Fresh shrimp cooked with tomatoes, green peppers, onion, and garlic – Easy Shrimp Creole can be whipped up in no time for a weeknight meal that gives you the taste of the bayou.
Classic New Orleans Recipe
Shrimp Creole is a classic Louisiana dish, one of the easiest to make. I like to add a little bacon to my Shrimp Creole for some smokiness. I start by cooking the bacon and then using the bacon fat to saute the veggies.
Use Fresh Shrimp
The fresher the shrimp, the better. Shrimp Creole is only as good as the shrimp you use. I would stay away from the farm-raised shrimp and either use east coast shrimp or Gulf shrimp. Since I was raised on East Coast shrimp, I prefer their taste. If you don’t live near the coast, just buy quality frozen shrimp. Most times, the shrimp in the seafood case at the store are just frozen shrimp that have been defrosted. If you buy frozen shrimp and defrost them right before cooking, they will have a fresher taste than the previously frozen ones that have been sitting in the seafood case for a day or two.
Add Some Spice
To spice up Easy Shrimp Creole, I like to use Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
which not only adds spice, but really accentuates the flavor of your food. I was introduced to Tony Chachere’s by my college roommates who were from New Iberia, Louisiana. They put it on just about everything. Many Louisianans will tell you it is the best seasoning ever made and I tend to agree.
Recipe Tips
Shrimp only need a few minutes to cook. Be sure not to overcook them. They should be tender and juicy, not hard and rubbery.
I sometimes like to partially make Shrimp Creole a day in advance. The flavors only get better with time. Usually I will make the sauce, refrigerate it overnight and then reheat it in a pan. Once the sauce starts to simmer, I add the shrimp in.
Serve Easy Shrimp Creole over a bed of steaming hot rice for southern comfort food at its best.
For more delicious recipes follow Spicy Southern Kitchen on Pinterest and Instagram.
More Louisiana Favorites
- Shrimp Etouffee
- Seafood Gumbo
- Grillades and Grits
- Muffaletta Sandwich
- Slow Cooker Jambalaya
- Homemade Beignets
Watch the video below to see how to make Shrimp Creole.
Easy Shrimp Creole
Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon,, diced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 green bell pepper,, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion,, diced
- 1 celery stalk,, diced
- 4 cloves garlic,, minced
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Tony Chacheres or other Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 pounds peeled medium shrimp
- rice for serving
- green onions and chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
- In a large pan coated with a little oil, cook bacon until brown and crispy. Remove bacon to a paper-towel lined plate.
- Add 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil to bacon drippings. Heat over medium heat and add green pepper, onion, and celery.
- Cook veggies, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT shrimp, rice, green onions, and parsley. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Add shrimp and cook until shrimp is cooked, about 2 minutes. Stir in cooked bacon.
- Remove bay leaf and serve over rice. Top with green onion and parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
This was totally awesome! I made it just as indicated. Didn’t take long and I served it over Spanish rice. My husband and I loved it and it will become part of my recipe rotation, especially on Fridays during Lent. I saw in reading other comments that Tony’s comes in a salt free version so I will look for that to use in the future though.
I love this recipe. I put all but the shrimp in the instant pot for the first steps and spire cook it for 8 hours on low. I switch to sautee at the end and add the shrimp until just cooked and it’s perfect for a busy night! I follow the recipe to the letter and we end up with 8 meals if we add rice.
This recipe looks delicious, having been a country cook for over 60 years I plan to use this tonight, the argument of Cajun or Creole is like asking how many ways can you spell GOOD. Thanks Christin.
My sister would like to serve shrimp creole for our lunch this month, which is why she’s currently looking for some tips that she may use. Well, thank you for sharing here that its veggies must be stirred for 8 to 10 minutes max. Hopefully, we’ll be able to pull this recipe off because if not then maybe ordering from a Cuban restaurant will be the best option.
This is such an easy and delicious recipe!
This recipe is REALLY great!! The flavors are true to Louisiana food and the spice is just right. Be good to this recipe and seek out quality shrimp! You won’t regret it! Thank you for making something so delicious so easy to produce…this recipe is very true timewise from prep->table with what is listed and is a wonderful and fresh weekday meal to have on the table after a busy day.
You can buy Tony’s salt free! It works!
I’ve made this numerous times to rave reviews. And I’m making it for Marci Gras this week.
Whether Tony Chachere’s is Cajun or creole is not any difference to me. I have used it before and to me it is just mainly SALT! I will look elsewhere for another recipe.
Why don’t we add garlic from the beginning? is there any secret?
Garlic burns really easily and since it is chopped up so small, it cooks very quickly. You could add it earlier and some people do, but then you have to be really careful that it doesn’t burn.
Hi,
I’m from New Orleans and this is a good recipe. Your college friends taught you well. I cook this dish often.
So nice to see our region represented correctly.
Sincerely, Kim
Can you make the sauce and freeze it?