What Louisiana seafood dish features oysters baked with spinach, herbs, breadcrumbs, and butter?

Oysters Rockefeller is the Louisiana seafood dish featuring oysters baked with spinach, herbs, breadcrumbs, and butter.

The dish was created in New Orleans in 1889 at Antoine’s restaurant. It was named for John D. Rockefeller, whose name suggested the preparation’s richness. The original recipe has been kept secret, so modern versions imitate its characteristic green, herbaceous topping without claiming to reproduce every original ingredient.

Spinach is now a familiar component of Oysters Rockefeller, although historians and chefs have debated the exact original formula. Other common ingredients in later versions include parsley, celery, green onion, butter, breadcrumbs, and anise-flavored elements.

Oysters Bienville is a different New Orleans oyster preparation, usually associated with a richer topping containing shrimp or other seafood. Oysters Rockefeller is served in the shell and baked until the topping is set and the oysters are cooked.