Need something new for busy weeknights? Look no further than this Louisiana-style Creole shrimp recipe.
Shrimp creole is a classic Louisiana dish consisting of shrimp in a tomato sauce seasoned with hot pepper sauce or a cayenne-based condiment and cooked with onions, celery, and bell peppers. It’s a rustic dish full of flavorful chunks of tomato and shrimp that’s perfect for serving over rice.
The beauty of this dish is how easy it is to prepare. You only need one pot (yay!), and you build up the flavors by layering each ingredient and then letting them simmer.
The Holy Trinity of Creole cuisine
Creole cuisine tends to be spicy and uses a mix of ingredients from around the world, including French, Spanish and African flavors.
Shrimp Creole, like many classic New Orleans dishes, begins with the Holy Trinity—a mixture of diced onions, celery, and bell peppers. It’s the basis of many Cajun and Creole dishes like gumbo, any kind of etouffee, spicy sauce, and red beans and rice, to name a few.
Combining the powers of the Holy Trinity and tomatoes in this dish creates a flavor that will have you instantly screaming, “Laissez les bon temps rouler,” or “Let the good times roll,” for those whose Cajun French is a bit rusty!
Type of shrimp to use
The size is up to you! I love using fresh shrimp from my local market. I peel and devein them myself, which means I can save the shells to make shellfish stock.
I usually use smaller shrimp, e.g. B. 60 pieces when I’m making a weeknight dinner, but I use 16/20 piece shrimp when I’m entertaining. If you’re short on time, you can use peeled and deveined frozen shrimp to get dinner on the table a little quicker. If using frozen shrimp, be sure to thaw them. You can do this by placing them in a bowl of cold water while you prep your ingredients.
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Cajun spice
Cajun seasoning is usually a mixture of celery salt, sweet paprika, sea salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and ground allspice.
I used Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasonings, which I’m familiar with here in Louisiana, in this recipe. If you can’t find this spice mix, look for a packaged Cajun spice or make your own! I usually use John Besh’s Cajun seasoning mix when making from scratch.
Ingredient swaps and substitutions
There are many ways to change this to your liking.
- Add more (or less) cayenne or cajun seasoning depending on how spicy you want the finished dish to be
- Use vegetable broth or chicken broth instead of shrimp broth
- Replace shrimp with crayfish. You can play with the recipe and use chicken, tofu or pork here too.
- Add fresh garlic for more garlic flavor
- Add okra as an additional vegetable
Storage Instructions
You can store your shrimp creole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. If you have leftovers afterwards, feel free to freeze them! It makes a nice frozen meal. You can freeze this dish in an airtight container for three to six months.
If you take it out of the freezer, let it thaw in your fridge overnight. Heat it slowly on your stovetop over medium-high heat so it doesn’t separate.
Store rice separately in an airtight container. It keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days.
More classic New Orleans recipes
- Shrimp Etouffee
- Shrimp Gumbo with Andouille Sausage
- Slow Cooker Jambalaya
- New Orleans fritters
- oyster stew
Shrimp Creole
ingredients
For the rice
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6 cups water
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2 teaspoon Salt
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3 cups long grain white riceflushed
For the shrimp creoles
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1/2 floor butter
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1 big Onionchopped
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2 green paprikacored and chopped
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4 stems celery, chopped
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1/2 teaspoon Salt
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1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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2 bay leaves
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2 teaspoon Worcester sauce
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1 (28–Ounce) can be peeled whole tomatoes
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2 teaspoon garlic powder
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2 tablespoon flour
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1/2 Cup water
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2 cups fish stockstore bought or homemade
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2 lb small 60 count shrimppeeled and deveined
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1 tablespoon cajun spice
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1/2 Cup green onionsthinly sliced
method
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Cook rice:
Bring water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan over high heat. Add the salt and rice to the water and stir. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook the rice for about 20 minutes or according to the instructions on the packet. Take the rice off the stove and fluff it up with a fork. Keep covered until serving.
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Sweat the onions, peppers and celery:
While the rice is cooking, prepare the shrimp creoles. In a large skillet over medium heat add the butter. Once the butter is melted and fluffy, add the onions, peppers, and celery to the pan. Add salt and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6-8 minutes.
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Add bay leaves, Worcestershire, tomatoes and garlic:
Add the bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, and garlic powder to the pan. Stir and gently break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Cook on high until simmering, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
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Mix the flour and water, add to the saucepan with the broth:
Whisk together the flour and water in a small bowl and add to the tomato sauce in the pan. Boil 5 minutes. Add the seafood broth.
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Season the shrimp and add to the pan:
In a large bowl, season the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning and toss to coat. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink on the outside, 7-8 minutes. The finished sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
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Stir in the spring onions and serve:
Stir in the spring onions. Serve Creole shrimp over rice.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 427 | calories |
| 12g | Fat |
| 39g | carbohydrates |
| 41g | protein |
