Ladle this Crawfish Cream Sauce over fried or broiled seafood, stuffed peppers, or even pasta… it's a game-changer. Its rich, creamy texture and the Creole and Cajun flavors from the crawfish tails and seasonings really set this sauce apart. It will make any dish super special but don't worry, this no-angst recipe from Sweet Daddy D is simple and quick to make.
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A note from Sweet Daddy D: Before I publish a recipe I research and test it thoroughly to make sure it's repeatable, easy to make (no-angst) and delicious. However, I don't forget about it after it's published. Most of these recipes are so delicious that my friends and family request that I keep making them. This Crawfish Cream Sauce is one of my most popular recipes with friends and family and it's been pretty darn popular on Google and Pinterest as well. What I noticed with this recipe is that when I make it, many times it has a tendency to separate (fats from the solids) and honestly I never have been keen about the color. So, I've kept at it and have made some minor modifications that solve those issues for me. First, I substitute margarine for the butter every time I make it now. Margarine has more oil than butter and holds together in a sauce better. The other thing I've done is adjusted the process to add the flour with the crawfish tails instead of making a light roux in the first step. These minor changes don't change the fabulous flavor of this recipe but make it perform better and look even more delicious. If you've tried the recipe before, give it a go with these slight adjustments and let me know what you think. And if you haven't tried it, what are you waiting on?
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What’s so special about this sauce?
The secret to the flavor of this crawfish sauce is the succulent Louisiana crawfish tails and the dry sherry. The Louisiana crawfish tails have some “fat” that adds a sweet depth of flavor and the sherry imparts a warm, mellow background flavor. Don’t think that this Crawfish Cream Sauce is reserved just for crawfish dishes. It’s common to find a nice fried catfish or trout covered in some sort of crawfish sauce at restaurants serving Cajun and Creole dishes. This crawfish sauce is so versatile that you’ll find all sorts of ways to use it. Try dropping in some fettuccine or your other favorite pasta and you have an entre. If you serve it this way, consider increasing the number of crawfish tails you use.
Here's What You Need
Other Ingredients
Equipment
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Saute pan, glass prep bowls, Cambro prep bowls, cutting boards
Here's What You Do
First...you have a beer. You are likely preparing this along with another recipe, so don’t go crazy with the beer. Just prepare yourself to make a fabulous sauce. Sip on a beer while you read the recipe thoroughly. Know what you need and what you will do with each ingredient and what equipment you should have ready. Believe me, this recipe rocks when you are prepared.
Prepare the ingredients
What happens in this step? This is a large part of your mise en place. All the ingredients will be prepared properly and placed in prep bowls close to the cooktop. That way, you can simply assemble the sauce, having enough time to give each step the proper attention. No rushing, no angst.
Place the crawfish tails in a bowl and blend in some Creole seasoning and set them aside until needed. The shallots and garlic should be chopped very fine and set in separate prep bowls. Finely chop the green onions and roughly chop the parsley and set aside in separate bowls.
Measure the butter, AP Flour, creole seasonings, dry sherry and heavy cream, all into separate containers. Let the heavy cream come to room temperature before adding it.
Make the sauce
What happens in this step? In this step, we will build the flavor foundation for the sauce. This is a cream sauce, so once we have the foundation flavors simmering, we use a little flour to work with the cream to thicken the sauce. Take your time on these steps because we don’t want anything to brown, just looking to tease the natural sugars out and create one flavor out of many.
Melt the margarine in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the margarine is bubbling add the shallots and stir constantly for only about 3 minutes. This gives the shallots enough time to sweat and start to turn translucent. We don’t want the shallots to brown.
Next, add the garlic and the Herb and Spice Blend. Continue to stir constantly for about 2 minutes, or until you start to smell the garlic.
Increase the heat a little and add the crawfish tails, parsley and the AP flour. Stir to combine the flour into all the other ingredients. Saute for about 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly. This should be enough time for the flour taste to cook away and the flavors begin to meld. Even though we haven't made a roux, the flour will still help thicken
Next comes the Worcestershire sauce, sherry, parsley and green onions. Blend all of the ingredients thoroughly and let them simmer for about a minute,.
Finish it with heavy cream
What happens in this step? This step brings it all together. The heavy cream is the conduit that delivers the wonderful flavor to whatever you ladle the sauce on.
Now add the heavy cream and stir completely. Increase the heat a little more just until you see the edges of the sauce start to simmer. Try not to let the sauce boil. Turn the heat down to maintain a low, steady simmer and continue like that for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. When the sauce is slightly thickened it is ready.
Serve immediately by ladling over fried fish or stuffed peppers or just about anything.
That’s it, simple as that.
Hints and Tips (FAQs)
Most sauces made with butter and cream have the tendency to separate (sometimes referred to as “break”). This sauce is no exception, so I use margarine instead of butter, as margarine has less milk fats and stays together better with the heat.
I recommend only Louisiana crawfish. The freezer case in your grocery store or seafood market will probably offer 1-pound packages of frozen crawfish tail meat. Louisiana crawfish get to the market quicker than imported crawfish which helps the flavor and freshness. If you have to use imported (likely Chinese) crawfish, make sure to rinse them thoroughly as the “fat” can get rancid at about 6 months. Frozen Louisiana crawfish tails are ready to go right out of the pack, their “fat” will add a sweet depth of flavor. A great online source for Louisiana crawfish tail meat is The Cajun Grocer. Please note, I do not have an affiliation with Cajun Grocer, I just know them to be a reputable vendor.
This is a cream sauce and if we start with a roux it may have the tendency to be too dark and may thicken more than we want. We do want the sauce to slightly thicken and the flavors need something to help bring them together, so we add a small amount of flour when we add the crawfish. It will be smooth and still serve to thicken the sauce along with the heavy cream.
This is a very versatile sauce and it's good enough to be the main event. If you want to mix this with pasta (really good with Fettuccini) consider using a whole pound of tail meat. Of course, you could use a whole pound of tail meat no matter what you are putting this on if you want!
You can substitute any dry white wine or a light rum. I would stay away from “cooking” wines because they usually have a very high salt content. You can also leave the sherry out altogether if you prefer, but if it’s not an issue, I encourage you to try it with the sherry, it really puts a special mellowness to the whole thing.
You can store the leftover sauce in the fridge in a glass or plastic container with an airtight seal for about 3 days. The sauce may separate in the fridge, but just reheat it in a saucepan over low heat, vigorously stirring or whisking to bring it back together. The appearance may not be perfect, but the flavor will still be great.
I am not a big fan of freezing leftover cream sauces, but you can do it if you want. The flavor quality will last for up to 3 months in the freezer if stored in an airtight container. A vacuum-sealed bag is good for this. Defrost it in the fridge for about 8 to 24 hours, then reheat it in a saucepan over low heat. Hopefully, the sauce will not separate, but it's possible with the heavy cream. If this happens stir or whisk vigorously to get everything where it belongs. Again, the appearance may not be perfect, but the flavor will be there.
This Crawfish Cream Sauce is so delicious that you will be wanting to ladle it over just about everything. Here are a few of Sweet Daddy D's recipes that are just perfect for this sauce:
I bet you'd love some Crawfish and Corn Fritters:
You'll find the Cajun and Creole Recipes you're looking for here:
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Crawfish Cream Sauce
Here's What You Need
- 1 cup crawfish tails about ½ pound
- ¼ cup margarine
- ½ cup shallots about 2 finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic about 2 cloves
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning plus some for crawfish tails
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon AP flour
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 3 green onions chopped, about ½ cup
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground black pepper
Here's What You Do
Prepare the ingredients
- Place the crawfish tails in a bowl and blend in some Creole seasoning. Set aside.
- Chop the shallots and garlic very fine and set in separate prep bowls.
- Finely chop the green onions and roughly chop the parsley and set aside in separate bowls.
- Measure the butter, flour, creole seasonings, Worchestershire sauce and sherry. Pour the heavy cream in a measuring cup and let it come to room temperature.
To make the sauce
- Melt the margarine in a large saute pan over medium heat.
- When margarine is bubbling, add the shallots and saute for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Add garlic, Creole seasonings and kosher salt and pepper, stir for about 2 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium-high; add the parsley, crawfish tails, and AP flour. Stir to combine all ingredients thoroughly. See Notes.
- Saute for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Next add the Worcestershire sauce, sherry and green onions to the pan and stir constantly for about 1 minute.
- Increase the heat; add the heavy cream and stir or whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Don't let the sauce come to a complete boil. As soon as you see a simmer starting around the edges, lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. (see Notes)
- Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring and shaking the pan often until thickened slightly.
Recipe Notes
This is a cream sauce so don't start with a roux. Add the flour later in the process (with the crawfish tails) and it will serve to thicken the sauce along with the heavy cream. Using margarine instead of butter will help the sauce stay together and not separate. If the sauce does begin to separate, simply whisk the warm sauce until it's back together. Try not to let the sauce come to a heavy boil after adding the cream. This may cause the sauce to separate and curdle. You can substitute any dry white wine or this or even a light rum for the sherry. Of course, you could leave it out altogether. This sauce is great spooned over fried or broiled fish, stuffed peppers, and pasta. There really is no end to how you will use this sauce.
Nutrition
Yeah You Right!
MMay
Why margarine and not butter? Didn’t know any decent cooks still used margarine!!!
Sweet Daddy D
Hey MMay, thanks for the question. This recipe is great with butter and I substitute butter for margarine often. I used margarine when I revised this recipe because the sauce tends to separate when using butter if you don't serve it right away. I mention this a few times in the article. Decent cooks use lots of different ingredients, you'll love this recipe with either margarine or butter.
Jimmy
Can you use crawfish Julie as a soup?
Sweet Daddy D
Hi Jimmy, thanks for the question. I suppose you could use my Crawfish Cream Sauce recipe as a base for soup. I've never done it, but I would start with the basic recipe, and add some crawfish, seafood, or chicken stock before the cream goes in. I would definitely increase the amount of crawfish tails and probably increase the flour and butter and consider adding more shallots. I know it makes a great sauce for pasta but hadn't thought of soup. Let me know if you try it. You have me thinking now, so I may try that one of these days.
Gerald Raymond
First time trying this and it is awesome. Will tweak it next time but it is good. Thanks
Sweet Daddy D
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and glad you liked it. Let me know how you tweak it next time, I always like to hear what people do with my recipes. I appreciate the comment.
Jessica
I am also from Louisiana and found the recipe super delicious. I doubled the recipe and put it over tilapia. Then put leftovers over pasta.
The only thing I would do differently is reduce the salt. In fact, I would take out the salt completely since the cajun seasoning I use (Jack Millers, Ville Platte, LA) has plenty of salt in it.
Similar to LSU Fan, most recipes I find on line that claim to be Cajun are not. They may be good, but not Cajun. This recipe stays true to what I would expect in a Cajun dish.
Sweet Daddy D
Thanks, Jessica, I'm glad you liked the recipe. I developed it using my own Le Bon Papa Creole Seasoning, which is No-Salt, so you should adjust the salt based on whatever seasoning you use. I appreciate you giving it a try, thanks for the comments. (Corrected link)
LSU Fan
I made this last night and it was delicious. It would also be great served by itself over pasta.
I have a few comments about your recipes in general. I am Cajun. My Grandma T was a phenomenal Cajun cook, and my Grandpa was a wonderful but opinionated (not in a bad way) Cajun. I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled much of the world and eaten at some very nice places but nothing I have ever eaten surpasses Grandma T’s crawfish bisque.
Before my Grandma passed, I sat down with her and wrote down her recipes for jambalaya, etouffee', gumbo, stuffed mirlitons, and a few others. It was difficult, as all of the recipes were in her head, and none were written down. What I got from her is good and, at least in my opinion, priceless.
Many recipes I see either online or in cookbooks, call for tomatoes or tomato sauce in jambalaya, gumbo, and even etouffee’. My grandfather would roll over in his grave. “Dat’s not Cajun, dat’s Creole”. I have nothing against Creole cooking but it’s just not what I am used to. Your recipes are closer to my Grandma’s recipes and I’m sure my Grandpa would approve.
Thank you for your website and all your recipes. I’m going to try to make more than a few.
Sweet Daddy D
Thanks for trying my recipe, Marshall. I'm so glad you liked it. It does go well over pasta. It goes well over fried fish also. I appreciate your comments. To me, it's all about family traditions and carrying on what our parents, Aunts and Uncles, and grandparents did. I have lots of readers that would agree with your grandfather. You'll notice I have both Creole and Cajun recipes and sometimes the line between them can be a little blurry, particularly when you consider regional differences in Cajun recipes. Thanks for the comments...I'm looking forward to hearing about what other recipes you try. Keep cooking!
Kimya
What to do if it's too salty
Sweet Daddy D
That’s a tough one, Kimya. Try adding a little more heavy cream and/or unsalted butter. Also some acid may neutralize salt so try a bit of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
Ann
Can you make this with cooked Crawfish?
Sweet Daddy D
Ann, yes this recipe is made with frozen crawfish tails or leftover crawfish tails (like from a boil). Either way, the tails are already cooked. Frozen tails will be parboiled before being frozen. Thanks, and enjoy.
Pam
I want to try this for my daughter baby shower. Will it go well with a Shrimp and broccoli pasta?
Sweet Daddy D
Thanks for the question, Pam. I honestly have not tried this sauce with Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta, but basically, I don't know why it wouldn't work. I'd like to know a little more about the recipe for your pasta dish. Would it make sense to substitute shrimp for the crawfish in the sauce? I don't think that's absolutely necessary, just an idea. Does your recipe already have a sauce? If you have more questions or want to discuss further, you can email me directly at [email protected] and we can get into it deeper. Thanks and good luck.