Cajun Hot Crawfish Dip

This Cajun hot crawfish dip is creamy, cheesy, salty, and just a bit spicy. A perfect appetizer dip for game days or a Mardi Gras party.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Ingredients

Directions

If you’re (most likely) using frozen crawfish meat, move it to the refrigerator and thaw overnight. Alternatively, you can thaw the unopened bag in the sink under cold running water for about 15 minutes or so, turning over occasionally.

Make the Dip:

In a braising dish, large skillet, or pot, add ¼ cup butter and melt over medium heat on your stovetop. Add the diced medium shallot, diced ½ red bell pepper, and chopped white and light green parts of 2 green onions. Sauté until softened and the shallot is translucent but not browned, about 6-8 minutes.
Now add the thawed 12-16 ounces of crawfish meat and its fat, 2-3 cloves of diced garlic, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon mustard powder, and ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. 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 an 8-ounce block of cream cheese into cubes and add both it and the ¼ cup of 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 8-12 ounces of shredded mixed 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 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce and 1-2 teaspoons of 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.

Equipment Used

Notes

1) Crawfish – Since fresh crawfish or crawfish meat can be difficult to find outside the Gulf Coast area, you will likely need to look in the frozen seafood department of your grocery store. If you can buy it by the pound, great, but most frozen packages will only contain 12-ounces. This is fine.

2) Seasoning – If you 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.

3) Hot Sauce – When you’re making a good Cajun or Creole dish, go with a solid Louisiana hot sauce choice. The most popular options include Tabasco, Crystal, and Louisiana Brand hot sauces. Even with 1 teaspoon, this dip is somewhat mild on the spice level, so tweak the seasoning or add more hot sauce if your guests like spicier food.

4) Cheese – As usual, I recommend buying cheese in blocks and shredding it yourself. Shredding your own cheese gives you product that melts better and doesn’t contain extra ingredients to keep it from clumping in bags. Typically sold in 8oz blocks, you only need about ½ - ¾ of a block of each cheese here, giving you roughly 1 ½ cups of each cheese. Save the rest for other recipes or slice for sandwiches.

Keyword Appetizers, Cajun, Crawfish, Creole, Dip

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