Shrimp Étouffée is a southern dish packed tender seasoned shrimp are smothered in delicously cozy sauce and jam-packed with flavor. It’s a recipe that you’ll be making on repeat!
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What is Shrimp Étouffée?
I learned to make this dish while taking cooking classes in New Orleans. Roughly translated, Shrimp Étouffée means “smothered shrimp” and there are many variations.
This etouffee recipes starts with a roux (a mixture of oil and flour cooked until browned). I then add celery, onions, broth, and of course cajun-seasoned shrimp. It has many layers of flavor and it’s absolutely delicious.
While it takes a bit of time, it’s easy to make—I can assure you its definitely worth it!
Ingredient Tips for Shrimp Etouffee
- Shrimp: I use medium peeled and deveined shrimp in this recipe but étouffée can be made with any kind of shellfish. Sub out the shrimp for crab, mussels, or even crayfish (or crawdads) if you can find them.
- Roux: The base of this dish is the sauce made from a roux with oil and flour. The longer the roux cooks, the darker and nuttier it becomes adding more flavor. For this recipe, you’ll cook until you get a peanut butter color.
- Broth: I most often use chicken broth since I always have it on hand but you can use seafood stock or make the simple shrimp stock listed in the recipe notes.
- Onion/Celery/Bell Pepper: Known as the Holy Trinity in Cajun cooking these not only add flavor but keep the roux from becoming too dark.
- Tomatoes: Any fresh ripe tomatoes will work, I most often use Roma tomatoes as they hold up well.
How to Make Shrimp Étouffée
- Cook Shrimp: Season and cook shrimp just until pink (per recipe below). It will cook more later, do not overcook.
- Make Roux: Combine flour and fat and cook until it becomes the color of peanut butter. Add onions/celery/peppers (this helps stop the cooking process).
- Simmer: Add diced fresh tomatoes, bay leaf, and Worcestershire and simmer.
- Add flavors: Add shrimp, green onions, and a squeeze of lemon juice and heat through. Serve over rice.
Holly’s Pro Tips
- Roux color: Once the roux has reached the color of peanut butter, add the celery/onion/green pepper (aka the holy trinity). This cools the roux to keep it from browning further.
- Don’t overcook shrimp: When cooking the shrimp in the skillet, remove it heat just as soon as it turns pink on both sides, it takes just a couple of minutes. Once added back into the sauce, make sure it’s heated thoroughly but doesn’t boil so it stays juicy and tender.
- Add fresh herbs last: Add green onion and parsley last, just before removing the dish from heat. This way the herbs retain their flavor and stay bright green.
- Time the cooking so that the rice is ready when the Étouffée is done. Hot, steaming, and slightly sticky rice tastes the best. Try making Instant Pot Rice or baked rice.
Did you love this Shrimp Etouffee? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 small onion chopped
- ½ green bell pepper chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups shrimp stock or chicken broth
- 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup sliced green onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ lemon juiced
Instructions
- Toss shrimp with Cajun seasoning. In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and add shrimp. Cook until shrimp just begins to turn pink, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Stir in flour and cook until the flour becomes the color of peanut butter, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add onions, bell pepper, celery, thyme and garlic and cook until slightly softened. Stir in the broth/stock a bit at a time until smooth.
- Add tomatoes, Worcestershire and bay leaves and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered about 20 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste.
- Stir in the green onions, parsley, lemon juice and shrimp with any juices. Cook just until shrimp is heated through, do not overcook.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
- For more flavor, shell your own shrimp. Add shells (and heads), add to chicken broth and simmer on low 20 minutes. Strain and discard shells. Use this broth in place of chicken broth.
- Do not overcook shrimp, cook just until pink on each side in step 1. The shrimp will finish cooking when reheating.
- Store leftovers in air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Seafood
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Made this for football game. A few little tweaks, I’m Cajun sooo added a little more spice. My husband, who is an excellent cook, loved it. A really easy recipe
My husband just loves this dish!!! I would order it quite frequently at two Cajun restaurants I liked.
After watching the movie, “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil”, I decided I needed to make this!!!
I found your recipe to be the best, written to be clear & easy to follow!
Thank you for helping me learn to make one of my favorite dishes!
So happy you loved it! Thank you for sharing.
This looks amazing!!! I can’t wait to make this however are the bay leaves and the thyme fresh or dried? If dried do you mind sharing the measurements? Thank you. Stephanie
We use dried thyme and bay leaves in this recipe. You will find the correct measurements in the recipe towards the bottom of the page! I hope that helps.
Needs a more palpable tomato presence.
Great recipe only thing I added was some gumbo file seasoning at end an of course a couple dash of Tabasco sauce once in my bowl. I approve an I live on gulf coast. Thank you
Great recipes
I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Wonder if one could use clam juice?
I haven’t tried it but I think that should work just fine! If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out Diane!
OMG! So for those asking about subbing ingredients, I’m here to give you permission and go for it!
I subbed out the celery and used zucchini that needed to be used. I didn’t have scallions or thyme or parsley so I just omitted those ingredients and I only had diced canned tomatoes and this meal was still INCREDIBLE. Have fun with the recipes you find online. If you don’t have every single ingredient, try to mix it up! As long as the base of the dish remains the same, it should still yield a similar result. Not sure how it tastes 100% following the recipe but I’m here to say my rendition of this was phenomenal! BRB, going to get seconds
Go to recipe husband loves it
Delicious! I sautéed the vegetables separately instead of cooking them in the roux, so they would brown, and I used fresh thyme from my garden instead of parsley, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Used wild Argentinian prawns which were wonderful l.
3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce is way too much, it overwhelms the taste of the dish. I would do 1 tablespoon next time.
Totally agree! It was still good but way too overpowering.
This was ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. I’ve never in my life had or made this dish, but after watching Mary’s episode on Queer Eye season 7 (IYKYK), I suddenly wanted to try. My husband and I couldn’t get over how incredible this meal was, and SO EASY! Thank you for this amazing recipe.
I read the recipe several times. I don’t see where you add the broth to the dish.
This is in step 3: Stir in the broth/stock a bit at a time until smooth. I hope this helps!
Can canned tomatoes be used instead? I know the recipe says not to use can. I thought maybe if the can is drained and only use the tomatoes and not the juice, it would be OK.
I have only tried this as written so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it goes!
I’ve made it both ways and they were both delicious, but the fresh is better.
This recipe is amazing! It is easy to make and is not too spicy. This recipe is especially a favorite during lent at our house and has a great Cajun flavor. I have made it both ways with chicken stock and seafood stock. I feel the seafood stock gives more flavor, if you can find it and truly feels like you have just made something that came from a Cajun restaurant.
Absolutely delicious. Very easy to make. Followed the recipe exactly.
This was absolutely delicious! My whole entire family wanted seconds
Excellent recipe, but just one tiny thing to note… unless you live very close to a location where freshly caught shrimp are brought in, there is no such thing as fresh shrimp. All shrimp you will find in a fish store, or Costco, or anywhere else for that matter, are previously frozen. In fact, that applies to most ‘fresh’ seafood or fish which tends to be flash frozen while at sea immediately after it is caught. So please do not put down frozen product, it will often taste better and have a better texture than any ‘fresh’ product that you buy at a fish store or the fish department of your favourite grocer.
I want to make this recipe for a club Mardi Gras masgarade party. It is possible to make the sauce ahead and then heat it up and finish with the final ingredients and shrimp?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Jo Ann, but that should work just fine. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Can I substitute another seasoning for the cajun seasoning? I don’t like anything spicy at all, but I like everything else.
The cajun seasoning adds a lot of flavor to this dish and I haven’t tried swapping it out so I can’t say for sure Arland.
The Cajun seasoning doesn’t make it spicy at all. Stick with it.