Shrimp Etouffee
Shrimp etouffee is a juicy entree smothered in rich, flavorful gravy boasting authentic Cajun flavors. Its bold spices are incredibly mouthwatering, and it’s super easy to make!
I totally appreciate easy, quick, and tasty meals. But if you want to put something more exciting on your table, this shrimp etouffee recipe is a great place to start. The French make delicious food, but throw in an African and Creole kick for a truly unforgettable combination.
Once you taste it, you’ll want it on a weekly rotation. So, while planning your weekly menu, add homemade Creole seasoning to your spice list. The mother of all Southern spices adds depth and richness, is quick, and easily customizable.
What Is Shrimp Etouffee?
You are probably thinking, what on earth is étouffée? I love French. The verb etouffée is much prettier than smother. But you’re not here for French 101, right?
Shrimp etouffee is different than shrimp creole. Juicy shrimp smothered in a thick spicy sauce dress up steaming white rice for a delicious one-pot meal. On the other hand, shrimp creole is a thinner, stew-like sauce that isn’t quite as spicy. However, both are equally delicious because the tomatoes, onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic add a rich flavor.
How to Make Shrimp Etouffee
Shrimp Stock
- Sauté – Add a teaspoon or two of butter to a saucepan or skillet. Toss in the shrimp shells, the remaining onion, garlic, and celery scraps, and aromatics like bay leaf and thyme, and saute for 5-7 minutes, constantly stirring to prevent burning. (Photo 1)
- Simmer – Add about 5 cups of water to it. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 20 minutes. (Photo 2)
- Strain – Remove from heat and strain using a sieve. Set stock aside. (Photo 3)
Etouffee
- Roux – Whisk melted butter, oil, and flour until smooth in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, for 10-12 minutes or until you achieve the desired color. Please don’t walk away from the stove because it might burn. (Photos 4-5)
- Sauce – Add the onion, green pepper, and celery, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. (Photo 6)
- Herbs – Then add garlic, thyme, and bay leaf – continue stirring for another 2 minutes. (Photo 7)
- Season – Toss in about a cup of chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and Creole seasoning. Cook for about 5 minutes. (Photo 8)
- Add Stock and Shrimp – Gradually pour in about 2 cups of shrimp stock, bring to a boil, and simmer. Add the shrimp and simmer for five more minutes. Or season the shrimp with Creole seasoning, sauté for about 5 minutes, and throw it in at the last minute—both options work. (Photos 9-10)
- Adjust the soup’s thickness and flavor with more shrimp broth or water, hot sauce, and salt. (Photo 11)
- Serve – Stir in the green onions and chopped parsley. Serve over hot rice. (Photo 12)
Recipe Variations
- Seafood etouffee. Crawfish and shrimp étouffée is incredible if you can get some fresh crawfish when it’s in season. But, hey, clams, oysters, mussels, lobster, and crab sound terrific.
- Vegetarian etouffee. Vegetable broth instead of seafood broth and baby portabellos, oyster mushrooms, tempeh, and eggplant instead of seafood are all good.
- Paleo version. Use ghee instead of butter, arrowroot powder instead of flour, and yuca fries instead of rice.
- Turn up the heat with an extra dash of cayenne pepper.
Tips and Tricks
- The key to a great etouffee is the roux. Some people like the brown roux for deeper, bolder flavors, but I prefer the blonde roux for two reasons. First, it takes less time, and second, it has a milder flavor than the darker one.
- Cook the roux over medium to low heat with constant whisking. Don’t stop even for a second to avoid burnt roux.
- Shell-on shrimp is best because the shells make a quick, easy, and flavorful stock.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
This incredible dish is the perfect make-ahead because the flavor is even better the next day. Make it the day before, let it cool, then store it in the fridge or freezer. Make your rice and reheat your shrimp etouffee on the stove when ready to serve. Keep your leftovers the same way.
What Goes With Shrimp Etouffee
Homemade garlic bread, fried okra, spicy green beans, skillet cornbread, and basmati rice all love to be with shrimp etouffee. King cake is a superb finish with a cup of coffee.
More Awesome Seafood Recipes to Try
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”8ucJfXsH” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 19:57:54 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Shrimp Etouffee” description=”Shrimp Etouffee — Juicy shrimp dish smothered in rich and flavorful roux sauce made with rich authentic southern flavors and an incredibly delicious taste. Easy recipe with big bold flavors!!!”]
This blog post was originally published in June 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Shrimp Etouffee
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (28ml) canola oil
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter
- ¼ cup (30g) flour
- ½ medium onion, diced
- ½ cup (70-75g) diced green bell pepper
- ⅓ cup (35-40g) chopped celery (1-2 stalks)
- 2 teaspoons (10g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (1g) thyme (fresh or dried)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup (200g) chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon (5g) Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon (1g) smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon (8g) Creole seasoning
- 2 cups (500ml) seafood broth (or sub with water)
- 1 pound (453g) shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve the shrimp shells)
- 1 teaspoon (5g) hot sauce (optional)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons (8-12g) parsley, chopped
Instructions
Shrimp Stock
- Add a teaspoon or two of butter or oil to a saucepan or skillet. Then, toss in the shrimp shells, remaining onion, garlic, and celery scraps, and aromatics like bay leaf and thyme.
- Sauté for 5-7 minutes, constantly stirring to prevent burning. Add about 5 cups of water to it, and simmer it for 40 minutes or up to an hour.
- Remove from heat and strain using a sieve. Set stock aside.
Etouffee
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine melted butter, oil, and flour until smooth.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, for about 10-12 minutes or until you've achieved the desired color. Don't walk away during this process because it might burn.
- Add the onion, green pepper, and celery, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Then add garlic, thyme, and bay leaf—continue stirring for another 2 minutes.
- Next, toss in about a cup of chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and Creole seasoning, and let it cook for 5 minutes.
- Gradually pour in about 2 cups of shrimp stock, bring to a boil, and let it simmer. Add the shrimp and simmer for 5 more minutes. Or season the shrimp with Creole seasoning, sauté for about 5 minutes, and then throw them in at the last minute. You've got two options here – both work.
- Adjust the soup's thickness and flavor with more shrimp broth or water, hot sauce, and salt.
- Stir in the green onions and chopped parsley, and serve over hot cooked rice.
Tips & Notes:
- Just like gumbo and jambalaya, it’s made with the Southern holy trinity. But the roux isn’t as dark as the one for gumbo.
- Feel free to use crawfish instead of shrimp. You could even use chicken if you’re allergic to seafood. Just make sure to cook the chicken well.
- If you want to add crab to this recipe, cut down on the shrimp or double everything else, minus the shrimp.
- The key to success for this dish is the roux. Some people like the brown roux for deep, bold flavors, but I prefer the blonde roux for two reasons: First, it takes up less time, 5-7 minutes, to get rid of the flour’s raw flavor. And second, it has a slightly nutty taste, not as strong as gumbo, but equally tasty in its own right.
- If you have the patience and persistence and want that brown roux flavor, go for it. Don’t let me stop you.
- Be sure to cook it over medium to low heat with constant stirring and whisking. Don’t stop for a second, or you might end up with a burnt roux.
- Shell-on shrimp are best, if possible. Don’t let the shelling and deveining scare you because those shells make a flavorful broth!
- Please remember that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used.
I can’t count how many times I’ve made this, but you will forever be the reigning queen of Shrimp Etouffee. I will never use another recipe for this dish!
Awesome!!! That makes my day.
Still Elite!!! I make mine with blackened chicken breast as well adding it sliced at the very end over the rice and sauce, and maybe a habanero in my veggies if no one is looking. I’ve now made it more than a dozen times literally stirring roux as I type and this recipe is the best. I think it is the care of making the shrimp stock that actually makes it elite. I cook that for over an hour and it is a difference maker. So rich so amazing! Thank you again. JB
Awesome!!! Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks.
Could I add scallops with the shrimp?
Hi Debra,
Absolutely, that would be a great addition! Same cook time as the shrimp 🙂
This is an amazing recipe! I have made shrimp stock in the past but happy to learn a new technique!
Thank you for sharing this, we loved it! Have a feeling it will be on permanent rotation.
Awesome! Thank you for the feedback, Melanie!
I loved this recipe. I used frozen shrimp that was peeled already so I didn’t get the opportunity to make the shrimp stock. It was still delicious! Will definitely try to make the stock next time.
Hi Bree,
I’m glad to hear you loved the recipe! Even without the shrimp stock, it’s great that the dish turned out delicious. When you get a chance to make the stock next time, it’ll add an extra depth of flavor that can really elevate the dish. Enjoy experimenting, and feel free to share how it turns out!
Thanks for the feedback.
This is delicious !!!! I never had shrimp etoufee before! My bestfriend would always tell me how delicious it was. This was magnificent!!!
Awesome! Thank God for your friend, you would have missed out on this!!:)
Really good! I made it exactly as written. I usually don’t make my own stock, but the shrimp stock was stupid simple. The grocery store even had EZ peel shrimp – still had the shells and tails, but no deveining necessary. I’ll definitely be making this again!
I love it when people realize how easy it is to make shrimp stock! I never let my shrimp shells go to waste :)! Glad you liked the recipe, Amber.
I like etouffe suace piquant style, without the flour.
Hi Sharell! This is just as piquant. You could also add more hot sauce if you prefer :)!
In steps 1, 2 and 3 it tells you what to do to make shrimp stock, but doesn’t say how long to cook it after you add the 5 cups of water.
My bad. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer the stock gently for about 30-45 minutes. This duration is typically sufficient for extracting the flavors from the shrimp and other ingredients. If you’re looking for a more intense flavor, you can extend the simmering time to an hour.
This was amazing. I forgot to buy a tomato so I used a cup of canned diced tomato and that was just fine, maybe better considering the quality of tomatoes at the store recently!
Amazing!!!!! That looks absolutely delicious!! Glad you loved it. Looking forward to you trying more of my recipes.
We’ve long been a fan of your Po Boy recipe and tried this one tonight. Wow! This is amazing! We love it. I was worried about the roux turning out but the directions were great. This was better than any southern food we’ve had in a southern restaurant.
Glad to hear about your experience. Thank you so much for your continuous support!
Ms. Imma, in addition to being an obviously skillful chef, you have an even greater gift as a communicator. I’ve made etouffee for years, using lots of different recipes (Joy of Cooking, etc.). I have never had the dish explained, the steps laid out, and variations suggested with such clarity and skill. Your recipe method, which has an openness and sense of fun, gave me the freedom to experiment, and I loved learning the distinctions between Cajun and creole — not that I really understand them, but it was cool info. I will certainly come back to you again, as I think you are unrivaled in the way you present a recipe.
Oh, and the etoufee turned out great (I added additional green pepper and red pepper, quick-sauted with cajun seasoning, near the end to give the dish some texture and color and finished with White Balsamic vinegar). Like I said, you’re obviously a superb chef!>
Thank you so much for your awesome feedback. Audience support and love are very necessary to keep the motivation alive. Thanks again!!!