Authentic New Orleans Shrimp Creole
Authentic Shrimp Creole is a classic New Orleans dish with shrimp and the holy trinity in a slow simmered tomato sauce served over rice. It’s a bold, saucy, flavorful dish that’s right at home for a fancy Sunday dinner or casual weeknight meal. Ready in about an hour.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 237kcal
Equipment
- large dutch oven or deep skillet
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 green onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 cups shrimp stock or chicken stock
- 1 ½ pound ripe tomatoes or 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, see note
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ pound large shrimp 31-35 size, see note
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves loosely packed
- Creole seasoning to taste
- Rice for serving
Seasoning Mix
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- PREP: Finely chop onion, bell peppers, celery, green onions, and parsley. Mince garlic. Chop tomatoes and reserve their juices. Combine seasoning mix and set aside. Peel and devein shrimp (optional, save shells to make shrimp stock*). Rinse shrimp, pat them dry, and season evenly with half of the seasoning mix. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- SAUTÉ: Heat a large dutch oven or deep skillet over medium heat. Add in butter to melt. Add in onions, peppers, celery and half the green onions with a pinch of salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add in garlic and cook while stirring for another minute.
- CARAMELIZE: Sprinkle flour over vegetables and mix in. Add in tomato paste and the other half of the seasoning mix. Cook while stirring for 2-3 minutes, until tomato paste has darkened.
- DEGLAZE: Deglaze with wine, scraping up any fond on the pot. Simmer for a minute or two until the alcohol burns off.
- SIMMER: Slowly whisk in stock, getting out any lumps. Add in tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and bay leaves and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer for about 20-30 minutes until sauce has thickened.
- POACH: Add in shrimp and parsley, turn heat up to medium, and poach shrimp in simmering sauce for about 5 minutes until shrimp are opaque pink and just cooked through. Remove the bay leaves. Do a final taste test and add creole seasoning to taste.
- SERVE: Serve hot over white rice with hot sauce and garnish with sliced green onions.
Notes
- Shrimp stock is easy to make and 100% worth the extra effort. Substitute for chicken broth if needed.
- The success of dish depends on ripe juicy tomatoes. If tomatoes are not in season, substitute for a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes.
- Fresh or frozen shrimp are fine for this, but the best flavor will be Louisiana Gulf shrimp.
- Learn how to make perfectly fluffy rice to serve this dish over. 1.5 cups uncooked rice = 4.5 cups cooked rice = 6 servings.
- Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, and the freezer for 2-3.
- Nutrition information is an estimate. It does not include the rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 163mg | Sodium: 1323mg | Potassium: 729mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1986IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 2mg