Crawfish Dip

About Cajun Crawfish Dip

Full of crawfish and veggies in every bite, this hot crawfish dip recipe is a seafood lover's dream come true.

It's incredibly simple to make and loaded with flavor. It's basically just veggies, cream cheese, crawfish tails, and spices, and you really can't go wrong with that combo. You can use leftover crawfish from a crawfish boil or frozen crawfish tails.

This recipe is based on one from an old issue of Southern Living. But that recipe used a whole stick of butter to sauté the bell peppers and green onions which just felt extreme.

I decided to try making it with only a tablespoon, and it was rich without being too much. It's a total crowd-pleaser.

You can serve it straight from the skillet served warm, transfer to a serving dish for a fancier presentation, or even take it up a notch by covering it with shredded cheese + breadcrumbs and broiling it in the oven for a few minutes to get extra cheesiness.

It's also delightful served cold or at room temperature, and you can even use it as a sauce for pasta. There's practically nothing this crawfish dip recipe can't do. Oh, and it's quite forgiving so you can't really mess it up. Hooray!

Ingredients

Butter: In most cases, use unsalted butter for cooking and baking so you can add salt as needed. If using salted butter, use less salt to start when seasoning and add more later if needed. Olive oil or avocado oil can be used in place of butter.

Bell peppers: Green bell pepper is the bell pepper that was used for testing purposes, but any color bell pepper will work. Preferably, use orange or yellow to add a variety of colors to your dip, and the pimentos will add red.

Green onion: The green onion has a mild flavor that blends well into the dip, but if you like onion flavor, you can use regular onion.

Garlic: A must-have ingredient for this crawfish dip is garlic. Both fresh and powdered garlic are included in the recipe, but you can substitute one for the other if you only have one on hand.

Pimentos: Sliced or diced pimentos are both good options. Make sure you drain them before adding them to the dip. Jarred pimentos can be found next to the olives in the store.

Spices: Dried parsley, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper are the spices for this dip. Honestly, paprika and garlic powder could be omitted. Be cautious of the cayenne pepper if you don't like spicy; you can always use less and add more as needed.

Cream cheese: Block cream cheese works best for this. Full-fat or reduced-fat will both work fine. However, don't use fat-free.

Crawfish: Peeled, deveined crawfish tails are what you need. I recommend using frozen because they are already taken care of for you, and all you have to do is thaw, rinse, and drain the crawfish tail meat. Whether you use leftover picked fresh crawfish or the frozen variety, be sure to rinse and drain the crawfish well before adding to the dip.

How to Make Crawfish Dip

This crawfish dip recipe is simple to make. Sauté the veggies, season with pimentos, spices, and garlic, add cream cheese, and stir in the crawfish. Thin with a little lemon juice and water, and enjoy. Here are the specific steps to make it:

1. Step 1: Melt butter in a large skillet. Sauté the bell peppers and green onions until softened.

2. Step 2: Add spices, garlic, and pimentos.

3. Step 3: Stir in cream cheese. Cook until the cream cheese melts into the veggies.

4. Step 4: Add in the crawfish. Stir to completely coat the crawfish.

5. Step 5: Squeeze in lemon juice and/or water to get your desired consistency.

6. Step 6: Transfer to a serving dish, and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

For Hot Crawfish Dip

Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 275*F oven. Another alternative is to reheat the crawfish dip in the oven at 325*F until ready to serve.

For Cold Crawfish Dip

Let cool for 30 minutes then transfer to the refrigerator. Allow to sit out for 10 minutes to let the cream cheese slightly soften so it's easier to serve. You can also stir in a little extra water or lemon juice so it is thinner.

How to Fix a Mistake

• No crawfish: Use shrimp in place of the crawfish. Lump or claw crabmeat could also be used. Or try flake-style imitation crab meat.
• Too thick: If the dip is too thick, add one tablespoon of water to the mixture at a time and stir well. Add as much water as needed to get your desired consistency, making sure to stir well between additions.
• Too thin: Cook the dip a little longer on the stove, stirring occasionally, until the dip thickens.
• Too spicy: Add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice, and allow it to cool. This helps mellow out the flavor.
• Not enough flavor: Add ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. You can also add ½ teaspoon of lemon zest. Or sprinkle in some hot sauce, or cajun seasoning.

Make-Ahead Ideas

You can prepare this ahead of time up to 24 hours in advance. Reheat in a skillet or in the oven.

Storage Suggestions

Transfer to a glass or plastic airtight container or cover the serving dish tightly. Transfer to the refrigerator and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Make sure not to let the dip sit out for longer than 2 hours without keeping warm or cold.

To reheat:

• In the microwave: Transfer the crawfish dip to a microwave-safe bowl, and heat for 45 seconds at 100% power. Stir and microwave for another 30-45 seconds until warm.
• In a pot: In a pot (or skillet with high sides) over medium heat, add dip and cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until warm.

Variations

Ingredient Options

Butter: Olive oil or avocado oil can be used in place of the butter.

Green onion: Red onion, sweet onion, or Vidalia onion would be other good alternatives since they aren't typically as pungent as yellow onions.

Pimentos: If you don't have or can't find pimentos, you can finely dice red bell peppers and add with the bell pepper and onion to cook.

Spices: Feel free to use creole seasoning in place of the spices and salt. Start with ½ teaspoon and add more if needed.

Crawfish: Not a fan of crawfish? I tried this creamy dip with shrimp, and it was equally as delicious. Plus, shrimp can be easier to find.

Alternative Prep and Cooking

You can transfer this to a baking dish and sprinkle with ½ cup cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack, or parmesan cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly.

How to Make Allergy-Friendly

The recipe is gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free. It does have dairy as well as shellfish.

For a dairy-free version, use olive or avocado oil in place of the butter and dairy-free cream cheese.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Benefits

A serving of this crawfish dip provides 8 grams of protein per ¼ cup serving. It's an excellent source of Vitamin A (23% daily value) and Vitamin C (36% daily value), and it's a good source of iron (11% daily value).

Plus, you get a few bites of vegetables in this dip which you usually don't find in your average dip recipe.

What to Serve with Crawfish Dip

I love serving this dip with crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, baguette slices, potato chips, and sliced veggies like bell peppers, carrot sticks, and celery sticks. Moreover, I think it's nice to have a combo so people can enjoy the dip however they prefer.

Crawfish Pasta

Another option with this crawfish dip is to serve it over cooked pasta for a tasty crawfish pasta. Use 4 ounces of pasta for 1 cup of leftover crawfish dip.

To make this, cook 4 ounces of pasta in salted, boiling water. Meanwhile, sauté one diced red bell pepper in about 1 teaspoon of olive oil. (You could use onion in the bell pepper's place or skip.)

When the pasta is al dente, reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water, and drain.

Add the cooked pasta to the veggies. Stir in 1 cup leftover crawfish dip and ½ cup pasta cooking water.

Let the sauce simmer until it slightly thickens, and add pasta water if needed. Serve.

P.S. Want more crawfish pasta? You need Crawfish Monica!

Final thoughts:

Whether it's crawfish season or not, I highly recommend making this crawfish dip. It's creamy, hearty, and incredibly flavorful. In conclusion, it has just the right amount of spices so it's not too spicy but still tastes great.

The original recipe had 8 tablespoons of butter which felt extreme. Adding just one tablespoon gives you the perfect amount of richness.

No need to save it for Mardi Gras or crawfish season, you can make this flavorful dip all year by using frozen crawfish tails, so you have no excuse not to make it. Served hot or cold, everyone will be begging you for the recipe.

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