Easy Crawfish Étouffée For One! A classic Louisiana seafood dish filled with vegetables and crawfish simmering in a delicious tomato-based sauce.
I love scaling down the recipes that I grew up eating while living in New Orleans and I'm adding this incredibly delicious crawfish étouffée to my ever-growing list.
In fact, I should probably have a section here at One Dish Kitchen for just Louisiana recipes - because we've got plenty!
What Is Étouffée?
Étouffée is french for "smothered" and generally refers to a stew where the main ingredient (often seafood) is simmered in a rich gravy.
Some versions of étouffée are made with simple Cajun seasonings and butter which yield a very rich, thin sauce. Others, such as this single serving version, are made with a roux made with equal parts butter and flour.
Why This Recipe Works
- If you've been to Louisiana, you've probably tasted an étouffée. Though it may sound fancy, it's an easy dish to make.
- Crawfish étouffée is the most common version but it can also be made with shrimp too. Since shrimp is often easier to find than crawfish, feel free to use it as a substitute.
- This étouffee is absolutely delicious. It's filled with flavor from the vegetables, the roux, and the crawfish.
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Butter and flour: These ingredients are necessary to make the roux. The roux is the foundation of this dish. It is made with equal parts of salted butter and all-purpose flour (plain flour). The roux is simply flour that is browned in fat (butter). It acts as a thickener and gives the étouffée its rich flavor.
- Vegetables: Chopped onions, green bell peppers, and garlic add quite a lot of flavor to this dish, definitely don't leave them out.
- Broth: Although I prefer the flavor of seafood stock (broth) in this recipe, chicken broth is an excellent substitute.
- Seasonings: Use dried thyme, salt, and black pepper
- Tomatoes: I use ¼ cup of chopped tomatoes which is about 1 small to medium-sized tomato.
- Hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce: For great flavor.
- Crawfish tails: Packages of crawfish meat can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores. Be sure to look for packages labeled Louisiana crawfish. Alternatively, you can pick the crawfish meat out of fresh boiled crawfish.
- Lemon juice: Use fresh or bottled lemon juice.
- Green onions: Add chopped green onions for garnish.
- Cooked rice: Traditionally, crawfish étouffée is served over white rice.
How To Make This Recipe
- Begin by making the roux which will thicken the étouffée: Melt butter in a medium-sized skillet. Add the flour and stir continuously to make a roux. Stir the roux over medium heat until it's the color of peanut butter, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the vegetables and spices to the pan and cook until they're tender. Add the stock or broth, the tomatoes, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the crawfish and lemon juice and simmer 10 minutes more.
- Remove from heat and serve over hot rice. Garnish with chopped green onions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Shrimp etouffee is made the same way as crawfish etouffee. Just follow this recipe and use shrimp instead of crawfish.
Packages of crawfish meat can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores. Be sure to look for packages labeled Louisiana crawfish.
For this crawfish etouffee recipe for one, I use a 10-inch skillet. For best results, use a pan of similar size.
If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you're looking for traditional creole or cajun recipes, you might like to try these:
Cajun Shrimp Tacos
Shrimp Creole
Red Beans and Rice
Jambalaya
Seafood Gumbo
Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce
Bananas Foster
Mini King Cake
Expert Tips
- Make sure you spend the time to make a roux. The roux helps to thicken the étouffée and is necessary for the dish.
- This recipe doubles well. If you would like to make extra, just double the ingredients and cook for the same amount of time.
- Store etouffee in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last for 5 days.
What To Do With Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this crawfish etouffee recipe, you might consider using them in any of these single serving recipes:
- Onions: Irish Stew, French Onion Soup, Stuffed Fish Fillet, Green Curry
- Bell peppers: Goulash, Chicken Fajitas
- Chicken broth or seafood stock: Rice Pilaf, Thai Shrimp Soup, Chicken with Artichokes
- Tomatoes: Mediterranean Shrimp and Pasta, Chicken Margherita, Cobb Salad
- Crawfish: Crawfish Beignets, Crawfish Pasta
- Hot Sauce: Buffalo Chicken, Chicken Wings, Buffalo Chicken Tenders
If you’ve tried this crawfish étouffée recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Recipe
Crawfish Étouffée For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons chopped green bell peppers
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 ¼ cups seafood stock or chicken broth
- ¼ cup chopped tomatoes (about 1 medium roma tomato)
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon hot sauce (add more if you like a spicier étouffée)
- 3 ounces crawfish tails
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
- 1 cup cooked white rice , for serving
Instructions
- In a 10-inch skillet set over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir continuously to make a roux. Stir the roux over medium heat until the color of peanut butter, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the onions and bell peppers to the roux, and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, 1 minute.
- Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring often for 1 minute.
- Add the stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add crawfish tails and lemon juice and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve over hot rice.
Notes
- Make sure you spend the time to make a roux. The roux helps to thicken the étouffée and is necessary for the dish.
- This recipe doubles well. If you would like to make extra, just double the ingredients and cook for the same amount of time.
- Store etouffee in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last for 5 days.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
matrix says
First, you make a roux...
Rita says
Glad to see Crystal in the pic. Only way to make it tast like NOLA!
Carol says
Hi, every once in a while I see a recipe here that I'd like to share with a friend. I've tried, unsuccessfully. How can I share your recipes?
Joanie Zisk says
Hi Carol,
The button with the envelope at the top of the page is for emailing recipes. It should be working now.
Thanks so much.
Joanie