Shrimp Salad
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Old Bay kicks up the flavor of this classic shrimp salad. Pile it onto a croissant, scoop it over lettuce, or serve it with crackers.
Made with perfectly-cooked, chilled shrimp, crunchy celery and scallions, and a flavor-packed creamy dressing, this shrimp salad makes the perfect lunch or light supper. You can pile it onto a croissant or toast, scoop it over lettuce, or dice the shrimp up and serve it as a dip with crackers.
The secret ingredient is Old Bay seasoning, a spice blend that contains celery salt, pepper, paprika, and mustard, to name just a few. Sold near the seafood department in most supermarkets, Old Bay is great on seafood, especially in crab cakes and peel n’ eat shrimp, but we shake it on everything here in Maryland, from fried chicken to popcorn. It really kicks up the flavor of this shrimp salad a few notches.
Table of Contents
“My husband and I made this for New Year’s Day and are delighted to tell you it’s the best shrimp salad we have ever tasted!”
What You’ll Need To Make Shrimp Salad
Buying Shrimp
For all of my shrimp recipes, I recommend buying frozen shrimp, as most shrimp are flash-frozen shortly after being caught. Unless you live on the coast, the “fresh” shrimp you see in the seafood case is typically thawed frozen shrimp. For the freshest shrimp, it’s best to buy frozen shrimp and defrost it yourself. The best way to defrost it is overnight in the fridge, but if you’re in a time crunch, you can run the shrimp under cool water.
I also recommend buying shrimp labeled “shell-on and deveined.” The shrimp will have more flavor and better texture when cooked in the shell – and it’s much easier to buy shrimp already deveined. If for some reason you need to devein the shrimp yourself, use kitchen shears to cut through the shell along the back of the shrimp, from the head to the tail, then use a paring knife to remove the vein.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by bringing a pot of water to a boil.
Add the shrimp and cook until bright pink and cooked through, about 1-1/2 minutes (the water needn’t return to a boil).
Drain the shrimp in a colander and then immediately plunge them into the ice water to shock them and stop the cooking process. Let sit until chilled, about 15 minutes.
Peel the shrimp and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Old Bay, wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
Whisk to combine.
Add the cooked shrimp, celery and white and light green scallions.
Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning.
Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Before serving, sprinkle the salad with the dark green scallions and a dash of Old Bay. The salad will keep for two days, covered, in the refrigerator.
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Shrimp Salad
Old Bay kicks up the flavor of this classic shrimp salad. Pile it onto a croissant, scoop it over lettuce, or serve it with crackers.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds large raw shrimp (31-35 per pound), shell-on and deveined, thawed if frozen
- ½ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellman's or Duke's
- 1½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup finely diced celery
- ¼ cup finely sliced scallions, light and dark green parts separated
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water and set next to the sink.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until bright pink and cooked through, about 1½ minutes (the water needn't return to a boil).
- Drain the shrimp in a colander and then immediately plunge them into the ice water to shock them and stop the cooking process. Let sit until chilled, about 15 minutes. Peel the shrimp and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Old Bay, wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the shrimp, celery, and light green scallions. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Before serving, transfer the salad to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the dark green scallions and a dash of Old Bay. The salad will keep for 2 days, covered, in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 244
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 21g
- Sodium: 979mg
- Cholesterol: 198mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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So good! and easy to put together!
Very yummy. I made some changes based on my in house ingredients. Omg. Soooo good.
I used precooked crawfish tails instead of shrimp. Added maybe 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard & Worcestershire to Mayo mix. Used balsamic vinegar instead of white. Added a bit of slap ya mama along with recommended old bay, and a bit of garlic powder. I also used the celery greens because my celery had them. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Best ‘shrimp’ salad I’ve made! Yum yum
Nice flavors. I’ve made this several times – it’s now on rotation in our household. As mentioned by someone else, I cut up the shrimp to make it more manageable in sandwiches for my husband. I have my portion on top of a mixed green salad. Always delicious!
I folliwed this recipe yesterday with high hopes (having just purchased Old Bay for the first time). The only change I made was to use cold, precooked shrimp from Costco also purchased same day. The overwhelming saltiness made it impossible to enjoy; I wouldn’t serve it to family or guests. Next time, I’ll use other spices. I threw the heart attack waiting to happen away…such a waste of good shrimp…
As everyone else said…this is a great recipe! I used red wine vinegar and fresh squeezed lemon juice….it was a wonderful dressing for my shrimp salad for dinner!
We are eating this salad as part of our Christmas meal right now. It is phenomenal! The secret is old bay spice and cooling shrimp in its shells! Thank you for posting it!
This looks wonderful – I’m planning on making this as an appetizer for Christmas, but in a deconstructed form. Tossing chopped romaine with the celery as the base. Topped with the shrimp (I’m using small bay shrimp). Lightly adding the dressing (possibly with a vessel on the side if folks want more dressing). And the scallions on top.
Hi Jenn,
For some reason, I guess I confused this recipe with another that was more like at a dip. But, since I know Jenn’s recipes, are always right on the money, I made this shrimp salad.
I needed some thing as a filling in croissants, so I did chop up the shrimp to make it more manageable for my husband as my shrimp were larger than recipe called for.
As usual, it went over, extremely well, flavor was well balanced.
Thank you again, Jenn for your forever recipes.
Carol
What seasoning could be substituted for the Old Bay seasoning…. For those who might not be fans of that particular flavor?
Hi Marianne, I’d suggest paprika, salt, and pepper. If you like any of these (which are also in Old Bay), feel free to add a pinch: cayenne pepper, dry mustard, ground mace, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and ginger. Hope that helps!
Another delicious recipe from you! So easy. We planned to serve them as sandwiches on brioche rolls so I tore the shrimp in half after peeling them. So good. I didn’t adjust seasonings at all but we had only 12 oz of shrimp so the sauce ratio was increased. We liked that!
Another winning recipe. Absolutely delicious!!! And, it couldn’t have been easier to prepare. Thank you Jenn