This shrimp creole recipe is pure New Orleans, an icon of Louisiana, with succulent shrimp simmered in a perfectly seasoned spicy Creole sauce made with the Cajun holy trinity. You may need to make an extra large batch. Try it with my homemade Creole seasoning.
Shrimp Creole Recipe
Shrimp Creole coming your way, my friends. I love this recipe. It's an easy shrimp recipe for one. Everyone needs those quick and easy recipe ideas for when you're just too busy to spend time in the kitchen.
Creole shrimp is one of those recipes you can have done and on the table in 30 minutes or so, maybe a little longer if you're a slow cook like me. The only real work is a bit of chopping and prepping. Then it's just simmering.
It's super satisfying, too, a perfect dish for the spicy food lover, loaded with big flavor. Shrimp Creole, my friends!
It's a recipe that's been around forever, and it's open to certain interpretations, so feel free to customize here and there to your personal tastes. I hope you enjoy it.
Let's talk about how to make shrimp creole, shall we?
Shrimp Creole Ingredients
- Olive Oil. For cooking.
- Cajun Holy Trinity. You'll need green bell pepper, or use jalapeno peppers for a spicier version, onion, celery, and garlic. Bell peppers are traditional.
- Tomatoes. Use both tomato paste and chopped tomatoes for the tomato sauce.
- Stock. Use shrimp stock for a more pronounced seafood flavor, or use chicken stock or chicken broth.
- Creole Seasonings. Use your favorite brand from the grocery store, or try my my homemade creole seasoning. Add cayenne pepper for extra spicy.
- Additional Flavors. Worcestershire sauce, Louisiana style hot sauce, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
- Shrimp. Peeled and deveined. Gulf shrimp are great, though any shrimp will work here, even frozen shrimp (thawed).
- For Serving. Cooked white rice, chopped parsley or use green onions, sliced peppers, extra hot sauce, spicy red pepper flakes.
How to Make Classic Shrimp Creole - the Recipe Method
Peppers and Onions. Making Shrimp Creole is easy enough. Add the onions, peppers, celery and garlic to a pan over medium heat with some oil and cook until they soften up.
Tomato Paste. Next, stir in some tomato paste and cook it down about a minute.
Liquids and Seasonings. Then, add canned tomatoes, stock, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, Creole seasonings and bay leaves. Adjust for salt and pepper to your preferred levels.
Simmer the Creole Sauce. Stir it all together, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes to thicken and let the flavors develop. You can simmer longer if you’d like.
Cook the Shrimp. Remove the bay leaves, then add the shrimp and tuck them under the sauce. Cook another couple minutes, or until the shrimp is nicely pink and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Boom! You're good to go!
Serving Shrimp Creole
Serve shrimp creole over rice, sprinkled with parsley, extra hot sauce and extra peppers! Or just eat it out of the pan. It's OK. Really. It makes a wonderful appetizer on its own.
You can also serve it with noodles for a satisfying Cajun Pasta.
That's it! Easy enough! It's definitely a favorite recipe here, my friends. Love it! Pretty low calorie. I could eat this all day. Let me know how it turns out for you. Super curious! Send pics!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Heat Factor. I like to use the classic Cajun Holy Trinity to start - onion, pepper and celery - though I'll either substitute jalapeno peppers for the bell, or I'll toss a jalapeno into the mix, or sometimes something spicier, like a habanero pepper.
- Variations. The creole sauce is an excellent base for including other ingredients. Try it with different meats or seafood, like crawfish or white fish. It's also great with pasta noodles.
Storage & Leftovers
Storing your Shrimp Creole in an airtight container in the fridge may allow you to store the leftovers for up to 3-4 days. To maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate it promptly.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my shrimp creole recipe. I'd love to hear how you are serving yours! Let me know!
Check Out Some of Our Other Popular Cajun Dishes
Try Some of My Other Popular Shrimp Recipes
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.
Shrimp Creole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large green bell pepper chopped (Or use jalapenos peppers for a spicier version)
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 14.5 ounce can chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup shrimp stock or use chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons Louisiana style hot sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- Rice, chopped parsley, sliced peppers and extra hot sauce for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the peppers, onion and celery and cook them down about 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring.
- Swirl in the tomato paste and cook another minute.
- Add the canned tomatoes, stock, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, Creole seasonings and bay leaves. Adjust for salt and pepper.
- Stir and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes to thicken and let the flavors develop. You can simmer longer if you’d like.
- Remove the bay leaves.
- Add the shrimp and tuck them under the sauce. Cook another couple minutes, or until the shrimp is nicely pink and cooked through.
- Serve over rice, if desired, sprinkled with parsley, extra hot sauce and extra peppers!
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 5/7/21 to include new information, photos and video. It was originally published on 4/26/18.
NOLA native says
Excellent recipe! Very tasty! Had to use chicken stock because I couldn't find shrimp with heads to make the shrimp stock here in eastern TN.
Question: How much for a 263kcal serving for my tracking purposes? I apologize if I missed that on the page.
Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
Great! Glad you enjoyed it! The whole pot serves 4, FYI. So 1/4 of the pot for 263kcal, not including the rice.
Julie Perez says
Love this recipe. Would have never thought of Worcestershire.
When mentioning The Holy Trinity - Please mention:
With Help of The Pope - Garlic.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Julie!