Shrimp Creole is the epitome of massively flavorful yet highly unpretentious Big Easy cooking. This recipe transports me straight to New Orleans in a big way, as that’s where I was the first time I tried it. I’ll spare you those details because I know you care not at all. I don’t blame you, but just know this – I’ve never forgotten that classic Louisiana dish, and I think it’s mostly because I was enamored with how tasty it was, while looking like there was very little in it. How can something so simple taste this good?

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So. I’ve worked to develop my own version of Shrimp Creole that is every bit as tasty and unforgettable as that sampling I had in NOLA over 20 years ago – and y’all’, I’ve totally done it. This is absolutely my best ever Shrimp Creole recipe, and there’s a few reasons why my version today is especially delicious.

What is Shrimp Creole?

Perfectly demonstrating some of the core tenets of classic Louisiana Creole cooking, Shrimp Creole is a (typically spicy) dish that consists of shrimp cooked in a mixture of whole or diced tomatoes, the “holy trinity” of onion, celery and bell pepper (more on this below), spiced with hot sauce or a cayenne-based seasoning, and served over cooked white rice.

What is Creole cuisine?

Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking that traces its origins to the American state of Louisiana. Its roots are a beautiful blend of different food cultures, however, including West African, French, Spanish, and American Indian influences, as well as aspects of American Southern cooking as well.

For me personally, it is in this unique blending of cultures and cuisines where the magic of Creole food can be found. It’s so special.

What is the difference between Cajun and Creole food?

There are so many similarities – common threads – between Cajun and Creole cuisines and this is largely due to the French heritage shared by both cultures. Each culture also happens to take its foods and culinary traditions seriously, with great care having been taken to cultivate and nurture their characteristics and legacies. Both the Cajuns and the Creoles applied classic French techniques to some of the newer ingredients to which they were introduced in the US. Both types of cooking (Cajun and Creole) can trace their culinary roots to France, but as mentioned above, these traditions are “seasoned” with bits and pieces of other food traditions and cultures as well, such as those of Spain, Native America, Africa, the West Indies, and even Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

The primary difference between Cajun and Creole Cooking

“A Creole feeds one family with three chickens and a Cajun feeds three families with one chicken.”
Popular saying

A major difference between Creole and Cajun food can be found in the type of roux used by each culture. We’ve talked about rouxs here before – it is a method used for thickening sauces and gravies, where flour is cooked with a fat of some sort.

A Creole-style roux is made from butter and flour (taking its cues from French cooking). A Cajun-style roux is usually made with oil or lard and flour. There is an element of scarcity and very practical cooking that can be seen in Cajun cooking traditions and techniques. It is a bit less refined, and actually reminds me a lot of the scrappy Appalachian-style cooking that I celebrate in my own cookbook.

When Cajun cuisine was being cultivated and developed, there was a real scarcity of dairy products in this part of the country, known as Acadiana, so that’s where the lard/oil-based roux comes from. It was born of resourcefulness, and efficiency. The Cajuns made the best of what was around.

Both Creole and Cajun cuisines have their own versions of Gumbo, which is probably the most well-known dish to come from each cooking tradition – the signature. Creole gumbo has a tomato base and is more of a soup (not unlike the Shrimp Creole we’re making today). Alternatively, Cajun gumbo has a thicker, heartier roux base and eats more like a stew.

The “Holy Trinity” of Cajun/Creole cooking

You’ll see what is referred to as “The Holy Trinity” in many Cajun and Creole recipes, and this is simply the combination of onions, bell peppers, and celery that is used to provide a flavorful anchorage to everything from stews, gumbos, and jambalayas to etouffees and yes, today’s Shrimp Creole recipe. Again, you can see the thread stretching to France in this, as the trinity is very similar to the classic French mirepoix – the combination of celery, carrots, and onion that is used very frequently in French cooking.

Bless me, for I have sinned …

In my recipe today, I’m playing around with the component of the holy Creole trinity, and hopefully won’t be called a sinner for doing so. Rather than using green bell peppers, I’m going to swap in the highly flavorful and brightly acidic jarred sweet Italian peppers, which you can find in any supermarket. These lift the tomato gravy into the most delicious place, trust me. We’ll also stir in a little bit of the liquid from the jar as well. The sauce ends up being just so incredibly delicious, and I cannot wait for you guys to try my little spin on the classic here.

Classic Shrimp Creole: Roasted Shrimp is the Best Shrimp

Alright. Now, it is typically not my style to ask you to use an extra dish when one isn’t needed, and you could say that I’m blaspheming all over my own mission statement by having you roast your shrimp today, rather than simply stirring it into the sauce and allowing it to cook that way.

But y’all. Roasted shrimp is JUST SO MUCH BETTER. We’ll coat it in the same Creole seasoning (or Old Bay) that we use to flavor the sauce and it gets juicy and crusted and perfect. 400 degrees for exactly 7 minutes is just the right equation for large shrimp, and we’ll lay them on top of the wonderfully flavorful tomato gravy, pouring any tasty juices from the roasting pan right down into the sauce.

This is an absolutely wonderful – and incredibly easy – Shrimp Creole recipe, and I know you guys are going to love this one.

What you’ll need to make this Easy Shrimp Creole Recipe

4 TBSP Butter, divided

1 TBSP olive oil, plus more as needed

2 bay leaves

1 onion, diced (about 1.5 to 2 cups worth)

2 celery stalks, diced

10 – 12 sweet Italian peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped (from a jar, such as Mezzetta)

2 TBSP liquid from the sweet Italian peppers jar

4 -5 tsp Creole seasoning (ex: Paul Prudhomme’s or Tony Chachere’s; can sub Old Bay)

4 garlic cloves, minced or grated

Salt and pepper, as needed

Chicken stock, as needed

1 ⅓ cups crushed tomatoes

2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 lb. large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

TO SERVE: hot cooked rice

How to make this 30-Minute Shrimp Creole Recipe

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position.

Add 1 TBSP of the butter and 1 TBSP of the oil to a large skillet/pan set over medium heat. Add the bay leaves, onion, celery, and chopped peppers to the pan. Season with 2 tsp of the Creole seasoning and, if your seasoning isn’t too salty, a little bit of salt and some pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds more. Add enough chicken stock to cover the contents in the pan, and reduce the heat to med-low. Let things simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half; takes about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes, the reserved liquid from the peppers jar, and the Worcestershire sauce. Again, let this simmer for about 10 minutes, to reduce and thicken.

Meanwhile, put the shrimp onto a baking sheet, coat in a little oil, and season with Old Bay or Creole seasoning, just get them nice and coated. Roast for 7 minutes.

When the tomato gravy has simmered for about 10 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the remaining 3 TBSP butter. Add the roasted, spiced shrimp on top and serve right away, with hot cooked rice.