The Cagle Diaries logo

menu icon
subscribe
search icon

Creamy Crawfish Monica

close up of crawfish monica on a plate with a fork digging in
A favorite during New Orleans' Jazz Fest, Crawfish Monica is a delicious simple creamy pasta dish infused with crawfish tails and parmesan cheese. Tasty and so easy to make!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time :20 minutes
Cook Time :12 minutes
Total Time :32 minutes
Servings :10
Jump to Recipe

Published: · Modified: by · 7 Comments

If you have been lucky enough to make it to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest) then you will likely have eaten Crawfish Monica. This delicious, yet simple dish appears at almost every food stand - and there's a lot.

close up of crawfish monica on a plate with a fork digging in
Crawfish Monica

Save Recipe

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Enter your email below and we'll send you the recipe straight to your inbox (and more recipes sent periodically!)


This rich creamy sauce is infused with seasoned crawfish tails and stirred into rotini pasta (sometimes other pasta is found).

This easy crawfish pasta recipe is similar to what is commonly called crawfish fettucine in south Louisiana.

Jump to:

History Tidbit: New Orleans Chef Pierre Hilzim is the creator of this original recipe, he named it after his wife - Monica Davidson.

Crawfish Monica Ingredients

Ingredients laid out to show what would be in a Crawfish Monica.

See Crawfish Monica recipe card below for quantities.

How To Cook Crawfish Monica

This is an overview of the recipe steps. For more detailed instructions visit the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Boiled Crawfish, with a bowl that's peeled.
Step 1: Peel the crawfish leaving just the tails and discard the shells. Set aside. (Unless you're using frozen, just make sure they're thawed).
A colander full of cooked pasta.
Step 2: Cook pasta per package instructions, with Crab Boil liquid. The cooking time to Al dente, then set aside.
A large Dutch Oven with a stick of butter.
Step 3: In a large pot, a large saute pan, or Dutch Oven, melt butter over medium-high heat.
A large Dutch Oven with butter and chopped shallots.
Step 4: Add the chopped shallots and cook a few minutes until translucent.
Garlic being added to a large pot with shallots and butter.
Step 5: Add the minced garlic and cook a further 2 minutes until fragrant.
Seasonings added to a pot with shallots and garlic.
Step 6: Add the seasonings and stir well to combine, turning to a medium heat.
White wine being added to a pot with seasoned vegetables.
Step 7: Stir in the white wine.
Cream being poured into a pot with shallots.
Step 8: Slowly stir in the heavy cream.
A lemon being squeezed.
Step 9: Stir lemon juice into the sauce.
Peeled crawfish tails being added to a pot.
Step 10: Stir in the peeled crawfish tails and cook 3-5 minutes until heated through.
Parsley and green onions being added to sauce.
Step 11: Stir in the chopped parsley and green onions.
Freshly grated parmesan added to a sauce.
Step 12: Mix in the freshly grated parmesan cheese and cook through until melted.
Cooked noodles added to creamy crawfish sauce.
Step 13: Stir in the cooked pasta and mix well on a low heat until totally combined. Serve immediately with your favorite salad and lots of French bread. Place a cup of the cheese for people to sprinkle before eating.
The Cagle Diaries

Hint: Save a cup of the pasta water from early in the cooking process. If you feel the pasta gets too dry or gummy - especially if it sits around a while, stir in this reserved pasta water to help freshen up that rich cream sauce.

Recipe variations and substitute ideas

  • Shrimp - instead of crawfish you could use some medium shrimp.
  • Sweet Onions - if you can't get shallots you could try using a sweet onion. They are not as strong and give a delicious sweetness just like shallots.
  • Asiago- this cheese melts just like parmesan and gives a wonderful flavor. Makes a great substitute for parmesan cheese.
  • Olive Oil - try using olive oil instead of the butter.
  • Spicy - add chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue heat into the dish, or more cayenne pepper.
  • Deluxe - add shrimp and lump crabmeat to really make this a seafood delight.
  • Kid friendly - grind up the shallots so they are teeny tiny - if your kids are like mine the sight of one piece of onion really freaks them out. Reserve the green onions and parsley to add after you've dished theirs up.
dished out crawfish monica

Other crawfish dishes I think you'll love

Mel's kitchen notes

Using leftover crawfish tails from a traditional crawfish boil is the tastiest way to prepare this recipe. The tails are then seasoned to your preference and add a little something extra.

You could also reserve a few crawfish shells and cook the pasta with those shells for added flavor.

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
Buy Me Coffee ☕️

If you've tried this Crawfish Monica 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! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can also follow me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes!

a loaf tin with banana bread with mayo on a cooling rack

Viral Recipe Alert!

Banana Bread

Due to the secret ingredient in this deliciously moist banana bread it has become one of my most sought after recipes!

Get the recipe
close up of crawfish monica on a plate with a fork digging in
Print (Email Required)
5 from 1 vote

Crawfish Monica

A favorite during New Orleans' Jazz Fest, Crawfish Monica is a delicious simple creamy pasta dish infused with crawfish tails and parmesan cheese. Tasty and so easy to make!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time32 minutes
Servings: 10
Cuisine: Southern Food
Author: Melanie Cagle

Video

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound Crawfish Tails
  • 1 Pound Rotini Pasta
  • 1 Tablespoon Liquid Garlic and Onion shrimp and crab boil
  • 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter unsalted
  • 3 Each Shallots large. chopped
  • 6 Cloves Garlic minced
  • 1 Tablespoon Creole Seasoning
  • ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • ¼ Cup Dry White Wine
  • 2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 4 Each Green Onions chopped
  • ¼ Cup Fresh Parsley chopped
  • 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese freshly grated
  • 2 teaspoons Garlic Asiago All Purpose Seasoning

Instructions

  • Peel the crawfish to get 1lb of tails. Set aside. (If you're using frozen crawfish tails, make sure they're thawed)
    1 Pound Crawfish Tails
    • Using leftover crawfish from a crawfish boil is the tastiest way to make this dish. Plus, it's seasoned to your own preference.
  • Cook the pasta per the package instructions until Al Dente. Drain and set aside reserving a cup of the pasta water.
    1 Pound Rotini Pasta, 1 Tablespoon Liquid Garlic and Onion shrimp and crab boil
  • In a large heavy bottomed pan melt the butter over a medium-high heat.
    6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
  • Add the chopped shallots and cook for a few minutes until translucent.
    3 Each Shallots
  • Add the minced garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
    6 Cloves Garlic
    • Use fresh garlic cloves and use a lemon zester to finely grate the garlic into the pot. It takes no time at all and infuses so much more flavor!
  • Stir in the Creole Seasoning and Cayenne Pepper.
    1 Tablespoon Creole Seasoning, ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • Add the white wine and stir.
    ¼ Cup Dry White Wine
  • Slowly mix in the heavy cream. Stirring.
    2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  • Add the lemon juice and stir.
    1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • Add the crawfish tails and stir into the sauce. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until bubbling.
  • Stir in the chopped parsley and green onions.
    4 Each Green Onions, ¼ Cup Fresh Parsley
  • Add the grated parmesan cheese and stir until melted.
    1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
  • Sprinkle the Garlic Asiago seasoning and stir in
    2 teaspoons Garlic Asiago All Purpose Seasoning
  • Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to combine. If you feel the sauce is to thick go ahead and add a little pasta water back to the mixture.

Storage Instructions

This Crawfish Monica should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. To reheat use the microwave and add a splash of milk if needed to moisten it up.

Notes

A great way to infuse more flavor would be to add a few crawfish shells (after peeling) to the water of the boiling pasta. It will become almost like a stock and infuse the flavors from your crawfish boil into the noodles.
Reserve a cup of the cooking liquid from cooking your pasta to add later if needed.
If you're using frozen store bought crawfish tails from your Cajun grocer, make sure they're Louisiana crawfish. The imported from China type are bland and tasteless.
Save a cup of cheese to sprinkle on the Crawfish Monica as you add to a serving bowl.
Did You Make This?Please consider Leaving a Review!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 550mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g

Sign Up for my emails and never miss another recipe!

I'll never share your email, or send you spam. Pinkie Promise!

This Crawfish Monica recipe was originally posted in 2021.

More Dinner Recipes

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating





  1. Cameron says

    5 stars
    Best crawfish monica I have made or eatin.

    Reply

  2. Julie M Young says

    What is the serving size? It says that it yields 10 and serving is 1. Is that 1 cup?

    Reply

    • Melanie Cagle says

      Hi Julie
      I can see where that can be confusing - the nutrition information software that is used sometimes is not as clear as we'd like! I have the Crawfish Monica recipe made big enough for 10 people to eat - and I reckon about 1 cup per serving sounds about right.

      Reply

  3. incahoots says

    What a nice rendition of the original recipe! The sauce was a bit thin, but still the flavor hits the ticket, coming from a south Louisiana girl that has been to NOLA Jazz Fest for over 27 years. Great recipe, much better than any other simpler recipes! The shallots were such a nice touch!

    Reply

    • Melanie Cagle says

      Thanks so much for taking the time to come and post a comment, much appreciated. I'm so glad you liked it.

      Reply

  4. Pam says

    This was so good! I followed recipe exactly except for the cayenne-I didn’t add it because my Cajun spice blend was spicy enough for us. Excellently recipe-thank you.
    I’ll be making this over and over.

    Reply

    • Melanie Cagle says

      So glad you liked it, thanks Pam!

      Reply