cook until soft.
- Step 3: Add the flour and cook a further 3-5 minutes.
- Step 4: Add the peeled crawfish.
- Step 5: Add the bay leaves and crawfish/seafood stock.
- Step 6: Add the sea salt and cayenne pepper and cook 5 minutes.
- Step 7: Add the parsley and green onions, then over a low heat cook another 5 minutes.
- Step 8: Remove the bay leaves and serve with white rice.
Hint: to make a more Creole version of crawfish étouffée, you can add tomatoes or tomato sauce. It gives it some very bold flavors.
🔄 Substitutions and Variations
- Shrimp - if you do not have access to crawfish you can make this same dish using fresh shrimp instead. Shrimp Etouffee is actually a thing, see my recipe here!
- Salt - if you are on a salt restriction you can replace the salt with a no/low salt alternative.
- Gluten Free - you could use almond flour in place of the all purpose flour and that is all that would be needed to make this a gluten free crawfish etouffee.
- Olive Oil - if you prefer to cook with olive oil instead of butter, go ahead. Although, personally, I'm not a fan in this recipe.
- Chicken Stock - this will work ok if you don't have seafood stock.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue more heat into the dish, if desired (or hot sauce).
- Tomato Paste - quite a few folks use tomato paste. Any Louisiana dish that has a tomato base will be more of a Creole dish.
- Seasoning - in place of the salt use Cajun Seasoning (or Creole Seasoning) - it is usually quite salty so you won't need the salt too. Feel free to add black pepper to your liking too. Some people add some lemon juice from some wedges - this again is personal preference.
- Kid friendly - make sure and grind up that holy trinity really fine so that it will melt into the dish. If your kids are like mine - God forbid they come across an onion!
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🦞 Other Crawfish Recipes
🔌 Equipment
Personally I always like to cook in a Dutch Oven or Cast Iron Pot. I just feel like the cooking experience is so much more even!
See below in the Recipe Card for a link to the exact pot I used for this recipe (and in the images).
🧊 Storage
Once your Crawfish Etouffee has cooled completely store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave and serve over rice.
This dish does freeze well, store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
💡 Tips
Expert Tip: For me, a big factor that makes this Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee dish so good is the spice in the crawfish when they were cooked. Remember this will transfer over so if you had a really spicy crawfish boil, then chances are your etouffee will be too.
👩🍳 FAQs
White Rice is normally always served, along with a crusty bread. Sometimes you'll see people enjoying green beans and other vegetables too.
This is a really easy dish (Creole Cuisine), normally made using the leftovers from a crawfish boil. The peeled crawfish are cooked with a holy trinity of onion, bell peppers and celery. With flour to thicken and seasonings. Seafood stock is added and it's cooked for just a few more minutes.
It's a dish made using shellfish, smothered in a seasoned sauce and served over rice. It has the French Cajun influence out of New Orleans.
Obviously a white is going to pair with Etouffee the best. A wine that is light and crisp, like a Chenin Blanc is perfect. A little sweetness in the wine will refresh your palate and go well with the spices.
If you’ve tried this Cajun Crawfish Etouffee Recipe recipe or any other great recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section below, how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Crawfish Etouffee
Crawfish Etouffee is a classic Louisiana dish full of robust flavor. This dish is famous for its Cajun influence and surprisingly easy and quick to make.
Ingredients
- 2lb Crawfish Tails, cooked and peeled
- 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
- 4 Large Onions, chopped
- 6 Celery Stalks, chopped
- 2 Green Bell Peppers, Chopped
- 4 Bayl Leaves, Large
- 2 Tablespoons Flour, All Purpose
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 4 Tablespoons Parsley, chopped
- 6 Tablespoons Green Onion, chopped
- 2 Cups Seafood Stock, (see below)
Seafood Stock
- Crawfish peelings (pan full)
- 2 x Onions 2 x Garlic Bulbs from crawfish boil
- Water to cover by 3 inches
Instructions
- Make seafood stock - this can be done ahead of time if needed. Take a pan full of crawfish peelings and some vegetables (onions/garlic) from your crawfish boil and boil with water - covered - for an hour. If you do not have the ability to do this step you can just use store bought seafood stock.
- In a pan melt all the butter.
- Add the chopped onions, bell pepper and celery (the trinity)
- Cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes - until the vegetables are clear and soft.
- Add the flour and continue to cook a further 3 minutes.
- Add crawfish tails and cook 2 more minutes.
- Add all bay leaves, continuing to stir.
- Slowly add the stock, stirring and you'll see it start to thicken up. Add the salt and cayenne and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the Parsley and green onions and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
How the crawfish was originally boiled (seasoning) will determine how spicy this dish is. Depending how much heat you like in your food, the Cayenne can be always increased/decreased.
For a quick boost in flavor (if needed) use Creole Seasoning.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 425Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 15gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 243mgSodium 825mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 2gSugar 6gProtein 32g
Rhonda says
Tried this recipe tonight and I give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was great!!!!!
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Rhonda! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Shelley says
Oh goodness - this really is a simple recipe with just a few ingredients - I was surprised and delighted by that! Even easier with store-bought stock (thanks for that suggestion BTW)!
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Shelley, Go ahead and enjoy!! Let me know how it goes!
Mary Ann says
Where do you find the store bought stock & what kind of stock is it? Thank you!
Melanie Cagle says
Hi Mary Ann, you should find it with the other stock/broths ... I use seafood stock if I'm in a rush.
jill says
This recipe was so easy to make! We loved it so much! Can't wait to try it again and next time we'll have for a big group to enjoy! So fun!
Melanie Cagle says
Thank Jill!! Glad you enjoyed it!
Bernice Hill says
Your etoufee looks and sounds amazing! This is one dish I've only ever had in a restaurant but I'd love to learn how to make it at home. Crawfish are really hard to find up here in Canada but if I ever do find them, I'll be making this dish.
Melanie Cagle says
I wish I could send them up to you!! They are super delicious! Let me know if you ever get a chance to make it!?
Amanda says
This is such a great etouffee! It's perfectly flavored and so great for this time of year -- so cozy and comforting. Thanks for sharing!
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Amanda, I'm really glad you liked it!
Ben M says
I don't live in the south, but I looove southern recipes and this is right up my alley. It is delicious and thank you so much for sharing this. It tasted really good and we will be making this one again.
Melanie Cagle says
I'm so glad you liked it!
Jenny says
I actually called my husband over to check your recipe with me. We are both very excited, had a delicious crawfish etouffee when we first met, my husband used to live in the south, and I was visiting friends. Long story short, lots of memories over this fabulous comfort food dish. I am very excited to make your recipe. Thanks so much. You made our day.
Melanie Cagle says
Aw, that's so great! I'm glad to have made your day. Hope it's everything you remember (and more)!
Kushigalu says
I have never tried making etoufee at home. Sounds so falvorful. Ibwill try your recipe soon.
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Kushigalu, let me know how it goes for you?
Tammy says
Ok, this looks AMAZING! Talk about comfort food! I could go for a big bowl of this right now. A good friend of mine lives down south and is always telling me about crawfish...definitely a meal I need to try and make soon!
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Tammy, let me know how it goes when you make it?!
Elaine says
This is one of those dishes that really makes me hungry when I look at the images. Can't wait to make it happen and have this dish in front of me soon! 🙂
Melanie Cagle says
Glad you like it Elaine, let me know how it goes?
Jacqueline Debono says
I so want to try this etouffee! It looks amazing. Fresh crayfish and lobster are hard to come by here in Italy and expensive. But scampi which are similar are more available. So I'm going to try this recipe with scampi!
Melanie Cagle says
That sounds like a great idea, I've had scampi before in the Mediterranean, I believe you're right, it'll work! Let me know how it tastes?
Wanda says
I had this dish in NOLA and have been wanting to make it for awhile now. Thrilled to have found this recipe!
Carrie Robinson says
This looks absolutely delicious! Definitely adding this to my weekly dinner rotation soon. 🙂
Jess says
Ooohhh I love everything about this! So good!
Michelle says
Always wanted to make etoufee -- it's hard to find crawfish here, but the second I find it, I'm going to make it! Thanks for sharing!
Melanie Cagle says
Yes, hope you find it.
Rosemary says
Wow, your etouffee looks amazing. I do love crawfish but only when I visit the South. I've actually never thought of making it at home as it looks complicated. Thank you for demystifying the experience with your well laid out recipe. I'm looking forward to giving it a try 🙂 Cheers.
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Rosemary, I'm glad I was able to make it look easy. Hope you enjoy!
HEATHER PERINE says
Always wanted to try making crawfish etoufee and this did not disappoint! So delicious and so much flavor. Fun to try 🙂
Melanie Cagle says
Glad you tried and enjoyed it!
Julia says
Wow, this was so hearty! It was hard to find crawfish here, but I'm so glad we did!
Journa says
This crawfish recipe looks sooo flavorful! Love the combo on ingredients! Looks sooo filling too!
veenaazmanov says
All my favorite meal options. Bursting with flavors and a comforting meal plan too.
Heidy says
Being from the South and having lived in LA for years before, I enjoy reading your versions of our cuisines. Your photos look lovely and and really make me want to try your version of Crawfish Etouffee! Looking forward to your next recipe post. Have a wonderful week!
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Heidy! Glad you enjoyed it!
Madeline says
This was so delicious! I ordered crawfish online for the first time (I'm not anywhere near Louisiana, and I just stumbled upon this site: http://livecrawfishdelivery.com/) and wanted to make something special. This really hit the spot on a cold, midwestern night. Thank you for sharing!
Sharon says
This is one of my favorite dishes to get at restaurants but this recipe has me this restaurant-quality dish right at home.
Linda says
Oh my! I love etouffee and adding crawfish makes this extra comforting. Thanks for sharing!
Leslie says
Your photos for this are so impressive. This looks amazingly appetizing! I can almost smell this!! AHH!!!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Yum! I need this in my life. I have to rethink dinner tonight. I'm sure my husband and son will love this.
Loreto and Nicoletta says
Love this. I had never heard of crayfish until I started working for a company that had offices in Houston. I would always here about these crayfish bakes sounded wonderful and that flavor so so delicious. Everything in this is nothing but flavor flavor!
marti Peddicord says
I'm making this now and don't have much crawfish so I'm adding some frozen shrimp, thawed. Also,can I make it now and reheat?
Melanie Cagle says
Yes, that's fine. I have found that the best way to reheat is in an air fryer, if you have one. If not, the oven. Microwaves can cause it to be softer than I think it should be!
Trina says
This was absolutely delicious!
Kate says
Many thanks for sharing this crawfish recipe. It reminded me that I have not cooked sea food for quite a while and I got cravings right away. After buying the ingredients I will definitely try this.
Marquise says
Suggestion/ use a rounded teaspoon or more of Old Bay seasoning which comes in a can. It gives it a more seafood taste and it has black and red pepper and lots of other spices. It will add a reddish color. Add all of you chopped celery and onions and bell peppers thinly chopped. Be sure to add-in 2 -3 cloves of minced garlic. It is a laying of favor which Louisiana cooking is all about. When making a blonde roux of butter and flour use enough butter to liquefy the flour. Do not burn the butter roux The color is a very light brown tone it will give the roux a nutty favor. Put your chopped veggies in and stir/sauté and it helps stop the roux from browning - The roux tone is the color of an almond shell. Add in a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and if needed to add more heat add some shakes 5-6 of Louisiana Hot Sauce. Add crawfish and blend well pushing them around in hot skillet of roux then adding green onions and chopped parsley Add some stock and keep stirring crawfish mixture until you get the gravy smoothed out. Taste and add any additional spices and lower heat to a slight boil and let all of it simmer about 8-12 minutes with a lid on. Serve over rice. Note if gravy is to thick add some more stock and let it cook down. You will have a marriage of favors and layers of tasty crawfish in your mouth. You can use shrimp instead. This is just my my opinion.
west-bromwich-building-society stone-cross says
Saved as a favorite, I like your web site!