We lived in Louisiana for about 3 1/2 years…long enough to love the people…and the food! Crawfish season is in full-swing down there right now, and oh how we miss neighborhood crawfish boils!
If you live in a state anywhere near Louisiana, you probably have a local seafood market that is stocking fresh crawfish tails right now, so grab your grocery list and add the ingredients for this Creamy Crawfish Pasta. You can also substitute frozen crawfish tails, available year-round in your grocer’s freezer.
My neighbor and Louisiana-native friend, Andrea, shared this recipe with me. Alter any ingredients to suit your taste!
Creamy Crawfish Pasta
1 lb pasta (shells, fettucini, or rotini work)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 lb. fresh crawfish tails, peeled and deveined (or 1 pkg frozen tail meat)
Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
1/2 lb. Velveeta (Jalapenos version)
Salt to taste
5-6 drops Tabasco
3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
1/2 large onion, chopped small
1 bell pepper, chopped small
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped or 2 T. dried parsley
1/4 cup green onions, chopped small
Preheat oven to 350°.
Rinse crawfish and set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
In a large skillet with medium heat, melt butter and saute´onion and garlic until soft. Add flour a little bit at a time and stir just until blended. At this point, my mixture was too thick, so I adjusted the amount of flour for this recipe to 1/4 cup, as noted. You do not want a paste-y consistency.
Add crawfish and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
Lower heat and add the half and half, Velveeta cheese, 1 t. Tony Chachere’s, salt, and Tabasco. Cook until cheese is completely melted. Gradually add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, stirring often. Add the parsley and green onions and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
In a large bowl, combine the cheese mixture with the pasta and mix well. Test-taste to determine if you would like more salt or Tony Chachere’s. Transfer mixture to a 9×13, greased casserole dish. Top with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
Bake covered with foil for about 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 5 more minutes or until casserole is heated through completely. Be careful not to overcook, as it will dry out.
Enjoy with a green salad and bread for a complete meal!
Linking to:
Tidy Mom, One Artsy Mama, Design, Dining, and Diapers Diana Rambles, Tatertots and Jello, Mop It Up Mondays, TwelveOEight, Embracing Change, Denise in Bloom, Six Sisters Stuff
Shannon @ A Cozy Place Called Home says
Crawfish isn’t really a staple where I live and I only remember having it once. Years ago when I was in college, they had a night serving food from different places and one night was Cajun night with crawfish and frog legs. I got brave and tried both, though I cannot imagine eating frog legs today! The crawfish however was very good. This dish looks like it is very yummy. Too bad my college didn’t have your recipe because I bet it would have been a hit.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today!
rylie says
cute blog! this looks yummy. 🙂
Amanda Brown says
Thank you!
Debbie says
Ok, I’m all over this
Miss Kitty says
That looks Oh.So.Good!!! Your photos are great too! Thanks for sharing that recipe with us.
Karen says
This looks so great! I’m going to see if I can make a gluten-free version, so that I can give it a try.
Monica says
This looks so delicious and perfect for a gathering. Keeping this recipe for our Final Four get together.