Cajun Crawfish Boil Corn Potatoes (Print Version)

A Southern-style boil combining spicy crawfish, sweet corn, and tender potatoes with rich Cajun flavors.

# What You'll Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 4 pounds live crawfish, thoroughly rinsed

→ Vegetables

02 - 6 ears corn, husked and cut into halves or thirds
03 - 2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed
04 - 2 yellow onions, quartered
05 - 1 head garlic, halved horizontally
06 - 1 lemon, sliced

→ Sausage

07 - 1 pound smoked Andouille sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces

→ Seasonings and Aromatics

08 - 1/2 cup Cajun seasoning blend
09 - 2 tablespoons kosher salt
10 - 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
11 - 4 bay leaves
12 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
13 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
14 - 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

→ For Serving

15 - Lemon wedges
16 - Hot sauce

# Steps to Follow:

01 - Fill a large stockpot with 5 gallons of water. Add Cajun seasoning, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, onions, garlic, and lemon slices. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
02 - Add potatoes to the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes until partially tender.
03 - Add corn and Andouille sausage to the pot and continue boiling for another 8 minutes.
04 - Add crawfish to the pot and stir gently. Cover and let boil for 3 to 5 minutes, just until the crawfish turn bright red.
05 - Turn off the heat and let the pot sit covered for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld and the crawfish to absorb the seasonings.
06 - Drain the boil using a large strainer or by carefully pouring out the liquid, reserving the solids.
07 - Transfer crawfish, potatoes, corn, sausage, and vegetables onto a large serving platter. Drizzle with melted butter and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve hot with lemon wedges and hot sauce on the side.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • It's a showstopper that feels fancy but requires zero finesse—just boil everything together and let the magic happen.
  • The whole experience of cracking crawfish at the table with friends turns dinner into an event, not just a meal.
  • One pot means minimal cleanup, which feels like a small miracle when you're feeding six hungry people.
02 -
  • Don't leave the crawfish in the pot after they turn red—overcooking them for even a few extra minutes makes them rubbery and you'll regret it immediately.
  • If you can't find live crawfish or they're out of season, frozen crawfish work perfectly, but thaw them completely first and reduce the cooking time by a minute or two since they cook faster.
  • Rinsing live crawfish under cold running water isn't just a cleanliness thing—it also calms them down before they hit the pot, which makes the whole process less stressful for everyone involved.
03 -
  • Buy your crawfish the day before or the morning of, and keep them in a cooler with damp newspaper—they'll stay alive and taste fresher when they hit the pot.
  • If you're making this for a crowd, you can prep all your ingredients the night before and store them separately in the fridge, which means the actual cooking only takes about an hour from start to finish.
  • Save some of the cooking broth after draining—it's liquid gold for dipping bread, and it freezes beautifully if you want to make another batch.
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