Louisiana seasons are not defined by the weather or whether leaves are on trees. They are rooted in our culture and the events that celebrate our joy of life. Football season takes the place of fall. Each new year begins with Carnival season. And of course, there’s crawfish season.
When the mudbugs start swimming around in Louisiana’s swamps and fields, people get a little excited in anticipation of the bounty their taste buds are about to receive. A new season means fresh crawfish bisques and étouffées. It means a return of crawfish dishes to a lot of local restaurants. And it means that the sound of a big burner igniting for a backyard boil will nearly bring a tear to my eye.
A good Louisiana crawfish boil will occasionally lead to leftover crawfish tails the next day. It isn’t rare for someone to buy an extra sack of the bright red crustaceans in an effort to make sure there are plenty for their guests. So when the frenzied feasters are done peeling for themselves, leftover tails often wind up in the fridge and saved for another day.
I love a good crawfish soup or a crawfish, corn, and potato omelet, but there’s also something about Cajun crawfish bread that really sings to me. A delicacy made famous by Panorama Foods at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, crawfish bread can be made by anyone and for any occasion. You really can’t go wrong in the kitchen when your ingredient list includes garlic, butter, bread, cheese, Cajun seasoning, and Louisiana crawfish tails. I could pretty much live on this stuff! —Jay D. Ducote
- 1 (12-ounce) loaf French bread, halved lengthwise
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup finely chopped sweet onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound cooked crawfish tails
- ¾ cup chopped green onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning*
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- Garnish: parsley
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Place bread halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Divide mayonnaise between bread halves, spreading evenly. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add sweet onion, and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add crawfish, green onion, and parsley, stirring to combine. Cook until crawfish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Add Cajun seasoning and cream cheese. Remove from heat, and stir until cheese is incorporated.
- Divide mixture between bread halves, spreading evenly to cover. Top each half with cheeses and paprika. Bake until cheese has melted, about 15 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil. Broil 6 inches from heat until cheese has browned, about 2 minutes. Top with parsley, if desired. Serve warm.
- *We used Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning.
this sounds delicious, cant wait to make this…love your recipes
It was great I just made it
Recipe seems easy u cant wait to make it …also i would love more recipes
I made this and it was wonderful….and so easy ….I did also add spinach to mine (be sure to drain well) and it was almost too good to eat!….great, easy recipe….love Louisiana Cookin’….
Can you buy crawfish tails at the grocery store? I am in Pennsylvania,,,,don’t hold it against me….lol
Yes! Many grocery stores carry frozen packages of crawfish tails. If your local grocery does not carry them, you can order some on websites like CajunGrocer.com (http://www.cajungrocer.com).
The laser time I was in New Orleans I sent to Circle Food Store hoping to bug somme Tongue Sauage (loaf) but they were out of it. Would you know any store that carries this product? I don’t want Blood Sauage just Tongue. Your recipies make my mouth water just looking at them, they are astounding!
I’m not sure they are allowed to sell tongue sausages anymore
Definitely ordering so you get LA crawfish not the ones from CHINA!
I live in Arizona and can get them at Walmart in the frozen seafood section.
Make sure they don’t come from china!
Go online amd look for louisiana crawfish farms and processing plants in southern parts like, Breaux Bridge, St. Martinville, Lafayette, Crowley, Catahoula, etc…check out what they have ti offer and take it from there…
Yes I found frozen ones in Walmart. Already cleaned n shelled for like 11..
I know you asked this question several years ago, but I found crawfish tails/meat at Walmart in the seafood freezer section here in FL.
When do you add the Parmesan?
Both cheeses are added at the same time; thanks for asking!
Can this be made ahead of time and frozen?
This could be made ahead and frozen but are certainly best fresh; take the recipe up through topping with cheese, cover tightly, and freeze. Thaw before cooking!
My store only sold uncooked crawfish tails… do I need to cook them before this recipe or can I just cook them longer in the pan with the onions and garlic? Just a little nervous since I have never cooked with crawfish before. Thanks!
You should be fine leaving the cooking times the same. We call for ‘cooked’ crawfish tails to keep our recipe style consistent (some crawfish tail packages state that the tails are ‘cooked’ and others don’t, but, like shrimp, crawfish tails cook quickly). Just make sure you use Louisiana crawfish!
I used this recipe to make the crawfish bread and it was sooooo good!! Thanks for posting
I’ve recently fallen in love with Landry’s Seafood’s crawfish bread and I’m hoping to cook my own 🙂
This recipe seems simple & easy! The Mayo part though makes me nervous as I’m not a big fan of mayo. Is the mayo necessary? Or will I not taste or notice it? Maybe I can supplement with butter??
Hi Joanna! With all the other ingredients, it’s likely you won’t notice the mayonnaise. If you prefer to make this without mayonnaise, you could soften ½ cup of butter, but you may not use all of it. Let us know how it goes!
I’m not a mayo fan either. Trust me, it doesn’t taste like mayo, and it’s what makes the dish work.
This was delicious! Definitely worth a treat meal! I used Texas toast garlic bread and cheddar jack cheese as substitutions.
I used Slap Ya Mama as well. I trust anything food wise that comes out of Ville Platte.
Crawfish bread was great the whole family Loved it . All gone will definitely fix again.
That’s great to hear, Lori! Thanks for sharing.
Used ciabatta bread. Came out delicious! Everyone loved it!
I made the cajun crawfish bread but I used garlic bread halves and followed the rest of the recipe it was awesome use the Riceland crawfish
Omg I love this recipe! It’s one that I forget about making for parties, but when I do remember, I feel like I go in some sort of heaven eating it!
I follow the recipe to a T and love it every time!
What do you serve with this?
You could serve this by itself as an appetizer. It’s a rich recipe, so if you wanted to serve something on the side, a salad would be nice.
I mixed a little Slap your Mama in the mayonnaise before I spread a thin layer on the bread. We couldn’t really taste the Mayo. Just use a good brand name Mayo. I used Blue Plate.
Just made it n I’m going back for thirds… Was soooooooo good
Someone mentioned uncooked crawfish tails. I have never heard of that. Crawfish are live when they are cooked. Then peeled. That is the tail meat you buy.
i dont have crawfish in ohio, but im going to try the recipe and substitute shrimp and crab for crawfish. hopefully it will work
do in drain my tails or add the fat
Absolutely Delicious!!!
Making some for a birthday party tonight!
I just tried I burnt the cheese I put on top but after I pulled that burnt cheese off it was pretty good