Escargot Recipe from France

This Escargot Recipe is surprisingly easy to prepare and full of delicious garlic and butter flavor. Prepare this rich appetizer to impress your friends with some authentic French cuisine.

Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!

If I’ve learned anything from making dishes from around the world it’s not to judge a dish by its ingredients. Also, if it’s considered a delicacy, there’s probably a reason why it is so popular. 

Escargot is no exception. You may be nervous about eating snails, but I promise once you taste all the butter, garlic and parsley that goes into this appetizer, you’ll forget any former hesitation. 

Escargot is classic French cuisine, as French as French Onion Soup or Ratatouille. It has a rich history and a decadent flavor. It’s a perfect appetizer for a delicious French meal (add Creme Brulee for dessert and you’ll really surprise your guests!). 

When I was a child, my cousin owned a restaurant that made incredible escargot. Even as a 7 year old, I would order it off the menu constantly. I grew up loving Escargot, and when I finally sat down in Paris, in a sweet little cafe, with a view of the Eiffel tower out the window I might add, I knew I had to order Escargot. 

The heavens opened…. Angels sang….. I was in Paris, eating Escargot. And it really is one of the best appetizers out there. 

I have made this recipe at least 20 times, and it is always a hit when hosting. Any guest that is brave enough to try it, is going to love it instantly. Trust me! 

Recipe Origins

Most people associate escargot with France, as escargot is the French word for snails, but humans have been eating snails for centuries. There’s even evidence that snails were eaten in prehistoric times as an easy meat source for hunters and gatherers and that they were enjoyed by the Romans.

While snails have been eaten for many, many years, they were traditionally considered a poor man’s protein source. They were easy to farm and could be found in Spain, Morocco and even some African countries.

There are different stories for how the dish became so popular in France but the one I’ve seen most gives credit to Napoleon’s chief diplomat, Prince Talleyrand, who served the dish to Tsar Alexander in the 1800’s. 

There are two stories for how this came about. One is that the Tsar arrived late for his visit and so snails were the only suitable thing on hand to serve. The other is that the snails were prepared to give the Tsar a taste of something unique. 

Either way, it’s from then on that escargot became popular in France.

Despite what Americans may believe, escargot is not served daily in France. It is usually served as an appetizer for special meals like Christmas or New Year’s, and can be found on the menu in some restaurants. While France does consume a good amount of snails, snails are also popular in Spain, Morocco and Italy.

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 more French than a delicious snail covered in garlic and parsley butter. And you’ll be hooked on French food forever more! 

Ingredients for this Escargot Recipe

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

1. Canned Snails: It’s very difficult to find fresh escargot, so this recipe actually uses canned snails, which you can find at Whole Foods, Walmart, or Amazon. Canned escargot are fully cooked, so this recipe is just about adding additional flavor.
2. Shallot
3. Butter: I use unsalted butter. Allow it to soften to room temperature. The higher quality butter, the better. I highly recommend Kerrygold! 
4. Garlic and Parsley: Fresh garlic and parsley are a MUST in this recipe. 
5. 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.
6. Breadcrumbs: I used premade, unflavored bread crumbs.
7. French baguette: The baguette is the perfect vessel to get the garlicky, buttery escargot in your mouth. Don’t miss out on it!

Tools You’ll Need

1. Escargot Pan: You can also use a mini muffin tin
2. Pan(s): For sauteing the snails
3. Food Processor: You can also use a mini blender. As a last resort, you can chop everything finely and mix well, but a food processor makes it a much easier process
4. Pastry Brush
5. Baking Sheet & Oven Mitt

How to Make This Recipe

Step 1: Saute butter and shallot for a few minutes, then add the snails for the last two minutes.

Step 2: In a food processor or blender, blend butter, garlic, parsley, and white wine to make a garlic butter.

Step 3: Place one snail in each compartment of your pan and cover with the garlic butter mixture and a sprinkle of bread crumbs. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. 

Step 4: Lay baguette slices on a cookie sheet and brush with butter. Broil the bread until it toasts.

Step 5: Serve the snails in shells or directly on top of the toasted baguette. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Escargot is actually a very simple recipe, but to make it taste the very best, you must use high quality ingredients. Don’t skimp on the real butter, fresh garlic and fresh parsley. It just won’t be the same!
• 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. 
• 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 appetizer.
• Occasionally (not often, but it is possible) the escargot will 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!

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Classic Escargot Recipe from France

Escargot is surprisingly easy to prepare and full of delicious garlic and butter flavor. Prepare this rich appetizer to impress your friends with some authentic French cuisine.

4.77 from 26 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 snails

Calories: 82kcal

Author: Alexandria Drzazgowski

Equipment

• ▢
  Escargot Pan: You can also use a mini muffin tin
• ▢
  Pan(s) For sauteing the snails
• ▢
  Food Processor You can also use a mini blender. As a last resort, you can chop everything finely and mix well, but a food processor makes it a much easier process
• ▢
  Pastry Brush
• ▢
  Baking Sheet & Oven Mitt

Ingredients

• ▢ 7 oz snails, 1 can
• ▢ 1 shallot, finely diced
• ▢ 10 tbsp Butter , softened
• ▢ 3 tsp Garlic , minced
• ▢ ¼ cup Parsley, chopped
• ▢ 1 tbsp white wine
• ▢ 2 tbsp Breadcrumbs
• ▢ 1 french baguette
• ▢ 24 Empty Snail Shells, optional for serving

Instructions

• Melt 1 tbsp butter in a pan, then add 1 shallot and saute until they soften. Lastly add 7 oz of snails for about 2 minutes.
• In a food processor or blender, add 5 tbsp softened butter, 3 tsp garlic, ¼ cup parsley, and 1 tbsp white wine. Pulse until it all comes together to make a garlic butter.
• 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.
• 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!

Notes

Recipe Copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.

• Canned Snails: It’s very difficult to find fresh escargot, so this recipe actually uses canned snails, which you can find at Whole Foods, Walmart, or Amazon. Canned escargot are fully cooked, so this recipe is just about adding additional flavor.
• Shallot Butter: I use unsalted butter. Allow it to soften to room temperature. The higher quality butter, the better. I highly recommend Kerrygold!
• 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.
• Breadcrumbs: I used premade, unflavored bread crumbs.
• Escargot is actually a very simple recipe, but to make it taste the very best, you must use high quality ingredients. Don’t skimp on the real butter, fresh garlic and fresh parsley. It just won’t be the same!
• 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.
• 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 appetizer.
• Occasionally (not often, but it is possible) the escargot will 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!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 207IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

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