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Crawfish

Crawfish are small freshwater crustaceans commonly boiled, steamed, or added to soups, stews, and rice dishes.

Crawfish — illustrative ingredient image

About Crawfish

Crawfish are small freshwater crustaceans related to lobsters, with segmented bodies, claws, and edible tail meat. They are commonly boiled or steamed whole, then served with seasonings, or shelled for soups, stews, étouffée, sauces, rice dishes, salads, and fillings. The claws and body may also provide meat, depending on size and custom.

Cooked crawfish tail meat is firm, tender, and mildly sweet, with a delicate shellfish flavour. Seasoning liquids, sauces, and cooking time strongly affect the finished taste and texture. Overcooking can make the meat dry or tough, while gentle cooking helps retain its juiciness.

Crawfish are sold live, fresh, cooked, or as shelled meat. Their shells may be brown, olive, mottled, or reddish before cooking and usually turn bright red or orange when heated. Boiling and steaming cook the meat while preserving the whole-animal presentation; shelling produces convenient pieces for mixed dishes.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where crawfish appears

4 linked foods

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Showing 1–4 of 4

Main dishes

Soups

Noodle dishes

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for crawfish

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Crawfish

English

Crawfish Tail Meat

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Crawfish nutrition & diet

Crawfish nutritional value

Reference: Crayfish, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the stated reference food.

Calories
67kcal
Protein
14.9g
Carbs
0.0g
Fat
0.8g

Reference example for the named food and preparation, per 100 g edible portion. This is not a universal value for every recipe or brand; packaged products should be compared with their own label. CoFID 2021 food code 16-235. Carbohydrate follows the dataset’s available-carbohydrate convention. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.

Portions & preparation

Use the edible cooked meat or the specified whole-animal preparation, not the shell, head material, or discarded cooking liquid. Boiling, steaming, frying, stuffing, and saucing create different reference forms. Record whether the serving includes tail meat, claw meat, or other locally eaten portions, and separate accompaniments from the crustacean.

Compare the right form: Match freshwater crawfish by species or local identity, raw or cooked state, and edible portion, distinguishing peeled meat from whole cooked animal.

Diet considerations

Crawfish are animal-derived freshwater crustaceans. Compatibility changes with butter, dairy, batter, meat stock, spice blends, sauces, or mixed seafood recipes. Preparation also changes the relevant form, especially when shells and cooking liquids are excluded. Because common names overlap regionally, confirm the species or market identity before applying a reference or dietary interpretation.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Typically incompatible
  • Vegetarian
    Typically incompatible
  • Pescatarian
    Typically compatible
  • Keto
    May be compatible
  • Paleo
    May be compatible
  • Low-carb
    May be compatible
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Typically incompatible
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Typically incompatible
The ingredient profile identifies an animal-derived food or derivative.
Vegetarian · Typically incompatible
The profile identifies animal flesh, seafood or a derivative excluded by a vegetarian diet.
Pescatarian · Typically compatible
Seafood fits this pescatarian definition. Added meat-based stock or other ingredients would need checking separately.
Keto · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Paleo · May be compatible
May fit a paleo pattern, depending on the cut or form, processing and added ingredients.
Low-carb · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Typically incompatible
This profile identifies shellfish, which does not meet the kosher fish criteria.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID), 2021 — Crayfish, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .