Crawfish King Cake

Recipe provided by Holly Clegg, author of trim&TERRIFIC™ Guy’s Guide to Eating Well.

A recipe with fireworks – this simple, savory king cake is beyond good! Starts with crescent rolls with a scrumptious creamy Louisiana crawfish filling, topped with Mardi Gras colored Parmesan cheese. The best of Louisiana cuisine!

Ingredients

Makes 14 servings

Crawfish King Cake

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup Louisiana crawfish tails, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion
• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese
• 2 (8-ounce) cans reduced-fat crescent rolls

Mardi Gras Topping

• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• Yellow, green, red, and blue food coloring

Preparation

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

1. Preheat oven 350°F. Coat 10-inch round pizza pan lined with foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, sauté onion, bell pepper and garlic until tender. Add crawfish, green onion and cream cheese, stirring until creamy. Remove from heat.
3. Separate crescent rolls at perforations, into 16 slices. Place slices around prepared pan with points in the center. About halfway down from points, press seams together.
4. Spread crawfish mixture on dough in the center where seams are pressed together. Fold dough points over filling, then fold bottom of triangle over points forming circular roll like king cake. Bake about 20–25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with Mardi Gras Topping (see recipe).
5. To make Mardi Gras Topping: In three small bowls, divide cheese. In one bowl, add few drops yellow food coloring. In second bowl, add few drops green food coloring. In third bowl, add equal amounts drops of red and blue food coloring (to create purple). Sprinkle cheese over baked king cake. Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until cheese melted.

Nutritional Analysis (per serving)

• 134 Calories
• 42% Calories from Fat
• 7 g Fat
• 3 g Saturated Fat
• 17 mg Cholesterol
• 311 mg Sodium
• 15 g Carbohydrates
• 0 g Dietary Fiber
• 3 g Total Sugars
• 5 g Protein
• Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fat

Terrific Tip: Think of this as a crawfish bread and make year round with different colored cheese or just use plain cheese. Or you can always celebrate Mardi Gras all year, your choice.

Recipe from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC™ Guy’s Guide to Eating Well. For more of Holly's easy healthy recipes, visit her Blog and YouTube channel.