Recipe Spotlight on Southern Entrées: The Heart of Louisiana Cooking

Louisiana entrées are built on patience, bold seasoning, and generations of culinary wisdom. These dishes don’t rush—they simmer, roast, and develop character.

Barbecue Shrimp is unapologetically rich: head-on shrimp roasted in butter, black pepper, and cayenne, served with French bread to capture every drop. It’s messy, indulgent, and iconic.

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya brings everything together in one pot—tender chicken, smoky sausage, seasoned rice, and vegetables slowly melding into a deeply satisfying dish that feeds both body and soul.

Seafood lovers gravitate toward Grilled Louisiana Crawfish Cakes, lightly seared and finished with a glossy cane syrup–orange glaze that balances sweet and savory beautifully. Crawfish Louise offers comfort in casserole form, while Creole Seafood Gumbo stands as the crown jewel—a dark-roux masterpiece layered with shrimp, oysters, crab, okra, and herbs.

From Eggplant Casserole to Shrimp & Grits, these entrées showcase the depth, warmth, and unmistakable flavor of Louisiana kitchens.

Barbecue Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 48 large shrimp, heads on

• 4 tbs. ground black pepper

• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

• ½ lb. melted butter

• 1-cup water

• ½ lb. melted butter

• (DO NOT add salt)

• French bread

Procedure:

Select 48 (approximately 2½ lbs.) shrimp with heads on and place in a shallow baking dish large enough to contain shrimp in a double layer. Add water and one half pound of butter. Sprinkle shrimp with black pepper and cayenne and cover with second half pound of butter. Place in a hot oven (375 to 400 degrees) and roast for ten minutes. Turn with a large spoon and roast for another ten minutes until shrimp are an even robust pink. Serve with extra loaves of French bread to mop up the delicious liquor created by the butter and roasted shrimp.

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients

• 2 chickens (small fryers)

• 8 cups water

• 1 white onion, diced

• 1 green pepper, diced

• 4 celery stalks

• 1 large can tomatoes, crushed

• 3 tbs. tomato paste

• 1 lb. smoked sausage

• 4 cups rice

• ¼ lb. butter

• 2 tbs. parsley, chopped

• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

• 1 tbs. salt

Directions

Quarter and cook chickens in 8 cups of water until done. Remove and allow to cool, reserving stock. Sauté white onion, pepper, and celery in butter until clear in a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Strain chicken stock and add to vegetables. Blend in tomatoes, tomato paste, and smoked sausage. Add rice and cover, cooking about 25 minutes, until done. Remove chicken meat from bone and fold into rice mixture along with parsley and green onions, and simmer over low heat another 30 minutes or so until all flavors are melded. Add salt. Spike liberally with Tabasco sauce when serving. Yields 6–8 servings.

Grilled Louisiana Crawfish Cake

Ingredients

• 8 oz. crawfish (rough chop ½)

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs

• ½ cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoon granulated garlic

• ½ cup green onions

• 2 tablespoon Creole mustard

• ½ tablespoon Creole seasoning

• ½ tablespoon crushed red pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients making sure not to overmix. Form into cakes approximately 3" across and 1" high. Sear for 3 minutes on each side.

Cane Syrup – Orange Glaze

Ingredients

• ½ cup Steens cane syrup

• ½ cup orange juice (no pulp)

Directions

Combine ingredients and cook on high heat until boiling. Top crawfish cakes with glaze. Recipe yields 3 crawfish cakes.

Crawfish Louise

Ingredients

• 2 tbs. olive oil

• 3 tbs. margarine

• 2 cups julienned mushrooms

• 1 lb. crawfish

• ¼ cup green onions

• ½ cup seafood stock

• ½ tbs. Italian seasoning

• 1 clove garlic, crushed

• ½ cup Parmesan cheese

• ¼ cup parsley

• ¼ tsp. black pepper

• ½ cup breadcrumbs

• ¼ tsp. salt

Directions

Heat olive oil and margarine together. Blend in mushrooms, crawfish, and green onions. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add seafood stock and continue to cook, stirring at 30-second intervals. When this is hot, add Italian seasoning, garlic, parmesan cheese, and parsley; continue to cook for 3 minutes. Remove from stove and add black pepper, breadcrumbs, and salt. Pour contents into a casserole dish and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Yields 4 servings.

Creole Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients

• 1 cup celery, diced

• 1 cup bell pepper, diced

• 1 cup white onion, diced

• 2 cups okra, sliced

• 1½ tsp. pureed garlic or garlic paste

• 1 cup margarine or cooking oil

• 1½ cups flour

• ¼ cup parsley, chopped

• 1½ lbs. small or medium shrimp, peeled

• 6 qts. water

• 4 scallions, chopped

• 1½ lbs. gumbo crabs

• 2 tomatoes, peeled & chopped

• 1 pint oysters

• 1 tsp. thyme

• 1 tsp. basil

• 1 bay leaf, crushed

• 2 tbs. salt

• 1½ tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp. black pepper

• 2 tbs. Kitchen Bouquet

• Rice

Directions

In a large stockpot make a medium-dark roux of the flour and margarine, heating the margarine until sizzling and gradually adding the flour and darkening. Add seasonings and vegetables, cook until vegetables are limp, and let cool about a half hour. Boil shrimp separately, reserving stock. Add roux and vegetables to stock and blend well until thickened. Add oysters, crab, shrimp, and Kitchen Bouquet for color. Simmer one-half hour. Serve over rice. Yields 20 servings.

Eggplant Casserole

Ingredients

• 8 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice

• 2 cups onions cut into ¼ inch dice

• 1 cup celery cut into ¼ inch dice

• 2 cups bell pepper cut into ¼ inch dice

• 3 cups margarine, melted

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• ¼ tsp. basil leaves

• 2 cubes chicken bouillon

• 8 oz. American cheese

• 8 oz. smoked sausage

• 2 cups plain breadcrumbs

• ¼ tsp. black pepper (optional)

• ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped

• 1 cup green onion, chopped

• Salt to taste

Directions

Immerse diced eggplant in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove, drain, and set aside. In a 2-gallon pot, sauté onions, celery, and bell pepper in margarine for 4 minutes over medium heat. Add eggplant, bay leaves, garlic, basil leaves, and chicken bouillon. Cook for an additional 4 minutes. With heat now turned to simmer, add American cheese and fold until cheese is thoroughly melted. Remove and discard smoked sausage casing. Finely shred sausage through a food processor until almost puréed. Remove from the processor and add to casserole. Add plain breadcrumbs, black pepper if desired, parsley, green onion, and salt. Transfer contents to a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Yields 6 servings.

Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

• 4 eggs

• 4 slices Canadian bacon

• 4 pieces English muffin

• 8 oz. Hollandaise sauce

Directions

Poach eggs in lightly simmering water until egg whites are cooked. The egg yolks should be soft. Warm Canadian bacon slices in oven. To serve, place English muffin on the center of a plate and top with Canadian bacon followed by the poached egg. Top with 2 oz. Hollandaise sauce for each serving. Yields 4 servings.

Hollandaise Sauce (Blender)

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks

• ½ cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 tsp. chicken base

• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1 lb. unsalted butter

Directions

In a blender, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, chicken base, and cayenne pepper. Blend the mixture on high speed for thirty seconds. Heat the butter until it starts to boil, careful not to brown it. Separate the butter from the butter fats so you are left with clarified butter. With the blender on high speed, slowly add the butter in a steady stream until all the ingredients are well blended. Yields 4 servings.

Shrimp & Grits

Ingredients

• 1 cup Worcestershire sauce

• ½ cup steak sauce

• ¼ cup white wine

• ¾ lb. andouille sausage, diced

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 1 lb. (31–35 ct.) shrimp, peeled & deveined

• 4 cups grits, cooked

Directions

In a heavy-bottomed saucepot over medium-high heat, reduce the Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, and white wine by ¾. While sauce is reducing, bake the diced andouille sausage until the sausage becomes crisp. Once the sauce has reduced, add the heavy cream and reduce again by ¼. Add the shrimp and roasted andouille sausage to poach in reduction. Serve over grits. Yields 4 servings.