Cajun Hot Crawfish Dip

Crawfish – Be sure to buy crawfish meat for this recipe, as it would take 6-7 pounds of fresh crawfish that would need to be cooked and peeled to equal roughly a pound of meat. Fresh crawfish are also hard to come by outside the Gulf region, so look for it in the frozen seafood section.

Butter – I like to use butter to cook the vegetables and crawfish in as it adds more flavor than oil.

Veggies – For the vegetables I use a mix of shallot, red bell pepper, green onion, and garlic. You could also use green bell pepper and a regular onion instead.

Seasoning – I keep the seasoning simple here with a bit of salt, black pepper, mustard powder, and smoked paprika. Alternatively, you could use a Cajun or Creole seasoning blend if you wish or add a bit of cayenne to what I used for a spicier version.

Creaminess – I use a mixture of full-fat brick style cream cheese and full-fat sour cream here. This adds a nice creaminess to the dip and a bit of tang.

Cheese – Use a good, melty cheese here. I like the mixture of a sharp cheddar and pepper Jack cheese here, but feel free to experiment with other cheeses you prefer. Good options include white cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Gouda, mozzarella, provolone, etc. I also suggest buying cheese in blocks and shredding it yourself.

Worcestershire Sauce – A bit of Worcestershire sauce adds a bit of an umami flavor and smokiness to the dip.

Hot Sauce – I also like to add some hot sauce to give the crawfish dip a kick. Use a good Louisiana hot sauce like Tabasco, Crystal, or Louisiana brand.

Make the Dip

In a braising dish, large skillet, or pot, add the butter and melt over medium heat on your stovetop. Add the diced shallot, diced red pepper, and chopped white and light green parts of your green onion. Sauté until softened and the shallot is translucent but not browned, about 6-8 minutes.

Now add the thawed crawfish meat and its fat, the diced garlic, and the dry seasonings. Lower the heat to medium low and stir until fully combined. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the crawfish meat is warmed throughout, about 8-10 minutes.

Cut the cream cheese into cubes and add both it and the sour cream to the mixture. Stir and continue cooking until both have fully melted and incorporated into the dip.

Now add most of the reserved green parts of the green onion and stir to combine. Finally, add the cheese, a bit at a time, until it is fully melted and you have a thickened but creamy consistency.

Turn off the heat and stir in the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce until fully combined. Top with the remaining green onion and serve hot.

I served this with toasted slices of a French baguette, but also works great with raw veggies like carrots, celery, and peppers, or misc. chips and crackers.

Toast Bread

You can do this ahead of time or toast them after adding the crawfish in the steps above.

Also called “crostini”, I like to slice a French baguette about ½” thick into plenty of pieces and set on a baking sheet. If the slices are wide, you can cut them in half again so that the pieces are roughly 3-4-inches long. Toast in a 350°F / 180°C oven for about 10-12 minutes so that the outside is crisp, but the center is still soft.

Alternatively, you can also brush these on one side with some melted butter or melted butter with minced garlic before toasting.

Vegetables – I like the mix I used here, but feel free to use something different, like regular onion and green bell pepper. You could also go with the Cajun “holy trinity” of onion, green bell pepper, and celery.

Seafood – If you don’t like crawfish or have trouble finding it, you could swap it with things like shrimp or crab meat as well. For shrimp, you could use small or medium whole shrimp or get larger ones and cut into chunks and adjust cooking time. If using crab, I would get a mixture of lump crab and claw meat.

Seasoning – Have a favorite Cajun blend like Zatarain’s, Tony’s, or Slap Ya Mama? Feel free to use that instead of what I listed. If you want to kick up the spice level, add in a bit of cayenne powder and/or some crushed red pepper. Alternatively, add more hot sauce as well.

Cheese – As mentioned earlier, consider different cheeses you prefer. Use just 1, or a mix of 2-3 types of cheese. I like the mix of cheddar for a sharp cheese flavor and pepper Jack for its mellow but slightly spicy addition. Try different combinations your family prefers.

Slow Cooker – If you prefer, you can make this in a slow cooker instead and just leave it on warm for serving. I like to melt the butter and sauté the veggies in a pan first, then add them along with the rest of the ingredients into a slow cooker. Cook on high for 45 minutes to an hour, or on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Leave it on warm and serve straight from the slow cooker.

Braising Pan – I love my enameled braising dish because it’s a great cooking dish that’s between a large skillet and a Dutch-oven. About as wide as a large skillet with higher walls and comes with a lid and can be used on the stove or inside the oven.

Warming Mat – We used this to serve this crawfish dip and other foods for our Mardi Gras party. If you have an extra crockpot or fondue server, you can keep the dip warm in those, but if you don’t have either option, these warming mats for food work surprisingly well. We just moved the dip to a serving bowl and placed it on the mat, and it stayed warm the whole time.

Rotary Cheese Grater – I love this tool for shredding my own cheese at home. While you can do the same on a box grater, it gets difficult near the end to finish shredding and grating things without cutting yourself. A rotary cheese grater makes short work of shredding cheese and is also useful for grating frozen butter for various recipes as well.

❄️ How to Store Crawfish Dip

While serving crawfish dip, it needs to be held either cold or hot, below 40°F or above 140°F, otherwise it shouldn’t be kept out over two hours.

When you’re ready to put it away, let the dip cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

You can reheat leftover crawfish dip in the microwave in 20-30 second bursts, stirring in between, until hot. For the best texture and flavor though, I recommend heating in a small pot over medium-low heat on your stove until heated throughout. If it’s a bit too thick, add a little water or milk as it heats up until you’re happy with the consistency.

Because of the ingredients like cream cheese, cheese, and crawfish, I do not recommend freezing. While you technically could, it will separate and have an undesirable texture once thawed.