Gluten Free Crawfish Etouffee Recipe

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Wondering how to make authentic Louisiana style crawfish etouffee at home that is gluten free and relatively healthy? This spin on the classic crawfish etouffee will surely satisfy your cravings and become one of your favorite healthy family dinners.

If you are looking for a great crawfish etouffee recipe, this is the one! This recipe is made with all real food, clean ingredients and is gluten free.

With a little time and patience you will soon be diving into a big plate of crawfish etouffee just like we make in New Orleans.

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Ingredients for Crawfish Etouffee

There are a variety of ingredients needed to make etouffee.

The most important are real Louisiana crawfish, garlic and the “trinity”- onion, bell pepper and celery.

Always purchase Louisiana crawfish to make this dish, as the quality is much better than imported. You can generally find the peeled crawfish tails needed for this recipe in the frozen seafood section of your grocery. Or if you are lucky, you have some leftover from a crawfish boil.

Crawfish Etouffee Ingredients List

• Onion
• Green Bell Pepper
• Celery
• Garlic
• Red Bell Pepper
• Portobello mushroom
• Crawfish (peeled)
• butter
• olive oil
• gluten free flour
• tablespoon tomato paste
• broth
• Sprig of rosemary
• bay leaf
• Worcestershire sauce
• pepper
• thyme
• oregano
• smoked paprika
• turmeric
• sea salt
• hot pepper (optional)

So what sets this recipe apart?

This recipe includes red bell pepper for color and flavor, as well as fresh Portobello mushrooms, rather than cream of mushroom soup as some recipes call for.

It also adds turmeric and a whole hot pepper for flavor. We used a fresh yellow lemon pepper, but any hot pepper you have will add a nice kick to the recipe.

Tomato paste is included in this version. While there is much debate about whether authentic etouffee contains tomato, a small amount of tomato paste is added for flavor and color.

Plus, unlike other recipes you may come across, we start with the vegetables, rather than the roux. Read on below for more on why that makes this recipes extra flavorful.

How to Make Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee

There are many opinions on how to make crawfish etouffee. Being from Louisiana, this is our adaptation after trying and making countless versions of this classic dish.

Start by chopping all of the vegetables and heating a large cast iron skillet on medium. Cooking in a cast iron skillet in not necessary, but it does make for an more authentic etouffee. These are some nice cast iron skillets.

Add 1 tbsp of butter plus 1 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet.

Next add all the vegetables and rosemary, bay leaf, and hot pepper. Season with just salt and pepper to taste at this point.

Sauté for 15-20 minutes until soft, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. Some sticking is normal, but if it starts to stick a lot, lower the temp and add a spoon or 2 of broth to deglaze the pan.

It’s easy to rush through this step, but having patience and letting the vegetables really soften up will make for a much more delicious outcome. The time that takes will vary depending on your heat, pan, and how often you stir, as well as your personal preference.

Once you feel it’s ready, move all the vegetables to one side and lower the temp to medium low to start the roux.

The roux, if you are unfamiliar, is the essential thickener used in Creole and Louisiana cooking.

Add the remaining 5 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of gluten free flour and mix only the butter and flour together to form the roux. Move the pan slightly to the side so that roux is more directly on the heat and the vegetables are to the side. See picture above.

We like to do it this way to get all the good flavors from the browning of the vegetables into the roux, rather than starting with the roux and adding the vegetables, which then never get too brown.

Continue to stir frequently and allow to simmer and brown for about 10 minutes or until the roux turns a caramel brown color like pictured above.

Mix the vegetables together with the roux and begin adding the broth in 1/4 cup at a time, slowly mixing in and allowing to simmer slightly before adding the next 1/4 cup. This is a really good broth you can buy online.

Once all the broth is added, add the remaining spices, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes to come together.

Now it’s time to add the peeled crawfish tails. Mix them in and let simmer for a final 10-15 minutes for everything to come together.

Traditionally crawfish etouffee is served over white rice. Though if you like, you could serve this sauce over brown rice, quinoa, or even pasta. It goes well with garlic bread and a side salad. This is sure to be a new favorite for your family.

How to store crawfish etouffee?

Leftover crawfish etouffee should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within 3 days of cooking. It keeps in the freezer for 3 months.

Try More Healthy Family Dinner Recipes

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Authentic Taco Chicken Recipe

Super Simple Slow Cooker Fall Apart Roast Beef Recipe

Sweet and Spicy Meatloaf Recipe

Substitutions for this recipe

Here are a few help substitutions and suggestions for changes to the ingredients and etouffee recipe.

• Portobello Mushroom Cap – use 1/2 small container of baby Portobello mushrooms, or white mushrooms.
• Garlic – we used 6 fresh chopped garlic cloves in this recipe, you can reduce if you like. If using granulated 2 tsp should be good.
• Rosemary – we used fresh, but you could also use 2 tsp of dried in it’s place.
• Gluten free flour – use regular wheat flour, or even masa.
• Crawfish – if you can’t find them – shrimp, or chicken work well too.

Have a question or suggestion for this recipe? Leave it in the comments below!

Check out our crawfish etouffee story here!

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