This classic Shrimp Creole is the perfect eat and my favorite weeknight & weekend savior. It’s my “quick and easy” go-to recipe that works equally for easy dinners, long lazy Sunday brunches as well as fancy dinners to wow my friends and families.
I love being able to effortlessly add the flavors of the Deep South to my dishes with minimal effort and minimal prep and basic cooking techniques. And this tasty aromatic Creole Shrimp helps me do just using a few everyday affordable ingredients and comes together in under 30 minutes.
Related Link : Yellow Squash Casserole.
Why You Will Love This
- It is great for meal prep.
- Can be doubled or tripled to feed a crowd.
- It’s also a great make-ahead and freeze dish for when you need to grab something quick for dinner.
- And it’s an ideal way to use up your leftover tomatoes or leftover shrimp.
What Is Creole Sauce
Creole sauce, along with its various other names (aka red gravy, creole tomato sauce, and sauce piquant) is a staple found in Creole cuisine as well as Caribbean cuisine.
It really is super simple to make. It is basically a fragrant and spiced tomato sauce that contains the holy trinity of Louisiana style creole cooking => celery, bell peppers, and onions, along with a variety of seasoning and spices.
You can start with juicy fresh tomatoes if you have them, or grab some canned tomatoes, aka convenient staple foods, and use those.
Shrimp Creole is a version of creole sauce that includes good old juicy and tender shrimp. Pretty much a thick flavourful Louisiana spiced shrimp stew. It is traditionally served over fluffy white rice.
P.S. if you are interested – Creole Cuisine, which originated in Louisiana (thank you peeps) is my kind of cooking, as it is a mish-mash of African, Amerindian, French, Haitian, Spanish and southern cooking. This means aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the best finger-licking flavors and then some.
How To Make Shrimp Creole Very Easily
- Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and peppers and saute for about 5 minutes until soft.
- Mix the garlic, chili, creole seasoning and cayenne pepper and cook for about 30 seconds and stir until fragrant.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée, and butter. Allow to boil, then simmer, with the lid ajar, for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened (feel free to simmer for a further 5 or so minutes if you want your sauce to reduce more).
- Add in the shrimp and cook for up to 5 mins till the shrimp is cooked through.
- Switch off the heat and serve with some rice.
Best Dang Creole Shrimp Tips
- You can prep the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
- Use a sharp knife to cut your veggies up nice and small so that they cook quickly.
- The flavor really develops over time, so best to prep ahead a few hours before serving.
- For best results use fresh shrimp but alternatively use frozen shrimp that you defrost just before cooking.
- Make your life easier by buying peeled and deveined shrimp for cooking.
- You can use fire-roasted tomatoes if you prefer some extra flavor.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is sooooo as good as is, but you can easily mix and match herbs, spices, and other ingredients to suit your taste. And they don’t even have to be creole, just things that will pack this dish full of flavors you like.
Other ingredients you can add in include:
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- Bay leaf
- Fresh cilantro
- Fried bacon (y’all need to try this!)
How To Adjust Heat/Hotness
- This classic sauce recipe gets its heat from the homemade Creole Seasoning. So if you have a hot seasoning, add about half the required amount and adjust the next time.
- If you don’t want much heat, or none at all, you can make your own homemade creole seasoning and adjust the amount of chili or remove it altogether from the seasoning.
- When I make this sauce for guests or for the kids, I only use about a half to two-thirds of the seasoning required.
Prep Ahead, Storing And Freezing
This is a great recipe you can easily prep ahead. The best thing you can do is whip up the sauce and store it in the fridge for a day or two beforehand. Then simply reheat and add in the shrimp just before you want to eat it.
Related Link : Meal Prep Glass Containers.
If you want to keep it for any longer, this creole shrimp is super freezer-friendly which means it is ideally suited for meal prep. Simply whip up a batch (or even double or triple the amount) and then store in the freezer until you’re ready to use.
Just follow these easy steps for freezing:
- Let the sauce cool down and blend or mash, then transfer into these very handy Ziploc bags.
- Squeeze out all the extra air and seal the bags.
- Label the bags and then lay them flat in the freezer.
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Steps for thawing:
- Remove from the freezer the night before needed and let it thaw in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
More Creole and Southern Recipes
- Cajun Shrimp.
- Air Fryer Cajun Fish Fillets.
- Red Potato Salad.
- Cajun Shrimp Salad.
- Cornbread- Instant Pot + Skillet Versions.
- Yellow Squash Casserole.
- Grape Salad.
- Creole Sauce.
- Salmon Croquettes.
Weight Watchers Points
There are 6 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
Thank you for reading my Creole Shrimp Recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog
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Shrimp Creole
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons rapeseed (canola) oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk finely chopped
- 2 red peppers seeded and finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons creole seasoning
- 56 ounces 4 x 14 oz cans (400g) diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups (236ml) vegetable broth
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato purée
- 2 tablespoons (25g) butter
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb (453g) large shrimp peeled and deveined
Instructions
- Add the garlic, red peppers, creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring regularly, until the aroma is released.
- Add the tomatoes, stock, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée, and butter.
- Bring the sauce to the boil, then simmer, with the lid slightly off, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until reduced and thickened. Season to taste.
- Add in the shrimp, then cook for about 5-7 mins until the shrimp is cooked through and opaque.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips
- You can prep the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
- Use a sharp knife to cut your veggies up nice and small so that they cook quickly.
- The flavor really develops over time, so best to prep ahead a few hours before serving.
- For best results use fresh shrimp but alternatively use frozen shrimp that you defrost just before cooking.
- Make your life easier by buying peeled and deveined shrimp for cooking.
- You can use fire-roasted tomatoes if you prefer some extra flavor.
I could eat this everyday. I love the spice and flavors!
Absolutely delicious and bursting with flavor!
This was absolutely delicious and bursting with flavor!
This is mouth-watering delicious. Such a flavorful dish and I appreciate the hints to make it less spicy for those who can’t handle the heat.
Anything with shrimp in it and I am all over it!! This one looks perfect! bookmarking it for later!!
These flavours are so divine – what a lovely dish. I will definitely be making this recipe again!