Escargot Recipe from France (2024)

Published on May 10, 2021 Modified: Jan 20, 2022 by Alexandria Drzazgowski. This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Snails are cooked in a butter and parsley sauce and served with a toasted baguette for a delectable and rich appetizer recipe. This Escargot recipe is so easy and a great way to experience French cuisine.

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Recipe Origins

Prehistoric History

The history of snails in modern day cuisine dates back further than anyone can remember. Snails were around in the age of the dinosaurs and were a source of food for prehistoric humans.

We have even found evidence that snails were collected and bred for easier consumption as well as eaten cooked, not raw.

For some time, when Catholicism was largely present in France, snails were removed from the French diet, as they were regarded by Catholicism as dirty because they crawled. After the Roman Empire was ousted from France, snails returned to the menu, but typically as a meal for the poorer individuals in the country.

We’ve even discovered that sailors took snails on their trips to act as an assured source of meat on board!Since they couldn’t get the vegetables they needed, they at least got a good source of protein.

Modern Day Recipe for Escargot

The modern-day recipe for Escargot was invented around 1814, when Napoleon’s steward, Tallyrand, wanted to have lunch with Tsar Alexander I. They arrived at the restaurant so late that snails were the only thing that the cook had left to serve.

He added garlic and parsley to the snails in order to improve the taste and presentation of the meat. The men loved it, and Escargot has been popular around the world (but especially in France) ever since.

France is now considered one of the largest snail-eating countries in Europe. They eat over 16,000 tons of snails per year!

They are particularly popular around Christmastime, but are enjoyed as an appetizer year round.

Above according to World in Paris.

Why Make this Recipe

1. A Unique Appetizer: Escargot is an extremely popular appetizer in France, but in other countries it’s less common. This appetizer will get you out of your comfort zone and show you that eating unique dishes can be so rewarding! You’re going to love it!
2. Simple: This dish is as easy to make as blending garlic butter, layering butter and snails, and baking. It takes only a few minutes of active work but feels so fancy that it will seem like you took hours to prepare it.
3. “Travel” to France: If you’ve ever wanted a taste of France, this Escargot Recipe is the way to try it. You won’t get much for French than a delicious snail covered in garlic and parsley butter. And you’ll be hooked on French food forever more!

What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?

Ingredients

1. Snails: I used canned snails without a shell on them. They come already cooked in the can, so you’re really just adding some flavor to the dish by preparing them in this way. If you want cooked Escargot in the Shell, this is a great recipe.
2. Butter: I use unsalted
3. Breadcrumbs: I used premade, finely ground breadcrumbs, unflavored.
4. White Wine: Any dry wine will do. Chardonnay is the recommended wine to drink with escargot, so you could also prepare the recipe with it if desired.
5. Produce: Shallot, parsley, garlic

Tools

1. Escargot Pan: An escargot pan is the traditional way to prepare this dish, but if you don’t have one, you could also use a mini muffin tin.
2. Small Pan
3. Food Processor or Blender
4. Pastry Brush
5. Baking Sheet

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How to Make this Recipe

Step 1: Prepare the Snails

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a pan, then add shallot and saute until they soften. Lastly add snails for about 2 minutes.

Step 2: Make the Garlic Butter

In a food processor or blender, add 5 tbsp butter, garlic, parsley, and white wine. Pulse under it all comes together to make a garlic butter.

Step 3: Cook the Snails

Place one snail in each escargot compartment and cover with about ½ tsp or so of the garlic butter mixture. Then, sprinkle each snail with a little bit of breadcrumbs.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until they brown.

Step 3: Prepare the Baguette

Cut a baguette into slices about ¼ inch thick (make as many slices as you have snails). Lay the pieces of bread on a cookie sheet.

Melt 4 tbsp of butter in the microwave. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the bread with butter.

When the snails come out of the oven, set them aside. Turn the oven to a broil. Place your cookie sheet with the bread in the oven with the door slightly ajar. Broil the bread until it toasts. Watch it closely as it is easy to burn while broiling.

When the bread is toasted, serve the snails with the toast. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Most restaurants in the United States use canned snails for their escargot recipe and they are delicious. Typically, if you see a restaurant serving escargot in the shell, they are normally canned snails stuffed into empty shells for a better presentation, so I would suggest sticking with canned snails for a still-high-quality, easier to make appetizer.
• Occasionally (not often but it is possible) for the escargot to spit hot butter once it’s removed from the oven. Make sure to wear an apron and oven mitts when working with the escargot for the first few minutes after being baked!
• If you want to spread the baguette with garlic butter, you can do this as well, but I found that normal butter was just as delicious.
• If you just baked up some fresh brioche bread, you can toast this as well for your delightful appetizer.

Recipe FAQs

Did you enjoy this Escargot Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes on my site that I picked out just for you:

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• Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
• Easy Crème Brûlée Recipe
• French Onion Chicken in the Instant Pot
• What to Serve with Ratatouille
• What to Serve with Croque Monsieur