Cajun Crawfish Etouffee
Cajun Crawfish Etouffee is a Louisiana classic with an intense buttery sauce with succulent crawfish, herbs, and spices. The secret is a good roux and the holy trinity with extra garlic thrown in. Everyone will be asking for seconds or even thirds!
I’m a huge fan of quick and easy weeknight meals. But some recipes are worth putting in a little extra work, especially if the outcome is out-of-this-world delicious. So when crawfish season kicks in, I have to pull out my crawfish étouffée recipe.
I feel so lucky to have access to fresh seafood here in LA, but nothing beats fresh-caught Louisiana crawfish. I can’t wait to visit New Orleans during crawfish season to indulge. It runs from around November to July. However, late February through May is the best time to get them, making it perfect for Lent.
Content…What Is It? |
What Is Crawfish Etouffee?
Etouffee (pronounced AY-too-FAY) is a French term for smothered or suffocated. Crawfish smothered in a rich roux-based sauce, and enjoy the holy trinity (onion, celery, and bell pepper) with some spicy heat. And, of course, I couldn’t resist adding my personal Imma touch with Creole Cajun seasoning. 😉
Crawfish vs. Crayfish
The simple answer – they’re the same thing. Crayfish (crawfish or crawdads) are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters (to which they’re related). That said, people in Louisiana most often say crawfish, and Northerners say crayfish.
Recipe Ingredients
- Roux – Butter and all-purpose flour are the more common ingredients in a roux, adding deliciously intense flavor. Mine is the Creole version. But for a Cajun crawfish etouffee recipe, replace the butter with good lard and omit the tomatoes.
- Seasonings – The holy trinity (onions, green bell peppers, and celery), garlic, thyme, and bay leaves add incredible flavor. While fresh herbs are better, you can use dried if that’s what you have.
- Tomatoes deliver a pleasant tanginess and richer color. However, they are a personal decision. I love it both ways, depending on my mood and what I have on hand.
- Crawfish go in last to avoid overcooking. You can use frozen crawfish if you can’t get fresh (no need to thaw; just add another minute to the cooking time).
How to Make Crawfish Etouffee
- Roux – Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan, then stir in the oil and flour until smooth. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, for 10-12 minutes until you achieve the desired color. Please don’t walk away from the stove during this process because it burns quickly. (Photo 1)
- Holy Trinity – Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook for 8- 10 minutes, stirring frequently. (Photos 2-3)
- Remaining Seasonings – Add garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, and continue stirring for about 2 minutes. Next, add the chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and Creole seasoning, and saute for 5 minutes. (Photos 4-5
- Simmer – Gradually pour in 1-2 cups of stock, bring to a boil, and simmer (adjust thickness with more stock as needed). Add the crawfish tails and simmer for 3-4 more minutes (clean live crawfish well in fresh, cool water before, and let everyone peel and devein their own. (Photos 6-7)
- Serve – Adjust the etouffee’s thickness and flavor with more broth, hot sauce, or salt. Stir in the green onions and chopped parsley. Then, serve over rice. Enjoy! (Photo 8)
Optional DIY Crawfish Stock
- Flavor – Add a teaspoon or two of butter or oil to a saucepan. Then, toss in the crawfish shells, onions, garlic, celery, and aromatics like bay leaf and thyme.
- Saute for 5-7 minutes, constantly stirring to prevent burning.
- Simmer – Add about 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and strain with a sieve. Use the stock in your etouffee recipe or store it in a jar in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Recipe Variations
You can use about any shellfish for a good etouffee.
- Shrimp – For crawfish and shrimp etouffee, replace half of the crawfish with shrimp. Or go all out with shrimp for a full-on shrimp etouffee.
- Lobster – Although it has a distinct flavor, I say it’s a good substitute for crawfish. However, it’s more expensive.
- Crab – This crustacean is related to crawfish and also has a delicate, sweet flavor and aroma. That’s why it makes a good substitute for this recipe’s main ingredient.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure fresh crawfish are still alive. If they’re not available alive, it’s better to buy them frozen.
- Clean your crawfish well; the mudbug should tell you why.
- Try to get crawfish around the same size so they cook evenly. Bigger is better to reduce peeling time.
- Make-ahead and storage. Make it a day or two ahead and refrigerate until ready to heat it up and enjoy. It also freezes for 2-3 months.
Perfect Pairings for Crawfish Etouffee
This Creole crawfish etouffee is the perfect Lenten meal with a bowl of steaming white rice. A loaf of homemade garlic bread or skillet cornbread and fried okra make a complete meal.
More Spicy Cajun and Creole Seafood Recipes
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was first published in May 2021 and has been updated with additional tips, gorgeous photos, and a video
Cajun Crawfish Etouffee
Ingredients
Roux
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) canola oil
- 3 tablespoons (45g) flour
Etouffee
- ½ medium onion, diced
- ½ cup (90g) green bell pepper, diced
- ⅓ cup (1-2 stalks) celery, chopped
- 2 teaspoons (10g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (1g) thyme, fresh or dried
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup (200g) tomato, chopped
- 2 teaspoon (10ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) paprika
- 2 teaspoon (2-4g) Creole seasoning
- 1-2 cups (237-470ml) crawfish stock or chicken stock (adjust to desired consistency)
- 1 pound (450g) fresh crawfish
- 2-3 tablespoons (8-12g) parsley, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon (5g) hot sauce (optional)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan, then stir in the oil and flour until smooth.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, for 10-12 minutes until you achieve the desired color. Please don't walk away from the stove during this process because it burns quickly.
- Add the onion, green pepper, and celery and cook for 8- 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Then add garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, and continue stirring for about 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and Creole seasoning, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Gradually pour in 1-2 cups of stock, bring to a boil, and simmer (adjust thickness with more stock as needed). Add the crawfish and simmer for 3-4 more minutes.
- Adjust the etouffee's thickness and flavor with more broth, hot sauce, or salt.
- Stir in the green onions and chopped parsley. Serve over hot cooked rice.
Homemade Crawfish Stock
- Add a teaspoon or two of butter or oil to a saucepan. Then, toss in the crawfish shells, onions, garlic, celery, and aromatics like bay leaf and thyme.
- Saute for 5-7 minutes, constantly stirring to prevent burning. Then add about 5 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and strain with a sieve. Set stock aside.
Tips & Notes:
- Cook them alive. Make sure crawfish are still alive before cooking so you’re sure they’re fresh. It’s not as cruel as it sounds, and it’s safer. Frozen is a good option
- Size matters. They should be the same size so that they will cook evenly
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe
I made this for a family/friends dinner and didn’t realize when I decided to make it that a couple from New Orleans would be there. Everyone loved it including them! So much flavor! I added some crushed red pepper flakes to the veggies for extra spice. Will make this again and again!
Hi Tia!
That’s fantastic to hear your Crawfish Étouffée was a hit, especially with guests from New Orleans! Your decision to add crushed red pepper flakes for extra spice sounds like a delicious twist. It’s always great when a dish not only meets but exceeds expectations, especially for those familiar with the cuisine’s origin. Thank you for sharing your success with us, and I’m thrilled to hear it’ll be a repeat recipe in your kitchen. Keep up the amazing cooking! ️
I have left over crawfish from a boil that we pealed and froze that I was going to use, but now, how would I make the stock without the crawfish tails?
Great idea!! You could use a seafood bouillon or broth.
Lived in Louisiana for a brief period of time and the food was amazing. Craving this dish, had to use langostinos as crawfish isn’t happening in CT. Came out great the first time. Just made a triple batch.
Lovely to hear that, stay tuned to enjoy more authentic recipes 🙂
I made this tonight – exactly like the recipe “Crawfish Etouffee”. Oh My it was fabulous. I’m happy I’m a family of one – leftovers. If you love crawfish this is a must. If you don’t like it, use shrimp instead. YUM
Oh great to hear that. Thank you so much! Just one quick step if you can go ahead and add ratings it will help readers to get more confident in the recipe 🙂
This was a simple and delicious recipe. I forgot a tomato so used one tablespoon on paste, omitted the crawfish because I couldn’t find any today so I used shrimp soup base, and l also added a splash of dairy in the last minutes. Served with blackened fish and seasoned buttered rice. This is a definite repeat! Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you:) There’s more to come, so stay tuned
This is a fantastic recipe! I pretty much followed it “as is” which is rare for me, but it was perfect. The only change I made was using shrimp as well as crawfish, because I didn’t have enough crawfish. It is now my go-to etouffee recipe – thank you!
Yayy, great addition. Thank you so much for your love and support:)
I’m a Cajun and this is my go to recipe!! It’s very good. Only think is I made a little more roux and veggies.
Great to hear that, Thank you for your feedback:)
Your instructions are to bring water to a boil, add the crawfish & return to a boil. Then it instructs to remove any that float to the top because they’re dead & you don’t want to “risk” eating them. Aren’t they all dead? Hmmm. You need to work on that.
I can understand the confusion. Crawfish should be alive when you boil them for the same reason you won’t live lobster. You can buy precooked, frozen crawfish if you can’t find live ones.
Are the “how to boil crawfish”, the instructions to boil and peel them for this meal? Thanks!
If you check it again, it is not part of Crawfish Etouffee. The crawfish boil is another way to enjoy crawfish. It is just mentioned to give another crawfish recipe. Feel bad if you got confused but I guess now it is pretty much clear. Thank you!
All in all, great recipe. I used a combination of tony chachere’s and prudhomme’s blackened redfish seasoning as the creole seasonings. Very tasty!
Good to know that you try it in a different way and it turns out awesome. Thank you for your feedback.
Put this stuff over a steak like a filet!! Amazing!!
This is how I remember it in Louisiana. Directions are very clear and it turned out delicious.
I’m glad it turned out well for you, Patrick. Thank you for stopping by.
Cajun here from Louisiana and I just wanted to add that if you are buying frozen crawfish, make sure it is from Louisiana and not from China, otherwise it will smell and taste horrible. Thank you for recipe, I will be making this tomorrow
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Crystal. I’m excited for you to try this. Please do let me know how it goes.
I have a question. How does one get crawfish. I understand in some parts of the world they are invasive and that restaurants are now serving them to ward them off. I live in Delaware and would love to include them in my ship’s menu.
Hi, Greg. I wish I have the best answer for you. Perhaps the best option would be to talk to those who already market it or who has the contact (try checking with folks in your local seafood market.)
This recipe would be more in line with creole style than Cajun, with the tomatoes. We prefer the Cajun style, but that looks delicious