Shrimp étouffée is a classic Cajun favorite that one must have when visiting Louisiana. It’s made with fresh Gulf shrimp, the Cajun holy trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper, and a decadent flour and butter roux.
We were recently passing through Louisiana on our cross-country trip, and now that we’re back home, I can’t figure out how we missed out on this classic dish! Well, come to think of it, I guess it was the seafood gumbo, fried chicken, crawfish boils, catfish po-boys, fried oysters, baked oysters, and raw oyster bars that did it…somehow étouffée fell off the map!
New Orleans and this shrimp étouffée recipe is the fifth of our (Judy and Bill’s) Road Trip series, wherein we visited Annapolis, Savannah, and the Florida Keys. After the leaving the Keys, we drove up through the east coast of Florida (including a stop at a Florida orange grove) to New Orleans. Scroll down past the recipe for some snapshots of this awesome city!
For now, let’s get serious with this Shrimp étouffée. The key ingredient in this recipe is the seafood stock, which really elevates the flavor of the sauce—hence our recommendation to use shrimp with heads and tails on (at the very least with tails). Shrimp heads, when properly cooked, pack a ton of flavor into the stock and, of course, into the shrimp étouffée. The sooner we get started, the sooner you’ll see why.
(If you prefer crawfish étouffée, feel free to substitute crawfish for shrimp. Yep, it’s that easy! Also, make sure to cook your rice before you start the cooking process. There’s nothing sadder than waiting for rice to cook while your main dish is hot and ready to go!)
If you’re feeling more like a gumbo, then try Kaitlin’s Chicken Andouillie Gumbo!
For the Shrimp Étouffée, you’ll need :
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 1 pound whole shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve the shells and heads)
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 2/3 cup bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup scallions, chopped
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 4-6 cups cooked white rice
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over high heat, and add all of the shrimp shells and heads, along with the bay leaves.
Sauté until the shrimp shells are seared to a reddish orange color, and the heads are soft. Add the chicken stock and water, and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
Use a wooden spoon or spatula to press down on the heads and shells and extract their flavor. Simmer the shrimp stock for another 5-10 minutes. Don’t be squeamish at this step! It’ll all be worth it in the end.
Remove the stock from the heat and pour through a strainer into a bowl. You should have about 2 cups of what is now shrimp stock and a tom of base flavor for your shrimp étouffée. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and gradually whisk in the flour until there are no lumps.
Continue to heat this roux over medium low heat until it turns a medium brown color (about 5-7 minutes). Whisk constantly to avoid burning.
Add the thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper to the roux.
Mix for 20 seconds to bring out the flavors of the spices. Next, add the onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic to the pan and stir for another minute.
Stir in the shrimp stock, and let the whole mixture simmer on low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Bring the heat back up to medium, and add the peeled shrimp and scallions to the sauce. Stir everything together until the shrimp is cooked, about 3 minutes.
Mix the rice with the remaining tablespoon of oil, along with the parsley, reserving some parsley for garnish if desired. Serve the rice with the shrimp étouffée, and garnish with the reserved parsley.
You can be fancy and mound the rice in the center and pour the shrimp étouffée around it like a delicious shrimp gravy moat. Mmmm…
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 1 pound whole shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve the shells and heads)
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- ⅔ cup bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup scallions, chopped
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 4-6 cups cooked white rice
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over high heat, and add all of the shrimp shells and heads, along with the bay leaves. Sauté until the shrimp shells are seared to a reddish orange color, and the heads are soft. Add the chicken stock and water, and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to press down on the heads and shells and extract their flavor. Simmer the stock for another 5-10 minutes. Don’t be squeamish at this step! It’ll all be worth it in the end.
- Remove the stock from the heat and pour through a strainer into a bowl. You should have about 2 cups of what is now shrimp stock. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and gradually whisk in the flour until there are no lumps. Continue to heat this roux over medium low heat until it turns a medium brown color (about 5-7 minutes). Whisk constantly to avoid burning.
- Add the thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper to the roux. Mix for 20 seconds to bring out the flavors of the spices. Next, add the onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic to the pan and stir for another minute.
- Stir in the shrimp stock, and let the whole mixture simmer on low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Bring the heat back up to medium, and add the peeled shrimp and scallions to the sauce. Stir everything together until the shrimp is cooked, about 3 minutes.
- Mix the rice with the remaining tablespoon of oil, along with the parsley, reserving some parsley for garnish if desired. Serve the rice with the étouffée, and garnish with the reserved parsley.
In New Orleans, we stayed in a hotel just outside the French quarter, making it extremely convenient to explore this historic part of the city. We stayed right next to Mothers, a landmark restaurant where we had gumbo, ham, and fried chicken.
Of course, we walked Bourbon Street, which brought back some memories of earlier days––crazy nights out during Mardi Gras involving torrential rain, grenades, and too many libations. I don’t recall everything, but I do remember it was a damn good time!
Oh, did we mention that you should try the visit the The Gumbo Shop and have a cup of their gumbo? If you missed it, you can make your own with Kaitlin’s spicy chicken andouille gumbo recipe that is based off their tried and true gumbo.
These guys were just blaring out music on the street of the French quarter in new Orleans!
This New Orleans trip with Judy was much calmer, to say the least, and we did a lot more walking and sightseeing during the day. We even sat along the Mississippi River, which was definitely a sight to see.
And what is a visit to New Orleans without going to Café Du Monde? We came, we waited, had our coffees, ate our beignets, and all was good.
We had a long drive out of New Orleans, but we did witness some of the best sunsets on the road.
Next stop, Texas!
kadrain washington says
This is an amazing dish, that I’ve made twice. It is a big hit for my family as well thank you for sharing.
Judy says
Thank you for leaving us a comment, Kadrain! Bill did good on this one :-)
SUSAN RUDY says
Tried this last night. I had to play with ingredient amounts to make enough for just one. However, it worked and was delicious! I have been boiling shrimp shells for years to make stock. I add Old Bay seasoning…liberally. Thanks for posting this. It’s a keeper!
Judy says
How wonderful! So glad you liked it, Susan!
yenwoda says
Another great recipe – classic comfort food. As with your pad thai, the fresh shrimp stock provides a lovely base flavor for the aromatics to meld with. I think I’ve seen this made with a lighter roux as well but “medium brown” is just right in my book.
Bill says
Hi yenwoda, yes, homemade shrimp stock with flash fried shrimp heads and shells are key to a good Shrimp Etouffee. The roux definitely varies with personal preference for a lighter taste or a nuttier taste from the dark roux – kind of like choosing a light or dark roast coffee. I like a lighter roux, since there are so many other strong tastes in this dish. Happy cooking!
valerie says
Hi, first off thanks so much for the recipe, making it tomorrow for my husbands b’day and our anniversary!! Second, I only have frozen shrimp with the tails on, will that work for the stock?? Thanks so much!!
Bill says
Hi Valerie, if you have any shrimp shells, you can make the stock out of that. It won’t be as flavorful as using shrimp with the heads, but it it should be fine. Good luck and happy bday to your hubbie! :)
Valerie says
Omg this turned out so good!!!! My only wonder is my celery didn’t soften up, it was really crunchy but other than that it was awesome!! Hubby who is from Louisiana said it was very very good!! And he says thanks for the bday wish!!
Bill says
Exellent to hear, Valerie! Celery should probably be cut into smaller pieces and perhaps cooked for a few mins longer first, as it should be softened. Sometimes celery can be tough and fibrous. Sounds like you did a great job on the dish!
Bayou Andy says
Down here in bayou land, if we don’t have shells for stock, we simply use chicken stock. Not as good, but better than plain ole water.
Olivia says
Can I use seafood stock instead of making it from scratch?
Judy says
Hi Olivia, having have tasted Bill’s Shrimp Etouffee, you should definitely make the recipe from scratch :-)
Rhonda Mier says
I made this recipe tonight, it was incredible!!! Since I had 3 pounds of shrimp I tripled everything except the salt. Watch that it could get carried away from you. After dinner, and a few helpings for our lunch, I had plenty of sauce left to freeze minus the shrimp. We will add fresh shrimp when we made a new batch. Also I used shrimp stock I had made from last shrimp shells from my last etoufee batch. I just added the paprika for stock to my herbs. This is the best etoufee I was told I ever made. Thank you ladies for the great recipe!!
Bill says
Hi Rhonda, glad you enjoyed this. I get happy every time I make this etoufee – it really is a gem if I do say so myself!
Jennifer says
I had this pinned in my Pinterest recipe board for a while but finally had/made time to make it. It was delicious, best I’ve had outside of New Orleans. The pictures along with the step-by-step instructions really helped. It was the first time I made a roux. I was really nervous about messing this part up! I kept whisking for about 12 minutes on medium low as opposed to just 5-7 minutes..I have a cookbook from New Orleans that said whisk for 15 mins on low.. I
didn’t have shrimp with the heads so I just made it with the shells…I saw the tip for adding more oil after I had already made the stock. Next time I will chop the garlic really fine or mince. I also sprinkled the shrimp with a little garlic salt as that is what I do for my shrimp and grits. Great recipe!
Bill says
Hi Jennifer, good job and definitely try to find the shrimp with the heads on them for next time. You can usually find them in Asian grocery stores. The added flavor will make a difference, and I bet will rival or best most New Orleans restaurants. I have tried quite a few in New Orleans and I have not tried one yet that beats this recipe if I do say so myself! :)
Richard Woodd says
I can’t find a recipe for a coated fish stir fry. I have been experimenting, but the challenging part is thinly coating the right kind of fish and knowing how long to fry it. Separately from the stir- fried veg of course. I am hoping to learn something from youse guys. – Richard in New Zealand
Judy says
Hi Richard, we have a fish vegetable stir fry dish. It’s one of our earlier recipes, hence the poor photos, but the dish itself is a winner.
Mike Hirsch says
I made this for a pot luck recently and it was a huge success. I made it while out of town. I forgot the chicken stock but a fellow camper had some ham base that I used instead. And since my wife is gluten-free I used a g-f flour blend. And it was great!
Bill says
Hi Mike, Nice job improvising! I have to make this dish again soon :)
Grace says
I was wondering, what kind of paprika you used for the shrimp etouffee, smoked paprika or just regular? Spicy or mild?
Thank you!
Bill says
Hi Grace, I used regular paprika for this recipe. Hope you like the recipe – it’s one of my favs and is just awesome the next day, if you have any left that is! :)