Best Shrimp Creole Recipe (mild or spicy) - Don't Waste the Crumbs (2024)

By Tiffany Published March 17, 2021 • Last Updated: March 17, 2021 17 Comments

This spicy southern classic, shrimp creole, is so flavorful, delicious, and completely packed with vegetables. Gets a healthy and satisfying weeknight dinner on your table in less than an hour! Serve over Instant Pot White Rice or Instant Pot Brown Rice.

This spicy southern classic, shrimp creole, is so flavorful, delicious, and completely packed with vegetables.

Go all out with every vegetable listed, or use whatever vegetables you have on hand in the kitchen. Either way, this shrimp creole dish will come out amazing, guaranteed!

I love this recipe because it’s:

• quick & easy
• versatile
• dairy-free friendly (use bacon grease)
• gluten free-friendly (use gluten-free flour)
• can be made vegetarian (use lentils)

Ingredient Notes:

• Shrimp. Any shrimp will work, but using shrimp that’s raw, peeled and deveined saves time. If the shrimp are large, halve or quarter them. (I recommend wild shrimp – see note below.)
• White Cooking Wine or Stock. If you don’t have cooking wine, use fish, chicken, or vegetable stock (not beef). (See my slow cooker chicken stock method here, or my Instant Pot chicken stock method.)
• Whole Grain Flour. I like to use whole grain einkorn flour, but regular flour works as well. For gluten-free, use gluten-free flour (not almond flour or coconut flour).
• Bacon grease or butter. For dairy-free, opt for the bacon grease (plus saving bacon grease is an easy way to save money on real food.)
• Diced tomatoes. Most creole recipes call for crushed tomatoes, but I think it comes out too ‘tomato-ey.’ If that’s what you have on hand and you like a thick tomato flavor, then use them! But if you have a choice, go for diced tomatoes. They make the dish lighter, allowing some of the other yummy flavors to come through better.
• Vegetables. Onion + bell pepper + celery + carrots + zucchini (or whatever vegetables you have on hand). I like to add mushroom for a rich, umami flavor, but they’re optional.

A complete list of ingredients with the amounts you need is located in the recipe card below.

A Note About the Shrimp…

Because of the way farmed shrimp is grown in large, man-made “ponds,” farmed shrimp usually contains several antibiotics and harmful chemical residues, so I recommend wild-caught seafood. Sources: (1) (2) (3)

If you can’t find wild-caught shrimp or are allergic, you can substitute chicken and/or sausage. Or use a combination of all three!

Note: If you don’t have access to these stores OR your local stores don’t carry high-quality seafood, I recommend Butcher Box. I have a subscription myself! You can read my honest review of their products here and how to make Butcher Box worth the cost here!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1. Prepare rice for serving. Use my Instant Pot White Rice recipe, or follow the package instructions for stove top.

Step 2. Make a Roux. Melt bacon grease or butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine with the fat. Cook flour for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.

Step 3. Add Vegetables. Add the celery, onions, bell peppers, carrots and garlic. Cook vegetables until they are soft and colored, stirring often, about 8-10 minutes.

Step 4. Add zucchini and mushrooms (if using) and bay leaves, tomatoes, white cooking wine or stock, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 5. Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink and are no longer raw, about 3-5 minutes.

If using cooked sausage and chicken, add with shrimp and allow to warm as shrimp cooks through. If using uncooked sausage and chicken, add BEFORE the shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes, or until three-quarters of the way cooked through. Then add the shrimp and cook thoroughly.

Step 6. Serve over rice.

Recipe FAQ

To Serve:

• Serve over Instant Pot white rice or Instant Pot brown rice.
• Or wrap in a homemade tortilla if you prefer.
• For a low-carb option, serve over cauliflower rice.
• In order to have a good, spicy creole, you need all of the spices. Don’t skimp out on them, but do feel free to add more if you like it even hotter!

More Quick & Easy Dinners

• Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp
• Sheet Pan Hawaiian Shrimp
• Eggroll in a Bowl
• Vegetable Fried Rice
• Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken

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Shrimp Creole

Print Recipe

★★★★★5 from 3 reviews

This spicy southern classic, shrimp creole, is so flavorful, delicious, and completely packed with vegetables. Gets a healthy and satisfying weeknight dinner on your table in less than an hour! Serve over Instant Pot White Rice or Instant Pot Brown Rice.

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 55
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Main Meals
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

• 5 Tbsp bacon grease or butter
• 5 Tbsp whole grain flour (or gluten free)
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (16 oz) can (equals 2 cups) diced tomatoes with juices
• 1–2 cups white cooking wine or fish/chicken/vegetable stock (not beef) (See my slow cooker chicken stock method here, or my Instant Pot chicken stock method.)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp ground thyme
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 8oz wild shrimp, peeled & deveined (halved or quartered if large)

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Instructions

1. Make the rice for serving on the stove-top, or use my recipes for Instant Pot White Rice or Instant Pot Brown Rice.
2. Melt bacon grease or butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine with the fat. Cook flour for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook vegetables until they are soft and colored, stirring often, about 8-10 minutes.
4. Add zucchini and mushrooms (if using) and bay leaves, tomatoes, white cooking wine or stock, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink and are no longer raw, about 3-5 minutes. (If using cooked sausage and chicken, add with shrimp and allow to warm as shrimp cooks through. If using uncooked sausage and chicken, add BEFORE the shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes, or until three-quarters of the way cooked through. Then add the shrimp and cook thoroughly.)
6. Serve over rice.

Notes

• Tomatoes. I prefer diced tomatoes, but you can also use crushed tomatoes for a strong, tomato flavor.
• Shrimp: Substitute 6oz nitrate-free sausage, cut into bite-size rounds AND/OR 1 cup chopped chicken instead of shrimp.
• Flour. I like to use whole grain Einkorn flour, but regular flour works too. For gluten-free, use gluten-free flour.

Nutrition

• Calories: 302

Keywords: Shrimp Creole