Shrimp Pistolettes, Stuffed and Baked Cajun Recipe
Baked Shrimp Pistolettes are a classic Cajun treat made by stuffing petite French bread rolls with a rich, creamy, cheesy Cajun shrimp filling. Crispy on the outside and savory on the inside, these Louisiana seafood pistolettes are perfect as a meal, party appetizer, or snack for shrimp lovers.
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When served with a salad, these shrimp pistolettes make a complete meal. They can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated or even frozen, so you can enjoy a quick, easy seafood treat whenever you want.
Some pistolette recipes suggest frying the stuffed rolls, but I prefer baking them. Baking makes the outside crispy while keeping the French bread tender with a cheesy, creamy shrimp flavor inside. Much lighter than frying.
Another one of my favorite shrimp seafood dishes that requires minimal effort is the Easy Boiled Shrimp Recipe, which likely uses seasonings you already have in your kitchen.
Cajun Shrimp Etouffee is another delightful traditional dish from Louisiana, featuring shrimp in a rich, buttery sauce combined with the Cajun trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper.
The classic seafood-stuffed pistolette is the Crawfish Pistolettes Recipe: Baked Cheesy Cajun Rolls. Each baked roll has a crisp, golden crust that gives way to a creamy, buttery, ooey-gooey center bursting with bold, spicy crawfish flavor, much like these shrimp pistolettes.
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Ingredients
The items listed below for this savory shrimp filling are readily available, depending on where you live. I suggest purchasing seafood harvested in the USA.
- Salted butter - much like the étouffée, the pistolettes' filling has a buttery flavor, complementing the rest of the ingredients.
- Onion - the tastiest and leading member of the Cajun vegetable trinity.
- Celery - its unique herbaceous, subtly bitter taste is a prominent part of the trinity family.
- Green bell pepper - the third component of the trinity adds sweet pepper taste and bright color.
- Garlic - fresh cloves, pressed, or minced is an essential punch of flavor for the sauce.
- Cornstarch - thickens the sauce just right for stuffing inside a pistolette.
- Shrimp - raw, clean, and locally harvested. For the best flavor and food safety, I do not recommend purchasing shrimp from another country.
- Water - for the sauce in the filling.
- Half-and-half - for a creamy base to the filling.
- Salt - to balance and enhance flavors.
- Red cayenne pepper - just enough heat!
- Liquid crab boil - optional; the secret weapon for more seafood flavor and spice in any seafood dish.
- Pasteurized processed cheese - like Velveeta cheese, cut into small chunks for easy melting.
- Parsley - for added flavor and garnish.
- All-purpose flour - mixed with water to make an edible glue that holds the roll together.
- Water - to make flour-based glue.
- Pistolettes - 12 small rolls made like traditional French bread, but in a petite size.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
These cooking instructions for the shrimp pistolette rolls recipe are simple to follow. The most challenging part might be carefully removing the breadcrumbs from the rolls without puncturing the outside, which could cause them to leak during cooking.
- Melt the butter in a large, thick pot. A Dutch oven works well.
- Add the onions, green pepper, and celery to the butter in the pot and sauté the Cajun trinity over medium heat, stirring continually for about 10 minutes; do not brown.
- Add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute.
- Stir in the cornstarch to thicken the stuffing.
- Add the shrimp and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the water, and stir together.
- Stir in the chopped parsley.
- Pour in the half-and-half and stir together.
- Season the shrimp mixture with the salt and red pepper.
- Stir in the cheese and cook over medium-low heat until it melts into the sauce. The texture of this stuffing should be a little thick. You may add ¼ teaspoon of liquid crab boil for a spicier, seafood taste; this is optional.
- The texture of this stuffing should be a little thick.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Make a glue by adding flour to the cold water, stirring until smooth, and setting it aside. You will use this glue after stuffing the rolls to keep the cut ends in place during baking.
- Take the pistolettes and cut one inch off the end. Set the end aside, then use your fingers or a fork to remove the bread, hollowing out the inside of the roll. (Reserve the bread crumbs for another recipe.)
- Fill each roll with the cheesy crawfish sauce in the pocket of the bun, then apply glue to the end of the bread and secure it to the open end of the stuffed pistolette.
- Place pistolettes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve hot.
HINT: The stuffing should be slightly thick; if it's too thin, it will seep out of the roll before it bakes.
Substitutions
- Shrimp - crawfish make a great seafood substitute for the shrimp in a crawfish pistolette.
- Pistolette rolls - any small brown and serve roll in the shape of small loaf will work for these stuffed pistolettes.
- Pasteurized processed cheese - use any cheese that melts easily; pepper jack cheese is a perfect substitution for added spice.
Equipment
High Quality USA Bakin Pans
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Store in the refrigerator until ready to bake, or place in a zip-top bag and freeze. Take one or as many as you like out at a time and bake in a 350°F oven until golden brown; there's no need to defrost. So Easy!
Top Tip
Be careful not to tear the roll's exterior when removing too much bread, or the filling will leak out.
FAQ
They are like little French breads, made in individual portions. They bake up crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
Pistolette rolls can be stuffed with a creamy, meaty, or seafood filling, or not, then baked or fried for a crispy outside, tender inside, hot treat.
Any firm, small oval roll can be used to hollow out the bread and stuff it with a creamy filling to fry or bake.
Related
Looking for other recipes like these Shrimp Pistolettes? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Shrimp Pistolettes:
📖 Recipe
Shrimp Pistolettes, Stuffed and Baked Cajun Recipe
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Cajun
Description
Stuffed and baked shrimp pistolettes feature a savory Cajun shrimp filling tucked inside petite French bread-crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons of salted butter
- 1 cup of chopped onion
- ¼ cup of chopped green pepper
- ¼ cup chopped celery
- 2 cloves pressed garlic, or minced
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 pound peeled and cleaned shrimp
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup half-and-half
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon, or more, red cayenne pepper
- 4 ounces pasteurized processed cheese, cut into small chunks for easy melting
- ¼ teaspoon crab boil, optional, see notes below
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup water
- 12 pistolettes, small French bread loaves
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large, thick pot. A Dutch oven works well.
- Add the onions, green pepper, and celery to the butter in the pot and sauté the Cajun trinity over medium heat, stirring continually for about 10 minutes; do not brown.
- Add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute.
- Stir in the cornstarch to thicken the stuffing.
- Add the shrimp and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the chopped parsley.
- Pour in the half-and-half and the water, and stir together.
- Season the shrimp mixture with the salt and red pepper.
- Stir in the cheese and cook over medium-low heat until it melts into the sauce; the stuffing should be slightly thickened.
- Make a glue by adding flour to the cold water, stirring until smooth, and setting it aside.
- Take the pistolettes and cut one inch off the end. Set the end aside, then use your fingers or a fork to remove the bread, hollowing out the inside of the roll. (Reserve the bread crumbs for another recipe.)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Fill each roll with the cheesy shrimp sauce in the bun's pocket, then apply glue to the end of the bread and secure it to the open end of the stuffed pistolette.
- Place pistolettes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- When peeling the shrimp, remove the black vein on the top.
- You may add ¼ teaspoon of liquid crab boil for a spicier, seafood taste.
- Be careful not to tear the roll's exterior when removing too much bread, or the filling will leak out.
- If it's too thick, thin it with water.
- Cook the garlic for 1 minute after the onions, bell pepper, and celery are cooked; garlic can burn at high heat.
- The stuffing should be thick; if it's too thin, it will seep out of the roll before it bakes.
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I don’t live in Louisiana and have never seen these rolls. What could I use in place of them?
Hello, Paula! In the past I have used a small roll, about the size of these pistolettes. They were a bit darker, but they worked very well. Any sturdy roll about 4 inches long will do. Enjoy!