Description
A rich, creamy Cajun pasta made with Louisiana crawfish tail meat, heavy cream, and bold spices. The iconic New Orleans Jazz Fest dish — on your table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
1 lb rotini pasta
1 lb Louisiana crawfish tail meat with fat
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
4 stalks green onions, whites and greens separated
4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups heavy whipping cream
1½ tsp Cajun seasoning
½ tsp paprika
¼ cup dry white wine
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook rotini 1 minute less than package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add yellow onion and white parts of green onions. Cook 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Pour in white wine and reduce 2 minutes.
4. Add heavy cream, Cajun seasoning, and paprika. Simmer 3–4 minutes until sauce thickens.
5. Add rotini and toss to coat. Add pasta water as needed to loosen sauce.
6. Add crawfish tails with all the fat. Toss gently 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Top with green onion greens and parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
Do not drain or rinse the crawfish fat — it is the flavor base of the sauce.
Heavy whipping cream only. Half-and-half will separate.
Add crawfish at the very end — they are already cooked and just need to warm through.
Fresh Louisiana crawfish tails are best from March through May.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Cajun
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approx. 1.5 cups)
- Calories: 620
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 780mg
- Fat: 28g
- Saturated Fat: 16g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 62g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 32g
- Cholesterol: 195mg