Crawfish Etouffee Recipe
This authentic crawfish etouffee recipe brings the flavors of Louisiana straight to your kitchen. Tender crawfish tails simmered in a rich, buttery roux-based sauce, served over rice — perfect comfort food for any occasion.
Ingredients
- 1 stick 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 cup diced celery
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups seafood or chicken stock
- 1-2 lbs crawfish tails fresh or thawed from frozen
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley for garnish
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions for garnish
- Cooked white rice for serving
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a medium brown color (similar to peanut butter), about 5-10 minutes.
- Add diced onion, bell pepper, and celery. Stir and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add Cajun seasoning, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir to coat the vegetables.
- Slowly whisk in warm seafood or chicken stock, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
- Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes until thickened.
- Stir in crawfish tails and cook for 5 minutes, just until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
- Serve hot over cooked white rice, topped with chopped parsley and sliced green onions.
Notes
- For a Creole twist, add 1/2 cup diced tomatoes or 2 tablespoons tomato paste with the vegetables.
- Use shrimp instead of crawfish if desired — just cook until pink and firm.
- Adjust spice level by increasing or decreasing cayenne pepper.