Shrimp Étouffée Recipe for down home Louisiana Cookin’

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Around the Kitchen Table

My easy to make Shrimp Etouffee is perfect for that special date night or to make any night a special occasion!

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
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Shrimp Étouffée for Louisiana down home cookin’ –

With Mardi Gras quickly approaching I thought I would share one of my favorite dishes from N’awlins, Shrimp Étouffée. Of course you don’t have to be celebrating Mardi Gras, this dish would make a delicious date night dinner or would turn any night into a special occasion.

Around the Kitchen Table, shrimp etouffee

If you look up Étouffée in the dictionary you’ll find the literal translation to be smothered. Étouffée uses a technique known as smothering, which is a popular method of cooking in the Cajun areas of southwest Louisiana and the coastal counties of Mississippi.

There are many variations of this classic dish, some being Cajun and others being Creole. And while there are a lot of similarities in the styles, each has its own unique seasonings and flavors typical of the region and families the recipe came from. Lots of people confuse Étouffée with Jambalaya and that’s a completely different type of recipe.  Even my Tex-Mex Jambalaya doesn’t come close to resembling my Shrimp Étouffée.

Around the Kitchen Table, shrimp etouffee

Étouffée is typically made with shellfish, Crayfish being the original star of the dish. But as we all know when it comes to cooking it’s all about what we like to eat and what’s readily available and since it’s easier to find shrimp (and we do love our Gulf shrimp) I decided to make a Shrimp Étouffée to get us into the Mardi Gras Spirit!

You’ll also find recipes for Chicken Étouffée some with sausage and combinations of all the ingredients. So adjust the recipe with the ingredients you like and let the good times roll!

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4.86 from 7 votes
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Shrimp Etouffee

My easy to make Shrimp Etouffee is perfect for that special date night or to make any night a special occasion!

Author: Chef Dennis Littley
Nutrition Facts
Shrimp Etouffee
Amount Per Serving
Calories 555 Calories from Fat 234
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 26g 40%
Saturated Fat 14g 70%
Cholesterol 631mg 210%
Sodium 2851mg 119%
Potassium 689mg 20%
Total Carbohydrates 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 5g
Protein 51g 102%
Vitamin A 43%
Vitamin C 104.1%
Calcium 39.8%
Iron 37.7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Entree
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 2
Calories: 555 kcal
Around the Kitchen Table
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 pound shrimp shelled and deveined
  • 1/2 lemon sliced
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup onion diced
  • 1/2 cup celery diced
  • 1/2 cup bell pepper diced
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
  • 1 14 ounce can diced tomato
  • 1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun seasoning your favorite blend and adjust to your tastes
  • hot sauce to taste
  • sea salt to taste
  • 1/4 cup green onions sliced for garnish
  • tablespoon Italian parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
Broth
  1. Add the shrimp shells and scraps of onion and celery to a small sauce pot with a little olive oil to saute and cook for a few minutes
  2. then add the sliced lemon and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes
  3. Strain the solids from the broth and set aside.
Etouffee
  1. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, cook until it starts to brown sprinkle in the flour while mixing and simmer until it turns a dark brown, about 10-15 minutes.
  2. Add the onion, celery and peppers to the roux and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a minute.
  4. Whisk in the broth
  5. add the tomatoes and seasoning reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  6. Season with hot sauce and sea salt to taste.
Shrimp
  1. mix some of your seasoning (or paprika if you don't want heat) and chopped parsely with your towel dried shrimp
  2. get a saute pan hot , add a little oil to the pan and add the shrimp
  3. Saute the shrimp quickly and cook until just done so they stay moist and tender. You want to get color into the shrimp so its okay if they seasoning burns a little.
  4. Place white rice in center of bowl, add Etouffee around rice, place cooked shrimp on top
  5. Garnish with parsley and green onions

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. I love your website and always look forward to getting a new email with a new recipe. I have tried several of your recipes and they are always awesome. I will be making this one this weekend. For anyone that has not tried the Tiramisu, you must! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  8. Thank you for this recipe! We are snowbirding on the Gulf-made this dish last night and it was delicious! I was a little light-handed with the seasonings-will add a bit more next time…happy Valentines day!

    Reply

  10. Hi Chef Dennis!

    Where have you been all of my life – I love your recipes. I actually happened to have a rack of pork so it is in the oven as we speak. Saw a recipe for Shrimp Etouffee – I have beautiful shelled and deveined gulf shrimp in my freezer I would like to use – but it mentions add the shrimp shells – I do not have any, will it be okay without them?

    Reply

    • hi Priscilla

      thanks so much for stopping by and I’m happy to hear you like my recipes! The shrimp shells are just to add more shrimp flavor to the stock, its not a deal breaker. I hope you enjoy the flavors of the Etouffee!

      Reply

  12. I made this and it was a hit! I cooked for eight big hungry guys. I had to triple the amount of seasoning and I put 146 shrimp size 16-21. I have always used the Louisiana shrimp etouffee package that I purchase whenever I am home there. Have to admit, making it from scratch was so much better. I am hooked making it from scratch only for me

    Glenda

    Reply

  14. I love this dish, even though I used patti Labelles recipes, This is one of my favs, other dishes are always welcome, I like to make new things, instead of the same dishes each week….

    Reply

  15. You have butter listed twice in the ingredients
    4 Tbs and 2 Tbs. is this an error or am I missing a step?

    Thanks, Nick

    Reply

  16. I liked the show But what does a pink dress a rug on the table or a old park bench have todo with the food? Let her get her own show!.

    Reply

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