Catfish Atchafalaya

Catfish Atchafalaya is a unique combination of Southern Fried Catfish, smothered in Crawfish Étouffée, and served with Green Onion Rice. It is a five-star meal that is easy to enjoy at home.

Catfish Atchafalaya is a recipe from a restaurant called Walk-Ons that we used to go to all the time in Louisiana. (There’s actually one near my parents’ house in Florida now!)

It sounds strange, but it is a delicious meal of fried catfish that is smothered in crawfish étouffée and served with green onion rice or white rice. It is a great way to use some leftover crawfish étouffée and rice – just fry up some fish fillets and smother them in that creamy crawfish sauce – so good!

🥘 Ingredients Needed

• Southern Fried Catfish
• Crawfish Étouffée
• Green Onion Rice

🥣 How to Make It

Catfish Atchafalaya is a unique combination of fried catfish, crawfish étouffée, and green onion rice (or white rice.)

I like to prepare the Crawfish Étouffée first, then dredge and bread my catfish.

While my catfish fillets are resting in the refrigerator and my oil is heating up, I start the green onion rice in my Instant Pot. The rice should be done around the same time that the catfish fillets are done cooking.

When everything is finished, serve a scoop of green onion rice with a fillet of catfish:

Then smother with a scoop of Crawfish Étouffée. It is so good!

Variations on Catfish Atchafalaya

There are different variations of Catfish Atchafalaya depending on who makes it and where you get it. Some people top it with fried crawfish tails, some replace the crawfish étouffée with an au gratin sauce, and some even blacken the catfish.

🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses

Our version of Catfish Atchafalaya is so delicious. It is easily one of my favorite dinners and it could easily be served in a 5-star restaurant.

🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating

All of the parts of Catfish Atchafalaya have different shelf lives:

Catfish: If you don’t finish fried fish in one meal, store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator after letting it cool. I like to reheat it in the air-fryer to crisp back up – if you do not have an air-fryer, you can use the toaster oven or the regular oven, just put some foil under the fish to catch any drippings so you don’t end up with a toaster that permanently smells like fish. If you aren’t going to be able to finish all of your fried fish, you can freeze it, just be sure to put the fish in an air-tight container or plastic bag. (Vacuum seal it if you can – this will prevent freezer burn.)

Green Onion Rice: Green onion rice, much like most cooked rice, will only be good for a few days. My favorite way to reheat rice is to cover it with a damp towel and microwave it on low heat. Stir, then repeat once or twice. This will add moisture back into the rice and make it soft again.

Crawfish Étouffée: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 days. It can be reheated over low heat, but do not overcook it as the crawfish will get tough. If you are not going to eat all of the étouffée within 2 – 3 days, you can freeze it for several months. Let it defrost in the refrigerator then reheat on the stove over low heat.

🌶️ Other Great Cajun & Creole Recipes

• Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
• Red Beans and Rice
• Raising Cane’s Sauce
• Skillet Cornbread
• Creole Jambalaya