Louisiana Crawfish Étouffée

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Crawfish étouffée is a Cajun classic. Here in Louisiana, there's nothing better to make during crawfish season. You can substitute shrimp when crawfish are out of season. It's even better when served with hot garlic French bread! Start cooking the rice first since this is a quick dish.

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A bowl of Louisiana crawfish etouffee served over white rice
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Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
30 mins
Servings:
6

Make Louisiana-style crawfish étouffée in the comfort of your own home with this top-rated recipe.

close up view of Louisiana Crawfish Étouffée with rice in a bowl, with green onions on top
Ashley Kirkland

How to Make Crawfish Étouffée

You'll find a detailed ingredient list and step-by-step instructions in the recipe below, but let's go over the basics:

Crawfish Étouffée Ingredients

These are the ingredients you'll need to make perfect crawfish étouffée recipe:

  • Rice: This crawfish étouffée recipe starts with long grain white rice.
  • Water: You'll need seven cups of water (six for the rice, one for the étouffée).
  • Butter: Cook the garlic and onion in butter.
  • Vegetables: For this crawfish étouffée, you'll need an onion and green onions.
  • Garlic: Fresh garlic adds tons of flavor.
  • Flour: All-purpose flour thickens the étouffée.
  • Tomato sauce: Canned tomato sauce lends even more depth of flavor.
  • Crawfish tails: You'll need about a pound of crawfish tails for six servings.
  • Seasonings: This flavorful crawfish étouffée is seasoned with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning.
crawfish étouffée served over white rice with garlic bread
Allrecipes Video

Crawfish Étouffée Tips

"It's easy, it can feed a lot of people, it doesn't cost a lot of money, and a little bit of crawfish can go a long way," culinary producer Nicole McLaughlin (a.k.a. NicoleMcMom) says of this top-rated crawfish étouffée recipe. Here are a few of her favorite tips and tricks:

  • Avoid over stirring your rice while it's cooking. If you only stir it once or twice, you'll end up with perfectly fluffy rice every time.
  • "If you're lucky enough to live in the land of crawfish, you can get your own crawfish tails fresh out of the tails," according to Nicole. If you don't have access to fresh crawfish, though, you can find frozen ones in most grocery stores. You can also use shrimp, if you prefer.
  • Don't overcook the crawfish! You want them tender, not tough.

What to Serve With Crawfish Étouffée

This crawfish étouffée is quite hearty, so there's really no need to pair it with any side dishes. But, if you want to take your meal to the next level, you might want to pair it with a crusty homemade bread to soak up all those delicious juices. Plus, you can explore our collection of 9 Best Cajun Side Dishes. Here are a few of the irresistible recipes you'll find:

overhead angle looking at two French baguettes with a few pieces sliced

How to Store Crawfish Étouffée

You can store your leftover crawfish étouffée in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat thoroughly on the stove or in the microwave. If you want to keep the étouffée for longer, you can freeze it for up to three months.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"Perfect taste," raves LeahNOLA. "Exactly what I was looking for and it was easy to make. I halved the recipe. One slight change that I made was to use a dollop of spaghetti sauce I had in the freezer instead of opening a can of tomato sauce for just a tablespoon."

"Used tomato paste instead of tomato sauce and it was delicious," says Cheryl MacHauer.

"I took some of the recommendations from the comment section and made this wonderful dish," according to one Allrecipes community member. "I like spicy food so I added jalapeños."

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams

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Ingredients

Original recipe (1X) yields 6 servings

  • 3 cups long grain white rice

  • 7 cups water, divided

  • ¾ cup butter

  • 1 large onion, chopped

  • 1 clove garlic, chopped

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons canned tomato sauce

  • 1 pound crawfish tails

  • 6 green onions, chopped

  • salt and pepper to taste

  • 1 ½ tablespoons Cajun seasoning, or to taste

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.

    Ingredients to make Louisiana crawfish etouffee

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  2. Combine rice and 6 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer until rice is tender and water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

    A large pot of cooked white rice

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  3. While rice cooks, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until transparent. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

    A skillet with chopped onion and garlic cooking in oil

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  4. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in tomato sauce and remaining 1 cup water. Add crawfish tails and bring to a simmer.

    A pan with crawfish tails and thickened tomato sauce being stirred with a wooden spoon

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  5. Stir in green onions and season with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning.

    A large pan with sliced green onions being stirred into the crawfish tails and tomato sauce

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  6. Reduce heat to low and simmer until crawfish is cooked through but not tough, 5 to 10 minutes.

    A large pan of Lousiana crawfish etouffee

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  7. Serve étouffée over cooked rice.

    A bowl of Louisiana crawfish etouffee served over white rice

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

615 home cooks made it!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

636 Calories
25g Fat
83g Carbs
19g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6
Calories 636
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 15g 75%
Cholesterol 142mg 47%
Sodium 635mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 83g 30%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 19g 39%
Vitamin C 6mg 6%
Calcium 79mg 6%
Iron 5mg 28%
Potassium 438mg 9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.