Cajun Crate Subscription Box Review + Coupon- September 2016

Cajun Crate is a monthly subscription that sends food items from Louisiana.

Boxes feature “the best of the best in Louisiana,” and you can expect boxes to include items like hot sauce, fish fry, and jambalaya mix.

I lived in New Orleans for about a year after I graduated from college, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I jumped at the opportunity to review this box!

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Cajun Crate

The Cost: $39 a month, with discounts on 6- and 12-month subscriptions

The Products: Food items from Louisiana.

Ships to: US

Visit the Food Subscription Box Directory to discover other specialty food boxes and make sure to add Cajun Crate to your subscription list or wishlist!

My box contained an info booklet.

The booklet provided a breakdown of the items in the box, as well as information about where in Louisiana the items are made.

Camellia Red Kidney Beans (1 lb.) - Value $3.25

The first item I pulled out of the box was this package of dried red kidney beans, the key ingredient in the Louisiana classic red beans and rice. All we need now is some rice…

Cajun Country Popcorn Rice (1 lb.) - Value $3

And here it is! This rice blend highlights fragrant rice varieties that are native to Louisiana.

Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce (12.7 oz.) - Value $9

Jay Ducote, also known as Jay D, is a Baton Rouge food blogger and radio personality and the man behind this sauce. It’s sweet, spicy, and made with traditional Louisiana spices. I took a little taste, and I’m impressed by the flavor. I think I’m going to use it on pulled chicken!

Zydeco Chop Chop (8 oz.) - Value $3.29

This is a blend of chopped, dehydrated veggies that can be rehydrated and added to a number of different cajun dishes. I’ve never used a product like this before (I tend to avoid shortcuts in my cooking), but I can definitely see how it would save time. It’s built around the “holy trinity” of cajun cooking (onions, bell pepper, and celery) and contains garlic, onion, celery, green onion, bell peppers, and parsley.

Thib's Ultimate Garlic Pepper Sauce (5 oz.) - Value $2.35

Thib’s sauce is made with garlic powder, garlic oil, and aged red peppers, and it has a nice flavorful zing to it.

Gator Blood Half Cajun Bloody Mary Mix (2, 5 oz.) - Total Value $3.98

I love Bloody Marys, so I was excited to see this in the box. “Half Cajun” refers to the spice level— this is a medium spiced mix. I really like spicy Bloody Marys, so I might give the “Full Cajun” version a try, too. I started drinking Bloody Marys after I moved away from New Orleans, so I think this is my first time trying one that’s spiced with traditional Cajun spices. I’m into it.

Tabasco Worcestershire Sauce (5 oz.) - Value $2

Worcestershire sauce is currently on my shopping list, so this bottle arrived at just the right time! I didn’t realize that Tobasco made Worcestershire sauce, and I’m excited to try cooking with it. So far, I’ve only tried using it in a Bloody Mary (made with the above Gator Blood), but so far so good.

Cajun Crate Koozie - Value $1.50?

This box also contained a Cajun Crate branded koozie. (I don’t think I’ve ever bought a koozie before, so I’ve estimated the price based on other koozies I found for sale online.) I don’t often drink canned beer, but this koozie did a nice job keeping my sparkling water chilled.

Mexi-Cajun Seasoning Packet - Value $0.25?

The last item I received is this small packet of Mexi-Cajun Seasoning, a seasoning blend that combines Mexican flavors with Cajun spices. (Again, I’ve estimated the value.)

Included in my box was a recipe for “Red Beans Done Right” that utilized the beans, chop, and seasoning in this box. I love red beans and rice, so I decided to give it a shot! The only ingredients I had to provide for this recipe were sausage, butter, and a bay leaf. To keep things authentic, I used andouille sausage.

I cooked the beans, rehydrated chop chop, and sausage with water for about a half an hour. I then seasoned the pot and cooked everything for an additional two hours.

When the beans were ready, I stirred in some cooked rice, and voila! This was a pretty time-consuming recipe but really easy. It’s not my style to take short cuts when I’m cooking, but I’m pretty happy with how the Zydeco Chop chop worked in this recipe. (I couldn’t detect the flavor of “freeze-dried” in the final product.) These beans were pretty tasty!

Verdict: This is my first time trying Cajun Crate, and I really enjoyed my box! A lot of the items made me nostalgic for my time in New Orleans, and I think the variety of items represent Louisiana pretty well. I also think it’s fun that I was able to use the items in this box to make red beans & rice. The items in this box have a total retail value of about $29, which falls pretty short of the $39 cost. That said, I’ll point out that this box was really heavy, so I think shipping cost is something to consider. Additionally, I haven’t seen most of these items for sale outside of Louisiana, so I’m not terribly upset about paying a premium for them.

Are you a fan of Louisiana cuisine? Does this box from Cajun Crate make you say “Laissez les bons temps rouler”?