Best Crawfish Boil Recipe Ever. Really!

I know that’s a big claim, but I’m standing by it. This crawfish boil recipe is not only delicious but also crazy simple. It’s made with fresh crawfish, the bag and bottled Zatarain’s© crawfish, shrimp & crab boil seasoning, a little Cajun seasoning, red potatoes, corn on the cob, a few lemons, and smoked Andouille sausage. Is your mouth watering yet?

crawfish boil recipe close up of crawfish, corn, and potatoes — I add a few shrimp in the mix for those who aren’t as crazy about crawfish as I am.

A crawfish or shrimp boil is one of my favorite dishes for entertaining because it’s a simple one-pot meal — who doesn’t love that? Even better, you can do the cooking and eating either indoors or outdoors. Personally, I prefer outdoors because it makes for a more authentic experience.

Like another spring and summer favorite, the clam bake, a crawfish boil truly is just that: an experience. It lasts a lot longer than a regular sit-down meal; in fact, it can be an all-day event.

Bright Red Crawfish on a table with potatoes and a bright yellow corn with an outdoor chair — Eating crawfish takes time, making it an experience – and a great diet plan!

I’ve been enjoying crawfish and other seafood boils since I was a little girl. Some of my favorite cousins live in Mobile; every year we’d have a family reunion. My grandfather was one of eight children, and all of his brothers and sisters would be there with their families. As you can imagine, these reunions were huge.

Crawfish were always on the menu for this gathering. They were boiling all day.

Mostly potatoes and corn with a few crawfish — I cook the potatoes and corn at the beginning with minimum crawfish so I can time the rest of the crawfish going in.

I have 7 kids, and we are following the same tradition of getting together when crawfish are in season. My grown kids hosted their first crawfish boil this year, the day before Easter. It was a fabulous day with the best food around. My daughter-in-law’s parents came and cooked New Orleans jambalaya and gumbo to serve along with the crawfish. They did a bang-up job. They are originally from Louisiana, so it was totally authentic! Here are a few photos from our gathering.

What is a crawfish, aka crawdad, crawdaddies, and crayfish?

A crawfish is simply a crustacean that looks like a miniature lobster. These small, tasty creatures live in freshwater wetlands, rivers, lakes and swamps. They are beloved by Southerners in Alabama (where I live), Louisiana, and other Southern states.

Stacy Lyn's crawfish boil recipe prepared: close up shot of bright red crawfish and corn — Crawfish Boils are the perfect way to entertain. It’s a real experience and a huge one pot meal!

When Are Crawfish in Season?

Crawfish season doesn’t have a set beginning or end; it depends on what part of the U.S. you’re in. If you’re in Louisiana, for example, crawfish season may stretch all the way from November to July. However, spring and early summer are usually when you’ll get the best crawfish.

In Alabama, crawfish are in season during late April through June. Throughout the South, April and May are fantastic months to cook up a great big crawfish boil.

The time is now, so let’s move right on to the preparation of this succulent crawfish boil recipe.

How Do You Wash Crawfish?

First, wash crawfish with running water to remove any dirt or mud. Remove any crawfish that are discolored or crushed. For our family gatherings I start with a 32-pound sack of crawfish. (You can always halve the recipe if you don’t need that many pounds of crawfish to feed your guests.) Then I dump half the crawfish into a 5-gallon bucket or other large container and run water over them. After swishing the water around in the bucket, I drain it with a strainer. (There’s no need to have the crawfish soak for any length of time.) I then remove any crushed crawfish and place the whole ones in a large cooler. I repeat this procedure for the rest of the bag. After getting all the washed whole crawfish into the cooler, I dump ice over them to keep them cool until cooking.

How to Boil Crawfish

Boiling crawfish is super easy. No real measuring is necessary. To start, just fill a Dutch oven or tall pot ¾ full of water, put it on high heat, and bring the water to a rolling boil.

How long should you boil crawfish?

I’ve found that the timing is one of the keys to a great crawfish boil recipe. Once you’ve got boiling water, add the spices and then the potatoes for about 5 minutes. Then add the corn and crawfish. Stire and boil them all together for about 4 more minutes, or until the potatoes are pierced easily with a knife and the crawfish are a beautiful red color.

Remember that these little crustaceans cook quickly! For the crawfish alone, it only takes about 4 to 5 minutes to boil as long as your water has reached a rolling boil when you put the crawfish in. If you are using frozen crawfish, it will only take 1 to 2 minutes since they have already been blanched.

Since the crawfish and corn don’t need to cook as long as the potatoes, I always boil the potatoes and sausage with the seasonings before putting in the rest of the ingredients.

Although the sausage is already done, I put it in the pot with the other seasonings to add the flavor early in the boiling process.

What and how much seasoning do you put in crawfish boil?

Of course, a big key to the best crawfish boil is your seasoning.

More crawfish and corn, but mostly bright red crawfish — Did you know: one serving of crawfish is only 70 calories!

I love Zatarain’s seasoning for this crawfish boil recipe. It’s really just the perfect amount of seasoning for great flavor. I use a combo of the dry and liquid Zatarain’s: one seasoning packet and one bottle of liquid season.

I also add a little cayenne and Cajun seasoning. That’s it!

Once I pour the drained crawfish onto the newspaper, I sprinkle it with a little more Cajun seasoning for a little extra flavor and well…because it just looks so great! A good crawfish boil is even better with that final, bright red dusting of deliciousness.

Now to the eating!

How do you eat a Crawfish?

Crawfish are pretty easy to peel and eat. You twist the tail off, take the first link of shell off the tail, and then squeeze the end of the tail and suck! If you’re feeling brave, don’t forget to suck the crawfish heads. This process makes more sense when you see it in action, so I hope you’ll watch the video of me demonstrating how to eat a crawfish.

I don’t suck the top of the crawfish in this video, but most crawfish foodies do! The head is really the best part of the crawfish; it’s full of flavor.

First, pull off the tail of the crawfish.
Next, remove the first few layers of shell farthest from the end of the tail.
Then squeeze the end of the tail and pull the meat out of the shell. If you do it just right, the vein will stay in the shell when you pull out the meat. If not, you’ll want to devein the crawfish meat. You can also just suck the meat out!

How long do crawfish last after they are cooked?

If you refrigerate the leftovers of this crawfish boil recipe within 2 hours of their being cooked, they will last for 3 to 4 days.

Overhead shot of crawfish, corn, potatoes, and shrimp on foil from crawfish boil recipe — One bag of crawfish is around 32 pounds. It feeds an army (around 12-14 people), but if you have more sides, it’s even more than that!

I don’t usually reheat and eat crawfish in their original state, but I love frying them and using them in salads. One of my favorite dishes using leftover crawfish is my Crawfish Mac and Cheese. It’s worth boiling crawfish just for the leftovers around here!

Finally, here is my step-by-step Best Crawfish Boil Recipe.

Note: I always get a sack of crawdads that weighs around 32 pounds. This will feed at least 12 people and provide some leftovers to use in my favorite left-over recipes. Feel free to halve this recipe if you aren’t feeding a crowd. I advise making enough to serve other ways, though!