If you are looking for things to do in New Orleans with kids, Jazz Fest is absolutely a wonderful event to consider. Jazz Fest offers some of the world’s best live music, the most delicious food and is absolutely a family-friendly event if you would like it to be (though you can always ditch the kids and leave them with a sitter, if you prefer). That said, attending Jazz Fest in person is not always in the cards! When that’s the case, bring some of Jazz Fest and New Orleans into your own home by enjoying this easy crawfish bread or instant pot crawfish monica.
No Need to Stand in Line :: Easy Crawfish Bread at Home
On a recent trip to visit us from their home in Colorado, my in-laws picked up a frozen version of crawfish bread that we found at a local grocery store.
We love all things crawfish and since my mother-in-law mentioned that she’s never had crawfish bread before, we tossed it in the cart. We made it for dinner that night and found it to be a bit… underwhelming. Definitely not the awesome Jazz Fest favorite I was hoping for.
We were busy the rest of their visit, but after they left I got to thinking that I could probably make one that would be more to her liking (and mine). While my mother-in-law hasn’t gotten a chance to try it yet, I can tell you this: it’s delicious! And it’s super easy too.
Crawfish Bread
Adapted from Louisiana Kitchen & Culture
This makes enough filling for 3 loaves. If you don’t need 3 loaves right away, you can freeze the filling. Just thaw in the refrigerator before filling your bread dough.
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups trinity (diced onion, bell pepper & celery)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (measure this with your heart)
- 1 pound peeled Louisiana crawfish tails with fat
- 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
- 1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s, or more to taste
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 tubes refrigerated French bread dough, such as Pillsbury
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add trinity, sauté for 5 to 10 minutes or until translucent. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, sautee. Add crawfish, green onions, and Tony’s and sauté 5 minutes more. Stir in cheeses and mix until uniform. Set aside.
Unroll a tube of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon a third of the crawfish filling down the center of the dough. Fold dough over and pinch edges to seal filling completely inside. If you’d like, you can make a few small slits on top of the loaf to allow steam to escape — but I have forgotten before and it turned out fine! Repeat with remaining dough and crawfish filling.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Best served warm.
*Leftover crawfish bread should be stored in the fridge and toasted in the oven or air fryer before serving.
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