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.
Of all the leftover crawfish boil recipes, this is my favorite.
Jump to:
- What makes this recipe so yummy
- Groceries you'll need: Ingredients
- Recipe walkthrough: Instructions
- Recipe variations and substitute ideas
- More crawfish recipes I think you'll love
- Necessary gear: Equipment
- How to store leftovers
- Mel's kitchen notes
- Melanie Cagle
- Frequently asked questions: FAQs
- Crawfish Etouffee
- 💬 Comments
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!
What makes this recipe so yummy
Crawfish 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.
Groceries you'll need: 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.
Recipe walkthrough: Instructions
This is an overview of the recipe steps. For more detailed instructions visit the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
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 sauce with.
If you are not able to do this, or are short on time feel free to use seafood stock in it's place.
Hint: to make a more Creole version of crawfish étouffée, you can add tomatoes or tomato sauce. It gives it some very bold flavors.
Recipe variations and substitute ideas
- 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, you'll still have a great taste.
- Crab - crab meat tastes great in an etouffee too.
- Potatoes - I haven't done it myself, but I know someone that adds some of the potatoes, corn or sausage from the boil.
- 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!
Necessary gear: 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).
How to store leftovers
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.
Mel's kitchen notes
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.
About The Author
Melanie Cagle
Melanie is a professional cook, food photographer and Cajun food connoisseur. Since 2020 she has been sharing rigorously tested recipes and tutorials right here on this blog.
Her work has been featured on Fox News channels, Yahoo news, Southern Living and more.
Frequently asked questions: FAQs
White Rice is normally always served, along with a crusty bread. Sometimes you'll see people enjoying green beans and other vegetables too.
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!
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Crawfish Etouffee
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Crawfish Tails cooked and peeled
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 4 Each Yellow Onions chopped
- 6 Ribs Celery chopped
- 2 Each Green Bell Peppers Chopped
- 4 Each Bay Leaves Large
- 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour All Purpose
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 4 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley chopped
- 6 Tablespoons Green Onions chopped
- 2 Cups Seafood Stock (see below)
Seafood Stock
- Crawfish Peelings pan full
- 2 Each Crawfish Boil Onions from leftover crawfish boil
- 2 Each Crawfish Boil Garlic Bulbs from leftover 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.Crawfish Peelings, 2 Each Crawfish Boil Onions, Water to cover by 3 inches
- In a pan melt all the butter.1 Cup Unsalted Butter
- Add the chopped onions, bell pepper and celery (the trinity)4 Each Yellow Onions, 6 Ribs Celery, 2 Each Green Bell Peppers
- 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.2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- Add crawfish tails and cook 2 more minutes.2 Pounds Crawfish Tails
- Add all bay leaves, continuing to stir.4 Each Bay Leaves
- Slowly add the stock, stirring and you'll see it start to thicken up. Add the salt and cayenne and cook for 5 minutes.2 teaspoons Salt, 2 Cups Seafood Stock, ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- Add the Parsley and green onions and cook for another 5 minutes.4 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, 6 Tablespoons Green Onions
- Remove bay leaves.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally published December 01, 2023.
Rhonda says
Tried this recipe tonight and I give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was great!!!!!
Melanie Cagle says
Thanks Rhonda! Glad you enjoyed it!!
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.
Deborah Neef says
The best crawfish etouffee I’ve ever made!! Really great!! Added Cajun seasoning to taste!! Certainly delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Rita Bordelon says
If you don’t have the ingredients from a crawfish boil to make stock you can use a couple teaspoons of liquid crawfish/crab boil to your stock pot along with fresh onions garlic etc. My favorite seasoning is Slap Your Moma brand.