Crawfish bread is loaded with a mixture of cheeses, crawfish and Cajun spices on French bread then baked until bubbly and gooey, great for game day or Mardi Gras. It's a Louisiana classic appetizer.
Louisiana Crawfish Bread
It's crawfish time, my friends! When crawfish season rolls around, I instantly think of making Crawfish Etouffee, but here's a dish you may want to consider as well - Crawfish Bread!
What is Crawfish Bread?
Crawfish bread is a popular Louisiana-style snack or appetizer made from a loaf of bread or bread roll stuffed with a mixture of crawfish meat, cheese, and seasonings.
The crawfish meat is mixed with sautéed onions, bell peppers, and celery, along with with melted cheese and Cajun or Creole spices, like cayenne pepper and paprika. Stuff it all into a hollowed-out bread loaf, then bake until the bread is crispy and the filling is hot and bubbly.
The dish is a favorite at Louisiana festivals, particularly during crawfish season, which runs from late winter to early summer.
It's incredibly satisfying, and perfect for serving at parties, game day gatherings, or during your next Mardi Gras party.
Let's talk about how to make crawfish bread, shall we?
Crawfish Bread Ingredients
- French Bread. You can use other crusty bread as a substitute.
- Butter.
- Vegetables. Onion, celery, red bell pepper, garlic. Use jalapeno peppers, serranos, or other hotter peppers for a spicier version.
- Cooked Crawfish Tails. I prefer Louisiana crawfish tails.
- Cajun Seasoning. Try my homemade Cajun seasoning recipe. So good!
- Cheeses. Cream cheese, shredded Parmesan cheese, and shredded cheddar cheese. You can use other melty cheeses as well. I like this recipe with pepper jack or mozzarella cheese. Go with your favorite combo.
- For Garnish. Chopped fresh parsley, red chili flakes or paprika
How to Make Crawfish Bread - the Recipe Method
Oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prep the French Bread. Slice the French bread loaf in half lengthwise. Scoop out some of the bread to make room for the filling, if desired. I like to make extra room for all the decadent stuffing. Set them onto a baking sheet.
Cook the Vegetables. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. This is your flavor base.
Warm the Crawfish Meat. Add the crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a bit.
Melt the Cream Cheese. Stir in the cream cheese until melted through and incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Mix the Stuffing. Transfer the pan ingredients to a mixing bowl. Stir in the mayo, mustard, and shredded cheeses. Mix until well combined.
Stuff the Bread and Bake. Spread the cheesy crawfish mixture over the pieces of French bread and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Final Toast. Increase oven heat to “broil” then broil the crawfish bread until the bread is toasty and the topping is browned and bubbly.
Serve! Remove from heat, cool enough to slice, then serve.
Boom! Done! Your crawfish bread is ready to serve. Doesn't it look amazing? It tastes even better, so gooey and cheesy. This will seriously hit the spot.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Save the soft bread removed from the French bread loaf. You can use it to make croutons or as a thickener for making sauces.
- Swap in cooked shrimp for the crawfish if you have a hard time finding crawfish near you.
Storage
This recipe will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a sealed container. Wrap it gently in plastic wrap first, then cover and refrigerate. Warm it in the oven to enjoy again.
You can also freeze it for a month wrapped in plastic.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy your new crawfish bread recipe. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you.
Ingredients Used For This Recipe
- Buy Crawfish Tails (affiliate link, my friends!) - Here is a selection of choices from a variety of sellers from Amazon.
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Crawfish Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 medium bell pepper chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound cooked crawfish tails roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 teaspoon Creole mustard or use spicy brown mustard
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or use other melty cheese
- For garnish: chopped fresh parsley, red chili flakes or paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Slice the French bread loaf in half lengthwise. Scoop out some of the bread to make room for the filling, if desired. Set onto a baking sheet.
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Add the crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a bit.
- Stir in the cream cheese until melted through and incorporated, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the pan ingredients to a mixing bowl. Stir in the mayo, mustard, and shredded cheeses. Mix until well combined.
- Spread the cheese mixture over the pieces of French bread and bake for 12 minutes.
- Increase oven heat to “broil” then broil the crawfish bread until the bread is toasty and the topping is browned and bubbly.
- Remove from heat, cool enough to slice, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Becky says
absolutely amazing...first time making it, won't be the last...not a fan of onion or celery so used dried onion and celery seed along with the bell pepper..so tasty
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Becky!
Jon Thornton says
Mike almost perfect you left out the pepperhead heat got to at least have some “red hot” and sliced jalapeños on top if not chopped up inside or why not both lol. Being “from down the bayou” this is a staple especially this time of year crawfish season has arrived. As always great job keep’em coming.
Mike Hultquist says
I hear you there, Jon! I actually have a bit of ghost powder in my homemade Cajun spice blend, but yep, I enjoy the heat! Definitely swap in some hot pods with or for the bells. YAY for crawfish season! I appreciate it!
Rod says
Decades ago my family tried crawfish we found in the local river. I suspect their southern cousins are much larger. It was a lot of work to turn over many rocks to find them, and they weren't that big living in cold water. Good but too much work.
I'll have to try this some canners (small lobsters otherwise destined for the cannery) or frozen shrimp and a cold crisp Canadian beer after winter is over and the ice fields have retreated and before the mosquitos wake up and try to mate with the ruffled grouse. Thank you.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Rod. Absolutely, this would be great with the canners and even shrimp. Enjoy!!
Judy P. says
Good heavens!!! $200+ for a bag of crawfish tails?
Mike Hultquist says
Wow, that's NOT what I paid. Crazy! Try Cajun Grocer here: https://www.cajungrocer.com/crawfish-tail-meat
Andrew says
Last time I went to the New Orleans Jazz Festival (many years ago), they had food stands that were serving Crawfish Bread AND Alligator Bread.
I've never been anywhere else in the country that served Alligator Bread and sometimes I crave it.
Mike Hultquist says
Alligator bread! I'll have to make that next! Awesome. Thanks, Andrew.
Ramya says
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use vegan butter / mushrooms / cream cheese / mayo and cheeses and skip bell pepper as am not a big fan of bell pepper i never had crawfish bread before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Ramya. Yes, this would work nicely with vegan butter and mushrooms. Enjoy.
Anna says
Oh my goodness!! I just got this and made it with shrimp!!! I was going to freeze half... I have 1 slice of the first half left.. That will be used and I'll most likely start on the second half while putting the corned beef and everything else in the slow cooker!! Might have a little to freeze, lol. Thank you, so much!!
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Anna! Great stuff for sure. YUM.