Crawfish Etouffee Recipe (Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free)

This Louisiana inspired dish was shared with us by Denise Hall from her days writing with Fit Fare. It’s a dairy-free and gluten-free version of crawfish etouffee made without dairy butter or wheat flour. We’ve since updated the recipe with more notes and clarification.

Crawfish Etouffee made without Dairy, Gluten, or Soy (Shrimp Option)

We’ve added a few tips for adapting this recipe to taste.

Denise skips the celery, due to personal taste, but you can add 1/4 cup minced celery with the onion and bell pepper, if preferred.
For a richer finish, double the butter alternative to 1/4 cup.
If you prefer the thickness of a flour roux, you can omit the starch, but sauté 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour (gluten-free if needed) with the onions, bell pepper, and garlic, for about 2 minutes, before whisking in the water.
As noted in the recipe introduction, Denise makes the blond version of this dish, but you can add tomato for the brown version. For more tomato depth, you can also add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste.

Special Diet Notes: Crawfish Etouffee

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, and soy-free. Just be sure to choose the butter alternative and seasoning that suit your dietary needs.

Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Crawfish Etouffee (Shrimp Option)

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

45 mins

As written, this is a blond etoufee. For the brown (reddish) etouffee, sauté about 1 cup diced tomato into the mixture before adding the water and starch. It is equally delicious!

Author: Denise Hall

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: American

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dairy-free buttery spread or sticks
1 pound Louisiana crawfish tails (can sub peeled and deveined shrimp)
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning, such as Tony Chachere’s (more or less to taste)
1 onion, diced
½ green or red bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup cold water, divided
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
Salt, to taste (if needed)
3 cups cooked rice, for serving
2 tablespoon green onions, green parts only, sliced

Instructions

Season the crawfish tails (or shrimp) with Creole seasoning.
Melt the butter alternative in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the crawfish (or shrimp) and sauté for 3 minutes.
Remove the crawfish (or shrimp) from the pot with a slotted spoon into a bowl.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the pan and sauté for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the water and starch until the starch is dissolved.
Return the crawfish (or shrimp) to the pot, and whisk in the water-starch mixture.
Simmer the mixture over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ¼ recipe Calories: 372 Fat: 7.2g Saturated fat: 2.7g Carbohydrates: 42.7g Sugar: .8g Sodium: 403mg Fiber: .8g Protein: 30.2g