12+ Stuffed Catfish Recipes Packed With Bold Flavor

There’s something about stuffed catfish that takes me straight back to lazy Sunday afternoons at my grandmother’s house, when the kitchen smelled like Cajun spices and you could hear stories and laughter over the simmering pots. Stuffed catfish always felt like a celebration—bold flavors, plenty of comfort, and a recipe worthy of pausing your day. If you’re craving home-cooked dinners with a punch, these 12+ stuffed catfish recipes packed with bold flavor will spark happy memories and inspire delicious new habits right at your own table.

1. Classic Cajun Crab-Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

You get everything comforting in one pan—tender fish, a creamy crab filling, and a just-spicy-enough kick. It’s perfect for Sunday suppers or when you want to feed a crowd something special without fuss.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 8 oz lump crabmeat
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp chopped green onions
• 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp butter

How to Make It:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix crabmeat, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, green onions, Cajun seasoning, and lemon juice in a bowl.
3. Pat catfish fillets dry and make a slit in each to form a pocket.
4. Stuff each fillet with crab mixture.
5. Place stuffed fillets on a lightly greased baking dish. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with paprika.
6. Bake 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Optional Enhancers (choose 2):

Flavor Boost: Add a pinch of cayenne to the crab mixture for extra heat.

Serving Idea: Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon and steamed seasonal vegetables.

2. Shrimp and Andouille-Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

This southern-inspired combo is a hit whenever you want something a little more decadent, like a Friday night in or a festive gathering. Smoky sausage and tender shrimp load every bite with punchy flavor.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 6 oz small shrimp, peeled and chopped
• 4 oz andouille sausage, diced
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tsp Creole seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

How to Make It:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Sauté sausage, celery, bell pepper, and garlic in olive oil until softened.
3. Add shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes until just pink. Stir in Creole seasoning, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4. Make a slit in each catfish fillet.
5. Fill each pocket with the sausage-shrimp mixture.
6. Place stuffed fillets on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

Swap This With That: Sub chorizo for andouille for a different smoky kick.

Best Pairings: Creamy coleslaw, cornbread, and sautéed greens.

3. Spinach and Feta-Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

Bright, savory, and a little unexpected—this is a lighter, Mediterranean-inspired take. It’s great for midweek meals when you want bold but feel-good flavors.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp lemon zest

How to Make It:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Sauté shallot in olive oil, add spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from heat, mix in feta and oregano.
3. Cut a slit in each catfish fillet, stuff with spinach-feta mixture.
4. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon zest.
5. Bake 25 minutes until fish is opaque and flakes easily.

Meal Prep Tip: Stuff fish in advance and bake when ready to serve.

Flavor Boost: Sprinkle pine nuts on top before baking for extra crunch.

4. Creole Dirty Rice-Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

The classic New Orleans dirty rice, full of herbs and spices, turns a simple piece of fish into a hearty meal. Perfect for anyone who wants to try something a little different but not complicated.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 4 oz ground pork sausage
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tbsp chopped celery
• 2 tbsp chopped green bell pepper
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Sauté sausage, onion, celery, and bell pepper in olive oil until sausage is browned.
3. Mix in cooked rice, Cajun seasoning, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4. Split each catfish fillet to make a pocket; stuff with dirty rice mixture.
5. Arrange in a skillet or baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes.

Best Pairings: Collard greens, skillet cornbread, and pickled okra.

Flavor Boost: Add chopped chicken livers to the rice for even richer flavor.

5. Stuffed Catfish with Crawfish Étouffée Filling

Why You’ll Love It:

When you want dinner to feel like a full-on Cajun celebration, a crawfish étouffée filling has all the buttery, spicy soulfulness you’re craving. It’s a fantastic centerpiece for gatherings or birthdays.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 8 oz crawfish tails
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup seafood stock
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 2 tbsp chopped green onions
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Melt butter in a skillet, add flour, and stir to make a roux.
2. Add celery, bell pepper, and onion; sauté until soft.
3. Pour in stock, stir until thickened, and add crawfish, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes.
4. Slice catfish fillets and stuff with étouffée.
5. Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes. Top with green onions before serving.

Serving Idea: Serve over rice for a true bayou meal.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don’t rush the roux—let it get a little golden to add depth of flavor.

6. Pecan-Praline Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

This brings a little Southern sweetness to the savory world of stuffed catfish. The crunchy, subtly sweet pecan-praline filling is surprisingly lovely as a holiday or Sunday brunch main.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

How to Make It:

1. Mix pecans, brown sugar, melted butter, breadcrumbs, cayenne, and salt.
2. Cut pocket into catfish fillets, fill with pecan mixture.
3. Lay on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes until topping is golden.

Serving Idea: Pair with roasted sweet potatoes or a light salad.

Budget-Friendly Tip: Walnuts work if you don’t have pecans.

7. Crab and Cream Cheese-Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

Rich, creamy, and a little indulgent, this recipe is a dinner party favorite—or a treat-yourself Saturday meal. The cream cheese helps the crab stick together for the perfect bite every time.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 6 oz crabmeat
• 4 tbsp cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp green onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp butter

How to Make It:

1. Blend crab, cream cheese, green onions, dill, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
2. Create a pocket in each fillet and spoon in the filling.
3. Place in buttered baking dish and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.

Meal Prep Tip: Assemble ahead and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking.

Flavor Boost: Add a bit of grated lemon zest to the filling.

8. Blackened Cajun Shrimp-Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

This dish is a bold twist for spice lovers, with a blackened seasoning crust adding an irresistible charred flavor on top of juicy shrimp stuffing—a real statement meal for when you want to wow.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 6 oz shrimp, chopped
• 1 tbsp Cajun blackening seasoning
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• Salt to taste

How to Make It:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Toss shrimp, bell pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and a pinch of salt.
3. Rub catfish generously with Cajun blackening seasoning.
4. Cut slit in each fillet, stuff with shrimp mix.
5. Lay on a greased cast-iron pan, dot with butter, and bake 25 minutes.

Best Pairings: Serve with dirty rice and sautéed okra.

Flavor Boost: Sprinkle a tiny pinch of smoked paprika before serving.

9. Stuffed Catfish with Crab and Mushroom Wild Rice

Why You’ll Love It:

A comforting weeknight meal that feels like a restaurant order: wild rice gives it texture, mushrooms lend earthiness, and fluffy crab brings lightness.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hours

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 1 cup cooked wild rice
• 4 oz crabmeat
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, diced
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp green onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Sauté mushrooms, green onions in a bit of oil until tender.
2. Mix with wild rice, crab, parsley, mayo, Old Bay, salt, and pepper.
3. Stuff into fillet pockets and place on a greased baking dish.
4. Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes until cooked through.

Swap This With That: Sub canned tuna for crab if needed.

Meal Prep Tip: Wild rice and mushroom mix can be made ahead.

10. Cajun Cornbread-Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

Cornbread stuffing isn’t just for turkey. Paired with catfish, it makes for an ultra-cozy winter meal with flavor everyone recognizes and loves.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 1 cup crumbled cornbread
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely diced celery
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Mix cornbread, onion, celery, cheddar cheese, chives, Cajun seasoning, butter, salt, and pepper.
2. Split each fillet, stuff with cornbread mixture.
3. Arrange in baking dish and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.

Serving Idea: For a true Southern plate, serve with collard greens.

Budget-Friendly Tip: Use box cornbread to save time and money.

11. Catfish Stuffed with Chorizo and Peppers

Why You’ll Love It:

This one is big on smoky Spanish flavor. Chorizo and peppers bring the kind of zing that turns simple fish into a dinner you’ll remember, perfect for cool nights or date night in.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 4 oz Spanish chorizo, diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste

How to Make It:

1. Heat oil in pan, sauté onion, garlic, chorizo, and red pepper until softened.
2. Stir in parsley and season lightly.
3. Slit each fillet, stuff with chorizo filling.
4. Place on a baking tray and bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.

Swap This With That: Use turkey chorizo for a lighter version.

Flavor Boost: Add a pinch of smoked paprika to the filling.

12. Catfish Stuffed with Boudin and Peppers

Why You’ll Love It:

Classic Louisiana boudin sausage brings comforting rice, spice, and a little pork—easy to source, quick to stuff, and always a crowd-pleaser during game nights or family meals.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 8 oz cooked boudin sausage, casing removed
• 1/4 cup diced bell pepper
• 2 tbsp green onions, chopped
• Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Remove boudin from casing and mix with diced bell pepper and green onions.
2. Make a pocket in each catfish fillet, fill with the mixture.
3. Arrange on a greased baking pan.
4. Sprinkle black pepper and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.

Serving Idea: Great with garlic rice or smothered green beans.

Personal Note: My cousin always asks for this at our annual cookouts.

13. Roasted Garlic and Parmesan-Spinach Stuffed Catfish

Why You’ll Love It:

Roasted garlic makes everything taste fancy but still family-friendly, and the parmesan-spinach filling gives a savory richness. This is one you’ll want to keep for dinner rotations.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
• 2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Sauté spinach in olive oil until wilted.
2. Stir in roasted garlic, parmesan, and yogurt until creamy, season to taste.
3. Cut a pocket in each fillet, stuff with spinach mixture.
4. Lay on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.

Best Pairings: Garlic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, lemony arugula salad.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Squeeze excess water from spinach so the filling stays creamy, not watery.

14. Catfish Stuffed with Wild Rice and Cranberries

Why You’ll Love It:

A little bit sweet, a little savory, and super festive—ideal for autumn or special occasion meals. The wild rice and dried cranberries turn humble catfish into something you’d happily serve at a holiday table.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hours

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 1 cup cooked wild rice
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup celery, diced
• 1/4 cup onions, diced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Sauté onions and celery in butter until soft.
2. Mix with wild rice, cranberries, parsley, salt, and pepper.
3. Stuff into catfish fillet pockets; place in a greased baking dish.
4. Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes.

Swap This With That: Sub dried cherries or apricots for cranberries.

Meal Prep Tip: Make the stuffing ahead and refrigerate.

15. Tex-Mex Stuffed Catfish with Black Beans & Corn

Why You’ll Love It:

Colorful, zesty, and great for casual weeknight meals. The beans and corn make it filling without feeling heavy, and leftovers are stellar for tacos the next day.

Serving size: Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 catfish fillets
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1/3 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp olive oil

How to Make It:

1. Mix beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper.
2. Create a pocket in each fillet.
3. Stuff with bean mixture and drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.

Flavor Boost: Add chopped jalapeño to the stuffing for extra heat.

Serving Idea: Tuck leftovers into tortillas for tacos.

FAQ

How do I keep stuffed catfish from falling apart while baking?

Make sure to use thick, sturdy fillets, and avoid overfilling. Placing the stuffed fish seam-side down and baking in a snug dish also helps them hold their shape.

Can I make stuffed catfish recipes ahead of time?

Yes. Many stuffings can be prepared in advance, and you can stuff the fillets and keep them covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking.

What’s the best way to reheat leftover stuffed catfish?

Reheat in a 325°F oven (covered loosely with foil to prevent drying) until warmed through—about 15 to 20 minutes.

Are there good alternatives to catfish for these recipes?

Absolutely. Tilapia, flounder, or any mild, thick white fish will work well for stuffing if catfish isn’t available.

Conclusion

Stuffed catfish is pure comfort food that brings bold flavors and memories to the table, whether you’re celebrating, hosting friends, or just craving something a little special on a random Tuesday night. These recipes turn everyday fillets into creative, satisfying meals—you don’t need fancy ingredients or tons of experience to pull off something memorable. Try a new filling or put your own twist on a classic; the kitchen is your playground. Trust yourself, enjoy the process, and let these bold stuffed catfish recipes inspire more flavor and joy in your meals.