If you love crawfish, you'll fall in love with our spicy, cheesy, and gooey Hot Crawfish Dip Recipe! This tasty recipe mixes creamy cream cheese, gooey white cheddar and parmesan, Cajun seasoning, and the distinct flavor of crawfish to make a dish that's great for any get-together. Grab a cast iron skillet, because this dip comes together in one pan!
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Whether you're getting ready for a Super Bowl party, enjoying Mardi Gras, or just need something new to add in rotation, this flavorful dip is sure to please. It comes together in under an hour, with most of the time being inactive time while the dip bubbles away in the oven!
If you're craving Cajun flavors, make sure to check out our fan-favorite Cajun Chicken Alfredo and our Cajun Seafood Boil Recipe or this Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil! You'll also love our Cajun Salmon Pasta, this New Orleans BBQ Shrimp, and our Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta.
For more dip recipes to try, check out our Jalapeno Dip, this Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip, or this Corn Dip!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Easy to prepare. This recipe is a breeze to prepare, making it accessible for beginner cooks.
- One pan recipe. You only need one skillet to bring this recipe together, so that means less dishes!
- Perfectly balanced flavors. This dip hits all the notes. It's a great blend of creamy, spicy, savory, and cheesy, all wrapped up with tender pieces of crawfish. If you don't want to go through all of the trouble of making a crawfish boil, or it's just not crawfish season, this recipe can help! It offers you that delicious flavor of crawfish, plus creamy and cheesy goodness.
- Perfect for parties. This dip makes a great appetizer and snack for get-togethers everyone will love it, and it's easy to throw together!
🦞Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Cajun or creole seasoning. Try to look for a version that doesn't have added salt. Better yet, try our homemade version.
- Frozen crawfish tails. We like to buy frozen crawfish tail meat, that's already cooked. it can be found in the freezer section of some grocery stores. It's a lot of work to cook the whole crawfish and then peel them and prepare them for this dip. You can find crawfish tails pretty easily online if you don't have any in your area.
- Cream cheese. Softened and left out at room temperature for an hour or so if possible. This will ensure that it melts together pretty easily.
- Parmesan cheese. Freshly shredded if possible so that it melts well.
- Sharp white cheddar cheese. Again, if you can shred it yourself, this will give you nice melty cheese pulls. Sharp white cheddar adds the perfect flavor to this dip.
- Louisiana-style hot sauce. To taste! Our favorite is Crystal hot sauce.
- Creole mustard. It's a brown mustard with lots of added flavor, and it brings the dip to the next level.
- Horseradish sauce. Optional, but adds really great flavor.
- Ritz crackers. Optional, but we use them for a crunchy topping on the dip.
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Try different cheeses. Experiment with Monterey Jack, cheddar, Colby Jack, low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, pepperjack, or other cheeses.
- Use fresh crawfish. If you'd like, you could use fresh crawfish, boil them, and then peel them. This is just a lot more work!
- No onion or garlic? Fresh onion and garlic would definitely be best here, but you can substitute for onion and garlic powder.
- Adjust the heat level. Adjust the heat to your preference by varying the amount of Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, horseradish, or creole mustard. If you want more of a kick, add a bit of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Make it lower-fat. Swap out regular cream cheese for a lighter version.
- Gluten free option. Opt for gluten-free crackers for dipping instead of Ritz.
- Keto friendly. Simply omit the Ritz or use a low carb alternative to make this recipe low carb.
- Dairy free. You will need to swap the butter for oil or a plant-based version, swap the cream cheese for a dairy-free version, and use your favorite dairy-free cheeses.
🔪Prep work
- Thaw the crawfish up to 24 hours in advance in the fridge.
- Let the cream cheese soften at room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Cut your green onions, making sure to separate the green and white parts.
- Finely chop the green bell pepper, red bell pepper, yellow onion, and celery stalks.
- Finely mince the garlic and parsley.
- Grate parmesan cheese and sharp white cheddar cheese if using blocks.
📋Instructions
In a skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the white parts of the green onions, the green and red bell peppers, onion, and celery with a pinch of salt. (Image 1)
Sauté until the vegetables are soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Next, add in the garlic, Cajun seasoning, and lemon zest. (Image 2)
Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. (Image 3)
✨Pro Tip: Sauté slowly and carefully. Sauté the vegetables over medium heat to avoid burning, especially the garlic. Burnt garlic can impart a bitter taste to the dish.
Add in the crawfish meat, then season with salt and pepper. Stir to warm through. (Image 4)
Next, add the cream cheese, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, and Creole mustard. (Image 5)
⭑Pro tip: You can set some crawfish aside to top the dip later, or cook up some extra!
Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often to melt the cream cheese.
Once the cream cheese is softened, begin adding in the parmesan and sharp white cheddar cheese in small handfuls. (Image 6)
Keep adding the cheese in small handfuls to melt it gently, making sure to save some cheese for topping the dip before it goes in the oven. Add in some dark green parts of the green onions (reserving some for later). (Image 7)
⭑Pro Tip: Grating the cheese yourself will give you the best melt! Pre-shredded cheeses have anti-caking agents that don't melt as well. It also helps to add the cheese in small handfuls, giving the first batch enough time to melt before adding in the second batch.
Once the cheese is melted, remove it from the heat, and stir in the lemon juice. (Image 8)
Top it with the remaining cheese and the crushed Ritz crackers. (Image 9) Transfer to the oven to bake.
Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 25-30 minutes. (Image 10)
Top with more fresh parsley, green onions, and optional crawfish. Serve with more hot sauce, baguette slices, crackers, tortilla chips, veggies, or whatever you'd like! Enjoy!
✨Pro Tip: You want to use butter and cream cheese that are just slightly softened for this recipe. That's because cream cheese frosting can become gloopy, so if it's a bit cold, it can hold it's shape better. You'll also want to take extra time to ensure the cream cheese and butter are super smooth and combined at this stage before the sugar is added!
✨Pro Tip: Be careful when adding cream and make sure to add it slowly! It's really easy to thin the frosting too much, but hard to thicken it if it becomes too thin.
✨Tips & tricks
- Chop and mince the veggies well. Finely and evenly chop the bell peppers, onions, celery, and mince the garlic. This way, each bite has a consistent texture and flavor.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s best if the cream cheese is at room temperature so that it mixes with the other ingredients better. This helps in achieving a smooth, even consistency in the dip without lumps.
- Season to taste. Since your recipe has multiple ingredients contributing to the saltiness (like the cheeses, hot sauce, potentially the Cajun seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce), be careful with additional salt. Taste as you go and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
- Grate the cheese yourself. Ensure the cream cheese, parmesan, and cheddar are at room temperature before mixing.
- Layering flavor. Cook the vegetables and crawfish with seasonings as directed to layer the flavors. This step is crucial for infusing the dip with a deep, rich flavor.
- Mix well. Mix the ingredients thoroughly to ensure that the flavors are well distributed throughout the dip.
- Bake to perfection. Keep an eye on the dip in the final minutes of baking. You want a golden-brown crust without overcooking, you don’t want to burn the cracker topping!
- Resting time. Allow the dip to rest for a few minutes after removing it from the oven. This helps the flavors meld together and makes it easier to serve.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any leftovers, you can keep them covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just pop it in the microwave to warm it up when you're ready to eat it again.
If you want to plan ahead, you can prepare the dip 1 to 2 days before you need it. Just store it covered in the fridge, and when you're ready to serve, follow the baking instructions. We don't recommend freezing
Sure just half or quarter the ingredients to make a smaller batch of dip. To make a large batch, simply scale up. Please note, that you may need to adjust the size of your baking dish or skillet if you choose to make the dip larger or smaller. We use a 12-inch skillet.
The following makes a very large batch, and we only use 3-4 teaspoons and reserve the rest for other recipes. DO NOT use the whole batch of the spice mix in this recipe!
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional, and not a traditional ingredient)
More Recipes To Consider
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📖 Recipe
Crawfish Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 whole green onions white and green parts divided
- 1 medium green bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped
- 2 - 3 teaspoons kosher salt to taste, deepnds on how much added salt your Cajun or Creole seasoning has
- 10 cloves garlic minced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3-4 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning (no salt added if possible, and to taste)
- 1 pound crawfish tails cooked (add more if you'd like, and set some aside for topping the dip!)
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 6 ounces parmesan cheese freshly shredded and divided
- 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese freshly shredded and divided
- 2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons Creole mustard
- 2 teaspoons horseradish sauce
- 2-3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- 15 crushed Ritz crackers optional
- Chopped parsley, green onions, more crawfish, and hot sauce for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a skillet, heat 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the white parts of the green onions, the green and red bell peppers, onion, and celery with a pinch of salt.
- Sauté until the vegetables are soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Next, add in the garlic, 3-4 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning (to taste), and the zest of 1 lemon. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add in 1 pound of crawfish meat, then season with salt and black pepper to taste. Stir to warm through.
- Next, add in 8 ounces of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons hot sauce (or more, to taste), 2-3 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons of horseradish, and 2 tablespoons of Creole mustard.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often to melt the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese is softened, begin adding in the parmesan and sharp white cheddar cheese in small handfuls, about 1.5- 2 ounces of each cheese at a time.
- Keep adding the cheese in small handfuls to melt it gently, making sure to save some cheese for topping the dip before it goes in the oven. Add in some dark green parts of the green onions (reserving some for later).
- Once the cheese is melted, remove it from the heat, and stir in the juice of ½ a lemon. Top with the remaining cheese and the crushed Ritz crackers. Transfer to the oven to bake. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.
- To serve, top with more fresh parsley, green onions, and optional crawfish. Serve with more hot sauce, baguette slices, crackers, tortilla chips, veggies, or whatever you'd like! Enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just pop it in the microwave to warm it up when you're ready to eat it again.
Save This Recipe! 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
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Notes
- Chop and mince the veggies well. Finely and evenly chop the bell peppers, onions, celery, and mince the garlic. This way, each bite has a consistent texture and flavor.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s best if the cream cheese is at room temperature so that it mixes with the other ingredients better. This helps in achieving a smooth, even consistency in the dip without lumps.
- Season to taste. Since your recipe has multiple ingredients contributing to the saltiness (like the cheeses, hot sauce, potentially the Cajun seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce), be careful with additional salt. Taste as you go and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
- Grate the cheese yourself. Ensure the cream cheese, parmesan, and cheddar are at room temperature before mixing.
- Layering flavor. Cook the vegetables and crawfish with seasonings as directed to layer the flavors. This step is crucial for infusing the dip with a deep, rich flavor.
- Mix well. Mix the ingredients thoroughly to ensure that the flavors are well distributed throughout the dip.
- Bake to perfection. Keep an eye on the dip in the final minutes of baking. You want a golden-brown crust without overcooking, you don’t want to burn the cracker topping!
- Resting time. Allow the dip to rest for a few minutes after removing it from the oven. This helps the flavors meld together and makes it easier to serve.
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