Chef Remy
Cajun All-Purpose Seasoning
A brick-red Louisiana spice blend with layered heat, earthy herbs, and aromatic depth that transforms anything it touches into something worth fighting over at the dinner table.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Creole Remoulade
Created by Chef Remy
New Orleans' beloved scarlet sauce, creamy with Creole mustard and bright with horseradish, the kind of dip that turns a simple platter of boiled shrimp into a celebration worth remembering.
Sauces & Condiments
Creole
Make Ahead
Potluck
Game Day
15 min
Active Time
0 min cook•15 min total
YieldAbout 2 cups
Every New Orleans kitchen worth its salt has a jar of remoulade in the icebox. This is the sauce that built a hundred seafood houses, the reason tourists line up for shrimp platters, the magic that transforms ordinary fried oysters into something you dream about for weeks. At Lagniappe, we go through gallons of this stuff every weekend.
Now, remoulade has French roots, but what we make in Louisiana barely resembles its ancestor. The French version is pale and polite. Ours is bold, rusty red, and unapologetic. That color comes from paprika and cayenne, that punch from Creole mustard and fresh horseradish. My grandmother Evangeline kept hers in a mason jar on the top shelf, and Lord help the grandchild who dipped a finger in without permission.
The secret is building flavor in stages. You start with the base of mayo and mustard, layer in your aromatics, then finish with heat and brightness. Taste as you go. Some folks like more heat, some want more tang. That's the beauty of making it yourself. At Lagniappe, we mix it fresh every morning because the flavors bloom and meld overnight. By day two, it's magic.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
mayonnaise
Quantity
1 cup
Duke's or homemade preferred
Creole mustard
Quantity
3 tablespoons
prepared horseradish
Quantity
2 tablespoons
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
hot sauce
Quantity
2 teaspoons
Crystal or Louisiana brand
paprika
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons
cayenne pepper
Quantity
1 teaspoon
kosher salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground
green onions
Quantity
2
white and light green parts, minced fine
fresh flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
minced
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
minced to a paste
celery
Quantity
1 rib
minced very fine
capers
Quantity
1 tablespoon
drained and chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| mayonnaiseDuke's or homemade preferred | 1 cup |
| Creole mustard | 3 tablespoons |
| prepared horseradish | 2 tablespoons |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| hot sauceCrystal or Louisiana brand | 2 teaspoons |
| paprika | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| cayenne pepper | 1 teaspoon |
| kosher salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| black pepperfreshly ground | 1/4 teaspoon |
| green onionswhite and light green parts, minced fine | 2 |
| fresh flat-leaf parsleyminced | 2 tablespoons |
| garlicminced to a paste | 2 cloves |
| celeryminced very fine | 1 rib |
| capersdrained and chopped | 1 tablespoon |
| Worcestershire sauce | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Medium mixing bowl
- •Whisk
- •Rubber spatula
- •Pint jar or airtight container for storage
Instructions
- 1
Build the base
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and Creole mustard until completely smooth. This is your foundation. The mustard should be fully incorporated, no streaks, no lumps. Add the horseradish and whisk again. You'll smell it immediately. That sharp bite mellows as the sauce rests.
Creole mustard is non-negotiable here. It's coarser and spicier than yellow mustard, with those little mustard seeds that give the sauce texture. Zatarain's is the classic choice. - 2
Add the heat and seasoning
Whisk in the lemon juice, hot sauce, paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Watch the color transform from pale yellow to that gorgeous rusty orange. The paprika gives color and sweetness. The cayenne brings the heat. Start with the amounts listed, but know you'll adjust at the end. That's the bayou way.
- 3
Fold in the aromatics
Add the minced green onions, parsley, garlic paste, celery, capers, and Worcestershire sauce. Fold everything together with a rubber spatula until the herbs and aromatics are evenly distributed throughout. The sauce should look speckled with green and have visible texture from the mustard seeds and capers.
Mince that celery as fine as you can get it. Big chunks of celery have no place in a proper remoulade. You want the flavor without the crunch. - 4
Taste and adjust
Now comes the most important step. Taste it. Really taste it. Need more heat? Add cayenne a pinch at a time. Too flat? A squeeze more lemon juice will wake it up. Not salty enough? Don't be shy. The sauce should be bold and assertive. It's going to share a plate with shrimp and fried foods, so it needs backbone.
If you're serving this to folks with different heat tolerances, err on the milder side and put a bottle of hot sauce on the table. Let everyone make it their own. - 5
Rest and serve
Transfer the remoulade to a jar or covered container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Overnight is better. The flavors need time to get acquainted, to meld and marry. When you taste it after resting, you'll understand why patience matters. The sauce will have become something greater than the sum of its parts.
Chef Tips
- •At Lagniappe, we make this every morning for the dinner service. The overnight rest transforms it. If you can wait 24 hours before serving, you'll taste the difference.
- •Duke's mayonnaise is the only commercial brand I trust for this sauce. That extra tang from the vinegar works with the Creole mustard. Hellmann's will do in a pinch, but Duke's is the Louisiana choice.
- •Fresh horseradish from a jar is fine, but if you can find a whole root, grate it yourself. The heat is cleaner and more immediate. Just don't touch your eyes.
- •This sauce loves cold boiled shrimp, fried catfish, oyster po'boys, and crab cakes. At Lagniappe, we also put it on roast beef debris sandwiches. Don't knock it until you've tried it.
- •The cayenne amount makes a medium-heat sauce. For a gentler version, cut it to half a teaspoon. For serious heat, go up to two teaspoons. Know your audience.
Advance Preparation
- •Remoulade improves dramatically after resting overnight. Make it a day ahead if you can.
- •Stored in an airtight container, this sauce keeps refrigerated for up to two weeks. The flavor stays bold the whole time.
- •The aromatics are best fresh. If you're doubling the recipe for a party, prep the mayo base ahead but fold in the green onions and parsley closer to serving for the brightest flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 28g)
Calories
50 calories
Total Fat
5 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
3 mg
Sodium
220 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
0 g
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