My favorite Shrimp Creole recipe is delicious and so easy to make that you'll be sitting down to eat in about 30 minutes. A classic dish of Louisiana Creole origin where buttery shrimp are tossed in a zesty sauce of tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, celery, garlic and spices, all served over hot cooked rice.
It took several tries to come up with a recipe for Shrimp Creole that I felt was worthy to share with you. One that rivaled what I enjoyed in New Orleans. Some were too salty or too bland, others had so much sauce that you couldn't taste the shrimp. This version thickens naturally (no cornstarch required) and is easy to modify to suit your taste.
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How is shrimp creole different from Gumbo, Jambalaya and étouffée?
Though you'll find many of the same flavors and ingredients in shrimp creole (like the 'holy trinity' of onion, green peppers and celery in Cajun and Creole cuisine) that you do in gumbo and jambalaya, creole dishes are typically thicker, spicier and served on top of hot rice rather than having the rice cooked and or stirred in to the dish. Shrimp Étouffée is another similar dish, but made with a roux (flour and fat cooked together to use as a thickener) base instead of a tomato base.
Recipe Options
- Kick up the heat with additional hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, or hot paprika.
- Serve over creamy grits instead of rice.
- Add some sweet red pepper along with the green for added flavor depth.
More Classic Southern Recipes
- Slow Cooker Jambalaya
- Skillet Cornbread
- Sweet Potato Bread
- Cornbread Pudding
- Brabant Potatoes
- Cajun Potato Salad
- Cajun Potatoes
- Remoulade Sauce
- Shrimp Remoulade
- Blackened Shrimp
- Cajun Shrimp
- Crab Cakes
How to make Shrimp Creole
Step 1: In a large skillet, soften onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic in melted butter.
Step 2: When vegetables are soft, add tomatoes, Creole seasoning, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and simmer 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add raw shrimp to tomato mixture; cook and stir until pink and cooked through.
Step 4: Serve over hot, cooked white rice.
Recipe video
Shrimp Creole
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion diced small
- 2 ribs celery diced small
- 1 medium green bell pepper diced small
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 14 ½ ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning or more
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- Louisiana-style hot sauce such as Tabasco brand, to taste
- 1 pound medium shrimp or large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- chopped fresh parsley to taste
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, green bell pepper, celery and garlic; cook and stir for 7-10 minutes until tender.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes with juice, Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaf; stir and simmer 5 minutes, allowing flavors to meld. If desired, add more Creole seasoning and hot sauce to taste.
- Increase heat to medium-high and add shrimp; cook and stir until shrimp is pink and cooked through. Serve over hot white rice, sprinkled with desired amount of chopped fresh parsley.
I'm still working on getting the boys to like shrimp, but hubby and I love it!! I know we'd be all over this dish, it would be gone in no time!
haha, they'll come around, Katherine! 😉 Thank you!
This is excellent I doubled the recipe so I could share with family! This is definitely a keeper.
That's wonderful, Johannah! Thank you for letting me know!
I'm not quite familiar with the Louisiana cuisine (Except probably jambalaya). And while I've tried similar shrimp combinations, I have to try Shrimp Creole yet. This recipe sounds delightful!
Thanks, Ben!
When it comes to seafood, shrimp is my favourite. So I can't believe I have never tried shrimp creole! It looks so spicy and flavourful, and I bet it is so hearty and filling on top of that bed of rice!
Shrimp really is SO good and versatile! I hope you give this a try, Leanne! 🙂
This shrimp looks absolutely DEEEEELISH, Marissa!!!! I'm a huge fan of shrimp anything, and I'm loving the creole flavors here! Those shrimp look so buttery and succulent! Tossed in that zesty sauce with plenty of veggies?! YUM! I need this in my life! Pinned!
aww...thanks so much, Cheyanne!
Made this according to the recipe but added 8 oz. can of spicy tomato sauce. So good! Normally make a roux for Shrimp creole but this was really good for a week night dinner. Thanks.
That's so great to hear, Lynn. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know.
We LOVE Creole dishes Marissa! So much flavor! And shrimp is always on our menu. Can't wait to try this.
Fantastic! Thanks, Mary Ann!
This is such a fantastic, healthy, packed-with-flavor meal. After all that testing to perfection, I'm sure it's amazing. So much flavor in so little time! It's also so vibrant and pretty -- makes me want to dive right in.
Thank you, Valentina! I love how you put that: "So much flavor in so little time!"
Such a fun dish! My mouth is watering just thinking about those zesty flavors!! Yum!
Thank you, Annie!
I've never had shrimp creole before, but would certainly love to try! Love how rich the sauce is! And you really can't beat meals that come together in 30 minutes that look this good 🙂 Happy Monday to ya!
Thank you! I think you'd love it, Dawn!! Have a great week!
You had me at Shrimp Creole! I love Cajun and Creole food, and I'm always looking for fun ideas to make around Mardi Gras time. I haven't made Shrimp Creole in years, and I totally need to fix that problem. This version sounds (and looks) fantastic!
Love to hear that, David! Thank you!
Love how easy this is! And how full of flavor! Have a great week, Marissa!
Thanks so much, Kelsie! You too!
Oh, how delicious! Perfect for Fat Tuesday and leftovers work well for Ash Wednesday!!! Love the Creole flavors.
Thanks, Liz! Creole flavors are addictive!
Hi Marissa! This will be on my plate very soon! I always have all these ingredients on hand which makes it an easy last minute dinner! My favorite hot sauce is Tabasco. I also like Frank's Red Hot but I usually use that on chicken or nachos. Unlike some dishes that are holiday specific, Cajun and Creole are on constant rotation here!.
Hi Dorothy! I bet you make some fabulous Cajun and Creole dishes!! Thanks so much, my friend!
The shrimp look so succulent and delicious. I always love tomato based sauce, so this is definitely a must try.
Yay! Thanks so much!
Add this to the menu for Mardi Gras! What a fabulous looking dish!
Absolutely! Thanks, Kevin!
Marissa, the flavors in this are so delicious! My family would love it! Thanks for your explanation of the difference between creole, gumbo, jambalaya and Étouffée. I recognized that they are very similar but wasn't sure about the differences.
My pleasure! Thanks so much, Kelly!
This would make a nice dinner for a Mardi Gras party.
It really would! I love how you think, Karen!