Shrimp Étouffée For One! A classic Louisiana stew made with juicy shrimp, vegetables, and a simple roux. Enjoy over rice for a delightful Cajun meal.
I was fortunate to have grown up in New Orleans. It's a beautiful city with so much history and tradition. One of the things I miss the most, aside from the music, the fabulous people, and of course, Mardi Gras is the food. One of my favorite meals and one that I make sure to eat every single time I go back home is Shrimp Étouffée and I'm so happy to share my traditional recipe, in a single serving with you today.
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What Is Étouffée?
The word "étouffée" is pronounced, "ay-too-fay" and comes from the French word, "étouffér, which means "to smother". In the context of this recipe, it refers to the cooking technique of smothering the shrimp and vegetables in the sauce, which allows the flavors to come together and develop into a rich and savory dish.
Shrimp étouffée is a popular version of the dish and if you love crawfish, you might like to try our crawfish étouffée too! Both dishes are traditional to Louisiana cuisine.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make: You might be surprised to see just how easy it is to make shrimp étouffée. This dish is made with easy-to-find ingredients and comes together quickly.
- A dish that's easy to customize: Since you're making it at home, you can control some of the flavors according to your personal taste.
- Recipe doubles well: This recipe yields one generous bowl of shrimp étouffée. If you'd like to make a second bowl, just double the ingredient amounts.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
- Shrimp: I prefer using medium or large shrimp in this shrimp étouffée recipe. I like to buy shrimp when it's on sale. Another idea is to use frozen. When you cook for one, it's a good idea to keep a bag of frozen shrimp in your freezer. It makes meal prep easy.
- Vegetables: Chopped green and yellow onions, green bell peppers, and garlic add quite a lot of flavor to this dish, definitely don't leave them out.
- Seasonings: Use dried thyme, salt, and black pepper
- 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.
- Tomatoes: I use ¼ cup of chopped tomatoes which is about 1 small to medium-sized tomato.
- Seafood Stock: You can use chicken broth instead.
- Hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce: Adds great flavor to the dish.
- Lemon juice: Use fresh or bottled lemon juice.
- Cooked rice: Traditionally, shrimp étouffée is served over white rice.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why I used them. For the full recipe please scroll down to the recipe box at the bottom of the post.
The Best Shrimp For Étouffée
If you live along a coast where you can get fresh shrimp, by all means, use that. If not, shrimp that has been frozen is fine to use. I often purchase individually frozen, head-off, peel-on shrimp for most shrimp recipes. These bags of shrimp are found in the freezer section of most supermarkets. When you are cooking for one person, purchasing frozen shrimp can be the most economical way to buy shrimp.
The vast majority of "fresh" shrimp sold in supermarkets were deep frozen at sea and delivered to retailers. Even though you may see a display of "fresh" shrimp at the fish counter in the store, those shrimp are the same bags of frozen shrimp you find in the freezer section that have simply been allowed to thaw out in the store before going on display. It's hard to know how long they have been defrosted.
Shrimp are highly perishable. If purchasing fresh shrimp, smell the shrimp first. You don't want any shrimp that smells like ammonia, this is a sign of spoilage. You also want to avoid shrimp that are limp, slimy, or falling apart, these are signs of decay.
How To Make Shrimp Étouffée For One
These step-by-step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Make the roux. Melt butter in a 10-inch 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, about 2-3 minutes.
Pro Tip: A roux (pronounced "roo") is the foundation for many cajun and creole recipes. It's very simple but brings an incredible flavor to so many dishes. Stir the flour and butter constantly - never walk away from a roux because the flour will burn. The secret to a perfect roux is to take your time and stir continuously.
- Cook the vegetables. Add the onions and bell peppers to the roux, and cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic, dried thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Make the étouffée sauce. Stir in the seafood stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pro Tip: You will notice that as the mixture simmers, the étouffée sauce will reduce and thicken.
- Add the shrimp and lemon juice and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the shrimp is fully cooked.
Pro Tip: I use 3 ounces of peeled and deveined shrimp. Although I prefer using medium-sized shrimp, you can use small, medium, or large shrimp.
- If using large shrimp, 3 ounces is about 5 to 7 shrimp.
- Medium shrimp: 3 ounces is about 8 to 11 shrimp.
- Small shrimp: 3 ounces is about 12 to 15 shrimp.
- Stir in the green onions. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
- Add rice to a bowl.
- Pour the shrimp and the étouffée sauce over the rice and enjoy hot.
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. It takes time for a roux to develop, be patient and stir the roux constantly.
- Étouffée is often served with rice. Use white rice, brown rice, or try it with cooked quinoa or orzo pasta instead. Feel free to leave the rice out and enjoy a bowl just as it is.
- Adjust the seasonings and spice level to suit your taste. I love a spicy etouffee but if you're sensitive to spicy foods, use less hot sauce or leave it out altogether.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shrimp Creole and Shrimp Etouffee are similar dishes but are not the same. An etouffee has a consistency that is more like gravy and is thicker than shrimp creole sauce. Shrimp creole has a tomato base while shrimp etouffee has a roux for its base.
Crawfish etouffee is made the same way as shrimp etouffee. We recommend using 3 ounces of crawfish tails which can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores. Be sure to look for packages labeled Louisiana crawfish and use our easy crawfish etouffee recipe.
Yes. If you'd like to make a second bowl or to have a little leftover for another meal, just double the ingredient amounts.
Serving Suggestions
Shrimp étouffée is often served with white rice. You may also like to include a simple salad or a slice of french bread to soak up all the delicious etouffee sauce.
More Single Serving Louisiana Recipes
- Mini Muffuletta
- Crawfish Etouffee
- Gumbo
- Jambalaya
- Shrimp Creole
- Pralines
- Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce
- Crawfish Beignets
- Red Beans and Rice
- Bananas Foster
- Crawfish Pasta
- King Cake
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this small batch shrimp etouffee recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Shrimp: Shrimp and Grits, Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Fettuccine, Shrimp Fried Rice, Pad Thai, Cioppino
- Onions: Tuscan Chicken, Baked Black Bean Tacos, Split Pea Soup, Chili Mac, Chicken Tortellini Soup, Coq au Vin
- Green bell peppers: Philly Cheesesteak, Pizza Bowl, Stuffed Bell Peppers, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Fajitas, Seafood Gumbo
- Garlic: Tzatziki Sauce, Creamy Tomato Soup, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Chickpea Curry, Penne alla Vodka, Butter Chicken
- Dried thyme: Tortellini Soup, Irish Stew, Coq au Vin, Meatloaf, French Onion Soup, Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Seafood stock or chicken broth: Crawfish Etouffee, Clam Chowder, Jambalaya, Crawfish Pasta, Thai Shrimp Soup, Gumbo
- Tomatoes: Broiled Tomatoes, Crustless Quiche with Tomato and Pesto, Pan Fried Okra, Tomato Salad, Bruschetta, Caprese Salad
- Worcestershire sauce: Salisbury Steak, Baked Beans, Shepherd's Pie, Steak Fajitas, Turkey Meatloaf, Sloppy Joe
- Hot sauce: Baked Buffalo Chicken, Reuben Sandwich, Bloody Mary, Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice, Chicken and Golden Rice, Crawfish Beignets
- Lemon juice: Chicken Piccata, Lemon Scones, Alfredo Sauce, Lemon Meringue Pie, Healing Turmeric Tea, Eggs Benedict
- Green onions: Breakfast Bowl, Colcannon, Cauliflower Casserole, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Crustless Quiche, Corn Casserole, Pad Thai
- White rice: Chicken and Rice Casserole, Mushroom Casserole, Fried Rice, Rice Pudding, Greek Chicken Bowl
For more 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’ve tried this easy shrimp etouffee 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.
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Recipe
Shrimp 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
- ¼ cup 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 or Plum tomato)
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon hot sauce (add more if you like a spicier etouffee)
- 3 ounces shrimp , peeled and deveined (about 8 medium shrimp)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
- 1 cup cooked rice (optional for serving)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a 10-inch 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, about 2-3 minutes.Pro Tip: A roux (pronounced "roo") is the foundation for many cajun and creole recipes. It's very simple but brings an incredible flavor to so many dishes. Stir the flour and butter constantly - never walk away from a roux because the flour will burn. The secret to a perfect roux is to take your time and stir continuously.
- Add the onions and bell peppers to the roux, and cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic, dried thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Stir in the seafood stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.Pro Tip: You will notice that as the mixture simmers, the étouffée sauce will reduce and thicken.
- Add the shrimp and lemon juice and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the shrimp is fully cooked.
- Stir in the green onions. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
- If serving with rice, add the rice to a bowl. Pour the shrimp and the étouffée sauce over the rice and enjoy hot.
Notes
- If using large shrimp, 3 ounces is about 5 to 7 shrimp.
- Medium shrimp: 3 ounces is about 8 to 11 shrimp.
- Small shrimp: 3 ounces is about 12 to 15 shrimp.
- Make sure you spend the time to make a roux. The roux helps to thicken the étouffée and is necessary for the dish. It takes time for a roux to develop, be patient and stir the roux constantly.
- Étouffée is often served with rice. Use white rice, brown rice, or try it with cooked quinoa or orzo pasta instead. Feel free to leave the rice out and enjoy a bowl just as it is.
- Adjust the seasonings and spice level to suit your taste. I love a spicy etouffee but if you're sensitive to spicy foods, use less hot sauce or leave it out altogether.
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.
Becky McNay says
I just made your Shrimp Etouffee for dinner tonight. It is delicious and easy
to make. Thank you for sharing your recipes with all us single people.
Joanie Zisk says
I'm so happy you enjoyed the etouffee, Becky. Thank you.
J.Hegyi says
Good recipe.
Joanie Zisk says
Thank you.