What Should You Serve With Crawfish Etouffee? 19 Side Dish Recipes

Crawfish Etouffee is boiling crawfish prepared in a creamy, luscious sauce. The Holy Trinity flavor, paired with the butter and creamy roux, elevates this meal to new heights. While a delicacy in and of itself, crawfish etouffee coupled with the appropriate side dishes will take your dining experience to another level. What should you serve with crawfish etouffee?

Roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, rice, fried mixed vegetables (peppers, onions, and maize), grilled vegetables like zucchini and eggplant, red beans, or roasted cauliflower and broccoli are all popular accompaniments to crawfish etouffee.

While crawfish etouffee is delicious on its own and will transport you to culinary paradise with the first mouthful, matching it with the appropriate side dishes will enhance your pleasure even more. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how to serve your crawfish etouffee, what wine to pair with it, some of the greatest dessert choices, and what to do with the leftovers.

What Side Dishes Go With Crawfish Etouffee?

Since crawfish etouffee is a flavor bomb that combines numerous tastes into one, there are many sides that complement it nicely.

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted potatoes are the black dress of side dishes. They miraculously mash with whatever you combine them with, making the meal even better. Crawfish etouffee is another example. Since crawfish etouffee sauce is so thick and aromatic, the roasted potatoes absorb it well.

Spice up your potatoes with herbs like basil, rosemary, or oregano for a flavor combination you’ll never forget.

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes mix well with gravy dishes like crawfish etouffee. While crawfish etouffee is exceptionally rich and buttery, with a plethora of tastes, the mashed potatoes will help to settle everything down and absorb the gravy, making it even richer.

Preparing the mashed potatoes with milk and butter instead of water and oil is a great idea since the creaminess and richness will be out of this world. Spoon some gravy on top of the mashed potatoes and serve.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Crawfish etouffee is a meal that could always need more creaminess, but it could also require more crunchiness. As a result, roasted Brussel sprouts are not only a healthful side dish, but they also provide texture to the meal.

Cook them in butter, black pepper, and salt, then soak them in the gravy. This will be a terrific mix for you.

Rice 

Rice is perhaps the most popular side dish in general, and it is the first thing that comes to mind when combining crawfish etouffee. You may either leave the rice alone or prepare a veggie risotto.

The gritty and soft texture of the rice will complement the creamy smoothness of the crawfish etouffee, making this a marriage made in heaven.

Caramelized Vegetables 

Caramelized onions and bell peppers, seasoned with soy sauce and maize, will complement your crawfish etouffee well. Corn is a common element in crawfish boils, so it’s no surprise that it’ll work well here as well.

Since crawfish etouffee already has onions and bell peppers, adding caramelized onions and bell peppers will not overpower the meal. These will combine with the other ingredients to form a rich and tasty meal.

Grilled Zucchini and Eggplant 

Place the cut zucchini and eggplant on the grill, drizzle with olive oil, and let to sizzle. Then top them with chopped garlic and parsley for a delicious side dish to your crawfish etouffee.

You may also marinate the day before’s cooked zucchini and eggplant. Marinate them in a marinade of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and parsley, allowing the flavors to blend.

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli 

Cauliflower, like rice, has long been regarded as a versatile side dish because to its neutral flavor and great matching consistency. Broccoli has a more powerful flavor and texture than cauliflower, so they complement each other well.

Cauliflower and broccoli, grilled with black pepper, salt, and butter, will provide texture and edge to your creamy crawfish etouffee that no other combination can match.

Canned Red Beans 

While it may seem strange, canned red beans might be a tasty addition to crawfish etouffee. They may not be as graceful as the other sides on our list, but they may do well here.

The spongy firmness and silky texture of the beans complement the rich sauce of the crawfish etouffee well. It will not absorb the gravy since it will slide right off the top of the beans, but once everything is in your mouth, the spongy bean interior comes into play, giving you a mashed potato experience with a bean taste.

What Bread Goes With Crawfish Etouffee?

Crawfish etouffee goes well with bread since it is very juicy and creamy. You may choose from cornbread, baguette, focaccia, garlic bread, and brioche.

Cornbread

Cornbread is well-known for its coupling with gravy dishes. It has an unstable consistency, making it difficult to use as sandwich bread or for spreads. Its consistency, though, makes it ideal for dipping in the rich and nutty sauce of crawfish etouffee.

French Baguette

One of the numerous applications for the French baguette, which is spongey on the inside and crispy on the exterior, is as a dipping bread for crawfish etouffee. Even more so since its spongy inside absorbs the gravy without losing stability or consistency.

Focaccia

It’s not so much the bread’s firmness as it is the herbal and rustic taste that has landed it on our list. The crispy top of the bread, seasoned with herbs and olive oil, complements the crawfish etouffee well. They compliment each other well in terms of texture and taste, with the herbal scent of the focaccia bread complementing the powerful flavors and fragrances of the crawfish etouffee.

Garlic Bread 

There is such a thing as too much garlic, but that is not the case here. The more garlic in the crawfish etouffee, the better. As a result, serve this excellent garlic-infused entrée with garlic-infused bread.

The garlic fragrance from the crawfish etouffee isn’t the same as the garlic bread, so you’ll get two comparable but distinct garlic sensations. Garlic bread, by definition, is fatter and greasier than other breeds, therefore it fits well into this equation.

Brioche 

Brioche, while its sweetness, complements crawfish etouffee owing to its consistency. Brioche, the spongiest bread on our list, will soak up the gravy, giving every mouthful a reassurance that you made the proper choice.

The moderate sweetness of the brioche will complement and intensify the buttery and nutty tastes of the crawfish etouffee.

What Salad to Serve With Crawfish Etouffee? 

Crawfish etouffee goes well with fresh vegetable salads, so use whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand. But, the following salads work exceptionally well with crawfish etouffee: Caprese salad, fresh lettuce, cabbage and carrot salad, spinach and arugula.

Caprese 

The cherry tomatoes with basil and mozzarella cheese will add freshness to your crawfish etouffee, making it even more delectable, particularly since the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes complements the flavor combination in the dish.

Fresh Lettuce, Cabbage, and Carrot Salad 

There are just a few meals that do not go well with this salad, and crawfish etouffee is not one of them. The crisp of the cabbage, along with the freshness of the lettuce and the sweetness of the shredded carrots, is a sure winner for your menu.

Season the salad with salt and balsamic vinegar to taste, and serve.

Spinach and Arugula Salad 

The snappy spinach and arugula seasoned with lemon zest and balsamic cream will complement rather than replace the tastes in the crawfish etouffee. The whole salad texture will be felt, but apart from the balsamic cream and the sharpness of the spinach and arugula, the flavor will be more or less the same, only stronger.

What Wine to Serve With Crawfish Etouffee?

Crawfish etouffee pairs well with wine. Fruity wines with rich scents and sweet tastes complement this meal nicely.

Riesling 

This is a dry wine that comes in different flavors- peach, apricot, pear, and apple. I think apple Riesling is the greatest wine to mix with crawfish etouffee.

Chenin Blanc

This is an extremely acidic wine that is often mixed with soda cocktails. As a result, you may utilize it for that reason here as well, since the crawfish etouffee taste might benefit from a little of wine acidity.

Sauvignon Blanc

This oaky and buttery wine will be the perfect complement to your delicious dinner. The buttery quality of the wine, along with the gravy of the crawfish etouffee, will flow down your throat, awakening taste sensations you didn’t know you possessed.

What Dessert to Serve With Crawfish Etouffee?

Crawfish etouffee pairs well with light, dry or spongy desserts. Chocolate is a terrific taste to finish your meal with since it contrasts with the flavors in the crawfish etouffee while still complementing them well.

Chocolate Lava Cake

The creamy chocolate that emerges from the lava cake’s spongy shell will be the crowning glory of your crawfish etouffee dinner. The velvety chocolate texture will linger with you long after you’ve finished your dessert, but it won’t completely mask the crawfish etouffee aftertaste.

Blueberry Muffins 

Who would have guessed that such a simple dessert would be chosen to balance up such a rich lunch. The dryness of the muffins paired with the sweet sourness of the blueberries will provide an excellent counterpoint to the pungent taste of the crawfish etouffee.

Chocolate Cream Pie 

The right way to send off your crawfish etouffee is to finish it with a sumptuous dessert. The creamy chocolate consistency is as thick as the crawfish etouffee sauce but not as sweet, giving this dessert the ideal finale to the perfect narrative.

What to Do With Crawfish Etouffee Leftovers?

Crawfish etouffee is even more appealing since it keeps nicely in the fridge and freezer. As a result, if you don’t know what to do with it, you may always save it for later.

But, transforming your crawfish etouffee is also a fantastic idea since it can be used in a variety of meals.

You can create pasta out of leftover crawfish etouffee for a whole new supper. Prepare jambalaya or risotto.

You may also add crawfish etouffee to a crawfish boil or create crawfish etouffee mac & cheese.

Crawfish etouffee cakes are another great way to use up leftovers; they’re simple to prepare and tasty to eat.

What Is the Difference Between Crawfish Etouffee and Crawfish Stew?

Cajun crawfish stew is produced with brown roux, whereas Creole crawfish etouffee is made with creamy white roux. As compared to crawfish etouffee, crawfish stew is less creamy and rich.