Crawfish Pie: the mouthwatering recipe for a classic Louisiana savory pie

If you're a fan of savory pies, you'll love this beautiful crawfish pie recipe. This easy-to-make, flavorful double-shelled pie is a specialty of the Cajuns of southern Louisiana.

With its flaky, buttery crust, and creamy, beautifully seasoned filling that's packed with crawfish tails, vegetables, and spices, don't be surprised if you find yourself making Louisiana crawfish pie again and again.

It's a fantastic dish to serve as a hearty dinner, especially as a treat for all the seafood lovers in your family.

Crawfish Pie Ingredients

The pie pastry is a classic shortcrust pastry dough made with flour, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Make sure the ingredients are very cold, as this is what will give you that incredible flaky texture.

As for the pie filling, you'll need plenty of butter and whole milk for a creamy texture.

You'll also need the traditional mixture of bell peppers, onions, and celery, plus garlic and seasonings like white pepper and red pepper, in addition to black pepper and salt. Either Old Bay, Cajun, or Creole seasoning is a must.

Breadcrumbs add a lovely texture, and seasoned breadcrumbs are definitely the way to go when making crawfish pie.

You'll also want to make sure to save any juices from the crawfish, as they'll add a lot of flavor to the pie.

How to Make Crawfish Pies

Making the perfect Louisiana crawfish pie is a two-part process; first, you'll need to make the crust, then the filling. Let's start with the crust. Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl.

Chop the butter into the flour mixture until the pieces are about pea-sized. Stir in the buttermilk, and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out the dough, and slice it in half. Knead each half and shape them into discs, then wrap them in plastic film. Pop the discs into the fridge for about an hour or so.

To make the sensational crawfish filling, start by sautéing the onion and celery in the butter for 5 to 10 minutes, or until they become soft. Next, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add the milk into the pot, then carefully stir in the crawfish tails and juices. Mix in parsley, green onions, breadcrumbs, and seasonings. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the saucepan from the heat.

Roll out the first disc to 12-inches, then put it in your pie pan, trim off excess dough from the edges, then piece the dough all over with a fork. Lay a piece of greased foil over the dough, add pie weights, then bake the crust for 15 minutes at 375F. Take the foil and weights out and bake for another 10 minutes or so. Reduce the heat to 350F.

Scoop the crawfish filling into the pie crust. Put the second dough disc over the filling and seal the pie around the edges. Make a slit or two so steam can escape. Brush the pie with the egg mixture. This will help it brown, so don't skip this step!

Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then serve warm, preferably with a glass of white wine or a crisp, cold lager.

What to Serve with Crawfish Pie

Serve your Louisiana crawfish pie with classic Southern side dishes like cornbread, green beans, and collard greens. It's excellent with roasted potatoes and a side salad as well.

If you're enjoying your crawfish pie with a glass of white, we recommend a Chardonnay or a dry German Riesling.

Tips for the Best Louisiana Crawfish Pie

Make sure the ingredients for your pie crust are very cold. This is what will help make it extra flaky.

If you want to simplify your cooking, use premade pastry instead of making it from scratch.

You can use Creole seasoning instead of Old Bay to season the filling of your crawfish pie.

Be gentle when stirring the filling – you don't want to break up the crawfish tails!

If you find your pie crust is browning too quickly when you're baking the pie, loosely tent some foil over it.

You can leave off the double-shell if you prefer. Cook the pie in the middle rack for 45 minutes.

You can easily make mini crawfish pies. Bake them for about 30 to 35 minutes.

How to Store Crawfish Pie

Wrap your crawfish pie well and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat it in the oven at 350F for 15 minutes, or until completely heated through.

Instructions

For the crust. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl.

Chop the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces are roughly pea-sized.

Stir in the buttermilk.

Mix until combined. Flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Cut the dough evenly in half. Knead each half and shape them into discs.

Wrap each disc in cling film, and place it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

For the filling. Melt the butter over medium heat.

Sauté the onion and celery for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once softened, add in the garlic, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375F.

Pour the milk into the pot. Gently stir in the crawfish tails and any juices.

Mix in parsley, green onions, breadcrumbs, red, white, and black pepper, salt, and Old Bay. Simmer for 5 minutes, taste, and make any seasoning adjustments, then remove from heat.

Flour a work surface. Roll out the first disc so it's about 12-inches. Place in a pie pan, and remove excess dough from the edges. Take a fork and prick all over the dough.

Place a piece of greased foil over the dough. Add pie weights, then bake for 15 minutes.

Take the foil and weights out and bake for 10 minutes more. Reduce the heat to 350F.

Transfer the filling into the pie crust.

Spread it evenly.

Roll out the second dough disc and arrange it over the filling.

Crimp the edges to seal the pie.

Prick the top crust with a fork or scissors so steam can escape when it's baking.

Brush the pie with the egg mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Slice, serve and enjoy!