Shrimp Etouffee
This Shrimp Etouffee is a healthy spin on one of my favorite cajun dishes. Juicy shrimp are smothered in a delicious etouffee sauce that is packed with bold flavors. This easy shrimp etouffee recipe requires one pan and takes just 30 minutes to make.
Full disclosure: this is by no means an authentic Shrimp étouffée recipe but rather a healthy spin on the classic Cajun dish. I have had shrimp etouffee many times at restaurants but this was my first time trying to recreate the dish at home and I was so amazed at how easy it was. It is loaded with seared shrimp and tender veggies all smothered in a thick sauce. I highly recommend serving this Shrimp Etouffee with rice to soak up all of the delicious sauce.
What Is Etouffee
Etouffee is a French term which roughly translates to “to smother”. It is a popular stew-like seafood dish in both Cajun and Creole cuisine and can be made with any kind of shellfish including shrimp, crab, crawfish or mussels. The base of the sauce is traditionally a roux (a paste made with butter and flour) which was modified in this recipe to make it paleo and whole30. The dark roux is flavoured with the holy trinity of Cajun cooking, a mix of finely diced celery, green bell pepper and onion which is sautéed until tender.
To make the traditional dish you would use shrimp stock, which can be hard to find in stores and takes some time to make at home. To keep the cook time under 30 minutes for this dish I recommend using a good quality chicken stock or seafood stock instead.
Why You Will Love This Shrimp Etouffee
- The flavour! I can’t get enough of the flavorful sauce, it’s so so good and has the perfect balance of salty, spicy and bold Cajun flavour. If you like southern food I think you will love being able to make this dish in the comfort of your own home.
- It’s perfect for weeknight dinner: This one pan 30-minute dish is such an easy recipe. It’s a good recipe to make for dinner when you are in need of a meal you can throw together quickly using simple ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen.
- Leftovers are so tasty! They will last for 3 days in the fridge and reheat well too!
- This healthy version of shrimp etouffee is Whole30, Paleo, Grain Free and Dairy Free too! Arrowroot is used to help to thicken the sauce and for anyone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet you can omit it and leave the sauce to reduce for longer.
Ingredients For This Shrimp Etouffee
- Shrimp: use large fresh shrimp. I prefer to remove the shrimp shells, but you can alternatively use shell-on shrimp if you prefer.
- Ghee: Ghee or butter can be used in this recipe. To make it dairy free, it can be substituted for a dairy free or vegan butter or alternatively use coconut oil.
- Arrowroot Powder: This is used to make a simple roux that thickens the sauce. If you are not on a paleo diet then corn starch can be used in its place.
- Garlic: I recommend using fresh garlic rather than jarred for the best flavor.
- Onion: finely diced yellow onion is a crucial part of the dish. If you do not like dicing onion finely, I recommend placing the onion and celery in a food processor and pulsing until it’s broken into very fine pieces.
- Celery: Dice the celery very finely so that it blends into the sauce rather then remaining in pieces after cooking.
- Bell Pepper: traditionally green bell pepper is used in etouffee, and I usually prefer using that as it has a firmer texture when cooked and I love the pop of green color in the dish. Depending on what you have in your fridge, a red bell pepper can also be used.
- Tomatoes: This recipe calls for chopped fresh tomatoes
- Cajun Seasoning: While store bought cajun seasoning can be used, I recommend making your own cajun seasoning mix using the recipe I have included below.
- Chicken Stock: I use chicken broth as it is what I always have on hand in my pantry cupboard, but vegetable stock can also be used. If you have seafood stock that would be a great alternative and really enhance the seafood flavor of the dish. Shrimp broth is also a great option but it is usually hard to find in stores, so you will likely have to use homemade shrimp stock.
How To Make This Shrimp Etouffee
- Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat and once hot add in the shrimp and sear for 2 minutes per side until pink. Once the shrimp are cooked set them aside on a plate
- Add the ghee or butter to the pan and once melted, add in the arrowroot powder and stir it with a wooden spoon to ensure there are no clumps. Once a thick paste forms (like a blonde roux) add in the diced green pepper, onion, celery, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté for 4 minutes until they begin to soften.
- Next add in the chopped tomatoes, Cajun seasoning and chicken stock. Leave it to simmer for 10-12 minutes until the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency
- Add the shrimp back to the pan and leave them to cook for 2-3 minutes until they have heated through. Serve the touffee over hot rice (cauliflower rice or white rice) and garnish with fresh chopped parsley or green onions.
Cajun Seasoning
There are lots of great premixed Cajun seasonings available at most grocery stores but if you don’t have one, don’t stress! You can stir together the following spices to make a fantastic Cajun seasoning. The below quantities will make more Cajun seasoning than is required for this Shrimp Etouffee recipe, but leftovers can be stored in a jar for up to 6 months. This homemade cajun seasonings a great addition to everything from chicken to gumbo.
Combine:
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (or white pepper if you have it)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp thyme
What Type Of Shrimp Are Best?
I recommend using large fresh shrimp with the shells removed. You will notice in the photos I have left on the tails as I find it makes the shrimp look more appealing, but it definitely results in more work when eating. If you have access to crawfish (lucky you!) then you can make a crawfish étouffée by swapping the shrimp for crawfish tails.
What To Serve With This Shrimp Etouffee
To keep this shrimp etouffee recipe Paleo and Whole30 I recommend serving it over cauliflower rice. Alternatively if you are not following a grain free diet, etouffee is traditionally served over white rice, but pairs well with brown rice too.
Is This Etouffee Spicy?
I would rate the spice level of this shrimp etouffee recipe a 4/10 (medium heat). If you prefer it to have more of a kick I recommend adding a dash of hot sauce or a touch more cayenne pepper depending on your taste buds.
What About Leftovers
Leftover shrimp etouffee will last for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave or in a large heavy saucepan on the stove on low heat. Just be sure not to overcook the shrimp when you are reheating as they will become chewy.
Here are a few more shrimp recipes that you might enjoy:
- Pork & Shrimp Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Dynamite Shrimp Sushi Bowl
- Citrus, Fennel, Avocado & Shrimp Salad
- Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Chili Dip
- Spicy Shrimp Tacos
- Shrimp Burgers
- Asian Cabbage Slaw with Shrimp
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Shrimp Etouffee
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound peeled shrimp
- 2 tbsp ghee or butter
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder*
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 cup celery finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper finely diced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 2 tbsp cajun seasoning (either store bought or you can use the below recipe)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or shrimp or seafood stock)
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley or green onions
Cajun Seasoning
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or white pepper if you have it
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp thyme
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet on medium high heat and once hot add in the shrimp and sear for 2 minutes per side until pink. Once the shrimp are cooked set them aside on a plate
- Add the ghee to the pan and once melted, add in the arrowroot powder and stir it with a spoon to ensure there are no clumps. Once a thick paste forms add in the diced green bell pepper, onion, celery, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté for 4 minutes until they begin to soften.
- Next add in the chopped tomatoes, Cajun seasoning and chicken stock. Leave it to simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency.
- Add the shrimp back to the pan and leave them to cook for 2-3 minutes until they have heated through. Serve the touffee on cauliflower rice and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on May 11, 2021, and updated with new copy on June 12, 2024.
Wow! Great recipe!!
Added some left over chicken thighs and is now one of my fav recipes!
Ghee is not non-dairy. I have made this with both vegan butter and olive oil in place of the ghee listed and it has worked wonderfully.
Thanks for the feedback Carrie! Strictly speaking ghee is not dairy free but many people who are lactose intolerant/dairy free can tolerate Ghee because all of the milk solids have been removed so it has very minimal amounts of lactose and casein. Happy to hear that this recipe worked with the adjustments, coconut oil is another great alternative to use.
This is NOT non dairy! Ghee is butter. It starts with milk. For those of us with an allergy, this is a false claim.
Very easy to substitute a fat you are able to tolerate. No need to be nasty to the person sharing a great recipe for free. Definitely more things to worry about in life than whether or not something is advertised to your liking. To the creator of the recipe, it was delicious!
It was very tasty.
My niece helped prep so that wasn’t 8 minutes, hahaha, but it was a great time letting her play in the kitchen.
More of the cajun seasoning is better. Some family are sensitive to spices so the batch had a bit less than your recipe called for.
Seasoning added at the table made this a really tasty treat.
I really like it. 5 star
If your recipe includes ghee it is not dairy-free and you should edit your labels.
This was not only easy but very tasty. My husband is really hard to please when it comes to food and he loved it. I’m making it for the second time tonight because he keeps asking for it.
The only changes I made was instead of green peppers I used red, yellow and orange, as we don’t like green. I also added a bit of chicken bouillon to make it less “tomato”.