There are a lot of crawfish bread recipes out there, and every South Louisiana family seems to have their own version. This one is mine — simple, cheesy, packed with crawfish flavor, and built for gatherings where everybody ends up hovering around the pan for “just one more piece.” It’s the kind of recipe that disappears fast during Lent, football season, or any backyard get-together.

One challenge of making authentic crawfish bread in Houston is finding good New Orleans-style French bread. If you grew up in Louisiana, you know the bread matters just as much as the filling. That light, crispy crust with the soft center is hard to duplicate outside of New Orleans, but when you find a good loaf, this recipe gets pretty close to home. The creamy crawfish mixture, Cajun seasoning, fresh tomatoes, and melted cheese baked into crusty French bread make this one of those recipes people always ask for after the first bite.

Whether you stick with Monterey Jack or kick it up with Pepper Jack, this crawfish bread is rich, savory, and loaded with Louisiana flavor. Just keep an eye on it under the broiler — because perfect crawfish bread can turn into burnt bread real quick. 

Ingredients

12 oz  crawfish tail meat, peeled, cleaned and deveined

1/2 stick butter

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 cup chopped and drained ripe tomatoes

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

3/4 cup Monterey Jack Cheese (or try Pepper Jack for an extra kick)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 loaf French bread

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, Cajun seasoning and crawfish. Saute for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

In a bowl, mix together the cheeses, mayonnaise and parsley. Add the tomato and crawfish mixture to the mayo mixture.

Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Spoon the mixture on the bread and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Then broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Watch closely, as not to burn. Cut the bread into individual portions, serve, and enjoy.