When it comes to comfort food one of my favorite dishes from the Big Easy is Shrimp Etouffee. Shrimp Étouffée is made with tender seasoned shrimp, smothered in a cajun sauce that’s packed with the cajun flavors of New Orleans.
I’m sure you’ll agree that this is the best Shrimp Etoufee you’ve ever made and truthfully it does take a bit of time to make, but the process is easy and after one taste you’ll agree it was time well spent.
What is Etouffee?
If you look up Etouffee in the dictionary you’ll find the literal translation to be smothered.
Etouffee 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.
What is in an Etoufee Sauce?
Etouffee is a type of stew if you want to get technical. It’s made with a roux, onion, celery, and bell pepper (the holy trinity), tomato, garlic, hot sauce, and either shrimp, crawfish, or chicken.
Cajun etouffee does not contain tomatoes. The addition of tomatoes is the Creole way of preparing etouffee.
There are many variations of this classic shrimp 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.
Many 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.
Étouffée is typically made with shellfish, with crawfish 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.
While traditionalists may argue that the only Etouffee is Crawfish Etouffee I’ll have to disagree. Crawfish may make the traditional dish, but it’s easier to find shrimp, and shrimp make one delicious etouffee!
Recipe FAQ’s
Etouffee means “smothered” when translated from French. It’s basically a stew and typically consists of a dark roux, the Holy Trinity (onion, celery, and bell pepper), tomatoes, garlic, hot sauce, and can be made with shrimp, crawfish, or chicken
Gumbo is made with the same ingredients with the addition of file powder and okra (the word “gumbo” even comes from a West African word for okra.
Gumbo is usually made with a mixture of different meats and seafood. Etouffee is usually only made with shrimp or crawfish.
True Cajun Etouffee does not contain tomatoes, but the creole version does. I prefer the flavor the tomatoes add to the dish, but they can be left out.
No, you don’t. Shrimp etouffee is becoming more popular and its easier to get Shrimp from US waters than it is to get crawfish.
More Shrimp Recipes You’ll Love!
Down-Home Cajun Shrimp Etouffee Recipe
Ingredients
Broth
- shrimp shells
- ½ lemon sliced
- scraps from cutting onion and celery
- 2 cups chicken broth
Etouffee Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup onion small dice
- ½ cup celery small dice
- ½ cup bell pepper small dice
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
- 14 ounce can diced tomato
- 1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun seasoning your favorite blend and adjust to your tastes
- hot sauce to taste optional
Shrimp
- 14 jumbo shrimp 16-20 count shrimp, tail off shelled and deveined (about ¾ of a pound )
- ½ tsp Cajun seasoning
- ½ tsp Italian parsley finely chopped
Assembly
- 2 cups cooked rice
- sea salt to taste
- ¼ cup green onions sliced for garnish
- tablespoon Italian parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
Broth
- Add the shrimp shells and scraps of onion and celery to a small saucepot with a little olive oil to saute and cook for a few minutes
- then add the sliced lemon and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer for 20 minutes. Add more water if necessary to keep the stock close to 1 ½ cups
- Strain the solids from the broth and set aside.
Etouffee Sauce
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, cook until it starts to brown sprinkle in the flour while mixing and reduce the heat to simmer. Continue to simmer until the roux turns dark brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add the onion, celery, and peppers to the roux and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a minute.
- Whisk in the broth
- Add the tomatoes and seasoning, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Season with hot sauce and sea salt to taste.
Shrimp
- Dry the peeled shrimp with paper towels
- Mix some of your seasoning (or paprika if you don't want heat) and chopped parsley with your towel-dried shrimp. Toss the shrimp with the seasoning.
- Heat another saute pan over medium-high heat. Add a little oil to the pan and add the seasoned shrimp
- Saute the shrimp quickly and cook until just done so they stay moist and tender. You want to get color into the shrimp so it's okay if they seasoning burns a little.
Assembly
- Place white rice in center of bowl, add Etouffee Sauce around rice, place cooked shrimp on top
- Garnish with parsley and green onions
Ranae
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! The shrimp broth made all the difference! I have some frozen lobster shells I think I will add next time and maybe double the sauce just so I can keep eating off the spoon! Highly recommend!
Robert deGruiter
I am Dutch, but has lived in New Orleans since the Sixties and love the local cuisine. It has been the last 10 years or so when I started cooking more and going back to cook the dishes which my Mom cooked and we thoroughly enjoyed. I saw the recipe for Étouffée and tried it and love the results. Thank you for sharing this great traditional Louisiana dish. I now live in Mississippi and am retired. Life is good…
Lauren
My first time making etouffee and it was delicious! Cooking for one I’m always looking for recipes that reheat well and I can get multiple meals out of without getting sick of them. This recipe was really easy to follow and be able to modify the spice level to my tolerance; I made my own Cajun seasoning mix to tweak the amount of cayenne. Agree with the others that the shrimp stock makes it. I added a touch of coconut oil to finish my rice and some chopped cilantro to the parsley, which won’t be to everyone’s taste but if like me you’ve taken a liking to Gulf Viet-Cajun cuisine give it a try.
Sharon
I have made this recipe! Fabulous!
J-Rock
Making the broth is always the thing I least want to do when cooking dishes like this, but the broth recipe for this is the best for etouffee I’ve found, makes the whole process more fun and less wasteful feeling. The whole dish was great.
Christina
This recipe is amazing. It really does create such a deep flavor!! So so so good!!! Making the shrimp broth really does make it INCREDIBLE!
Ceal Craig
Thanks for good recipe, especially the explanation for why tomatoes–yes or no– depending on Creole or Cajun (respectively). We tried it without tomatoes. Made my own seasoning with Santa Fe Chile pepper and Smokey Paprika from a local Bay Area spice shop. I did not get a dark brown roux; because I think I missed the key phrase about browning the butter first! I just mixed them and then simmered, after boiling. Made shrimp stock with shells (and roe) that came with spot prawns from our Wild Alaska seafood box (I’ll post a link to your site in the community FB page!). Delicious taste! Very tasty. Thanks!
Loretta
How many servings does this Shrimp Etouffee recipe make?
Chef Dennis Littley
2, you can always find that information on the recipe card
Shay
I made tonight it was so good n flavorful. I cooked the shrimp about 2 mins each side n then once the etouffee was finished I put the shrimp in the pot to soak up the juice n flavor n finish cooking, so good thank u for this recipe
Laurie
Absolutely delicious! The homemade shrimp stock is what makes this dish stand out and sets it far and above standard home cooking. Don’t skip that step, it’s how you build all the flavor! Great recipe, adding it into the hand-written family cookbook.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for the comment and great review Laurie! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the ettouffe!
Sidney Allen Fein
Use cayenne instead of jalepenos. Solid recipe though.
Allison Babb
Made this for my family of six. Everyone d it! It has been added to our rotation of recipes we know we’ll make again. The leftovers were great too. I’m so happy with this recipe.
Susan
Made this for my husband’s birthday dinner Sunday. My daughter and son-in-law came for dinner. And they both raved how wonderful it was. My son-in-law said it was one of the favorite meals I have ever made. And my husband who loves Cajun/creole cooking was thrilled. I followed the recipe to a T, and used creole seasoning because I prefer the little milder flavors. It was delicious.
Amy Liu Dong
Oh my gosh, this dish looks really, delicious and I can’t wait to make this for my family.
Weems McArthur
We grilled lobster and I made a lobster stock out of the shells. I used your shrimp etoufee recipe and substituted the chicken stock with lobster stock. It was fantastic!!
Robert
February 18, 2021.
Made it for myself 2 nights ago. Followed your recipe exactly. So delicious..Made it again tonight and added a dozen fresh muscles to the sauce while it was simmering. Unbelievable! Again, so delicious….gonna surprise girlfriend tomorrow with this dish for lunch….
Thank you for the recipe….already one of my favorites….
Robert….Agawam, MA
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for the great comment Robert! I hope you find more recipes to try, my shrimp and cheesy grits is another classic!
Richard Anneler
Thank you for this wonderful recipe
Followed your instruction to the letter, including the shrimp broth. This was a very easy dish with excellent instruction. Didn’t add to or change a thing.