This easy Shrimp Creole recipe is perfect for a quick midweek meal with its rich spicy tomato sauce and fresh juicy prawns.

This is one of my favourite dishes to have as a midweek meal. For me it is also a bit of a store cupboard dish, as I always have frozen prawns in the freezer and a jar of homemade cajun seasoning in the pantry.

I love the rich, spicy, smoky sauce, which marries perfectly with big juicy prawns. And it can be on the table in around 40 minutes, with minimum of fuss.

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What is Shrimp Creole?

Shrimp Creole is similar to a Shrimp Etouffee but with a tomato-based sauce. It is a rich hearty dish comprising the Holy Trinity of onion, celery and green bell pepper made with a rich and spicy tomato sauce and fresh shrimp. It is served with rice.

Ingredients

This Shrimp Creole recipe uses the following ingredients. Depending on how spicy your cajun seasoning is and how spicy you like your dish, you could also add some dried chilli flakes, extra cayenne or your favourite hot sauce.

(Exact quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post).

The Trinity - The Trinity forms the base of many Louisiana recipes and consists of equal parts of onion, celery and green bell pepper / capsicum.
Butter
Garlic
Cajun Seasoning - I make my own seasoning and you can find the recipe here. Make up a jar for your pantry and then it is always there when you have a craving for some cajun spice!
Canned tomatoes
Stock - I use homemade bone broth or Thermomix chicken stock paste diluted in water. You could also use fish stock if you have any, or vegetable stock.
Bay leaves
Worcestershire sauce
Large raw prawns (aka shrimp if you are from North America) - I have these in my freezer at all times. They are shelled, de-headed and de-veined and ready to go. This makes them cheaper than buying whole prawns and also easier to use, as you can just defrost and go.
Lemon juice
Freshly chopped parsley leaves to serve

How to make Shrimp Creole

(Full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post)

To start, melt the butter and saute the trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper) until soft.

Next add the garlic and continue to saute for a couple of minutes.

Then add the Cajun seasoning and stir over the heat for another two minutes.

Now add the tomatoes, followed by the stock, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Allow this to cook for a good 15-20 minutes until you have a nice and thick sauce and the flavours are well infused.

Next add the prawns and stir through until they are pink and cooked through. This should only take around 5 minutes, depending on the size of your prawns.

Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon juice.

Serve with rice and sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley.

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Yield: Serves 4