Shrimp Stuffed Mirlitons is a delicious dish popular in Louisiana for the holidays. Mirlitons also known as Chayote or vegetable pear.
The pear-like vegetable is actually a type of squash. During the holidays you can find Mirlitons in every neighborhood store throughout the state of Louisiana.
If you’re lucky you might even spot a Mirliton plant climbing up a trellis in the backyard of a home while driving up and down the roads in Louisiana.
Be careful if you decide to get a closer look and touch a Mirliton vine they can be prickly!
One of the fondest memories I have as a child was going to my Uncle Luke’s home in New Orleans for the holidays.
I use to love visiting my granny and helping her and my uncle pick Mirlitons off the vines. Afterward, we would cook Shrimp Stuffed Mirlitons as a side dish for our holiday dinner.
We usually made my granny’s Mirliton recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Of course, the dinner table never looked complete if granny’s famous Mirlitons were missing from the menu.
Granny’s Mirlitons were the best! Sometimes she would stuff the Mirlitons with crabmeat, crawfish, and shrimp.
Sadly, my granny passed away without writing down her Mirliton recipe. Therefore, I had to try recalling the ingredients she used in her recipe.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember some of the ingredients she used. Though, it was fun reminiscing and coming up with new ingredients for the Shrimp Stuffed Mirlitons.
One of the ingredients I added to the recipe was Cajun seasoning. I love spicy food like this Oven Roasted Cajun Turkey recipe I made.
Stuffed mirlitons, oyster dressing, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cornbread, and cranberry sauce are all perfect side dishes to go with a roasted turkey or ham for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What side dishes do you make for your family’s Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner?
Prepping the Mirlitons
Prepping the Mirlitons for the recipe was fairly simple. First, we parboiled the pear-shaped squash by placing them into a pot filled with water, liquid crab boil, and salt.
We let the mirlitons parboil until we could pierce the skins with a fork.
Second, we removed the mirlitons from the pot and placed them into an ice bath.
Third, when the mirlitons were cool to touch we cut each one lengthwise removing the seeds and saving the pulp.
Last, we placed the mirliton halves on a cookie sheet and set them aside while we cooked the pulp, veggies, and the shrimp.
Stuffing the Mirlitons
Before baking the mirlitons shells I stuffed them with the pulp mixture, shrimp, and Italian breadcrumbs.
The vegetables I added to the pulp consisted of celery, bell peppers, and onions. In New Orleans, we call those three vegetables the holy trinity!
Almost every kitchen in New Orleans when cooking a traditional recipe uses those three vegetables.
I also include garlic in my recipes. Furthermore, after all the mirlitons were stuffed I sprinkled breadcrumbs on top of them and topped each with a pat of butter.
These deliciously stuffed mirlitons will sure to become a favorite addition to your holiday menu.
Do you have a favorite mirliton recipe?
A fun fact: Mirlitons are so popular in New Orleans, Louisiana they have a festival in a neighborhood in the Bywater celebrating these pear-shaped squash.
Shrimp Stuffed Mirlitons
These Shrimp Stuffed Mirlitons is overflowing with shrimp and other mouth-watering ingredients.
Ingredients
- 12 Mirlitons (Chayote Squash)
- 3 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp
- 1 stick butter
- medium onion, chopped finely
- 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
- Additional bread crumbs to top each mirliton
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 24 pats butter
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1/4 cup Louisiana Shrimp & Crab Boil (liquid)
- salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning
- optional: parsley for garnishing
Instructions
- Pour water covering the mirlitons. Add the crab boil. Parboil mirlitons until you can pierce mirlitons with a fork.
- Once mirlitons are done place mirlitons in an ice water bath and let set for 15 minutes or until cool.
- Melt 1/2 stick butter in saucepan and cook shrimp until pink and firm, set aside. Season shrimp with Cajun season if you want more spice.
- Sauté all the vegetables using remaining 1/2 stick of butter until tender, while the mirlitons are in the ice bath. Place vegetables in a glass bowl and set aside.
- Remove mirlitons from ice bath and carefully slice each mirliton lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, remove seeds.
- Gently scoop all pulp (mirliton meat) out of each shell being careful not to tear the shells and place pulp from mirlitons into a medium size pot.
- Place empty shells onto a cookie sheet.
- Cook pulp from mirlitons on medium heat. Use spoon to chop mirliton pulp and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add veggies, shrimp, and all of your seasoning. Stir well.
- Take saucepan from heat stir in 2 1/2 cups of Italian breadcrumbs. Note- add more breadcrumbs if needed.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Divide mixture into 24 equal portions and stuff into hollowed-out mirliton shells.
- Sprinkle tops with remaining bread crumbs and place on baking sheet and top each mirliton with a pat of butter.
- Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish with parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of shrimp you could use diced ham, kielbasa sausage, or andouille sausage.
- After you complete steps 1-12 on the recipe go to step 13.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
More Shrimp Recipes
- Cajun Spicy Shrimp with Rice
- Grilled Buffalo Shrimp Skewers
- Cream Cheese Shrimp Dip
- Cajun Shrimp Maque Choux
- Cajun Creamy Shrimp Pasta
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Bridgid says
You can use baked ham, cubed. Or smoked sausage.
Kim Seghers says
Thank you Bridgid, for sharing those ideas. I never thought about using ham or smoked sausage instead of the shrimp with the mirlitons. I’ll have to try smoke sausage next time.
Kim Seghers says
Hi Cindy! You might find them by another name “Chayotes” instead of mirlitons. If you get to try the recipe I would love to know if you liked it! Have a great week, Kim
Kim Seghers says
Thank you Athena! I’m so sorry to hear that your allergic to shellfish! Thanks for stooping over. Kim
Sri Mallya says
Very creative recipe. I just can’t wait to try this out. Love shrimp.
Kim Seghers says
Awww thank you Sri! I hope yu like the recipe! Enjoy The rest of your week, Kim
Kim Seghers says
Thank you Preeti! Yes you could use my method for another similar squash. Thanks for visiting, Kim
Kim Seghers says
Hi Barrie! The Mirlitons are very popular here in New Orleans. I was recently told you can find them in other parts of the United States at Walmart but, they call them Chayote Squash instead of Mirlitons. You should definetly find some and try my recipe! You can omit the crab boil if you want. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Kim