Crawfish Cream Sauce
Crawfish cream sauce is rich, creamy, and so flavorful! It’s packed with crawfish tails in a smooth buttery sauce and flavored with the cajun holy trinity and cajun seasoning. This cajun cream sauce with crawfish is perfect for tossing with pasta, using to top blackened fish, stuffing chicken or serving over grits.
It’s no secret I love a creamy sauce, especially when it’s full of cajun spices. Cajun Alfredo Sauce has been a popular recipe on the blog for a while. There’s also a Cajun Salmon Alfredo with blackened salmon, Crawfish Monica, and one pot Cajun Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo. Now I’m back with another cajun cream sauce recipe! This crawfish cream sauce is rich and decadent and full of Louisiana crawfish. It’s a great way to use those leftover crawfish from a boil.
Toss crawfish cream sauce with your favorite pasta. It’s great poured over blackened salmon or blackened chicken. You can even use it to top a steak or make stuffed chicken!
Why You’ll love this recipe
Lauren’s Take: Crawfish cream sauce is a great recipe to have in your back pocket to jazz up a dish. In New Orleans, you’ll often find this type of sauce served in restaurants over blackened or fried fish. It’s a delicious way to have a restaurant style meal at home. Using frozen crawfish is totally fine in this recipe and a great way to enjoy them even when it’s not crawfish season.
Taste: Rich and buttery with the briny taste of crawfish. Lots of cajun spiced flavor, but not overly spicy.
Texture: Luxuriously creamy sauce.
Time: This will take you about 45 minutes all in.
Testing Notes: I’ve made this sauce with both heavy whipping cream and half and half and ultimately like the texture better with heavy cream, although both will work.
Authentic Cajun Tip
Frozen crawfish works great for this recipe, but be sure to purchase real Louisiana crawfish! Many packages can be tricky, and will have a Cajun sounding name, but are really imported from another country. For the best flavor, make sure to check the fine print on the packaging that you are getting real Louisiana crawfish. Places like Louisiana Crawfish Company can ship frozen packs of crawfish tails right to your door!
Ingredients & Substitutions
See the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and measurements.
- Produce – This recipe uses the cajun holy trinity – onion, green bell pepper, and celery – plus green onions and garlic. You can substitute for any color bell pepper. Be sure to finely chop the veggies for the best texture.
- Unsalted butter – Since you’ll be using cajun seasoning which already has salt, its best to start this dish with unsalted butter.
- Dry white wine – Used to deglaze the pan and adds flavor. Can be replaced with chicken broth if needed.
- Cooked crawfish tails – If you’re using purchased frozen crawfish, don’t skip the cajun seasoning! See Cajun tip above for details about purchasing crawfish. If you’re using leftover seasoned crawfish from a crawfish boil, then you’ll need to add less seasoning.
- Heavy cream – Can be substituted with half and half if needed, but you will have to simmer longer to thicken the sauce, and it will still be thinner in consistency.
- Stock/broth – You can use chicken broth or a seafood stock. If you have some leftover shrimp shells, making homemade shrimp stock is so flavorful!
- Cajun seasoning – Use your favorite cajun seasoning. I’ve tested this recipe with Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning and my own cajun seasoning blend. Start with a little and add more as needed as all cajun seasoning blends can have different levels of saltiness.
- Parmesan cheese – It’s best to buy a block and grate it yourself with the fine side of a box grater.
Equipment needed
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Step One: Sauté
Sauté onions, bell pepper, and celery in melted butter with a pinch of salt until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Step Two: Deglaze
Pour in white wine to “deglaze” the pan which helps loosen any browned bits from the bottom and incorporates that flavor into the sauce. Simmer to let alcohol burn off.
Step Three: Simmer
Add crawfish, heavy cream, chicken broth, worcestershire sauce, and cajun seasoning and stir. Simmer low until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency.
Step Four: Finish
Add parmesan cheese and stir to mix. Taste for proper seasoning. Serve with pasta, over blackened fish, or over grits and top with green onions.
Expert Tips
- Don’t boil. To keep the sauce creamy, keep the heat on a low simmer and don’t let the sauce boil or it could break.
- Season it. If you’re using leftover crawfish from a crawfish boil, you may need to add less seasoning. If you’re using frozen crawfish, they are usually bland so make sure to add enough cajun seasoning. If you want it extra spicy, add a dash of cayenne pepper or top with some hot sauce.
- Shortcut. If you live in an area that sells pre-chopped trinity seasoning mixes like Guidry’s, you can replace the onion, bell pepper, and celery with 1 ½ cup of seasoning mix.
Storage & make ahead
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Because crawfish are seafood, you want to eat it sooner rather than later.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this sauce.
Reheat: The best way to reheat this sauce is in a saucepan over medium heat. Add a splash of milk or broth to loosen it up, then heat while stirring until heated through. I don’t like microwaving cream sauces as it will cause them to break. To learn more about reheating cream sauces, check out How to Reheat Alfredo Sauce.
Make ahead: This sauce is best served fresh, so I don’t recommend making it ahead of time. You can chop the veggies the day before.
How to Serve Crawfish Sauce
This recipe is versatile! Here are some ideas on how to serve it.
- With pasta. Cook pasta to al dente and reserve some pasta water before draining. Toss the pasta, cream sauce, and a splash of pasta water together and mix to combine before serving.
- Over fish. This makes an excellent cream sauce for fish. Served over blackened catfish, redfish, or blackened salmon.
- With chicken. Pour this sauce over blackened chicken. You can even pound out chicken cutlets, and stuff them with cheese and this sauce then bake.
- Over grits. Make a play on shrimp and grits by pouring crawfish cream sauce over creamy cheese grits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, frozen crawfish is perfectly fine for this dish. Check the fine print on the packaging to make sure you are getting real Louisiana crawfish.
More Crawfish Recipes
Need some recipes for leftover crawfish? I have you covered!
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Crawfish Cream Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion
- ½ small green bell pepper (red works too)
- 1 small stalk celery
- 6 cloves garlic
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 pound cooked crawfish tails with fat*
- 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup chicken broth (or shrimp stock)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning (or to taste)
- 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 2 green onions
Instructions
- PREP: Finely chop onions, bell pepper, and celery. Thinly slice green onions. Mince garlic. Finely grate parmesan cheese. Measure out other ingredients.1 small yellow onion, ½ small green bell pepper, 1 small stalk celery, 6 cloves garlic, 2 green onions
- SAUTÉ: Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Sauté onions, bell pepper, and celery with a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes until vegetables are softening and onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant while stirring, about another minute.4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- DEGLAZE: Deglaze with white wine and stir. Simmer for a few minutes until alcohol has burned off.½ cup dry white wine
- SIMMER: Add crawfish, heavy cream, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and cajun seasoning and stir. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Do not boil.1 pound cooked crawfish tails with fat*, 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup chicken broth, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- FINISH: Add parmesan cheese and stir to mix. Serve warm and top with green onions. Serve with pasta, over blackened fish, or over grits.1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Notes
- If your crawfish are already seasoned, you may need to add less seasoning. Taste near the end of simmering and add cajun seasoning to taste. If you are using purchased frozen crawfish tails, they will probably have little to no seasoning on them. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
- I don’t recommend freezing this sauce.
- The best way to reheat this sauce is in a saucepan over medium heat. Add a splash of milk or broth to loosen it up, then heat while stirring until heated through. I don’t like microwaving cream sauces as it will cause them to break. To learn more about reheating cream sauces, check out How to Reheat Alfredo Sauce.
- Make ahead: This sauce is best served fresh, so I don’t recommend making it ahead of time. You can chop the veggies the day before.
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Fine cheese grater
Nutrition
Meet Lauren
I’m the blogger, recipe developer, food photographer, and otherwise food obsessed gal behind Lauren From Scratch. I was born and raised in New Orleans and lived in South Louisiana most of my life. Growing up around Cajun country has instilled a love of food that runs deep in my bones. I am passionate about food and teaching you how to make mouth-watering Louisiana inspired dishes in your own kitchen!
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This was absolutely delicious and had just the right amount of heat! I’ll be making it again.
I can tell this is a wonderful recipe. If I serve it over pasta, how much pasta will this sufficiently sauce?
I use a half pound of pasta for this recipe.