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Home » Recipes » Crawfish Bread Recipe

Crawfish Bread Recipe

by Mike Hultquist · Mar 17, 2023 · 30 Comments

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Crawfish Bread Recipe

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.

Crawfish Bread Recipe

Louisiana Crawfish Bread

It's crawfish time, my friends! When crawfish season rolls around, I instantly think of making my Crawfish Etouffee recipe, 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 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?

Cheesy Crawfish Bread on a cutting board

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.

Mike scooping bread from the Italian bread, and cooking vegetables to make crawfish bread

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.

Cream cheese melted in a pan, and crawfish bread stuffing ingredients in a mixing bowl

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.

Crawfish Bread fresh out of the oven

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.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

  • Shrimp and Grits
  • Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
  • Creole Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
  • Cajun Pasta with Shrimp and Smoked Sausage
  • Shrimp Creole
  • Cajun Corn Maque Choux
  • Jambalaya Recipe
  • Pan con Tomate (Spanish Tomato Bread)
  • Crawfish Boil
A piece of Crawfish Bread on a plate

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
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Crawfish Bread Recipe

Crawfish bread is loaded with a mixture of cheeses, crawfish and Cajun spices on French bread then baked until gooey, great for game day or Mardi Gras.
Save Recipe Saved!
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crawfish, cream cheese
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Calories: 279kcal
Author: Mike Hultquist
Servings: 12
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5 from 10 votes
Leave a Review

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

Keep the scooped out bread to use as croutons or as a thickener for sauces.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 279kcal   Carbohydrates: 21g   Protein: 8g   Fat: 18g   Saturated Fat: 7g   Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g   Monounsaturated Fat: 4g   Trans Fat: 0.1g   Cholesterol: 40mg   Sodium: 443mg   Potassium: 149mg   Fiber: 1g   Sugar: 3g   Vitamin A: 988IU   Vitamin C: 14mg   Calcium: 117mg   Iron: 2mg
Crawfish Bread Recipe
Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Brandi HB says

    May 26, 2025 at 12:37 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe! Modified it to include half crawfish tails, half lump crab. Added a touch of lemon juice, cayenne and black pepper. Very easy to make it your own.

    Reply
    • Mike H. says

      May 27, 2025 at 8:03 am

      Thank you for the review, Brandi!

      Reply
  2. Dan says

    February 06, 2025 at 10:13 am

    Can the crawfish mixture be made ahead of time and assembled the next day and baked?

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      February 06, 2025 at 12:31 pm

      Dan, yes, absolutely. Just keep the mix in a sealed container in the fridge, then soften and assemble when ready! Let me know how it goes. Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Que says

    March 02, 2024 at 6:28 pm

    5 stars
    Such an easy and delicious recipe! Made it tonight and it was devoured quickly! Thank you.

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      March 03, 2024 at 7:38 am

      Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Que!

      Reply
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