Lemon Herb Shrimp Cocktail is a delicious easy make ahead appetizer recipe that is such a crowd pleaser! This chilled shrimp cocktail recipe can be made in minutes for cocktail hour as an appetizer or as a part of a light lunch or dinner.
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Shrimp cocktail recipe
Shrimp cocktail, or prawn cocktail, is a classic chilled seafood appetizer that could also be considered a seafood salad or an actual cocktail (or hangover cure!) depending on how it’s served.
There are many different seafood cocktail recipes. And the history of shrimp cocktails says that the shrimp cocktail evolved from the similar oyster cocktail that originated in the mid 19th century in San Francisco. Served shooter style in a glass and chugged down the original oyster cocktails were more similar Mexican shrimp cocktail, or coctel de mariscos, than they are to the American steakhouse version common now.
Modern shrimp cocktail is all about the contrast of the big, fat, perfectly cooked sweet shrimp with the tangy, bright, and somewhat spicy cocktail sauce.
Taking the flavor up another notch this shrimp cocktail recipe also tosses the delicious chilled shrimp in a bright lemon herb marinade.
Shrimp cocktail tastes sweet from the shrimp and ketchup based sauce. It doesn’t taste all that spicy but you can adjust the spiciness when you make your own cocktail sauce. Add more or less horseradish or make it even spicier with the addition of tabasco hot sauce.
If using precooked frozen shrimp simply defrost and rinse then toss with lemon seasoning and serve with a delicious homemade cocktail sauce. So easy.
It’s the perfect make ahead recipe for a crowd or just as an appetizer for two for date night at home!
Ingredients
- Shrimp– jumbo shrimp or prawns, either peeled or unpeeled with tail on. 16-20 is a great size large shrimp but you can use whatever size you have. The size will be printed on the bag the shrimp are packaged in. The number refers to how many shrimp on average you can expect to get per pound, the smaller the number the bigger the shrimp. Purchase pre-cooked shrimp or substitute raw shrimp and poach or boil the shrimp to cook the shrimp yourself before serving.
- Cocktail sauce – made from scratch with ketchup, lemon zest, lemon juice, horseradish and black pepper
- Lemons
- Fresh herbs – basil, cilantro, parsley and/or celery leaves or a mixture of different herbs
- Salt and pepper
- Old Bay seasoning – optional
Step by step instructions
- Make Homemade Cocktail Sauce. Mix ketchup sauce, lemon zest, lemon juice, horseradish, pepper, and hot sauce in a small bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
- Zest and juice another lemon and combine with chopped herbs, salt and pepper to make a shrimp marinade.
- Prepare shrimp. Either rinse and pat dry precooked shrimp. Or defrost cooked shrimp, if frozen. If using raw shrimp poach in an herb lemon broth according to the instructions below, then quickly chill.
- Season cooked shrimp with the lemon herb marinade and season to taste with additional salt and pepper and Old Bay Seasoning, if using.
- Serve with lemon wedges and cocktail sauce, chopped celery optional.
- Enjoy!
Boiling shrimp for shrimp cocktail
Simply add herb stems and lemon rinds to a shallow skillet with a cup or two of chicken stock, beer or water. Bring to a simmer and add raw shrimp. Poach for 3-6 minutes depending on size of shrimp. Then immediately drain and add to a bowl of ice. Toss to chill until ice melts. Drain and continue with recipe as directed.
How to serve
Shrimp cocktail is typically served in some sort of a cocktail glass with the tails perched over the edges for easy grabbing. And the center filled with cocktail sauce for easy dipping.
You can also serve shrimp on a chilled platter (set atop ice if leaving out for longer than 30 minutes).
Or serve Shrimp Cocktail in individual serving cups with cocktail sauce and chopped celery spooned into the bottom.
To serve as a meal serve shrimp cocktail with a large green salad, pasta or quinoa and rustic loaf of bread.
Yield
This recipe uses 1 pound of cooked shrimp, enough for roughly 3 appetizer servings or 2 meal sized servings.
How to store
Cocktail sauce can be made in advance and stored refrigerated for up to a week. And cooked shrimp is good for 3 to 4 days refrigerated.
But lemon marinade and shrimp shouldn’t be combined for longer than 24 hours because of the way citrus can change the texture of shrimp. Instead store separately and combine before serving.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined, cooked
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon horseradish grated
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce preferably Tabasco, optional
- 1 tablespoon basil or cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- lemon wedges optional for serving
- celery optional for serving
- Old Bay Seasoning optional
Instructions
- Make Homemade Cocktail Sauce. Mix ketchup sauce, lemon zest, lemon juice, horseradish, pepper, and hot sauce in a small bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.½ cup ketchup, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon horseradish, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon hot sauce
- Zest and juice another lemon and combine with chopped herbs, salt and pepper to make a shrimp marinade.1 tablespoon basil, 1 tablespoon parsley
- Defrost cooked shrimp or quickly boil raw shrimp and quickly chill.1 pound jumbo shrimp
- Toss chilled, cooked shrimp in the lemon herb marinade and season to taste with additional salt and pepper and Old Bay Seasoning.Old Bay Seasoning
- Serve with lemon wedges and cocktail sauce, chopped celery optional.lemon wedges, celery
Nutrition
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