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Home » Recipes » Crawfish Recipes

Authentic Fried Crawfish Po'boy

Close up of fried crawfish on a bread dressed with lettuce tomatoes and mayonnaise.
Taste the Bayou with this Fried Crawfish Po'boy! 🦞 Crispy crawfish, creamy remoulade, & fresh bread. A Louisiana classic! #poboy #cajunfood
Prep Time :10 minutes mins
Cook Time :2 minutes mins
Total Time :12 minutes mins
Servings :4
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Published: Feb 26, 2023 · Modified: Jun 5, 2025 by Melanie Cagle · Leave a Comment

Imagine biting into a crispy, golden-fried sandwich bursting with juicy crawfish and drizzled with tangy remoulade sauce... That's the magic of a Fried Crawfish Po'boy, a true taste of New Orleans! This iconic Louisiana sandwich is more than just a meal; it's an experience. Today, I'm sharing my recipe for a perfectly authentic Fried Crawfish Po'boy, guaranteed to transport you straight to the French Quarter.

Side view of a fried crawfish poboy.
Fried Crawfish Poboy

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It's a favorite food offered by the food vans around New Orleans during Mardi Gras and festival season, like Jazz fest.

Dress up this Cajun recipe any way you like. Dripping with remoulade sauce and all kinds of fixings. There's no wonder it ranks high on South Louisiana's most liked foods.

Jump to:
  • What is a Po'Boy?
  • What makes this recipe so yummy
  • Groceries you'll need: Ingredients
  • Recipe walkthrough: Instructions
  • Recipe variations and substitute ideas
  • Necessary gear: Equipment
  • Similar recipes I think you'll love
  • How to store leftovers
  • Mel's kitchen notes
  • Melanie Cagle
  • Authentic Fried Crawfish Po'boy
  • 💬 Comments

What is a Po'Boy?

Legend has it, that during a Street Car Strike in New Orleans, a local restaurant was asked to feed the strikers so they came up with this inexpensive way to provide a hearty meal.

It's on a French bread that is famous in New Orleans from the Leidenheimer bakery. It has a flaky crust and is airy and soft inside. Traditionally filled with roast beef, shrimp, crawfish or oysters and salad.

What makes this recipe so yummy

  • It's quick and easy to make.
  • You can use up those leftover crawfish tails from your crawfish boil. If not, you can easily find crawfish tails in the frozen section of your grocery store.

Groceries you'll need: Ingredients

Overhead shot of ingredients needed to make a fried crawfish poboy.

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities.

Recipe walkthrough: Instructions

Following is a collage of images showing how to make these crawfish po'boys successfully;

A resealable bag filled with flour and seasonings.
Step 1: Add the flour, cornmeal and Creole Seasoning to a resealable plastic bag and shake up to mix.
Peeled crawfish being added to a resealable bag filled with flour and seasonings.
Step 2: Add half the crawfish tails and shake up to evenly coat with the flour mixture.
A plate full of fried crawfish, on paper towels.
Step 3: Drop into hot oil and fry for just 1 minute. Remove to a paper towels lined plate.
A po boy sandwich being dressed and filled with fried crawfish.
Step 4: Repeat with the remaining crawfish tails. Add to the French Bread and dress how you like. (Mix the mayonnaise with hot sauce and coat the bread first).

Hint: Use your favorite toppings. Typical would be lettuce, tomato, remoulade sauce, pickles.

Recipe variations and substitute ideas

  • Paprika - add a dash of paprika to the mayonnaise.
  • Shrimp - use fried shrimp instead.
  • Bun - use a bun instead of the po-boy bread.
  • Remoulade Sauce - make this instead for your sandwich. Remoulade sauce is very often used.
Side view of a closed dressed fried crawfish poboy.

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Necessary gear: Equipment

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I like to use an electric fryer for frying anything, as it keeps the temperature really well and is dependable.

Feel free to use a heavy cast iron skillet, or frying pan though.

You'll also need a frying spatula to remove the crawfish after frying.

Similar recipes I think you'll love

  • Po Boy bread filled with crispy fried oysters and remoulade sauce drizzled over the top
    Oyster Po'Boy
  • Side view close up of some chargrilled oysters.
    Chargrilled Oysters New Orleans Style
  • Close up of boudin balls with a hint of the mustard cream sauce peeking in, sprinkled with green onions on top.
    Deep Fried Boudin Balls
  • Close up of a bowl of seafood gumbo with a pile of rice and a spoon digging into it.
    Authentic Louisiana Seafood Gumbo Recipe
  • Crawfish Sauce
  • Crawfish Stew
  • Crawfish Casserole
  • Southern Hush Puppies
  • Roast Beef Po Boy

How to store leftovers

If there's a chance the crawfish poboy won't be eaten for a while I would wait to put it onto the sandwich until the person is ready to eat. That way you keep the fried crawfish nice and crispy.

Any leftovers, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Mel's kitchen notes

If you are using frozen store-bought crawfish try soaking them in a little buttermilk infused with crab boil seasoning to get that same 'crawfish boil' taste.

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.

About Mel
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Close up of a bread sub filled with fried crawfish , dressed with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.

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Close up of fried crawfish on a bread dressed with lettuce tomatoes and mayonnaise.
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Authentic Fried Crawfish Po'boy

Taste the Bayou with this Fried Crawfish Po'boy! 🦞 Crispy crawfish, creamy remoulade, & fresh bread. A Louisiana classic! #poboy #cajunfood
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time2 minutes mins
Total Time12 minutes mins
Servings: 4
Cuisine: American
Author: Melanie Cagle
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Equipment

  • Electric Deep Fryer
  • Frying Spatula

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound Crawfish Tails peeled
  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Stone Ground Cornmeal
  • 2 Tablespoons Creole Seasoning
  • ½ Cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce
  • 2 Each French Bread 2 x 8" pieces (ish)
  • Lettuce and Mayonnaise for dressing
  • Peanut Oil

Instructions

  • Add the peanut oil to a large frying pan (needs to be at least 4" deep). Turn on the heat, to bring to 350°F.
    Peanut Oil
  • In a large ziplok bag add the flour, cornmeal and Creole Seasoning. Shake up to mix.
    1 Cup All Purpose Flour, 1 Cup Stone Ground Cornmeal, 2 Tablespoons Creole Seasoning
  • Add half of the crawfish tails and shake around to coat.
    1 Pound Crawfish Tails
  • Once the oil had come to temperature drop the crawfish tails in. Fry for 1 minute then scoop out and allow to drain on paper towel.
  • Repeat with the remaining crawfish tails.
  • Mix the hot sauce with the mayonnaise and spread on the bread. Add the crawfish tails and dress with the lettuce and tomatoes as desired.
    ½ Cup Mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce, 2 Each French Bread, Lettuce and Mayonnaise for dressing

Notes

I like to use the leftover crawfish tails from our crawfish boil. This means the crawfish are already nicely seasoned. If you do not have this option and are using store bought frozen type - try to make sure you use the Louisiana crawfish (not from China).
Before you make your poboy, taste the crawfish. You might need to add a little more seasoning - depending on your taste.
Depending on your appetite, this can either make 2 very big poboy sandwiches - or you could cut each sub in half and make 4 smaller servings.
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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 614kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 144mg | Sodium: 2005mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g

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Filed Under: Cajun Recipes, Crawfish Recipes, Game Day Recipes, Lunch Recipes, Mardi Gras Recipes, Seafood Recipes, Southern Recipes, Weeknight Recipes

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