This Cajun Crawfish, Shrimp & Andouille Fried Rice takes classic fried rice and gives it a serious Louisiana upgrade. Tender crawfish tails, seasoned shrimp, and smoky andouille sausage make this a hearty skillet meal packed with seafood and Cajun flavor.
Cold, day-old rice is the key here. Chilled rice stays firm when it hits the hot skillet, so the grains toast instead of turning soft or mushy. Cooking the shrimp and sausage first also leaves plenty of flavor behind for the vegetables, eggs, and rice to pick up.
The combination of seafood seasoning, garlic, cayenne, chili powder, oregano, soy sauce, and just a touch of sugar gives the rice a savory, slightly spicy finish without overpowering the crawfish and shrimp. Fresh green onions added at the end brighten everything up.
This can be made in a large cast-iron skillet, wok, or outdoors on a Blackstone or flat-top griddle. If you're already cooking outside, the flat top is especially good for getting some crispy edges on the rice while keeping everything moving quickly.
Ingredients
- 4 cup day-old cold cooked rice
- 8 oz cooked crawfish tail meat
- 10–12 large shrimp, peeled, tails removed, and deveined
- 2 andouille sausage links, sliced and quartered
- 0.5 cup chopped onion
- 0.5 cup chopped bell pepper
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 0.5 tsp seafood seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 0.25 tsp cayenne pepper
- 0.5 tsp chili powder
- 0.5 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the shrimp in a bowl and season with the seafood seasoning and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Toss until evenly coated.
- Heat a large skillet, wok, or flat-top griddle over medium-high heat.
- Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and cook the shrimp for about 2–3 minutes per side, or until opaque and curled into a loose C shape. Remove the shrimp and set aside.
- Add the quartered andouille sausage to the same cooking surface. Cook until browned and slightly crisp around the edges, about 3–5 minutes. Remove and set aside with the shrimp.
- Add the chopped onion and bell pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften.
- Push the vegetables to one side of the skillet or griddle. Pour the beaten eggs onto the open side and scramble until just cooked.
- Mix the scrambled eggs with the onions and peppers, then push everything to one side again.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the open cooking surface.
- Add the cold rice and immediately begin breaking up any clumps with a spatula.
- Sprinkle the rice with the garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, oregano, sugar, salt, and black pepper.
- Pour the soy sauce over the rice and toss everything together until the rice is evenly coated.
- Add the cooked crawfish tail meat and stir into the rice. Cook for 1–2 minutes, just long enough to heat the crawfish through.
- Return the shrimp and browned andouille sausage to the skillet.
- Add the sliced green onions and toss everything together until evenly combined and hot.
- Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, seafood seasoning, or cayenne as desired.
- Serve immediately while the rice is hot and the edges are still slightly crispy.
Tip
For the best texture on a Blackstone, spread the rice into a relatively thin layer after seasoning it and leave it untouched for 30–60 seconds before tossing. That brief contact with the hot griddle gives you those toasted, slightly crispy pieces that make fried rice so good.