Cajun Crawfish Etouffee Recipe: To Étouffée Is To Smother
Authentic Cajun Crawfish Étouffée Recipe is a classic Louisiana dish featuring tender crawfish smothered in a rich, buttery white sauce seasoned with the Cajun trinity and a touch of cayenne. The étouffée is served over rice.
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Crawfish Etouffee and Lenton Season
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras. It continues for about seven weeks before culminating in the celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday. This day is worthy of much celebration!
Since Cajuns are predominantly Catholic, Lent is faithfully observed in Vermilion Parish, where I grew up. Traditionally, during Lent, meat is served only once per day, except on Wednesday and Friday. These days, it's abstained from as an act of sacrifice to draw closer to God.
My mother recalls no dances or parties during this season while growing up in South Louisiana as a teenager. I remember stressing over whether I would give up candy, gum, or Cokes for forty-something days. No matter what we chose to abstain from, we were always served meatless dishes on Friday.
We usually had a crawfish boil on Good Friday. Here's an easy recipe for How to Boil Crawfish. Boiling crawfish and making étouffée are two highly favored dishes in Cajun cuisine. See Cajun Dishes for Lent (Meatless Louisiana Recipes) for more fitting recipes.
Many seafood dishes were prepared in our Cajun home, including seafood gumbo made with an extra-dark roux and shrimp, crab, and oyster flavors in the stock.
Another Cajun food fit for Lent is Fish in Red Gravy. It consists of fish fillets stewed in a rich tomato sauce served over rice.
You can check out this article from Your Lenton Cookbook from the archives of Country Roads for fabulous meatless recipes, but you can cook them anytime; they're not just for Lent.
Ingredients
Thankfully, Louisiana Crawfish tails are in season during Lent, and we had them often as a main dish. Here are the ingredients in this Cajun Crawfish Etouffee Recipe (pronounced ay-2-fay).
- Butter - salted for a flavorful, buttery taste.
- Onion - it's the first part of the Cajun holy trinity.
- Celery - another vegetable in the trinity that adds its unique flavor.
- Green bell peppers - the sweet green peppers are part of the threesome, too.
- Garlic - use it pressed or minced to distribute the flavor evenly throughout this classic dish for lots of garlic taste.
- Cornstarch - enough to thicken the sauce for a blonde roux.
- Crawfish - peeled frozen or fresh crawfish tails.
- Salt - the seasoning of all seasonings that brings out the flavor of all ingredients.
- Cayenne pepper - more or less for just the right peppery taste.
- Water - add to the butter and cornstarch roux to make the sauce.
- Parsley and green onions- chopped for garnish before serving, which is optional.
See the ingredient amounts and nutrition facts listed on the recipe card below.
Instructions
Etouffée is a French word meaning to smother, and we are smothering some crawfish here. This is my Mama's easy Cajun Crawfish Etouffee Recipe. It calls for a buttery white sauce or a blonde roux made with the Cajun holy trinity of onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic, with a kick of cayenne.
It's very easy to make and very tasty, buttery, crawfish flavor!
- Start by melting butter in a heavy, large skillet or a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the vegetables and cook until the onions are transparent, about 10-15 minutes, without browning the vegetables.
- Stir in the cornstarch and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Before you add the crawfish, run your hand through them to remove any shells or black veins.
- Then, stir the shellfish into the cornstarch and vegetable mixture.
- Add salt and pepper, or your favorite Cajun seasoning. Stir well, then add a little water, about ¼ cup at a time, until it is the consistency of a thick stew.
- Adjust the heat to a simmer and cover; cook over medium to medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- If the rich gravy needs thinning, add a small amount of water, then sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and stir.
Serve the etouffee over cooked white rice, accompanied by a salad and crusty French bread, to soak up any extra sauce. You can also add hot sauce for extra spice.
Note: You can substitute shrimp for crawfish to make a shrimp étouffée if you like.
The first time I prepared this delicious recipe for some Arkansas friends, they said it was different but better than what they had eaten in restaurants. That was a high compliment to my Mama and her recipe.
Here's a photo below of the same recipe made with shrimp. The delicious shrimp etouffee, cooked in this rich, buttery roux, is perfect over a bed of tender white rice.
Storage
You can store the etouffee in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Top Tip
Purchase shrimp and crawfish harvested as close to your home as possible. You don't know what you're getting from a foreign source.
FAQ About Cajun Crawfish Etouffee Recipe: To Étouffée Is To Smother
Cook the Cajun holy trinity in butter and thicken the stew with cornstarch. Add the crawfish, seasonings, and water, then simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over white rice.
Substitute shrimp, pound-for-pound, for crawfish; it makes an excellent étouffée.
Gumbo is made with a roux of flour and oil, and etouffee is made from a butter sauce thickened with cornstarch or flour. There is a distinct difference in the taste. The gumbo has a rich, nutty, roux flavor, and the etouffee has a buttery taste. Both are served with rice.
Looking for more ideas? Check out these crawfish recipes and Cajun dishes.
Related
Here are more crawfish recipes from Cajun and Creole cooking:
Pairing
More dishes to serve with and complement this delicious etouffee.
📖 Recipe
Cajun Crawfish Étouffée Recipe, To Etouffée Is To Smother
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Seafood
Description
This smothered crawfish recipe in a buttery white sauce is flavored with the Cajun trinity and a kick of cayenne. The étouffée is served over rice and enjoyed as a favorite classic Southern Louisiana dish.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks (¾ cup) of real salted butter
- 2 cups chopped onion
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped celery
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped bell pepper
- 2 large cloves of garlic, pressed
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 2 pounds fresh or frozen crawfish or shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less
- water
- parsley, chopped; optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in a heavy saucepan.
- Add vegetables and cook on medium heat until onions are transparent, about 10-15 minutes.
- Do not brown the vegetables.
- Add cornstarch, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Before you add the crawfish, pass your hand through them, removing any pieces of shell or black veins.
- Stir the shellfish into the cornstarch and vegetable mixture.
- Add salt and pepper, stirring well, then add a little water, about .25 cup at a time, until it is the consistency of a thick gravy.
- Adjust the heat to let simmer covered on medium to medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add a small amount of water if the gravy needs thinning.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley and stir.
- Serve over cooked rice.
Notes
- The amount of water added may vary each time you make this recipe, depending on the crawfish. Some have more water in them than others.
- Substitute crawfish with shrimp for a shrimp etouffee dish.
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Have a nice day!
"I have never met a soul who has set out to satisfy the Lord and has not been satisfied himself."
Watchman Nee
Love this recipe. Will try it soon!
I've always made a roux with flour. Is there a difference in how the roux stands or thickens up by using cornstarch? Is there a difference in flavor?
Hi, Scott! A traditional Cajun roux made with flour is cooked with a fat like butter or oil, which allows it to darken and develop a rich, nutty flavor. The longer it cooks, the darker it becomes and the deeper the flavor it adds to the dish. Cornstarch, on the other hand, is used mainly to thicken a sauce quickly without adding much flavor—such as in an étouffée, seafood sauce, or gravy. Each method has its place, so the choice depends on the dish you’re preparing. Enjoy!
This is a delicious recipe. When we don’t finish our boiled crawfish, I peel the leftovers, throw them in a baggie in the freezer. This recipe is so easy!
Thank you! Yes, peeling the leftover boiled crawfish for the freezer is a great way to have crawfish on hand, ready to make easy etouffee.