This sauteed Cajun squid calamari is quicky pan seared to perfection and then drizzled with a Cajun butter sauce that bursts with flavor. An easy, flavorful side dish for calamari lovers!
Forget fried calamari! This easy Cajun calamari cooks up in 10 minutes and bursts with buttery Cajun flavor.
If you've never sauteed calamari squid before, it's rather easy — you just have to be careful not to overcook as it can turn rubbery. At medium-high heat, calamari cooks in just a few minutes (two minutes is all you need) until seared and tender.
The buttery Cajun sauce, which is drizzled over the top of the sauteed calamari, is made with a handful of ingredients including butter, garlic, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce and lemon juice. It's a favorite seafood dipping sauce around here and it pairs so well with tender, pan-seared calamari.
For Cajun seasoning, we use Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, but you could use another brand of choice. Or, you could even make your own. Since this a mildly-spiced Cajun butter sauce, we recommend using our ingredient measurements as a start, and then adding more as you like.
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It's a simple low-carb side dish or appetizer that's perfect for get togethers or family dinners!
Ingredients
Squid/calamari: If you can't get fresh calamari, frozen calamari will work just as well (just be sure to thaw according to package instructions). When purchasing from a fish monger, be sure that calamari is already cleaned. Fresh calamari should be white in color.
Butter: Be sure to use unsalted butter for the Cajun butter sauce.
Garlic: We use two teaspoons of minced garlic, which is about three garlic cloves.
Hot sauce: Hot sauce is used to add a little heat to the butter sauce. We use Frank's hot sauce, but you can use any hot sauce you like.
Cajun or creole seasoning: We use Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning since it's easy to find at most stores. However, you can use another preferred Cajun blend or even make your own.
Lemon juice: Don't forget to add the lemon juice to brighten it up!
Step-by-Step Instructions
STEP 1: Rinse and thoroughly dry thawed or fresh squid. Cut the squid tubes into ½-inch rings and cut the tentacles in half lengthwise. Lightly season with salt.
STEP 2: Next, make the butter sauce. In a non-stick pan over medium heat, sauté minced garlic with a tablespoon of the butter until fragrant (about 30 seconds — be careful not to brown). Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients (Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, and lemon juice). Pour into bowl.
STEP 3: In that same pan over medium heat, add the rest of the butter and heat it until it melts. Turn off the heat and use a spoon to skim off the white solids from the surface of the butter until somewhat clear. Pour the clarified butter into the bowl with the Cajun mixture. Set aside.
STEP 4: In the same non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of avocado oil (or other high-heat oil) and heat until shimmering. Add cut squid in batches (to avoid overcrowding the pan) and toss for about 2 minutes, until squid is seared and edges slightly crispy. Immediately remove and place on a serving plate.
STEP 5: Drizzle the butter sauce over calamari until lightly coated (you do not have to use the full amount of butter sauce). Serve immediately.
Recipe FAQ
Calamari and squid are essentially the same thing. Calamari is basically the culinary name for squid.
If not sold at the fish counter of your local grocer, you can typically find it in the freezer seafood section. Simply thaw according to instructions.
While you can store cooked calamari in a covered container in the fridge for a few days, we don't recommend it since reheating the calamari can make it rubbery.
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Recipe
Sauteed Cajun Calamari
Ingredients
- 1 pound cleaned calamari/squid
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teapsoons hot sauce (we use Frank's Hot Sauce)
- ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning (we use Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
) - ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or other high-heat oil)
Instructions
- Prepare squid: Rinse and thoroughly dry thawed or fresh squid. Cut the squid tubes into ½-inch rings and cut the tentacles in half lengthwise. Lightly season with salt.
- Make Cajun butter sauce: Next, make the butter sauce. In a non-stick pan over medium heat, sauté minced garlic with a tablespoon of the butter until fragrant (about 30 seconds — be careful not to brown). Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients (Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, and lemon juice). Pour into bowl. In that same pan over medium heat, add the rest of the butter and heat it until it melts. Turn off the heat and use a spoon to skim off the white solids from the surface of the butter until somewhat clear. Pour the clarified butter into the bowl with the Cajun mixture. Set aside.
- Saute calamari: In the same non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of avocado oil (or other high-heat oil) and heat until shimmering. Add cut squid in batches (to avoid overcrowding the pan) and toss for about 2 minutes, until squid is seared and edges slightly crispy. Immediately remove and place on a serving plate.
- Finish: Drizzle the butter sauce over calamari until lightly coated (use as much as desired). Serve immediately.
Great food. The only thing I doubled the recipe and found it to be really salty. Glad I made plane pasta to mix with it. I told my friend I did not know where the salt came from. The Toni’s!! Yeah that was it. So you may want to half the Toni’s and add more based on your taste buds. And don’t get me wrong, I love salt. If not for that it would have been 5 stars.
Thanks for sharing this! Yeah, Toni's is really salty so it easily be overdone. I'm going to put this callout in the recipe - to maybe start with half the amount and as more as needed. BUT, I'm also looking at other seasoning blends similar to Toni's that can be found everywhere and aren't as salty. Thanks for dropping the note - appreciate it!