Cajun

Crawfish Étouffée

Name: Crawfish Étouffée
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cajun
Ingredients: ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick); ⅓ cup all-purpose flour; 1 large onion, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 2 celery ribs, diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 cups seafood stock; 1 ½ tsp Cajun seasoning; ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional); 1 bay leaf; 2 lb Louisiana crawfish tail meat, with fat; ½ cup sliced green onions; 2 tbsp chopped parsley; cooked white rice, for serving

Étouffée means 'smothered.' This Cajun-style version uses a butter-based blond roux and no tomatoes, letting sweet crawfish tails shine. (Some Creole versions add tomato — both are delicious, just different.)

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 55 min
Makes: 4 servings

My Sassy Southern Recipes

Crawfish Étouffée

Prep 20 min · Cook 35 min · Total 55 min · Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

4 servings

½ cupunsalted butter (1 stick)
⅓ cupall-purpose flour
1large onion, diced
1green bell pepper, diced
2celery ribs, diced
4 clovesgarlic, minced
2 cupsseafood stock
1 ½ tspCajun seasoning
½ tspcayenne pepper (optional)
1bay leaf
2 lbLouisiana crawfish tail meat, with fat
½ cupsliced green onions
2 tbspchopped parsley
cooked white rice, for serving

Instructions

1
Melt butter in a heavy pot over medium. Whisk in flour and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring constantly, until peanut-butter colored.
2
Add onion, bell pepper and celery; cook 8 minutes. Add garlic for 1 minute.
3
Slowly stir in stock until smooth. Add Cajun seasoning, cayenne and bay leaf; simmer 15 minutes.
4
Add crawfish and their fat. Simmer 5–7 minutes until heated through. Thin with stock if needed.
5
Stir in green onions and parsley, taste for salt, and serve over rice.

Cooking notes

Packaged crawfish tails are usually pre-cooked — just heat them through.
Peeled shrimp can substitute for crawfish.

Serving suggestions

Serve over rice with French bread and a simple green salad.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 2 days.

Reheating

Reheat gently over low heat until steaming (165°F), adding stock if thick.

Louisiana Favorites

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

A dark-roux Cajun gumbo with smoked andouille and tender chicken thighs.

3 hr· Cajun

Louisiana Favorites

Creole Jambalaya

Red, tomato-based jambalaya with chicken, andouille and shrimp.

1 hr 15 min· New Orleans Creole

Creamy red beans and sausage over rice with cornbread

Louisiana Favorites

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

Creamy, slow-simmered red beans with smoked sausage and ham hock.

3 hr 20 min· New Orleans Creole

Crawfish Étouffée

Ingredients

Instructions

Cooking notes

Serving suggestions

Storage

Reheating

You might also like

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Creole Jambalaya

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice