My restaurant-style shrimp salad makes the perfect lunch or light supper. Whether you serve it as a sandwich or as a salad, you won’t believe how easy my shrimp salad is to make and how much better it is than most of your favorite restaurants.
Just look at those big pieces of shrimp. They are so much tastier and have a better appearance than small shrimp. Using the right ingredients makes all the difference in the world!
Ways to serve shrimp salad!
My shrimp salad was delicious served on a buttery, flaky, croissant, but it also makes a great sandwich filling, for a pita pocket, multigrain roll, as a lettuce wrap or my wife’s favorite served between two slices of good rye bread.
Other ways to enjoy this delicious creamy shrimp salad is to add a scoop to your favorite salad or simply on top of a bed of lettuce or salad greens. And of course, crackers go really well shrimp salad.
What ingredients do I need to make restaurant-style shrimp salad?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make shrimp salad. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
What Kind of Shrimp should I use?
Since shrimp is the star of the dish you want to make sure you buy the best shrimp you can.
- Shrimp is either wild-caught or farmed. My first choice is always Gulf or Pacific shrimp from American waters. Farmed shrimp will be less expensive but can be a poor choice depending upon how responsible the farms are run.
- Shrimp sized under 30 per pound will have the best flavor profile and offer the best value. Small shrimp won’t have as much flavor, they are really a waste of money. My choice for shrimp salad is 26-30 sized. I use Under 15 count and 16 -20 count for shrimp cocktail and cooking.
- Shrimp get their color from what they eat. Brown shrimp will have a higher concentration of iodine and a more mineral flavor. Pink and White shrimp are generally sweeter.
- Almost all shrimp are frozen before being transported. If you see them thawed in a supermarket they were originally frozen.
- Avoid buying peeled and deveined shrimp. Cleaning the shrimp before freezing may cause a loss of flavor and texture.
- Frozen or thawed cooked shrimp that are frequently sold in local supermarkets are not a good choice. They won’t have much flavor and the texture of precooked shrimp gets worse the longer they stay thawed.
If you have a question about the sustainability and quality of seafood check the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
How do I thaw frozen shrimp?
Start by thawing the shrimp in cold running water. You can also leave them in a covered bowl overnight in your fridge to thaw.
How long should I cook the shrimp?
When the shrimp are fully thawed place them into boiling water with one tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning.
Let the shrimp cook until the water comes back to a boil up to 5-6 minutes for 26-30 sized shrimp. Larger shrimp will take 1-2 minutes longer.
When the shrimp are done cooking, remove them from the pan and place the cooked shrimp into a large bowl or container filled partway with ice.
How do I make Restaurant-Style shrimp salad?
After cooking and chilling, the next step is to peel and devein the shrimp. The next step is to rough cut the shrimp, but don’t cut the pieces too small. You’re buying good shrimp and you want your guests to see nice big chunks of shrimp.
In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients together and mix well. Chill the mixture for one hour before serving. This will the flavors time to build.
What else can I add to the shrimp salad dressing?
Adding your favorite seasonings and condiments is a great way to customize this easy to make shrimp salad. Try adding dijon mustard, green onions, chopped red onions, fresh dill or other fresh herbs. This is about making something you enjoy eating, it’s all up to you!
If there’s any leftover on day two you’ll find the shrimp salad bursting with flavor. The mayonnaise may look a little runny, but the flavor will make up for the appearance.
Other delicious salads you can try are my Blackened Salmon Salad and my Nicoise Salad Summer Salad.
More Shrimp Recipes You’ll Love!
Easy Shrimp Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay to season the water
- 1 pound raw shell on shrimp 26-30 size cooked, peeled and deveined
- 2 stalks celery small dice
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1-2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- thaw shrimp in cold running water
- Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan, then add 1 tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning
- Add thawed shrimp to boiling water and cook until the water returns to a boil, no longer than 5-6 minutes.
- Drain the water from the pan and cover the shrimp with ice. Let the shrimp cool down in the ice for 15 minutes, then remove from the ice. Place the cooled shrimp in the refrigerator to continue to chill for one hour (or overnight)
- Peel and devein the shrimp. Then rough chop the shrimp leaving them in big pieces.
- Mix the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Serve with your favorite bread or roll, on a salad, or simply by itself.
Paige
This looks great and exactly what I would expect if I was in a restaurant! Looks very easy to put together at home too….a keeper!!
Loreto and Nicoletta Nardelli
This restaurant-style shrimp salad looks delicious! We would love to serve this for an appetizer. Our friends and family would love it!
Tedricka
Great recipe. Can’t wait to try it. Question, though. Are the a measurements for teaspoon or tablespoon? You have the abbreviation for teaspoon in the ingredients list, but tablespoon in the directions.
Chef Dennis Littley
sorry about that. I use an additional 1 tablespoon in the water to cook the shrimp. The teaspoon is to season the salad.
Tanya
Living in the Lowcountry, shrimp is a staple in most diets. I’ll have to give this recipe a try when it’s shrimp season again and use fresh shrimp!
Gloria
We are shrimp lovers. This looks incredible. Easy to make and totally delicious. You certainly can save so much money making wonderful dishes like this at home. Perfect for entertaining too.
Monica Y
yummy, this recipe looks so delicious, we love seafood so I have to prepare this soon to surprise the family for dinner
Ruth I
I honeslty haven’t eaten a dish like this. It’s looks delicious and a must try!
Rayo
Wow, I am totally trying this. I was salivating all through. I love shrimps and this looks great. Thank you for sharing
rika
That looks incredible! I love shrimp salad. I can have this salad for lunch! Yum!
Catalina
I can’t resist to this shrimp salad! It looks amazingly delicious! A must try one!
Agnes
This shrimp salad looks very delish. I will copy this recipe and see how it will go. Thanks!
Ice Cream n Sticky Fingers
I love eating shrimp. We get the frozen shrimp from the grocery store and I usually grill with a marinade sauce. I’ll have to try adding it on top of a salad the next time we make shrimp. It won’t be long, I have some in the freezer already. 🙂
Kita Bryant
This shrimp salad looks so good! I would really love to munch on this for lunch.
Kathy
I have never had shrimp salad before. This looks really good though. I definitely want to try it sometime.
Lynndee
Love a good shrimp recipe and I like the fact that your recipe is so easy to make with few ingredients. Going to save your recipe. Thanks!
Gervin Khan
I have never thought of making a shrimp salad dish because I have an allergy from seafood but this recipe is so easy to make and looks really delicious and I can’t resist myself of not making this not for myself but for my loved ones, I am sure they’re going to love it.
Sarah Bailey
Oh my goodness this sounds so good. I have to admit I love shrimp so you mention that and I AM IN! I totally need to give it a whirl.
Terri Steffes
Sounds delicious. I am eager to see how this will turn out for me. I think it would make a great Mother’s Day luncheon, especially on a good croissant.
Amber Myers
My husband and kids would love this. They enjoy their shrimp. I wish I liked it, but I never got a taste for seafood.
melissa chapman
My son loves all shrimp dishes so i have to make this delicious shrimp salad for him. Your ideas will be so helpful to all who make shrimp dishes for their families