Crawfish Monica Pasta

Get ready to bring the vibrant flavors of a New Orleans jazz festival straight to your kitchen with this incredibly rich and creamy Crawfish Monica Pasta! This dish is a true crowd-pleaser that perfectly balances succulent crawfish tails with a luxurious, seasoned cream sauce and perfectly cooked pasta.

It's the kind of comfort food that transports you to Mardi Gras with every single bite. Try my crawfish etouffee, gumbo soup, and all my Cajun recipes for more delicious tastes of the South.

🥘 Ingredients

• Short Pasta - Rotini, penne, or fusilli all work well because their shape catches the creamy sauce.
• Butter - Creates a rich base and helps sauté the aromatics for maximum flavor. A staple of delicious sauces.
• Yellow Onion - Adds flavor and just a little sweetness to balance the spicy Creole seasoning.
• Green Onions - Divided into the whites (sautéed with onion) and greens (added fresh at the end).
• Garlic - This pasta is heavy on the garlic in the best way!
• Heavy Cream - The key to a luxuriously creamy sauce. If substituting with half & half or milk, you will need to whisk in a corn starch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water) to thicken the sauce.
• Louisiana Crawfish Tails - Already cooked and frozen crawfish tails make this recipe quick and easy. Thaw crabmeat out and drain any excess liquid.
• Creole Seasoning - A bold blend of spices that brings the signature New Orleans flavor. Use my homemade Creole seasoning or a store-bought brand.
• Parmesan Cheese - Use freshly grated Parmesan for the smoothest melting texture in the sauce.
• Lemon Juice - A splash of acidity that brightens the creamy sauce and enhances the seafood. Zest your lemons before juicing them to add another bit of lemony sunshine to your pasta sauce.
• Salt & Pepper - Adjust to taste after letting the sauce flavors develop.
• Parsley (optional) - Fresh and vibrant, used as an optional garnish.

🔪 How To Make Crawfish Monica Pasta

You'll need measuring utensils, a large pot for boiling pasta, a heavy-bottomed deep skillet or pot for the sauce, a colander for draining, a wooden spoon or spatula, and a whisk.

This recipe makes about 8 servings, or 6 hearty portions if serving as the main dish.

Cook & Drain The Pasta

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add 1 pound of short pasta such as rotini, penne, or fusilli. Cook according to package directions until the pasta is al dente.

Before draining, carefully reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water in case you need to thin out the sauce later. Drain the pasta in a colander and set it aside (photo 1) while you start the sauce.

Start The Sauce

Sauté the aromatics. In the same pot, a Dutch oven, or a deep skillet, melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the finely chopped medium yellow onion and the white parts from the bunch of sliced green onions (photo 2).

Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauteed onions are softened and translucent. Add the 4-6 minced garlic cloves, 2-3 teaspoons of Creole seasoning, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (photo 3), and sauté for another minute, just until fragrant.

Deglaze the pan. Pour in the ½ cup dry white wine (photo 4 - I love pinot grigio for this) and stir to break up any bits on your pan bottom, cooking off the wine.

Build the cream sauce. Slowly pour in 2 cups of heavy cream (photo 5) then a tablespoon of lemon juice (photo 6 - freshly squeezed is best) while whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth and combined, then bring it to a gentle simmer.

Thicken & Add Crawfish

Simmer and thicken. Let the sauce cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Heat the crawfish. Add the 1 pound cooked crawfish tails (photo 7) to the pot along with the green tops of the sliced green onions (photo 8), and the optional lemon zest if using. Stir gently to mix the crawfish into the sauce.

Let everything heat through for 1-2 minutes, but do not let the sauce boil. If the sauce feels too thick, stir in a splash of the reserved pasta water until it reaches the consistency you like.

Combine & Serve

Combine with pasta. Stir in the cooked pasta (photo 9) and the first ½ cup of Parmesan cheese (photo 10) until well coated and the cheese is melted. Adjust seasoning with salt and a few turns of your pepper mill.

Serve immediately. Dish the pasta into bowls and garnish with extra Parmesan, a sprinkle of Creole seasoning or another crank of your pepper grinder, and/or the optional fresh parsley and serve right away.

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes

• If using jarred minced garlic, the conversion for 4-6 cloves is 1-1.5 tablespoons of minced garlic but the flavor is not as strong so you can use up to 2 tablespoons if swapping for the fresh garlic.
• Deglaze the pan with broth or water to avoid alcohol content if needed.
• Control the salt content by letting the sauce flavors marry while simmering before seasoning with additional salt. The Cajun seasoning is doing most of the flavoring in your sauce, and it contains plenty of salt too.
• Thaw your frozen crawfish meat in the fridge, and for best flavor set it in a bowl with ice cold water and 1-3 tablespoons of liquid crab boil for an hour before cooking. Drain and rinse and then remember that your crawfish meat has extra seasoning on it now, so reduce the Creole seasoning as needed.
• To thaw whole frozen crawfish (in the shell), bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the crawfish in. This will break the boil. Cover and allow to sit for 25 minutes then drain and peel the crawdads.
• The crawfish is already cooked so be sure not to overcook them in your sauce. Warm the crawfish and serve to avoid a rubbery crawfish texture.
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese is always better for melting and texture in sauces. The pre-shredded cheeses have an anti-caking coating to prevent them from clumping which also makes them not melt as smoothly.
• Use fresh lemon juice for best results. I like to zest my lemon and add a pinch of the zest for some extra 'pop' of flavor.
• For a crawfish substitute. This recipe is fantastic with peeled and deveined sautéed shrimp, chopped langoustine, and crab meat (real or imitation). If raw, add your alternative meat at Step 2 with the garlic and cook until done, then continue with the recipe as instructed.

🥡 Storing & Reheating

Refrigerate leftover crawfish cassie in a shallow airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

Freezing

While it's possible to freeze this dish, creamy pasta sauces can sometimes separate or become grainy when frozen and thawed. For best results, if you plan to freeze, undercook the pasta slightly and allow the dish to cool completely before transferring to a freezer-safe container or bag.

Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Reheating

Gently reheat refrigerated leftovers on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently. Add a splash of milk, cream, or reserved pasta water to restore the best creamy crawfish sauce consistency if needed. Do not boil.

You can also microwave in 30-60 second intervals, stirring between each, until warmed through.

Reheat frozen and thawed leftovers (remember that you should have undercooked the pasta a bit more!) gently on the stovetop over low heat, adding liquid as needed, until warmed through. Avoid high heat to prevent the sauce from separating.

📖 Recipe Card