17 Essential Cajun Ingredients, Explained

Cajun dishes are largely rooted in ingredients that are readily sourced from Louisiana's fields, shores, and waterways, so given New Orleans' proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, it should come as no surprise that seafood takes a prominent position in Cajun favorites. Bickford specifically points to blue crab as a must-have in her kitchen, stating that it's her favorite seafood to cook and eat. "We have some of the best seafood in the world and this ingredient is at the top of that list. Louisiana blue crabs are the best, sweet, delicate, beautiful white meat," she says.

There are lots of ways to enjoy blue crab in Cajun dishes, but it's hard to go wrong with a hearty seafood gumbo or a classic crab boil. Just be sure to brush up on some of the common mistakes people make when cooking crab to help ensure your homemade Cajun meals come out tasting their best.

Crawfish boils are quintessentially Louisianan, and there's no better crawfish than Breaux Bridge crawfish, according to Bickford. These fresh-water crustaceans that look like little lobsters but have a flavor more akin to shrimp are one of Louisiana's claims to fame. And of all the crawfish in all of Louisiana? Those from Breaux Bridge are particularly famous, as this locale has been dubbed by Louisiana as the "Crawfish Capital of the World."

But Bickford points out that this ingredient is also seasonal, which helps add to the festivities when crawfish come in season."This seasonal ingredient is so widely celebrated, it's unique and absolutely delicious. It is an ingredient, but to most folks in south Louisiana, it is also an event. The gathering around crawfish boils is so important to our celebratory culture," she says. And here's the thing: You don't have to live in Louisiana to take advantage of the flavorful crustacean — the Louisiana Crawfish Co. will deliver live crawfish straight to your door.

If you haven't heard of Creole cream cheese, that's likely because the food was almost extinct until the late Commander's Palace owner, Ella Brennan, helped revive it along with other chefs invested in maintaining the heritage of the region's foods. This farmer's cheese has a unique, slightly sweet flavor and a yogurt-like texture, and can be served with fruit and sugar for breakfast, or can be made into other popular New Orleans-based desserts like Creole cream cheesecake and Creole cream cheese ice cream.

"[It's] unique to our region [with a] unique flavor, tang, and texture," Bickford says. "[It's] an ingredient that I'm focused on creating a truly versatile demand for to never lose again. It's used in sweet and savory applications. At Commander's, we make our own and use it all over the menu from the cheesecake to stone ground grits."

Bickford calls dark roux one of the "key building blocks" to Louisiana's regional cuisines, playing a role in Cajun and Creole dishes. The role of a roux is to help thicken sauces, stews, and soups, but Bickford says the dark roux is particularly important. "The dark roux adds more to our food than just thickening qualities. The deep, complex flavors that are achieved in cooking a proper dark roux provide the depth and complexity that so many of our staple dishes are known for," she explains.

Roux itself is typically made by combining flour and butter, although other fats like oil, bacon grease, or lard can be used. These ingredients are cooked (while stirring constantly) over low heat for up to 45 minutes. The longer it cooks, the darker the roux, and the more complex the flavors. That being said, the longer it cooks, the less thickening power the roux ends up having. This makes dark roux perfect for dishes like jambalaya and gumbo, where intense flavors are important, but thickening plays a secondary role.

As Bickford points out, "[You] can't have red beans without rice." And the importance of rice to Cajun cooking doesn't stop with the namesake dish. Rather, rice is found in a wide range of Cajun favorites from jambalaya and gumbo to Cajun dirty rice with sausage, shrimp, or chicken.

Of course, there are many different types of rice, and most can be used when making Cajun food, but Bickford points specifically to popcorn rice as her favorite to use in Cajun cuisine. This basmati rice hybrid is grown specifically in Louisiana and is considered an artisan grain with a unique, nutty, and popcorn-like aroma when it's cooked. This lends greater depth and flavor to the popular Cajun dishes that rely on rice as their cornerstone.

Sausage is certainly one of the most popular and important ingredients in Cajun cooking, but it's not the only cured or smoked pork product to make a regular appearance in spicy cuisine. Bickford points to Andouille sausage, tasso ham, cracklins, and hogshead cheese as all playing a role in the Southern dishes.

"As the Acadians descended on South Louisiana, they lived off the land. What we are left with today is so much of what they made from that. Boucheries, the celebration of the killing and cooking of whole hogs, are still a big part of the culture of Cajuns," she says. "The use of the whole animal is an idea that should be cherished and exercised. Cajuns take from the land with respect."

If you haven't heard of black garlic, it's really just regular garlic that's gone through a fermenting process. "The transformation that happens when black garlic is fermented is the perfect union of smokiness and umami for all Cajun cuisine, even though it's not traditionally Cajun," says Lopez. In this manner, practically any Cajun dish that includes garlic (read: most of them) could benefit from the addition of black garlic, too.

One thing to keep in mind is that black garlic doesn't taste as sharp or strong as standard garlic. It has a more subtle and sweet flavor profile and even has some tang and smokiness to it. This makes it a good spice to experiment with, adding it to different dishes or even using it in spreads or in oils.

Watermelon rinds may not seem like an ingredient to be used in cooking... the white and green parts of the watermelon are what you're supposed to discard, right? Not so, according to Lopez. "South Louisiana is hot in temperature and hot in flavor when it comes to our spices, and watermelon rinds are a great way to cool your body and your palette down," he says.

Given that watermelon grows in abundance in the Southern state, when watermelon is in season, watermelon rind dishes are, too. Watermelon rind can actually be pickled, juiced, or even cooked up like veggies when sliced into smaller pieces. Pickled watermelon rind can also be spiced to Cajun specifications to make watermelon rind relish or chutney to layer on top of other dishes.

Cajun foods tend to be a little lighter on tomatoes than Creole dishes, but there's so much interplay between the two cuisines that tomatoes are a must-have whenever cooking either variety. And if you're trying to keep your ingredient list as true to the original as possible, Lopez says it's important to cook with Creole tomatoes. "You can't cook Cajun food without Creole influence, and vice-versa. Creole tomatoes are just as fundamental as okra, and when the season is ripe in South Louisiana, they need to be celebrated for their sweetness and acidity," he says.

Here's the thing, though: Creole tomatoes aren't a specific variety of tomatoes. Rather, "Creole" refers to where they're grown. These medium and large-sized red, vine-ripened tomatoes are marketed as "Creole" to help people identify the locally grown tomatoes from the Southern Louisiana parishes versus those shipped into the area from farms located farther away. In this manner, if you don't live in South Louisiana, it may be hard to find true Creole tomatoes, but the Celebrity variety  is likely to be a close match for the flavor.

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