Crawfish Pie
Want to serve the most decadent, meaty Crawfish Pie recipe at home? This savory pie recipe is out-of-this-world delicious and chock full of Louisiana crawfish tails. Paired with the trinity, various spices and a homemade lattice pie crust, you won’t find a prettier or more delicious Crawfish Pie.
Love Louisiana recipes? Give Chicken and Sausage Gumbo and Crawfish Etouffee a try, too!
When I was thinking about Mardi Gras season and the recipes we should have on my site here, I realized that a classic Crawfish Pie recipe was something we desperately needed.
However, Crawfish Pie is a recipe that’s perfect year-round, not just during Carnival. SO. I set out to get my hands on some crawfish tails, which I found frozen at a local grocery, and developed this recipe, which is essentially a rendition on a pot pie with crawfish.
We shared the initial test with friends, and it was a resounding success. Our kids even loved it… and that’s saying something. 😉
Want to learn more about crawfish? Check out Crawfish 101: Everything You Need to Know + Our Favorite Crawfish Recipes.
Why I love this recipe:
Real talk — from-scratch Crawfish Pie is a labor of love, just like a Seafood Gumbo or Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice.
However, there are some shortcuts you can take, and I’ll discuss those below in detail to make your life easier.
The thing I love the most about this Crawfish Pie is how wonderfully meaty it is and how much you can taste the Creole trinity of veggies—onion, celery and bell pepper. It’s perfectly balanced, to be honest.
The consistency is amazing, too, and when you slice into this pie, it holds its shape! That’s due to the combination of crawfish tails and veggies plus very little extra liquid to make it all goopy.
The hardest part is the time element and letting your pie cool enough to slice. (Also, this helps the filling keep its shape.)
Other Louisiana recipes to make this season: Instant Pot Gumbo | Turkey Sausage Jambalaya | Cajun Shrimp and Grits | Cream Cheese and Raspberry King Cake | Pimm’s Cup | Hot Crawfish Dip
Love Carnival season? Check out my Mardi Gras Recipe Index for more food inspiration.
What you need to make this recipe
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- Deep-dish pie dish or pie plate
- Mixing bowl
- Fine mesh strainer
- Large food processor
- Dough blender or a fork
- Rubber spatula
- Saute pan or a large nonstick skillet
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
In addition to these tools to make this savory pie recipe, you’re also going to need some ingredients.
- Unsalted butter — we’re going to use this in the filling, as well as the homemade Whole Wheat Pie Crust. If you’re not going to make that, purchase two 9” pie shells in the freezer section at your grocery.
- All-purpose flour — this is for the pie crust, as well as a thickener for our crawfish pie filling. There is no substitute, and I have not tried this with gluten free flours, so please do not change it.
- Whole wheat flour — this flour gives our pie crust a heartier texture, which I love.
- Kosher salt — for both the pie crust and the crawfish filling
- Water
- Vodka — this is our “trick” for the pie crust. Vodka prohibits gluten formation, which happens when we mix ingredients together, and makes for a flaky, light crust.
- Onions — I like white or yellow onions for this recipe. They need to be diced in a ½” dice so that they can melt into the filling.
- Green bell pepper — you’ll want a decently large one and will need to dice it a similar size to the onions.
- Celery — chop this goodness into little ½” cubes (instead of rounds) to make them more consistent in size with the other veggies.
- Green onions — also known as scallions, you’ll need these for the crawfish filling, as well as a garnish.
- Garlic — you need a lot of these, so get a whole pod of ‘em, OK?
- Crawfish tails — you should be able to find frozen packages of Louisiana crawfish tail meat at your local grocery. I’ve had luck here in Dallas at Whole Foods and Central Market. Defrost them, but do not drain the package because the liquid in there is crawfish fat, which adds the BEST flavor to the filling.
- Seasonings — we’re adding kosher salt, black pepper and Creole seasoning to the pie filling. You may also use Cajun seasoning if that’s what you’ve got. If you like things spicy, consider adding ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper or a few shakes of hot sauce to bring up the heat. However, we found we did not need that.
Crawfish Pie shortcuts
- Veggies — purchase pre-chopped veggies to cut down on prep time, especially if you think that’s going to take more time than the actual making and baking of the pie itself.
- Pre-made pie crust—if you don’t want to make the Whole Wheat Pie Crust, I get it. Purchase two 9” rounds of frozen pie crust at the grocery. Bonus points if you can find a deep dish one. You will still need to blind bake the bottom crust, but you won’t have the additional time to make the pie crust.
Please note that we are making a large individual pie for this recipe. You could probably turn these into individual hand pies, but that would require more time and effort.
How to make Whole Wheat Pie Crust
Listen — if you want to skip this part and use a store-bought pie crust to save some time, have at it. Personally, I love this homemade pie shell paired with the crawfish filling, but I know that everyone does not have time to make their own pie crust OR feel confident enough to make it.
Sift the flours together. Use a fine mesh strainer to do this and sift them into a large bowl. Stir to combine.
Pour 2 cups of flour into the food processor. Add the salt, and process a few times. We just want to incorporate these ingredients, as well as break them down a little bit.
Add the butter. It should be super cold—I like to slice mine in advance and then store it in the freezer until it’s crust time. Pulse until the butter is broken into smaller pieces that are about the size of marbles.
Add the rest of the flour. Process for 10 seconds. That’s it.
If you over process, this could cause the crust to become tough or the butter to get too small and won’t leave buttery bites when baked. We want pea-sized chunks of butter here to speckle through our crust.
Mix to combine. Pour the crust ingredients into the mixing bowl. Add the water and vodka, working slowly to incorporate them into the crust. If the dough is dry or crumbly, add additional water until the crust comes together and can hold together.
Chill. Form two dough rounds, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour, though you can let them sit in the fridge overnight or even for a few days.
Shape the top crust. Roll the top crust into a round that is 1/8” thick.
Use a knife to cut into an 8”x8” square and then slice into 1” strips.
Transfer to a baking sheet, and place in the freezer. This will be our lattice crust.
Keep it in the freezer until it’s time to add it to the top of the pie.
Form the bottom crust. Roll the bottom crust 1/8” thick round on a lightly floured work surface, and transfer to the deep dish pie dish. I like to fold my crust into half, then quarter and transfer to the pie dish.
Prepare to blind bake. Cover the pie crust with a layer of foil or parchment paper. Add pie weights (or dried beans if you don’t have them).
Blind bake at 375°F for 30(ish) minutes, or until the crust is partially baked through. Do not open the oven or peek at the pie crust while it bakes.
We par bake the crust because we do not want to overcook the crawfish filling. You will need to do this blind bake with store-bought pie crust, too, so please plan to do that.
Remove the crust from the oven and remove the ceramic pie weights.
How to make homemade Crawfish Pie
While the crust bakes, make the crawfish pie filling.
Drain the crawfish fat. The liquid in the crawfish packaging is fat We want to snip he corner of the packages to drain this into a separate container.
We need the crawfish fat for the filling because it provides intense crawfish flavor.
Season the crawfish tails. Once you’ve drained most of the fat from the packaging, place the crawfish tails in a medium-sized bowl. Season them with the salt-free Creole seasoning. Toss with a rubber spatula, and set aside.
Saute the trinity. Melt butter in a large skillet or a small Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the pan. Cook until tender, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the flour. Sprinkle it on top, and stir it into the veggies, coating them and cooking for 1-2 minutes.
Add the crawfish fat. Pour it on top of the veggie mixture, and cook until it has thickened, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. It’ll take around 10 minutes.
You want it to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon because the more liquidy it is, the runnier your filling will be.
Add the crawfish tails. As soon as you add them to the pan, turn off the heat. We don’t want the crawfish to overcook, so we don’t want them to take much heat now.
Pour the crawfish mixture into the hot pie crust. Top with the lattice topping, weaving the pieces together, and brush with an egg wash.
Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven, rotating the pie halfway through.
When the lattice topping is golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool for 30-45 minutes.
Slice and serve with additional green onions, and enjoy!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
This Crawfish Pie recipe would make an excellent addition to a Mardi Gras party or any type of pie-related celebration with friends. (Hello, Pi Day!)
What I love about this recipe is that it’s wonderfully flavorful and filling and that you don’t necessarily need a side dish to pair with it because it’s got everything you need in one bite.
If you want to make this savory pie recipe for a gathering, here are some tips and tricks to making it easier on yourself:
- Make two pies if you’re hosting a hungry crowd. While this recipe is hearty and makes for 8 good servings, if you’ve got more people, you obviously need more pie.
- Purchase pre-made ingredients to make it easier. There’s no shame in store-bought pie crust or pre-chopped veggies if those help you make this recipe faster!
- Bake the pie in advance, then store it in the fridge for 2-3 days. Before guests arrive, reheat it in the oven at 350F for 20-30 minutes, or until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
This crawfish pie is filled with Louisiana crawfish tails, onion, green bell pepper, celery and garlic! It’s utterly delightful and wonderfully meaty.
It depends on how you’re serving the crawfish! If you’re boiling crawfish, I suggest pairing them with potatoes and corn and sausage. If you’re making this crawfish pie, you could pair it with a fun drink or a dessert pie!
If you’ve got a whole pie to reheat, pop it into a preheated oven set to 350F for 10-20 minutes, or until just warmed through. If you’re heating up an individual slice, I suggest placing it in the microwave and heating in 30-second bursts until the pie is warmed to your liking.
While I’m sure you can cook crawfish frozen, I suggest defrosting the tails because we need the fat to be liquidy to use in the sauce for this pie filling.
No. Do not rinse the tails! The liquid on them is the fat, and that is so important for extra crawfish flavor in the pie.
Quick Tips and Tricks for the best Crawfish Pie
- Give yourself time. This recipe is a labor of love, and it tastes amazing… but if you rush it, you’re going to be stressed out and might miss something important. Take your time with this recipe so it (and you!) can shine.
- Make it easier on yourself. If purchasing pre-chopped veggies and a pre-made pie crust will help you make this recipe, DO THAT.
- How to store: Cover the leftover pie in the pie dish with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second bursts until warmed through.
Recipes to pair with Crawfish Pie:
Crawfish Pie
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Pie Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter very cold and cut into 1” pats (226g)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 300g
- 1 cup whole wheat flour 132g
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt 18g
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup vodka 164ml
Crawfish Pie Filling
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium onions about 2 ½ – 2 ¾ cup chopped, 11.65 oz.
- 1 green bell pepper about 2 cups chopped, 8 oz.
- 6 ribs celery chopped (8.75 oz.)
- 4 green onions chopped (1.55 oz.)
- 6 garlic pods minced
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 lb. peeled crawfish tails + crawfish fat
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Salt-Free Creole Seasoning
Equipment
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Instructions
How to make Whole Wheat Pie Crust
- If you haven’t already, slice the butter and place it on a freezer-safe plate. Transfer to the freezer.
- Use a fine mesh strainer to sift the all-purpose and whole wheat flours together into a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Pour 2 cups of flour into the food processor. Add the salt, and process a few times to incorporate the ingredients.
- Add the cold butter to the food processor. Pulse until the butter is broken into smaller pieces that are about the size of marbles.
- Add the rest of the flour to the food processor. Process for 10 seconds. We want pea-sized chunks of butter here to speckle through our crust.
- Transfer the dry crust ingredients to a mixing bowl.
- Add the water and vodka, working slowly with a rubber spatula to incorporate them into the crust. If the dough is dry or crumbly, add additional water until the crust comes together and can hold together.
- Form two dough rounds, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour, though you can let them sit in the fridge overnight or even for a few days.
- How to shape and bake Whole Wheat Pie Crust
- Roll the top crust into a round that is 1/8” thick. Use a knife to cut into an 8”x8” square and then slice into 1” strips. Transfer to a baking sheet, and place in the freezer. This will be our lattice crust.
- Roll the bottom crust 1/8” thick round, and transfer to the deep dish pie dish. I like to fold my crust into half, then quarter and transfer to the pie dish.
- Cover the pie crust with a layer of foil or parchment paper. Add pie weights (or dried beans if you don’t have them).
- Blind bake at 375°F for 30(ish) minutes, or until the crust is partially baked through. Do not open the oven or peek at the pie crust while it bakes. We are blind baking the crust because we don’t want to overcook the crawfish filling or for this bottom crust to get soggy while the crawfish bakes.
- Please note that you will need to blind bake a store-bough pie crust, too.
- Remove the crust from the oven and remove the ceramic pie weights. Set aside.
How to make homemade Crawfish Pie
- While the crust bakes, make the crawfish pie filling.
- Drain the crawfish fat. The liquid in the crawfish packaging is the fat. DO NOT TOSS IT. Snip the corner of the packages to drain them into a separate container. We need this to add to the filling because it provides intense crawfish flavor.
- Once you’ve drained most of the fat from the packaging, place the crawfish tails in a medium-sized bowl. Season them with the salt-free Creole seasoning. Toss with a rubber spatula, and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan or a small Dutch oven. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the pan. Cook until tender, about 5-8 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour on top, and stir it into the veggies, coating them and cooking for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the crawfish fat on top of the veggie mixture, and cook until the mixture has thickened. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom, and it’ll take around 10 minutes. You want it to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon because the more liquidy it is, the runnier your filling will be.
- Add the crawfish tails and turn off the heat. We don’t want the crawfish to overcook, so we don’t want them to take much heat now.
- Pour the crawfish filling into the blind baked (warm) pie crust. Top with the lattice topping, weaving the pieces together, and brush with an egg wash.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven, rotating the pie halfway through.
- When the lattice topping is golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool for 30-45 minutes.
- Slice and serve with additional green onions, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
•Purchase pre-made ingredients to make it easier. There’s no shame in store-bought pie crust or pre-chopped veggies if those help you make this recipe faster!
•Bake the pie in advance, then store it in the fridge for 2-3 days. Before guests arrive, reheat it in the oven at 350F for 20-30 minutes, or until warmed through.
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
I went the easy route and used a premade pie shell. The filling was amazing and the flavors were delicious!
In Step 6 of the pie recipe you mention adding veggie stock, but no mention (or quantity!) of it is listed in the ingredients. Please advise.
Hey Ken! Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I’ve just reviewed my notes, as well as the videos I made while testing this recipe.
Long story short: This recipe does not need stock, and I am removing it from the instructions because we want the filling to be thick. I adapted this recipe from my Crawfish Etouffee, which calls for some stock and didn’t omit it from my instructions in my effort to get this post live.
I’m fixing that now. Thank you for asking this question so I could correct this for you and others. Happy baking!