This Louisiana Shrimp Creole recipe has a rich and savory tomato sauce, with just the right amount of spice, to make it truly irresistible! Serve it over white rice with a few green onions on top and you’ll have a delicious one-pot dinner in less than 30 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Shrimp Creole Recipe
This is one of the easiest and fastest Creole dishes to make and everyone will want seconds. Our Shrimp Creole recipe is in a rich, thick tomato sauce that is enhanced with the holy trinity — onions, bell pepper, celery — plus red pepper and creole seasoning for a good kick of spice. Here’s why you’ll love it as much as we do.
- Super Simple: Shrimp Creole doesn’t need a lot of ingredients to make it taste delicious. The main star, of course, is good shrimp. Being from Louisiana, we always use extra large fresh caught Gulf shrimp. Living on the Gulf Coast makes us a little bias about our shrimp!
- 100% Authentic: This recipe is my mom’s shrimp Creole recipe. She was born and raised in south Louisiana and this is how her family made Creole shrimp. She has been making it this way for 85 years, so it’s as authentic as you can get. If you want to feel like you are really down in Louisiana, serve this classic dish for dinner!
- One Pot Meal: If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner with all your favorite Cajun flavors, this recipe for Creole shrimp is for you! It’s made in one-pot and in just 30 minutes, but you would never know it based on the epic amounts of flavor packed in each bite.
Loving these Cajun flavors? You’ll also love our Cajun chicken casserole, spicy Cajun chicken pasta, and our easy sheet pan Cajun garlic butter shrimp. Enjoy!
What You’ll Need
You’ll notice that most of the ingredients that shrimp creole requires are staples you already have in your pantry and refrigerator. And if you use frozen shrimp, in your freezer too! Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
- Olive Oil
- Veggies: Grab an onion, red bell pepper, celery, green onion, and fresh garlic.
- Tomato Sauce
- Tomato Paste
- Creole Seasoning: I don’t add salt or pepper to this because the creole seasoning covers both. We like to use our easy homemade Cajun seasoning, but store bought works too!
- Red Pepper Flakes: Add more if you like it hot and spicy!
- Shrimp
Fresh or Frozen Shrimp
We prefer fresh Gulf shrimp whenever possible. If fresh is not an option, use raw fresh frozen shrimp. I have to admit, when I do buy frozen, it is nice to buy them already deveined.
So when you are planning out your week, remember if you don’t have a lot of time, to grab the already peeled and deveined shrimp to save those extra minutes!
How to Make Shrimp Creole
It doesn’t get much easier than 30 minutes and one pan. Here’s how to make this easy recipe for Creole shrimp. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed instructions.
- Sauté the Vegetables: In a heavy bottom skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion, bell pepper, celery, green onion and garlic for 6-8 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: Stir in the tomato sauce and paste stirring until well blended. Continue to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the red pepper flakes and creole seasoning, stir to combine. If you prefer your shrimp Creole to not be too hot use less red pepper or omit completely.
- Stir In the Shrimp: Add the shrimp and continue to cook over low heat stirring often. Continue to cook over low heat stirring often, until shrimp are cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes.
- Serve Immediately: Serve over rice with chopped green onions on top.
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Tips and Tricks
Here are a few tips and tricks to make this incredible recipe for Creole shrimp.
- Holy Trinity: The flavor in your Creole shrimp will mainly come from the vegetables added. In Creole/Cajun cooking, there is something called the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is made up of onion, celery and bell pepper. It is the base to almost all good creole food and this dish is no exception!
- Clean Your Shrimp: Fresh shrimp will give you the best fresh flavor possible, but frozen are good too as long as you allow them good time to thaw. Make sure you fully devein and rinse your shrimp well so your final dish doesn’t turn out gritty.
- Fresh Garlic: You want to use fresh garlic, not the jarred stuff. Jarred garlic is a lot less pungent and doesn’t pack the same punch as fresh garlic. Using jarred garlic can leave your shrimp feeling a little lackluster.
- Seasonings: You want to taste and adjust your seasoning at the end to your personal tastes. Kick up the heat if you like some spice! Red pepper flakes, Creole/Cajun Seasoning, cayenne pepper or tabasco hot sauce are all wonderful ways to add some extra heat!
- Do Not Over Cook Shrimp: Shrimp that have been cooked too long will become rubbery. Watch your shrimp closely so they do not cook too long. Shrimp are done cooking when they go from slightly translucent in appearance to a solid white/pink color and are curled when cooked.
What to Serve With Creole Shrimp
Of course our favorite way to enjoy this creole dinner is the traditional way: served over steamed white rice with a little chopped green onion on top. Don’t forget to add crusty French bread with a little butter and garlic to help clean up any sauce you may leave on your plate. You can also try it over cauliflower rice or brown rice.
Want to skip rice all together? How about zucchini noodles or even spaghetti squash! Unlike gumbo, this sauce is thick and will make a great addition to just about any base you want.
Can I Prep This Ahead of Time?
Yes! This has to be one of the easiest dinners to prepare ahead. There are a couple of options depending on your time.
You can chop the onion, bell pepper and celery and store in ziplock bags in the refrigerator until you are ready. Or if you already know you don’t have the time for that, buy the vegetables already chopped in the produce section of your grocery store.
The shrimp can be cleaned up to 3 days ahead or buy fresh frozen cleaned and devein. You’ll just need to defrost when you are ready to cook!
More Easy Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp Creole
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery, about 3 stalks celery
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped. (reserve 1/4 cup for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes*
- 2 pounds fresh shrimp, cleaned and deveined
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Instructions
- 1. In a heavy bottom skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the onion, bell pepper, celery, green onion and garlic. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
- 2. Stir in the tomato sauce and paste, stirring until well blended. Continue to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.
- 3. Add the red pepper flakes and creole seasoning, stir to combine. Add the shrimp and continue to cook over low heat stirring often, until shrimp are cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes.
- 4. Serve immediately over rice with extra chopped green onions on top for garnish.
Made this for Mardi Gras and it was so good, we had to make it again… three times now! Love the flavor!
Great taste and easy to prepare! My husband loved it. I served extra red pepper and creole on the side.